Christ Has Been Raised!

Dear Friends in Christ,

A few of years ago on Easter Sunday, this poem was part of the B.C. comic strip in the Sunday newspaper:

What is this day all about?
Hiding eggs for kids to rout?
Cakes and cookies shaped like lambs?
Pink chapeaus on pink madams?
That’s not what its all about!
Who got buried, then got out?
Leaving no one any doubt,
“He Is Risen!" hear them shout!
That's what this day is all about!

Easter is the culmination of everything that we believe as Christians.  It is the celebration of the day when God accepted Jesus ’ sacrifice on the cross.  It is the day when we are assured that everything in the Scriptures, everything that Jesus ever said was the truth.  Jesus fulfilled them all. Easter is the day that we are assured that we have eternal life because Jesus conquered death.

The celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the greatest joy because it is the greatest good news for everyone who believes in Him.  Many people don ’ t know or don’t believe in this wonderfully good news, including many who claim to be members of Christian denominations.  Some claim that it is just a myth, told for our learning and instruction, telling us that through our deeds on earth, we can leave a legacy that will make us eternal.

This is not at all what the resurrection of Jesus tells us.  The life that He gives us is real life, not a symbolic one.
Paul addressed this same issue in his first letter to the Corinthians: "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.  But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  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 to be pitied more than all men.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

Christ has been raised!  We are freed from our sins!  We have eternal life in His name!  

This is the message that we must proclaim to the world. People are perishing in their sins because they think that Easter is just about bunnies and chicks, eggs and bonnets, and nothing else.

That’s not what its all about!
Who got buried then got out?
Leaving no one any doubt,
 “He Is Risen,” hear them shout!
That’s what this day is all about!

Take the extra time for all the Holy Week Worship Services, to hear, to remember, to give thanks for, and to worship Jesus Christ, our eternal Savior, Who did so much to love us and save us!

In Our Risen Savior’s Love,

Pastor Paul Pett