March 2009

On the first Easter Jesus died and rose from the dead and Christians have remembered and celebrated those events ever since.

The resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity and today up to two billion people find hope, peace and purpose following Christ.

We can remember Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice by doing the following:-

Read the Bible accounts.
Start by reading the last three chapters of the Gospel of Luke, chapters 22-24. It takes about 15 minutes. Continue deeper by reading similar accounts in Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16 and John 18-20.

Visit a Church on Easter Sunday.
Look out for a church near you – www.findachurch.co.uk

Pray.
Life can often be busy that our prayer time can be crowded out. Easter is the perfect opportunity to go somewhere quiet to draw closer to God. We can start with the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ from the beginning of chapter 11 of Luke’s Gospel for example.

We can forgive people who have wronged us.
Jesus’ amazing example was when he prayed for those people who were crucifying him. He warned his followers that if they didn’t forgive others, God would not forgive them.

Receive God’s forgiveness.
When Jesus died, he paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world-including ours. So we don’t need to carry them any more. Let us ask God to forgive us and invite Jesus into our lives.

Trust God for his Grace.
G R A C E God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense,which means that God blesses in ways we don’t deserve – simply because of what Jesus did.

Tell others the Good News.
Jesus told his followers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
Let us spread the Good News – every day more people are making the decision to ask the risen Christ to make a difference in their lives.