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“Easter Sunday!” – 4.20.2025

April 20, 2025
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The Resurrection

1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. 5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. 7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”  Matthew 28:1-7 NLT

  • Because the tomb is empty, anything is possible.
  • Because the tomb is empty, we can live without fear.
  • Because the tomb is empty, we never ever have to be alone again.

 

Jesus had told the disciples plainly many times that he would suffer and die.

21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. 22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Matthew 16:21-23 NLT

 

Just before this rebuke Peter had declared that Jesus was the Messiah, The Son of God.

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.” Matthew 16:15-17 NLT

  • Peter and the disciples were afraid of being alone without Jesus.
  • Jesus told them I will never leave you and actually I will live in you.
  • Loneliness is driven by fear and fear is the absence of love.

 

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:15-21 NLT

 

THE EMPTY TOMB CHANGES EVERYTHING BECAUSE LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING.

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:7-12 NLT

 

We have an advocate that lives in us as well as proof of God’s love.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:13-19 NLT

  • The more we understand the love of God, it drives out fear.
  • Many of us have a punishment-based relationship with God and not a love-based relationship with God.
  • When we fully experience His love, we no longer live in fear.
  • When we fully experience His love, we are no longer alone.

 

Next Steps

Handbook & Welcome Packet

•    The parent must complete the necessary registration forms and pay a non-refundable Annual materials fee. This covers registration fees, book, and materials for class.

•    The parent must provide the center with a pre-school/child immunization certificate, or Blue Slip. This is to be kept updated, if it is not, the center will send out a notice stating that the required immunizations are out dated. The form can be obtained through the health department or your pediatrician.

•    The parent will receive a copy of the policies and procedures and will go over them thoroughly. The parent will sign the Parental Agreement form which indicates policies and procedures and agreed upon fees.

•    All enrollment forms, including a Schedule Information Form, must be completed by the parent and returned to the center by the first day of attendance.

•    Parents of children with special needs or handicaps must inform the director of the child’s condition(s) prior to enrollment so it can be determined if the center can adequately meet the needs of the child. This is necessary for the well being of the child.

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