Easter
Matthew 28
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2There 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. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then 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."
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Apologizing for the gospel
Christians need to stop apologizing for the gospel. I hear people say, “now, I’m sorry if this offends you…” when telling someone about Christ and his teachings.
Why are we sorry? This is the good news that Christ died for us, to redeem us to God.
Yes, the gospel contains hard truths.
Read that again, and let it soak in.
Hard truths.
We might as well say, “I’m sorry Jesus died for you.”
And I’m probably going to come unhinged the next time I hear a Christian say they’re sorry for the gospel. Why?
Because it’s not the Word of Gary, or the Word of Steve, or the Word of Cheryl.
It’s the Word of God.
Let’s quit putting words in Christ’s mouth, shall we?
This Sunday is the Super Bowl (for Christians, anyway)
I’m not trying to be flippant about Easter. But, for Christians, this is our Super Bowl. Time to pull out all the stops.
Why?
More unchurched people are willing to come to church on Easter Sunday than any other day of the year.
So, put away the floral, pastel-colored, cliche clothing, and get real.
We need to show visitors to our church the real us. Not the prettified, giant-hat-on-Easter us. The real us.
We need to worship like it means something.
We need to serve like our life depends on it.
We need to love in the same way we are loved.
But most of all. MOST MOST MOST of all… we need to be joyful.
And don’t even give me that “but I’m not a morning person” crap.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Word made man, died for all people who were, are, and will be, so that we could be reconciled to God, the creator of the universe. Jesus rose from the dead to show that death was conquered. The Christ, the Savior, reversed the natural progression of birth to death, and was reborn. Reborn! I challenge you to get your mind around that today, because I surely can’t, and most surely never will.
Easter Sunday is a cause for celebration unlike anything you’ve ever been a part of. For Christians, Easter is our rebirthday. Christ’s sacrifice gave us a second chance we didn’t deserve. Gave the world a second chance it didn’t deserve.
Show your church’s visitors this Easter Sunday how glad you are. Make ‘em want what you got.
Oh, and the crux of it all?
We should be like this every day we draw breath.