Preparing for Easter

​What comes to mind when you hear the following words...
"It's your birthday."
"Happy Anniversary."
"Congratulations."

Hopefully, great memories just flooded your mind and heart. Hopefully, you are actually feeling a little better right now as you read this because of those memories.

What comes to mind when you hear...
"He is risen."
"It is resurrection Sunday."
"Come, let's celebrate Jesus."

Is Easter your favorite day of the year?
If not, why not?

How many people do you know that when they hear the word, "Easter," they think about Easter eggs, bunny, chocolate, hunts and baskets?

When was the last time you asked these two fantastic and possibly life changing questions...
1. How do you celebrate Easter?
2. What does Easter mean to you?

To get us ready for THE GREATEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD - RESURRECTION DAY, I love to pick one of the four biographies of Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, and read through the last week of Jesus' life.

What was Jesus doing right before Palm Sunday?
What was the original Palm Sunday like for Jesus? How did He experience it?
What was each day like leading up to Good Friday?
How did Jesus make it through the sweating drops of blood in the garden?
What was it like being moved around at night through all the illegal trials?
How did Jesus handle everyone deserting him and abandoning him?
What did Jesus experience between the crucifixion and the resurrection?
What was it like when he came back to life?

"Jesus went up to Jerusalem. On the way, He took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life!'" Matt 20:17-19

Grab one of those life giving biographies and let the greatest week in the history of the world wash over you again, afresh.

Also, take some time this week to ask those two questions to someone you meet. Let God lead that conversation into something fantastic...

In Awe of Jesus' Life, Death and Resurrection,
Pastor Chris

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