Some ransom thoughts for Easter

In Memory of God!
Three Questions for Easter
o What image comes to mind when I think of Easter?
o What image of God am I given in the Easter story
o Who am I in the Easter story?
* Introduction:
In western church often think that Easter is just about salvation
And for us that has come to mean having our sins forgiven through Jesus’ death on the cross and then rising again
In church of first thousand years, and eastern church today
salvation is process by which we are able to once again “cleave to God” -> Like child snuggles to a mother
We once knew, but we forget.
From this point of view
for us to really be able to cleave to God
Not only need our sins forgiven
need to be retaught about who is God, and about who we are
God does this re-teaching through birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially the death and resurrection – Easter.
purpose of Easter is much more than having our sins forgiven
the equally important purpose of Easter is teaching us about God?
Question I asked at the beginning
So what comes to mind when we think of Easter
Becomes really important question
So lets pause
What is God teaching us through those things you think of when think of Easter?

Who is God?
Overwhelming image of God for early church and Eastern Church is one of Love.
God is love
God loves humanity.
Not love we see today
Movie stars saying love audience – means like your adoration, keep adoring me
Or see movies or tv, - I like you, and I like feeling good with you
Kind of love Easter is talking about is
God is deeply committed to us.
God is deeply attached to us
Image of God in Easter is a God who holds us in such high regard that God gave all so that we could be freed from the results of our sin, be reminded of who God is, and be able to once again snuggle into or cleave to God
Easter is not about how bad we are
Easter is all about how important we are to God

Who are we?
At beginning asked you say one important thing about yourself
How many said that they are profoundly and deeply loved by God?
But that is what God is trying to teach us through Jesus and Easter
That we are profoundly and deeply loved by God?
That God holds us in such high regard, as so important, as people of such worth that God would do anything to bring us back
Anything
There is nothing more important in our lives than that.
Not the fact we are sons and daughters, husband and wives, mothers and fathers, that we go to school or work or not,
Easter says that our identity is found only in a God who deeply and profoundly loves us.
The end.