Easter Message

I was saddened today to read that 65% of teenagers in the UK do not understand what Easter is about, and did not know where Good Friday gets its name! This is even more disconcerting when we are supposed to be living in a Christian country, with the 2001 Census reporting that 70% of the UK population responded as having a Christian faith. 

And yet for Christians, Easter is a very important celebration as it reminds us of the sacrifice that Christ made for each and everyone of us. On Good Friday we remember the day that Jesus was nailed to the cross to suffer one of the most excruciatingly painful deaths... crucifixion. As if this method of execution was not painful enough, he also experienced life without the presence of our heavenly Father when God turned His back on him as we are told in Matthew 27:46 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is difficult for us to grasp how that must have felt because none of us have ever been as close to God the Father as Jesus, but the sheer thought of living without God's presence around me is very frightening.

The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross was not just for our sins, but also for our diseases as Isaiah reminds in Chapter 53:4 that "... he took up our infirmities and our sorrows.", and healing is available from Him to this day.

We don't just have an opportunity of wiping the slate clean of all the things we have done wrong against God and one another, He also gives us the opportunity to live a new life, an abundant life, that we may serve Him for His glory.

We all have a choice ... do we believe and accept that Christ died for our sins, do we want to turn away from that way of life and follow Christ's ways for our future. If we do, He promises an abundant life that starts now. We don't have to wait to get to heaven to start experiencing eternal life!

Christ rose on the third day and demonstrated His power over sin and death, and because of His resurrection, we can have eternal life. It can be summed up by the apostle John in chapter 3 verse 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

This is the gift God is offering you now, and all it takes is for you to accept Jesus Christ as your saviour, and to walk in His ways.

May you find the abundant life the Jesus offers you this Easter.

Grace and peace

Peter
Pastor

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Last modified: 05 May, 2008