[0:00] Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. It's got to be worth a hallelujah, hasn't it? We're not really hallelujah people here, but on Easter Sunday we've got to have a hallelujah because Christ is risen. He's alive from the dead and we rejoice in that. Yes, 24-7, 365 days of the year, but on Easter Sunday morning it means all the more to us. So let's stand and sing our first hymn. Christ is risen. Hallelujah. Risen our victorious head. Sing his praises. Hallelujah.
[0:33] Christ is risen from the dead. 266. Praise to Jesus. Hallelujah. Risen our victorious head. Sing his praises. Hallelujah. Risen's risen from the dead. 267.
[1:06] Sing his praises. Hallelujah. Risen's risen from the dead. CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[2:12] Almighty and all-gracious God in heaven, we come to you this morning with a great sense of joy and celebration because we know that your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, ever lives to be our Savior, ever lives to forgive our sins, ever lives to lead us to heaven, ever lives to strengthen and sustain us with his grace.
[2:36] We thank you that we do not gather Sunday by Sunday to think about a dead prophet or a dead king or a dead God, but we come, O Lord, each Sunday, and especially on this Easter Sunday, to rejoice in the fact that we have a living Savior, a living God, one who ever lives, one who never dies.
[2:58] We thank you again, O Lord, our God, that we have in Jesus the one who is the only one who can make us right with God, the only one who can give us peace and forgiveness of sins, the only one who is able to save us from hell and to secure us a place in heaven, the only one who is God and man in one beautiful, majestic, wonderful person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3:25] And though, Lord, our eyes do not see him, yet, Lord, we love him. And though, Lord, we have not yet seen him, one day we shall. We shall see him in all the glory and the splendor of his majesty.
[3:36] We shall see him as he truly is. No longer that weighed down man with a cross on his back. No longer that one who was despised and mocked and ridiculed as he was crucified.
[3:49] Not that one who was lifeless, as it were, as his body was put into that tomb. But the one who has all power and sovereignty, the one who is and was and shall always be.
[4:01] We praise you and thank you that we look for that day, that great celebration day in heaven, in glory, when all those for whom Jesus died are gathered in, when all those who put their faith and trust in him will rejoice forevermore, free from sin, free from sorrow, free from shame, free from guilt, free, O Lord, to enjoy you forevermore.
[4:27] We thank you, Lord, that every time we gather on a Sunday morning, we're having a foretaste of that. We're having a glimpse, as it were, into that final day, that glorious day when Jesus comes again.
[4:39] For we thank you that he is not only risen from the grave, not only alive, but he is ascended to the Father's right hand. Thank you that he is ruling and reigning, working out all things for his purpose and plan, and that one day he will come again.
[4:54] Come again, Lord, to judge the living and the dead. Come again, O Lord, to gather all his people to safety. And O Lord, yes, terrible thing that it is, coming to judge those who have rejected him, those that have sinned against him, those, O Lord, who have despised him.
[5:13] O Lord, may we not be amongst their number, but may we be able to sing, just as we have, that we are in Christ and in him forever. O Lord, give us that saving faith, that renewed faith, that strengthened faith, that Jesus is my Saviour and my living Lord.
[5:29] We ask these things as we ask your help and blessing upon our time this morning. We ask all of our prayers of you, our God, in and through the name of Jesus.
[5:39] Amen. Now, because it's Easter Sunday morning, it's a special service, so it's an all-age service, so not what we usually have.
[5:51] So, boys and girls, please stay in if you can. If you need to make use of a creche, then somebody will direct you to one if you want to just head towards the back. So, a lot of things are going to go on the screen.
[6:03] It's not the best of screens. We're looking to update our screens in the near future to make them really much better, but we'll do our best with what we've got. So, Easter.
[6:15] Now, of course, what does Easter mean to you? What does Easter mean to you? If you ask most people who've gone out into the road today, in fact, I think most people would have forgotten it was Easter altogether.
[6:27] It was just a bank holiday. But what does Easter mean to you? If you're a boy or a girl, many boys and girls would think that Easter was all about eggs and sweet treats from entertaining relatives.
