Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Understanding Easter Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA Easter Sunday April 16, 2006 Main Scripture text: Mark 16:1-8 To understand Easter, we must understand sin. I don't mean the things we do that violate God's law, but sin as a condition. Our pre-Easter condition was like a ship "dead in the water" -- powerless to move or change its location. We were dead in our sin -- and we had no means to change. We were destined to eternity beyond the presence of God. Sin is a deadly, lethal disease that results in eternal death. If we don't understand the seriousness of the sickness, we won't appreciate the cure. Jesus Christ is the cure! He is not an optional luxury, but an absolute necessity! How do we get the medicine? That's what Easter -- the Resurrection -- is all about. Jesus was restored to life -- but not in the same sense of others in the Bible, such as Lazarus and the widow's son. They were brought back to the same life they had before they died. Jesus was raised -- through death -- to a new form of life that didn't previously exist! It is a life that is: 1) Indestructible (Hebrews 7:16); 2) Without physical limitations (John 20:19-20); 3) Offered to us (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Yes, we must die to experience the fullness of Easter, but there is the now side of Easter. We can live differently now because of the Resurrection. Jesus destroyed death by enduring it. He overcame it, so now the fear of death has lost its grip on us. That's not all. The very power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us who believe. It is with us now! But wait. There is a catch! To get "resurrection power" here and now, there must first be a death -- yours. This is why Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." When we understand Easter and die to self, the power of the Resurrection takes over! We're enabled to shake off the things that steal our life and steal our joy, and to start living life to its fullest measure. Supporting texts: Ephesians 2:1-3; 11a, 12 | 1 John 5:11-12 | Acts 4:12 | Hebrews 7:16 | John 20:19-20 | 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 | Romans 6:1-4 | Hebrews 2:14-15 | Ephesians 1:18-21 | Luke 9:23 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (25 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 060416a: Understanding Easter. © 2006 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us