Day 8 - Resurrection Sunday
Today we celebrate the greatest news of all time. But before we get to that great news, let’s first discuss the bad news.
Sometimes before you can fully appreciate good news, you first need to understand the bad news that came before it.
For instance… “I don’t need to have an operation on my leg!” That’s good news. But if you were to know that two weeks ago, the surgeon said that an operation was the only solution and that there was a possibility I might lose my leg during surgery, you can now appreciate just how good that good news really is.
Here’s the bad news… you and I are imperfect. We most likely don’t need convincing of that. We make mistakes and wrong choices. We choose wrong over right more often than we’d like to admit. The Bible calls this ‘sin’ - missing God’s mark. And every time we miss God’s mark, we fall short of His best for our lives and we commit sin.
The Bible lets us know that sin requires a payment. The problem is, we are unable to cover our own sin, no more than a person in debt is able to get themselves out of it, without outside help.
Sin creates a divide between a perfect God and imperfect people, a divide that cannot be mended by ourselves. This then leads to eternal separation from God in a place called Hell, where man is separated from God and punishment for sin is inflicted.
BUT… “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.” (John 3:16 NIV)
Jesus Christ became your sin and my sin when He hung on the cross. He paid our debt because He was the only one not in debt Himself. And because of Jesus, the bad news isn’t final; instead, we get to receive the greatest news of all time.
Jesus has presented humanity with a gift through what He did for us. All that is required for you to do is receive it. It already has your name on it, but you can’t experience the benefit of it until you reach out and receive it. How do we receive it? By doing what John 3:16 tells us to do and “believe in Him.” By believing in Him, you are first acknowledging that you have need of Him. You recognise that you are a sinner and your sin requires payment. Either you can choose to reject God and end up having to pay for your own sin, or you can receive God’s grace, given in the form of Jesus, believing that He paid for your sin and because of that, you are no longer separated from God but are brought into relationship with Him.
The good news gets even better today… the cross was not Jesus’s final resting place. Jesus is now seated with God in Heaven, having been resurrected on the third day, giving you and I the assurance that He is who He says He is and that you and I can be in relationship with Him, both now and forever.
On this Resurrection Sunday, receive the gift extended to you and know that because of Jesus, death is not your end either, but you now have life with Him forevermore!
I hope to see you in Church today. Happy Easter!
Sometimes before you can fully appreciate good news, you first need to understand the bad news that came before it.
For instance… “I don’t need to have an operation on my leg!” That’s good news. But if you were to know that two weeks ago, the surgeon said that an operation was the only solution and that there was a possibility I might lose my leg during surgery, you can now appreciate just how good that good news really is.
Here’s the bad news… you and I are imperfect. We most likely don’t need convincing of that. We make mistakes and wrong choices. We choose wrong over right more often than we’d like to admit. The Bible calls this ‘sin’ - missing God’s mark. And every time we miss God’s mark, we fall short of His best for our lives and we commit sin.
The Bible lets us know that sin requires a payment. The problem is, we are unable to cover our own sin, no more than a person in debt is able to get themselves out of it, without outside help.
Sin creates a divide between a perfect God and imperfect people, a divide that cannot be mended by ourselves. This then leads to eternal separation from God in a place called Hell, where man is separated from God and punishment for sin is inflicted.
BUT… “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.” (John 3:16 NIV)
Jesus Christ became your sin and my sin when He hung on the cross. He paid our debt because He was the only one not in debt Himself. And because of Jesus, the bad news isn’t final; instead, we get to receive the greatest news of all time.
Jesus has presented humanity with a gift through what He did for us. All that is required for you to do is receive it. It already has your name on it, but you can’t experience the benefit of it until you reach out and receive it. How do we receive it? By doing what John 3:16 tells us to do and “believe in Him.” By believing in Him, you are first acknowledging that you have need of Him. You recognise that you are a sinner and your sin requires payment. Either you can choose to reject God and end up having to pay for your own sin, or you can receive God’s grace, given in the form of Jesus, believing that He paid for your sin and because of that, you are no longer separated from God but are brought into relationship with Him.
The good news gets even better today… the cross was not Jesus’s final resting place. Jesus is now seated with God in Heaven, having been resurrected on the third day, giving you and I the assurance that He is who He says He is and that you and I can be in relationship with Him, both now and forever.
On this Resurrection Sunday, receive the gift extended to you and know that because of Jesus, death is not your end either, but you now have life with Him forevermore!
I hope to see you in Church today. Happy Easter!