[6:42] Yeah? So, a moment of Christmas has come around, grandparents come and visit you, and they make sure they bring an egg. Okay? Because Robitide them if they don't bring some chocolate or eggs. Is that what Easter means to you? Just chocolate and eggs and those sort of things?
[6:55] Well, if you're perhaps a little bit older than that, as a boy or a girl, then you might think, I tried to get a picture of Emily teaching, but unfortunately this is the closest I could get, a young lady teacher there.
[7:07] What does Easter mean to you? Enjoying avoiding school. Yeah, that's good, isn't it? If you're a bit older, teachers, I think that's both for teachers and for children, avoiding school, teachers, exams and rules.
[7:22] So, it's time off school. Or if you're a bit older, time off work. That's what many people, again, would just think that Easter is all about. And unfortunately, Easter eggs can get in the way of the real meaning of Easter.
[7:37] Easter eggs and chocolate and sweets and bank holidays get in the way. And behind these eggs is hidden a verse of the Bible that tells us the real meaning of Easter. And so we're going to take away some of these eggs bit by bit to reveal what's going to be our memory verse, our verse for the day, which tells us the real meaning of Easter.
[8:00] But, to take away one of these pictures of eggs, you're going to have to ask a question. Okay, boys and girls, this is for you. Okay? A question. It's easy.
[8:10] It's a true or false question. Okay? And they're all about eggs. So, here's the first one. Most eggs are laid between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. in the morning.
[8:22] Who thinks that's true? Boys and girls, who thinks that's true? Anybody think that's true? Okay. Who thinks it's false? Yeah? Yeah?
[8:34] Well, we haven't had any truths. It is false, actually, because most eggs are laid between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Okay? Not that early. So, we'll take one of our blocks of eggs away.
[8:45] And we haven't got a lot there. In fact, that's not looking too good. But anyway, don't worry about it. It'll all come together. It'll all come together. He says, hopefully. Okay.
[8:56] Well, the next true or false question. A hen, one single hen, can lay about 250 eggs a year in one year. Who thinks that's true? You think that's true?
[9:07] Yeah? Yeah, yeah. Put your hands up a bit. Yeah. Anybody think that's false? Okay. It's true. Yeah, 250 eggs. I've had about 250 eggs a year. Okay.
[9:17] Don't worry. We're not worried. We're not worried. We're just going to carry on. Here's a question for our friends from Mississippi. Okay? Because it's about the USA. The USA produces the most eggs in the world.
[9:31] Now, do you think that's true or false? It's got to be true. It's got to be true. But, of course, in America, they have the most of everything, don't you? Yeah. It's false. No.
[9:42] Sorry to disappoint you. China. China produces the most eggs in the world. I haven't got a figure for that, but it's a lot. We'll take away some more eggs to make this wonderful, clear picture clearer.
[9:55] Let's see who else we got. Okay. Okay. Oology. That's O-O-L-O-G-Y. Oology is the study of eggs.
[10:07] Who thinks that's true? Oh, it's a brain. Oh, yeah. Okay. Who thinks it's false? It's true. O-O-O-G-Y. O-O-G-Y is the study of eggs. Okay.
[10:19] Now, an ostrich egg, true or false, would have to be boiled for two hours before it was hard. Two hours for an ostrich egg to boil a hard-boiled egg.
[10:30] Who thinks that's true? That's true. Two hours. Yeah. Who thinks it's more than that or less than that? Less? That's two hours. Yeah. So, when you get the ostrich egg out of the fridge, and it'll take you two hours to boil it.
[10:44] Okay. One last slide. Something's happening. No? Nothing's happening. Okay. Well, carry on.
[10:54] I've got one last question, and then. Then you'll be amazed. Here's one for boys and girls. You can cook an egg with its shell on in the microwave.
[11:06] Do you think that's true? Do you think that's true? No. Don't cook an egg in the microwave with the shell on. Because what's going to happen, do you think?
[11:18] It's going to go bang, and then Dad will have to clean the microwave. Right. What's happening, sir? Easter. Come on. I've got the control. Yay!
