EASTER SUNDAY: The Hope of the Resurrection
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JOHN DRIVER
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Romans 8:20-21 NIV: For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
God allowed our sin to overgrow this world into weeds and thorns of despair, but he sowed a little something in the middle of it all that would eventually outgrow all the rest: hope.
Hebrews 6:18-20 NLT: 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest...
Jesus entered the sanctuary and died not because of His own sin, but ours. Then, instead of breaking the connection, He came back to life. The connection between heaven and earth, hope and despair, faith and doubt, purpose and meaninglessness, pardon and retribution— the rope between earth and heaven remained forever anchored.
Faith is trusting that God’s goodness exists for you because of Jesus, even when you can’t see it. Hope is continuing to look for all goodness to come in all circumstances.
Hebrews 10:23 NLT: Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
John 11:25 NLT: Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
Communion
ANDREW WHARTON
Mark 10:45 NLT: 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."
1 Peter 1:18-21: NLT 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. 21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
Ransom required - loo'-tron
the price for redeeming, ransom
for the ransom of life
to liberate many from misery and the penalty of their sins
The Record
“Satisfied”
“EASTER” = Paid it in full!
“Forgiveness of Sins”
As I embraced this truth, my heart was transformed by the power of God's grace. I understood that Jesus bore the punishment for my sins, taking upon Himself the penalty that I deserved. His blood shed on the cross became the payment for my debt, reconciling me to God and granting me eternal life.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
