What's The Big Deal About Easter Anyway?

What’s The Big Deal About Easter Anyway?

1 Peter 1: 3-6a (NLT)

Intro: There are some popular commercials out today trying to get you to buy insurance. I’m sure you have seen then. They are the ones that tell you that you can save 15% in 15 minutes. They started that ad campaign many years ago and here in the last couple of years they have added a twist to. They spent years teaching everyone that phrase and it became synonymous with their company Geico Insurance. The phrase is known by almost everyone so they have put a new twist on it. The commercial starts with one person saying “did you know you could save 15% in 15 minutes with Geico”, another person says, “ everybody knows that, then the other person says “yeah but did you know” then they say something like, “Pinocchio was a bad motivational speaker”. Then they show Pinocchio speaking and basically lying to people telling them they have great potential. His nose starts growing because supposedly he is lying or misleading his listeners.

. My favorite one is where two construction workers are eating lunch and a cab rolls by and the Geico sign is on the top and he reads the slogan and the other guy says everybody knows that and he says did you know that the ancient pyramids were a mistake? Then it shows an Egyptian looking at the drawing of what they were supposed to look like and they were supposed to be square.

. The original person is saying what’s the big deal about 15% in 15 minutes. We have heard it before.

. That’s the way much of the world looks at Easter. They say what is the big deal.

. All it is, is another way for people to make money. Easter baskets and candy eggs. It’s on Sunday which means that it is not even a holiday.

. Our scripture this morning tells us what the big deal is about Easter.

. Peter is encouraging and reminding Christians just what our faith is all about.

. You see, the big deal about Easter is that without Easter, there would be no Christianity.

.Peter is writing to the Roman provinces that we today know as Turkey.

.He is telling them what Easter is all about. He is reaffirming to them that indeed Easter happened and that there is a Hope of eternal life.

. Look with me at 1 Peter 1: 3-6a

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

4and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

5And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead …

. The first thing we see here is that there is a:

. Proclamation of Easter

. Look at verse 3 again:

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

. Peter proclaims that we are born again because of Easter.

. Easter gives us a new life and it gives us an eternal life because Easter proves that a man can be raised from the dead.

. God raised a man from the dead.

. There are some TV programs today that are very popular about people being raised from the dead.

. We have the “Walking Dead” which is about Zombies who walk the Earth.

. You have all of these Vampire shows about beings who are immortal .

. Folks, God created the first and only walking dead and He did it on that first Easter morning when He brought the dead back to life.

. That is what the big deal is about Easter.

. God proving who He was through the resurrection of the person of Easter.

. Easter is not about new clothes or candy or baskets or eggs, it is about God proving that He and only He can provide eternal life to people.

. Peter not Only Proclaims Easter in this verse he also identifies the:

. Person of Easter

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

. The person of Easter is not a bunny rabbit.