Beyond the Weekend

April 22 | Taking Easter Deeper

April 22, 2019

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-6

Listen: 1 Corinthians 15

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Easter makes all the difference. On Friday, Jesus died and on Sunday, he wasn’t dead anymore. The story is almost too familiar. The basics aren’t hard to grasp. When we look at the response of the people around him, we see it isn’t just a historical event—it changes everything. In one moment, Jesus’ claim to be God is proven as he breaks the sin barrier between God and man. The resurrection becomes the fulcrum upon which all of history pivots.

We often don’t go deeper around holidays like Easter because of our familiarity and traditions. We get caught up in the celebration and we tune out. It’s the same story year after year: Jesus dies, he’s buried, he rises again. The repetition and monotony of it can wear thin. Instead of opening ourselves to the power of the resurrecting God—we focus on bunnies, eggs, candy and spiral-sliced ham.

It is important not to become desensitized to the power of the Easter story. Instead of passing through Easter, we should be moving into it exploring what it means for our life. As we learned this past weekend, the resurrecting God speaks into our fears, our failures and our tears. Easter matters.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Write a prayer of thanksgiving to God for what he did through the power of the Cross. Thank him for breaking the barrier between you and him. Thank him for offering you a place in his family. Thank him for the hope that Easter provides. Thank him for making all things new (Revelation 21:4). Thank him that Easter still matters for us today.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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