March 31, 2024

Easter at One City

Sermon Title: It Was Me

 

Introduction

  • Welcome to Easter Sunday with us today.
  • Special welcome to those who may not regularly attend church or have been away for a while.
  • Story about recklessness and poor decisions made while growing up, culminating in a backyard fire incident that I unsuccessfully tried to deny responsibility for.
  • There is undeniable evidence of our mistakes and how they impact our lives and self-perception.

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1. Our Baggage Can Become Our Blessing

  • Introduction to Barabbas, a notorious prisoner with a significant past filled with mistakes and wrongdoings.
  • Discuss Barabbas’ unexpected release, courtesy of the crowd’s choice, a depiction of the grace we receive through Jesus.
  • Remind the Church that our past, mistakes, and sins do not define us, but can be redeemed when surrendered to Jesus.

“Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.” – Matthew 27:26 (NIV)

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2. We Must Finish the Exchange

  • Discuss the great exchange, where Jesus willingly took our place, bearing our sins, and gave us His righteousness.
  • Unpack the mutual giving and receiving that took place in this exchange, including our responsibility to give Jesus our burdens.
  • Reflect on the representation of our sins through symbolic nails, alluding to their role in Jesus’s crucifixion.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

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3. We Must Choose

  • The crucial decision we have in accepting the exchange Jesus offers, to live a life of joy and peace.
  • The new identity and freedom given to us because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.
  • To surrender their past and embrace the new, hopeful future built on Jesus’s love.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

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Bring it Home

  • Summarize the significant lessons we can learn from the story of Barabbas and our shared experience of redemption.
  • Invite the congregation to embrace the message of Easter, the reality of their redemption, and the invitation to live a new life.
  • Encourage the Church to respond to Jesus’s offer of freedom, love, and a renewed identity.
  • Invite back – Chess Piece

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