[11:29] See? I knew you had faith in me all the time. Here's our memory verse for today. This is the real meaning of Easter. He, that's Jesus, was delivered, that's given over, to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.
[11:49] That's a long word, and we're going to learn about that word later. Romans chapter 4, verse 25. So can we read that all out together, out loud, okay? He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.
[12:07] Romans chapter 4, verse 25. Okay. That's going to stay up there while we sing our next Easter hymn, a wonderful Easter hymn, which is 276.
[12:20] 276. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior. Oh, in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior.
[12:56] Wait him and coming there, Jesus my Lord.
[13:07] He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, Hallelujah, Christ our hope.
[13:37] Oh, in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior.
[14:07] He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, He rose, Hallelujah, Christ our hope.
[14:38] Jesus my Savior. Jesus my Savior. is please do be seated well then so what does Easter really mean we've got our memory verse tells us he Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification there's two parts isn't there to what Easter really means and we're going to read about that together in God's word so if you've got a bible
[15:53] I'd encourage you to turn to it and John chapter 19 so what we're going to do is go through bit by bit chapter 19 and the crucifixion and the death of our Lord Jesus as it's here explaining hopefully what Easter really means to us it's working on your computer but it's not working on my screen sorry thank you so if you've got John chapter 19 verse 28 okay verse 28 so Jesus has already been crucified he's on the cross we're going to pick up what happens from verse 28 later later knowing that everything had now been finished and so that scripture would be fulfilled Jesus said I am thirsty the first thing we recognize about Easter is it's exactly as God that should say planned
[16:54] I missed my word planned out but there exactly as God had planned you notice how it says so that scripture would be fulfilled that means the Old Testament scriptures and all the way through them God promised that he would send a saviour the Messiah but also that he would suffer and die particularly in Psalm 22 Isaiah 53 and other places as well the whole of the Bible was speaking about the plan of God in sending Jesus to be our saviour so we read on verse 29 a jar of wine vinegar was there so they soaked a sponge in it put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant lifted it to Jesus' lips when he had received the drink Jesus said it is finished accomplished that's what Jesus really meant when he said it's finished he didn't say I'm finished that's the end of me it's finished it's one word in Jesus' language finished victorious triumphant accomplished done it what do we mean by that it means that Jesus all his life had been heading for that end heading for the cross his whole life was for that purpose he came into the world to live and to suffer and die for us
[18:16] Jesus Jesus completed that work at the cross which we'll think about in a little while it's finished with that he bowed his head we're told and gave up his spirit S stands for sacrifice sacrifice the sacrifice means to give up something which is special for somebody else's good for somebody else's benefit we often speak this is a grave from one of the soldiers in the second world war we often speak about soldiers who die in war making the ultimate sacrifice the great sacrifice but Jesus said that his death was the greatest love for all in John earlier in chapter 10 he says greater love has no one than this then he give up his life for his friends nobody forced Jesus to die on the cross even though the Roman soldiers put the nails in he went willingly as a sacrifice gave his life for us on our behalf he died let's carry on verse 31 now it was the day of preparation and the next day was to be a special
[19:29] Sabbath because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath they asked Pilate to have the legs broken the bodies taken down the soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who'd been crucified with Jesus than those of the other when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead they did not break his legs instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear bringing a sudden flow of blood and water the man who saw it has given testimony and his testimony is true he knows that he tells the truth and he testifies so that you also may believe so we have T truthfully witness there's a man in court usually what used to happen you used to have to put your hand on a Bible in court and say I promise I swear to tell the whole truth so help me God and we have here John who wrote this record of Jesus life saying this is true what happened to Jesus when he died upon the cross the things that he said the spear that pierced his side
[20:39] I was there I saw it so when we read the Bible and we read the life of Jesus we haven't just got some sort of made up story a fairy tale or a myth we have something absolutely genuinely historical and true an eyewitness account of what happened there so we can believe these things and know that they are true so then we go on don't we from verse 36 these things happened so that the scriptures would be fulfilled not one of his bones would be broken and as another scripture says they will look on the one they have pierced so what does this mean is it the end of Jesus we know he's definitely dead because the Roman soldiers put that spear into his side surely that's the end of the story that's the end of Easter on that good Friday Jesus died well what happened next verse 38 later
