Inviting new friends to church can be intimidating. I’ve had to give myself pep-talks and muster up major courage before inviting certain people to church. Some friends agree to come with me and others make up really bad excuses, leave my texts on Read, or flat out say no. But despite any rejection I may receive throughout the year, there is one week that I feel brave and confident and invite friends to church like crazy — Easter! My Easter Sunday church invitation courage comes from my past success rate. Almost no one without existing plans flat-out turns down an invitation to church on Easter!

One year, while caught up in the Easter excitement, I invited a friend to church who no one would define as a “church-goer.” His response was crazy. He said “I’d LOVE to come! I try to be a good ChrEaster!” He went onto explain that a ChrEaster is a Christian who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter. I was really happy he agreed to come to church on Sunday, but it also got me thinking. Why is the promise of an Easter message powerful enough to bring people to church who haven’t walked through the sanctuary doors since December?

READ: 1 Peter 1:13
Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope.

This passage reveals two reasons why even the least devoted followers of Christ are inherently determined to celebrate the resurrection. The power of the resurrection offers victory and hope in every Christian’s life.

According to this passage, the resurrection doesn’t just fill us with hope; it fills us with a “living” hope. The hope we have is not in a dead God, but in Jesus who is alive, active, and relevant in our lives today. When Jesus defeated sin and death, He made a way for us to receive “new life” through him. Because of His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection three days later, there is never-ending hope for believers.

Hope for a new life with a fresh start in Christ.
Hope for healing.
Hope for restoration.
Hope for growth.
Hope for peace.

The resurrection also allows Christians to live their lives in victory. The new life that God offers us through the resurrection is one of forgiveness, mercy and grace. Jesus defeated sin, and all of his followers get to share in that incredible victory. Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” The same power that allowed Jesus to defeat sin empowers you to defeat sin!

The resurrection is not only important for sin’s defeat in the Christian life. John Stott, author of The Cross of Christ, further explains:
“The gospel includes both the death and resurrection of Jesus, since nothing would have been accomplished by his death if he had not been raised from it. Yet the gospel emphasizes the cross, since it was there that the victory was accomplished. The resurrection did not achieve our deliverance from death and sin but has brought us an assurance of both. It is because of the resurrection that ‘our faith and hope are in God.’

What if Jesus wasn’t crucified on the cross? What if the resurrection did not happen? Would the work of Christ still be just as effective in the Christian’s life? No, as a matter of fact, Paul says if the resurrection had not come to pass “We [as Christians] would be most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:12-19). This means we would be suffering and inadequate if it weren’t for the Easter story. It’s because of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection that he took our pain and suffering upon himself to make a way for us to be made good in God’s eyes.

With April just around the corner, it will soon be the season of egg hunts, honey hams, and chocolate rabbits. But beyond all these Spring traditions, there is a call to observe and remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Easter is a great time to celebrate the resurrection. But so are the other 364 days of the year. Every single day we have hope and victory because that tomb is empty.

How would your faith grow if you acknowledged Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection every day of your life?