Hi friends,
As Easter fast approaches, it can be easy to get excited about the not-so-important things: like where you'll go camping over the Easter long weekend, or the delicious spread you'll be enjoying for Easter lunch with the family, or maybe the sheer amount of chocolate bunnies and eggs you'll get to stockpile for the rest of the year. While these are all enticing prospects, none of them are at the core of what Easter means for Christians. We need to shift our focus to what truly matters (both during Easter and every other day) – Jesus.
Without Jesus, specifically His resurrection, Easter simply wouldn't be as we know it today. Nor would a lot of other things, namely our salvation. In 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, we are told "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." John Calvin summarises these verses well in his commentary on John 20:1: 'The resurrection of Christ is the most important article of our faith, and without it the hope of eternal life is extinguished.'
So, what does this mean for us this Easter? Is it all doom and gloom? Well, no, it's actually the opposite! For bible-believing Christians, the evidence of Jesus' resurrection is irrefutable. Christ was crucified on Good Friday and raised from the grave 3 days later, on Easter Sunday. If you're wondering how anyone's death, let alone our Saviour's, can be called 'good', join us for our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services at 9am (at either our Oasis Church or Genesis Christian College locations) to discover how Jesus' death and resurrection changes everything.
This is also an excellent opportunity to keep those ABC prayer cards from a couple of Sundays ago in mind, not only to keep praying abundantly, boldly and continually for the 3 people in your life who don't yet know Jesus, but also to invite those people to our Easter services and Easter on the Lawn event (on Sunday April 5th). We count servant-heartedness as part of our church values, so if you are able, we would really appreciate some more volunteers for Easter on the Lawn (click here to volunteer if you haven't already).
Lastly, but certainly not least, we ask that you would pray for spiritual fervour and awe as we reflect on what Easter means; pray over the upcoming events for our church, like the 321 Course, as well as Men's and Women's events in May; and pray for those who will be coming to our Easter services and might not yet have faith in Jesus, that their hearts may be touched by the Lord.
Grace & peace,
Hana Baigrie (Ministry Intern)