[21:41] Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus now Jesus sorry Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders with Pilate's permission he came and took the body away he was accompanied by Nicodemus the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and olois about 35 kilos taking Jesus body the two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen this was in accordance with the Jewish burial customs at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid because it was the Jewish day of preparation since the tomb was nearby they laid Jesus there last one you can't maybe see it remains are buried they put Jesus in a tomb and they put a great big stone over it and set a guard of soldiers the Jewish leaders were worried that Jesus his disciples would come and take away his body in the night so they set a guard asked
[22:56] Pilate to do that but here the remains of Jesus his dead body is put into that cave that tomb and the large stone put over it but that's only half the story isn't it that's half of our Easter story our Easter verse he was delivered over to death for our sins what's going to happen next well we're going to sing first of all and we're going to sing Lord I lift your name on high Lord I love to sing your praises so let's stand and sing together this hymn we'll sing it through twice together okay so that's only half the story that we've had so far Jesus is dead on that Friday he's dead and he's buried usually that's the end of it isn't it somebody dies and they're buried that's it we know that that's the end of their life in this world what about
[24:02] Jesus though let's pick up our story let's go to John and chapter 20 hopefully you've got that in your Bibles there John chapter 20 verse 1 early on the first day of the week while it was still dark Mary Magdalene went to the tomb so early in the morning it's just dawn very not quite light the sun hasn't completely risen but it's the morning and what happens Mary went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance an amazing discovery that that huge massive stone that had been put across the tomb was moved the soldiers weren't there that's another story in one of the other gospel records that tells us that they saw an angel and ran away in fear but a stone was rolled away what had happened let's read on verse 2 so she that's Mary came running to
[25:03] Simon Peter and the other disciple the one Jesus loved and said they've taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they've put him so Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb both were running Simon and John run there's meant to be you can't quite see there's two fellas running there but it's not come out too well Simon Peter Simon and John because John was the name of the other disciple they start running what happens the other disciple verse four outran Peter he was a quicker runner and reached the tomb first he bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but he did not go in then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb he saw the strips of linen lying there as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus head the cloth was still lying in its place separate from the tomb finally the other disciple who'd reached the tomb first also went inside he saw and believed the tomb's empty they look inside
[26:15] Peter runs and jumps inside the tomb's empty there's just the cloths remember that Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped around the body of Jesus that are lying there they still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead they were extremely confused like Mary she was confused she went to the tomb the body of Jesus wasn't there Peter and John went to the tomb the body of Jesus wasn't there what can this mean it's so confusing perhaps for some of us here we think about Easter as confusing I don't understand why Jesus had to die what it means that the tomb is empty the disciples were the same verse 10 says then the disciples went back to where they were staying confused but something else happens verse 11 now Mary stood outside the tomb clearly she had come and followed
[27:18] John and Simon Peter back to the tomb and she's outside the tomb we're told crying as she wept she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus body had been one at the head the other at the foot they asked her woman why are you crying they've taken my Lord away she said and I don't know where they've put him at this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there she did not realize it was Jesus he asked her woman why are you crying who is it you're looking for thinking he was the gardener she said sir if you carried him away let me sorry tell me where you've put him and I will get him Jesus turned to her Mary she turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic Rabbani which means teacher
[28:19] Rabbani the best teacher ever Jesus talks to her by name calls her by name he's not dead at all he's alive he's risen from the dead she thinks he's just the gardener until he speaks and says Mary Rabbani Jesus is much more than just a teacher he's someone that we are to follow someone we're to put our trust in someone who's to guide us he's to be the very hero of our lives the one that we long to be like he is Jesus alive from the dead he was really dead wasn't he there's no doubt about it the spear in his side being laid in the tomb he was there from the Friday evening until the Sunday morning wasn't because he simply got better he can't get better from crucifixion he was he was dead truly dead but now he's alive and what does it say
[29:25] Jesus told her verse 17 do not hold on to me for I've not yet ascended to the father go instead to my brothers and tell them I'm ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news I've seen the Lord she told them that he had said these things to her we don't just put our faith in something that happened thousands of years ago because Jesus is still alive today yes he's returned to his father's side in heaven from where he came but by his spirit we know him by his spirit we know what it is to speak with him and him to speak with us we know what it is for him to walk with us day by day and enjoy his love and care for us we're going to think a bit more just a moment or two not just about the events of history the events of Easter but how they impact our lives today first of all we're going to sing a wonderful
[30:30] Easter hymn see what a morning gloriously bright with a dawning of hope in Jerusalem let's stand as we sing this great hymn together same ago Amen.
