Everything Easter 2025

What are you doing big at your church for Easter 2025?

Tim Keller, former pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan, encouraged pastors to think "big" and preach about "largest-scale meanings."

Unlike other subjects, largest-scale meanings are what people subconsciously need the most. They enable people to face the biggest issues in life, including suffering and death, with confidence and hope. They encourage seeking the longest-term common good and making sacrifices for it, all because people know they are part of a universal purpose.

6 "Largest-scale" Meanings:

• the reality of God,

• the creation of all things,

• the efficacy of Jesus' death for the forgiveness of sins,

• the truth of Jesus' resurrection,

• the power of the Holy Spirit for inward change and witness,

• the eventual arrival of the kingdom of God.

The truth of Jesus' resurrection is one of those largest-scale meanings. On Easter Sunday, guests, and especially unchurched guests at your church will hope to hear something interesting and understandable. Tell the Resurrection story. Tell it with conviction like your life and theirs depends on it.

Don't try to be cute, clever, or innovative.

Simply tell the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus in a clear, succinct manner. Give an invitation to acknowledge the need of God, accept salvation by faith, and decide to become a follower of Jesus. Here's a few ideas that you could share this Easter.

"The resurrection was indeed a miraculous display of God's power, but we should not see it as a suspension of the natural order of the world. Rather it was the beginning of the restoration of the natural order of the world, the world as God intended it to be. . . . The resurrection means not merely that Christians have a hope for the future but that they have a hope that comes from the future. The Bible's startling message is that when Jesus rose, he brought the future kingdom of God into the present." Timothy Keller, Hope in Times of Fear, p.24

6 Resurrection Message Outlines

1. Jesus Meets You Where You Are

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

J.I. Packer:

"Optimism reflects ignorance as to whether good things will ever actually come. Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life, and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God's own commitment, that the best is yet to come."

• Point 1: The disciples on the road to Emmaus were not expecting to meet Jesus.

• Point 2: He met them exactly where they were—confused, grieving, and lost. No matter where you are emotionally or spiritually, Jesus comes to meet you right where you are.

• Point 3: The resurrection assures us that Jesus meets us in the midst of our questions and pain.

2. Resurrection: Not A Religious Tale

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:14

Charles Colson:

"I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Each one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world. They couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible."

• Point 1: The early disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus as the heart of their message (Acts 2:32, Acts 4:33). The resurrection confirmed everything Jesus said about Himself—His divinity, His victory over sin and death, and His eternal kingship.

• Point 2: If Christ had not risen, then the Gospel message would be just another moral teaching or philosophy, but without the power to change lives.

• Point 3: The resurrection compels us to proclaim the Gospel with conviction, knowing that it is not just words but the power of God to bring life (Romans 1:16).

3. What The Resurrection Reveals: Peace, Purpose, and Power

Scripture: John 20:19-21; Acts 1:8; Philippians 3:10

Tim Keller:

"Christians see hard things as indeed hard and not to be sought, but we have been armed with this great truth, namely that when received with faith in God, hard things lead to the best things."

• Point 1: Peace with God – The resurrection brings peace between God and humanity (John 20:19-21).

• Point 2: Purpose for Living – The risen Christ gives us a clear mission and purpose in life (Acts 1:8).

• Point 3: Power for Service – The resurrection empowers us to live and serve through the Holy Spirit (Philippians 3:10).

4. The Resurrection Changes Everything

Scripture: Matthew 28:5-7; 1 Peter 1:3-4; John 11:25

Josh McDowell:

"No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good."

"Few people seem to realize that the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone to a worldview that provides the perspective to all of life."

• Point 1: The Resurrection Brings New Birth – Through Christ's resurrection, we are born again into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4).

• Point 2: The Resurrection Restores Our Hope – The empty tomb is a symbol of the hope we have in Christ (Matthew 28:5-7).

• Point 3: The Resurrection is the Hope of Life After Death – Jesus is the resurrection and the life, promising victory over death and eternal life (John 11:25).

5. Resurrection Is More Than Wishful Thinking

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Tim Keller:

"If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead."

• Point 1: The resurrection of Christ provided them with an unshakable hope that fueled their courage and witness.

• Point 2: They knew that because Jesus conquered death, they, too, would overcome it.

• Point 3: His victory over the grave gave them the confidence to endure suffering, knowing that their ultimate victory was secured.

6. I've Got Good News

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3,4, 8,9

C.S. Lewis:

"The New Testament writers speak as if Christ's achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the 'first fruit,' the pioneer of life.' He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.

"The Resurrection, and its consequences, were the 'gospel' or good news which the Christians brought: what we call the 'gospels,' the narratives of Our Lord's life and death, were composed later for the benefit of those who had already accepted the Gospel. They were in no sense the basis of Christianity; they were written for those already converted. The miracle of the resurrection and the theology of that miracle comes first; the biography comes later as a comment on it. Nothing could be more unhistorical than to pick out selected sayings of Christ from the gospels and to regard those as the datum and the rest of the New Testament as a construction upon it. The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the resurrection. If they had died without making anyone else believe this 'gospel,' no gospels would ever have been written."

• Point 1: For the early church, the resurrection was more than a doctrine

• Point 2: The resurrection was a living hope that empowered them to endure, proclaim the Gospel, and live with the assurance of eternal life and transformation.

• Point 3: Their unwavering hope was rooted in the fact that Christ had conquered death, and in Him, they had overcome the world.

Salvation Invitation

The good news of Jesus Christ is for you. God loves you deeply and desires a relationship with you, but our sin separates us from Him. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, but Jesus, God's Son, came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross to take the punishment we deserve. Three days later, He rose from the dead, offering forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life to all who believe in Him. If you repent, which is to make a 180-degree turn and trust in Jesus as your Savior, you will be forgiven and made new. Will you accept His invitation to life and peace today? Will you become a follower of Jesus?

(Bonus) What's With Easter Day Changing Every Year?

Christmas is always on December 25, but the date for Easter changes. Why?

Christmas and Easter are about Light.

December 25 was chosen to celebrate Jesus' birth because it is after the winter equinox - the longest night of the year – to celebrate the arrival of the Light of the World.

Easter's exact date may seem arbitrary, but it's always on the Sunday after the first full moon, which occurs after the spring equinox on March 21. This means that Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The Sunday, shortly after the equinox plus the fullness of the moon, means a 24-hour period of maximum light.

For ideas on a message series follow-up to Easter, read the post, 12 Unique Offers of Christianity.

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