Easter 2016

Easter, aside from Christmas, Easter is the most important Christian holiday.  Jesus' birth and His life were just the beginning of God's plan.  And God's plan was to give us a hope and a future.  Kirra learned about the Easter story at school...

Each picture on the cross represents a part of the Easter story:
1.  Jesus praying by himself in the garden.
2.  Soldiers come to arrest Jesus and take him away.
3.  Jesus before the judge.  His name was Pontius Pilate.
4.  Jesus was crucified on the cross.  He died on the cross on Good Friday.
5.  The soldiers put Jesus in the tomb.  They rolled a big stone in front and the soldiers guarded the tomb.
6.  On Easter Sunday, the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb.  Jesus was gone.  He Is Risen!  He Is Risen Indeed!

Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is this death and resurrection that we find hope in Jesus.  The cross is the answer that offers hope.  We were separated from God because of our sin.  But Jesus was nailed to the cross.  He endured suffering unlike anything we could imagine.  He gave it all - all for us.  He took on our sin.  His blood washed us clean.  Then on the third day He rose again.  Putting our faith in Jesus means that we have hope.  Hope of eternal life.  We can live forever in the presence of God.  At Easter, we praise God for the free gift of His Son.  We praise God for the free gift given on the cross.  We praise God for the empty tomb.  We praise God for the forgiveness of sins and for the life eternal we have been given.

We enjoyed a wonderful church service this morning.  The service opened with a baptism of a man who struggled most of his life with addictions and who nine months ago turned his life over to Jesus. It was a good reminder that no matter what our sin, Christ died for each of us, to give us eternal life that can only be found in Him.  The service continued with the message of hope because of the resurrection.  And the music was uplifting and encouraging.

This weekend we spent time with family and friends.  Friday evening was spent enjoying raclette and games with the Tysdal family.  Saturday morning, Kirra and I joined Reese and Kim to celebrate Reese's sixth birthday.  The girls had fun painting Easter bunnies at Color Me Mine.  I can't wait to see how they turn out after they are fired.  Saturday evening we had Auntie Lee (and Mighty), Auntie Kirsten, Rob, Racquel and two of her friends (Britanni and Tess) join us for Easter supper.  And the kids got to colour Easter eggs and we had an egg hunt before church on Sunday.  Not the true meaning of Easter but part of the tradition for the kids.  And I enjoy it just as much as they do.

Happy Easter to you all!  He Is Risen!  He Is Risen Indeed!