[31:20] Amen. Amen.
[31:51] Test to see if you knew the hymn well enough and could remember the first line and you all failed dismally so, ah, disappointed in you. Okay, here's our memory verse.
[32:02] What does Easter mean to me? That's the big question. That's the big question we all need to ask ourselves, young and old, boys and girls. What does Easter mean to me?
[32:13] Is it just something that we celebrate once a year when we have chocolate and some time off school? Is it just something that we do that's religious? We go to church on that Easter Sunday because we remember something that happened a long time in history ago when Jesus rose from the dead.
[32:31] Or does it have effect upon me today? It must do because we read he was delivered over to death for our sins, your sins and my sins.
[32:42] There's none of us who can say that we are not sinners and was raised to life for our justification for us as we'll see now. So what does Easter mean?
[32:52] That's sort of a picture of a person there with lots of fingers pointing at him. But basically what does it mean to you? Okay, first of all, E. Everyone. Everyone. Easter is for all people.
[33:04] No matter who you are. It's not just for the good people, the religious people. It's not just for the bad people. It's for all of us because... Oh, did I do that?
[33:16] No, I didn't do that. It's just decided to die. Okay. Let's have a shifty all the way through. Just to remind...
[33:26] Just to refresh here, to remind you of what happened. Just say... Just say... Just... I know you need that. So... There we are. And... Oh, there's the hymn with the lines missing.
[33:38] There we are. Okay. Somebody said to me before the service, don't work with computers. Peter, you're not clever enough. And I agreed completely. Nothing to do with me whatsoever.
[33:50] Everyone. Everyone. God. It's to all of us because all have sinned. The Bible makes that very, very clear. Romans 3.23. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
[34:01] Not one of us. Not one of us is good. We like to think that there's some good in us. We like to think there's good in others. But the reality is the Bible tells us that no matter who we are, young and old, rich or poor, boy or girl, we've all sinned against God because we haven't kept God's perfect commandments.
[34:25] So the Bible gives us what God wants us to be like. In the Bible, he tells us how we're to live in relation to God, the God who created us and made us. The trouble is that in our hearts there's something called sin, which is not just the things that we do.
[34:39] It's an attitude. More than that, it's really like a fault in our DNA. And we can't help but being selfish. We can't help but being greedy or proud.
[34:51] We can't help but being rude. And we can't help when we think wrong thoughts about other people and about God. And that's what sin is. And it means that we are cut off from God.
[35:03] Because God is not sinful. God is perfect. He's the only perfect person in the universe. He's the only sinless person in the universe. Every single person, no matter who we are, we're born within us this faulty DNA, this sin nature, this sin gene.
[35:23] That means even when we're young, we start to want our own way. And we have a tantrum, don't we, if we don't have our own way. We scream and shout at our parents. What's that? That's sin.
[35:34] As we get older, we start to live for ourselves, for our own pleasures. We don't really care too much about how it affects other people. We don't have to be murderers.
[35:46] We don't have to be criminals and break the laws of the land to be sinners. As we all are, the Bible says. Because we sin against the God who made us and who said to us, I want you to love me and do the things that are right.
[36:00] And we don't love God. In fact, most of us, we live our lives ignoring God. Doing our own thing. Going our own way. Without time for him. And we're cut off from God.
[36:13] Cut off from knowing him. And that's why many people, you speak to them and say, do you know God? I don't believe in God. I don't believe God exists. Why is that? It's not because God doesn't exist.
