“And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.” Romans 1:4-5
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” Romans 6:8-11
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” 1 Peter 1:3
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." Matthew 28:1-10
A lot of people think Easter is over.
Plastic eggs... chocolate bunnies... colorful baskets all become half-off discounted items at local stores.
The good feeling we had at church this weekend fades and we are faced with....
Post-Easter Monday morning.
You woke up to it today.
All of the songs you sang and felt yesterday have become distant memories...replaced with the droning sound of your office or classroom.
Clothes that once dripped with the waters of baptism are now dried, folded, and put back in their drawer.
I want to encourage you to think differently today. Easter isn’t over.
Today’s verses all have one thing in common. They all point directly to our risen Lord and what He did for us over 2000 years ago. He came back. He returned from the dead. His resurrection is the single act in history that changed our eternity forever. He is all that we need and all we could ever want. He loves us more than we could understand and could never earn. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And he didn’t stay dead. He came back for us.
Last weekend, we celebrated death’s single defeat in the return of Christ. He didn’t come back for us to live weak and defeated lives... He came back so we could stand strong for Him and live boldly.
I want to challenge you this morning to not think of Easter as something that’s “over”... but, instead, as the first day of the new reality. Today starts that new hope... today affirms the truth that, in Christ, you can do all things! Today matters and you matter in it.
Have faith, and keep moving forward. I’ll be praying for you as you take these first steps in your new direction.
