Celebrating Easter

The story of Easter…

Wale Adefarasin, Senior Pastor, Guiding Light Assembly

The story of Easter began on Palm Sunday when Jesus stood on the top of the Mount of Olives and viewed the beauty of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. As the name implies the Mount of Olives had several Olive trees and at the foot of the mountain was a garden, the garden of Gethsemane, where a few days later Jesus would agonise in prayer as the Father prepared Him for the ultimate sacrifice.

As He surveyed Jerusalem, He would have seen the East Gate, through which He would enter the city, this gate had special significance as prophecy had it that the Messiah would enter the city through it. Jerusalem is the only city that the Bible describes as the City of God. Clearly Jerusalem has a special place in God’s heart that is why in Psalm 122, God promises a blessing on those who pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In the week ahead Jesus would spend His days in Jerusalem, returning probably to Bethany each night and returning to Jerusalem along the same route the next morning.

There must have been something special about this trip because Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead of Him to fetch a donkey, they were simply to walk into the city, untie a donkey where He said they would find it and take it to Him. He’d never done this before, neither would He do it again, but that prophecy be fulfilled. Something was happening in the realm of the Spirit, to prepare Jerusalem and indeed the world for what was about to happen in the week ahead.

You know the story, as Jesus entered the city His normally composed disciples threw their garments and palm fronds before Him and went into frenzied praise singing ‘Hosannah in a the highest’, receiving Him as they would a King.

As the people watched Jesus being praised and worshipped as He rode into the city something far weightier was happening in the realm of the Spirit.

Psalm 24:7-10

Lift up your heads, O you gates. And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads O you gates. Lift up you everlasting doors. And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.

In the realm of the Spirit the King of kings had entered into His city, and it would never remain the same.

Easter cannot be truly meaningful until you have lifted up the gates of your life and allowed Jesus, the King of glory to enter in. It cannot be really meaningful till you have opened the doors of your life to Jesus. Doors are really obstacles that are put in place to prevent entry, so opening the doors is to remove all the obstacles that prevent Jesus entry into your life.

Turning to Good Friday. Crucifixion was a punishment the Jews reserved for insurgents, so seeing people carry a cross through the city was not an uncommon sight, and that is probably why Jesus used this to illustrate the requirement for being a disciple. The people secretly admired those who stood up to the Roman government.

The cross Jesus carried weighed 75kg, this brings to mind the sheer weight of my sin laid upon Jesus back. The meaning of Easter is truly lost on those who are not prepared to take up their cross daily and follow after Jesus.

For me Easter Sunday is to celebrate an empty grave, to celebrate the power of resurrection, to celebrate the perpetual defeat of the forces of darkness, to celebrate the fact that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in me to enliven my mortal body.

Happy Easter!

Easter: The centre of my Christian life

Funke Felix-Adejumo, President, Funke Felix Adejumo Foundation, Convener, Women on the Winning Edge Conference

Love and Hope are at the heart of the message of Easter. It is the love of God that gives us hope in this life and in the life hereafter. For Christ died before we knew Him, loving us before we came to be; and after we were born into this sinful world as sinners, He loved us still. And for as many as receive this love, it brings along with it a hope for a bright tomorrow.

The message of Easter tells of the suffering and shame, but also of Victory. And that no matter what we go through in this life; Jesus makes all the difference, and one thing is certain – in the end, we win!

The message of Easter speaks of grace and redemption. For surely all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but in Christ, we are no longer sinners, we receive grace by which we can call God, the Creator of the whole earth, our Father. By this we receive son-ship, we are forgiven and restored.

Sacrifice: What do you have that we have not received? These things – hope, love, victory, grace and redemption are freely given to us because Jesus the Son of God paid the ultimate sacrifice; He gave His life for us. What then is too big to let go for Him? What achievements? What losses? What battles? What crowns? What accolades? Knowing that in laying down all these, there is stored for us, a crown of righteousness.

Easter: The suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the centre of my Christian life.

1 Corinthians 15:19 – If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

The indisputable resurrection of my Lord and Savior; Jesus Christ spices up my Christianity in a way nothing else does!  The wordings of that beautiful song summarize my convictions in no small way.

My soul does magnify the Lord

My Spirit praises His Name

For death could not hold Him captive

Even in the grave Jesus is Lord!

Many people great and low, religious and political leaders died but never resurrected. The proof of my Lord’s resurrection is ‘The empty grave’. As a believer, my hope is beyond this life. And in this hope is victory.

This conviction makes me celebrate Easter in very peculiar ways.  Our Church family organizes a musical event tagged ‘Dear Redeemer’. Different artists gather to celebrate the victory of the cross and the tomb.

My immediate family seizes the season to reach out again to the less privileged in the society, Lepers in particular. Gifts are distributed to them to enable them feel the love of our risen Lord again.

Jesus is alive. He’s no longer in the grave. This is the devil’s nightmare and the victory of the saints!

We Win!!!

Grateful For His Amazing Grace

Easter: God’s sacrificial love for me

Ini Onuk, Lead Consultant/CEO, ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited

So I’ll cherish the old rugged Cross

Till my trophies at last I lay down

I will cling to the old rugged Cross

And exchange it someday for a Crown

Easter brings to mind the reminder of God’s sacrificial love for me. The death and resurrection of Christ clearly defines the intended word: LOVE and indeed the love that gave birth to a new covenant of life and living for me as a Christian.

Easter means the gift of a newness of life to me. The purchase of God by reason of giving His Son on the cross. Easter reminds me of the need for humility in service and obedience to due authority. Easter strengthens my belief in the power of good and it is another reminder to live a more sacrificial life – the journey to dying empty.

Easter is the central event of the Christian faith and the significance of it all is in the resurrection of Christ. He died and rose and that is unique in itself.

I intend spending this Easter in a very reflective and sober mood but also with thanksgiving and will spend at home with my family. The past one year from the last Easter has been very eventful in more ways than one for me and despite how tumultuous the economy has been, I have been greatly blessed. So it’s a season of joy and thanksgiving.

May the resurrection power revive our nation again!

Easter beyond the bunnies and eggs

Jimi Tewe, CEO, Inspiro Consulting, Senior Pastor,  KingsWord Ministries International

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” 1 Corinthians 15:3–8

On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We Christians believe, according to scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

In a conversation I had with someone earlier this week, I was reminded again about what Easter means and especially what it should mean to me.

Across the globe, people look forward to the holiday, fun activities and in some cases, the Easter Bunny & eggs. The reality however is that the Easter celebration originated from the recognition of the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To me, every Easter is a reminder that God had long planned for my existence and had sent His Son to die in my place so that when I arrive on earth and receive His sacrifice for me, I can live the best life possible irrespective of my lineage, background or the circumstances I find myself in.

Kemi Ajumobi