[36:23] It's because we're blinded to God by our sin. Because we're ignorant of God. Like when the sun is hidden behind the cloud, the sun doesn't stop shining.
[36:34] It's just we can't see it. And sin is like that cloud that stops us from seeing and enjoying all the goodness and the faithfulness of God. Your sin and mine.
[36:45] But it's more serious than that. Because, of course, we need our sins forgiving. Yes, you can say, well, everybody sins. Everybody gets it wrong. Everybody fails.
[36:56] So I'm just like everybody else. So, you know, if they do that, then why can't I do that? Because if we don't have our sins forgiven, then not only will we miss out on enjoying God in this life, enjoying his love and care for us, not only will we continue to make a mess of our lives, and that's really why the world is in the mess it's in, not just with climate change, not just with war, not just with terrorism, but with broken families and broken homes and broken lives.
[37:27] With people addicted to alcohol and to drugs. With fighting. With all the things that we see going on around about us that's on the news. That the ultimate reason for all those things is sin in the hearts.
[37:41] And so we need our hearts changing. Because otherwise the world will never change. But more than that, we need sins forgiven. We need to be forgiven by God. Because we will not only miss out this life, but the Bible makes it very clear that we will be judged by God.
[37:59] In other words, God will look at your life and mine, and he will say whether we can be allowed to live forever in heaven with him, or whether we do not deserve that heaven, but deserve God's everlasting judgment.
[38:17] That means to be separated from God forever in a place the Bible calls hell. A horrible place. A place which is beyond our imagination of sorrow and sadness and grief.
[38:32] But that's what our sins deserve. Our sins deserve that we are separated from God. We need them forgiven. How on earth can we have them forgiven?
[38:43] Well, Jesus' death, remember our memory verse, was Jesus was handed over, delivered to death for our sins. In other words, the death that we deserve, he died in our place.
[38:57] Our sins deserve death, eternal death, everlasting death. But Jesus was given, delivered over as a sacrifice to die for our sins in our place, in your place.
[39:08] That's why the Friday part of Easter is as important as the Sunday part of Easter. Jesus died to make forgiveness of sins a reality.
[39:22] But who for? Well, we need to turn to God to be forgiven. The Bible uses a word, repent. It means to turn around in our thinking and to turn back to God.
[39:36] Instead of going the way that we've been living, following our own way, doing our own thing, pleasing ourselves and maybe even pleasing others, we have to turn back and say, God, you're right and I'm wrong.
[39:49] And I need you to forgive me. And I ask you to forgive me. We can receive forgiveness by turning to God.
[40:01] But that's only something that you and I can do for ourselves. Our mums and dads can't turn our hearts to God. Our husband or our wife can't turn our hearts to God. You yourself, personally, boys and girls, mums and dads, grands and grandparents, you yourself must, in your heart, turn to God and say, God, forgive me, a sinner.
[40:24] Thank you that Jesus died for me. Now, what sort of love is that? That dies for someone. That's the greatest love of all. Do you want proof that God loves you? Then the cross of Jesus is the proof that he loved you.
[40:39] Loved you even to dying in your place, dying for you. No greater love, as we remembered, has anyone than that. And what happens when we turn to God? Well, here's the wonderful thing.
[40:50] We receive eternal life. Eternal means unending, never finishing. These bodies that we live in, this life we're living in this world, is only for a little time.
[41:02] There's some people here, I think, who may even be, no, there's nobody here. I don't think there's anybody 90 and above here. We have got some ladies who occasionally come in their 90s. But people here in their 80s, okay?
[41:14] That seems like a really, really, really, really long time when you're young. But when you're 51, it's not such a long time away. We're getting older.
[41:29] And one day we're all going to die physically. This body can't live forever. It's going to die. Perhaps we've known grandparents or friends even, people that are older, we've known they've died.
[41:40] And it's been very sad. And for many people who don't know the wonderful love of Jesus, for them it's just the end. They're extremely sad because they have no hope in the face of death.
