Come Alive! - Living Waters

“He is not here. He is Risen!” The message of Easter is both simple and profound: Christ is risen! Death could not hold Him, the tomb could not contain Him! However, contrary to what many people think, Easter doesn’t just celebrate a single day–in the case of this year, Sunday, April 17–but an entire season in the Christian calendar that begins on Easter Sunday and continues for 7 weeks. This 7-week period is known as Eastertide or the Great Fifty Days. During this time, the church celebrates the risen Jesus, His post-resurrection appearances and teachings, His ascension into heaven, and the disciples’ eager anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942-44, said this about the power of resurrection; “Fellowship with Christ is participation in the divine life which finds its fullest expression in triumph over death. Life is a larger word than resurrection; but resurrection is, so to speak, the crucial quality of life.” According to Temple, the resurrection is more than just a one-time event that occurred 2000+ years ago. Easter is God’s invitation to us today and everyday. An invitation to a live a new life. A life changed by the power of resurrection–the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

The spirit of this is captured by Paul in 2nd Corinthians 5:17; “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

The Message translation of this verse is slightly different; “Jesus included everyone in his death so everyone could be included in his life–a far better life than people lived on their own.”

Like Jesus, God wants us to come alive this Easter season. He wants us to grasp hold of the better life that Jesus won for us on the Cross. This is what Easter is all about. In fact, this is what Christianity is all about: God’s ability to make all things new. God’s ability to make us new–our lives, our faith, our relationships–through the life-changing power of Jesus’ resurrection. As Jesus says in Revelation 21:5; “Behold, I make all things new.”

This 7-week series will look at how we can accept Jesus’ invitation to the better life and how we can come alive this Easter season.

SERMONS

Sermon: “Saying ‘Yes’ to God”

Preacher: The Rev, Canon Christopher Doering

Date: Sunday, April 24, 2022 ~ The 2nd Sunday of Easter

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Handout: Part1 HO