[41:52] But remember, Jesus rose from the dead. And just as he died for us on the cross and took our sins and penalty, so when he rose again to life, he rose again to life for us, to give us life stronger than death, life beyond this life in which we live, life in eternity forever in the enjoyment and the delight of God.
[42:16] But Easter is the proof that when you die, that is not the end of your life. It's the proof that you must either spend eternity in hell, separated from God, or in heaven enjoying God.
[42:35] What would you prefer? I don't think it's too difficult a question, is it? We would much rather have life, eternal life, when we die, than eternal death. But that can only come through Jesus and faith in him.
[42:55] And it means finally that we're raised to meet God. If we turn to God in the Lord Jesus, if we call him our Lord, then we are brought into a new relationship with God.
[43:09] We're raised to life. We're made new creations, the Bible says. See, it's not just about something that happens in your head when you become a Christian, just think, oh, that sounds good, that sounds true.
[43:20] I think it's something that happens to the whole of your being. We're made new on the inside, with a new heart that turns away from sin, a new heart that loves God and loves others, a new heart that lives a life to the full.
[43:35] That's what Jesus promised. I have come that they might have life and have it to the full. Being a Christian, it's a secret, and nobody knows it. They've all got it wrong.
[43:46] Did you know that? They all think being a Christian spoils your fun in life and takes away, stops you doing all the good things. That's the secret.
[43:57] It's the opposite. Becoming a Christian is what gives life and makes life full of fun and joy. That makes life exciting and real.
[44:08] And it doesn't just happen at a mad weekend. It happens day by day. Enjoying God. That's why Jesus died. That you can enjoy him day by day and know him as your heavenly father and friend.
[44:24] But there's another sense as well. We shall be raised to meet with God. Remember I said before that we will be judged. Well, the Bible says very clearly that one day will come when Jesus returns and he will return as the judge of everybody, those that are still alive and those who've died before.
[44:43] And we shall all be raised up to stand before God. For the Christian, it will be a new life, eternal life. For others, it will be raised to everlasting sorrow.
[44:56] Sorrow. So the question is this. What about you? What does Easter mean to you? How will today, Easter Sunday, affect you tomorrow when you go home or you go back to work?
[45:13] Well, not tomorrow because it's a bank holiday. The next day or go back to school next week. Will you be able to go back to school knowing that Jesus is alive and he's with you wherever you go?
[45:24] Will you be able to go back to school and to work knowing that your sins are forgiven and that no matter what comes your way, there's eternal life for you because Jesus is alive. Easter makes all the difference in the world.
[45:38] And if you aren't a Christian this morning, speak to your mom or your dad about how you can be a Christian, how you can turn to God and know Jesus.
[45:49] And perhaps if you're older and you've been brought along this Easter Sunday morning, don't leave without asking for yourself, how can Easter affect my life? I want to know this living Jesus for myself.
[46:02] Don't let another Easter pass by or another moment pass by without being sure and certain not only your sins are forgiven, but that you have everlasting life in Jesus God's Son.
[46:16] We're going to sing a final great hymn this morning. Really want to encourage you if you're about, come this evening if you can, because we're going to think more about the power of Jesus and of Easter this evening at six o'clock and more Easter hymns too.
[46:31] 137, To God be the glory. Great things he's done. So loved he the world that he gave us his Son. So loved he the world that he gave us his Son.
[47:10] Great things he's done. It is my world that he gave us his Son. That God left the life in that hope in your way.
[47:23] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the earth will be his Son. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that he'll pay for the price.
[47:35] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, with things he has done.
[47:49] O come to the Lord with redemption, the patches of blood, to every day we heard the promise of God.
[48:03] The Lord has to remember, who truly believes, the covenant from Jesus the Father will see.
[48:16] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the earth will be the highest. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the people rejoice.
[48:29] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, with things he has done.
[48:42] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the people rejoice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the people rejoice.
[48:56] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, with things he has done. The wonder of action, when Jesus we see.
[49:09] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the earth will hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the people rejoice.
[49:22] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, that the people rejoice.
[49:52] Praise the Lord.
[50:04] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
[50:18] Why do you believe now?