Five Ways You Can Use Easter to Evangelize
Why do we celebrate Jesus’ birth more than His resurrection?
By Rosilind Jukic
His birth didn’t redeem us and save us from sin. So why do we place a lesser importance on celebrating His resurrection? This is a question that has been nagging at me the past few months.
Easter is one of the best times to reach out to our neighbors and friends and evangelize the lost. The entire message of the gospel is wrapped up in this one holiday.
He came to earth and humbled Himself. He chose to be born to a poor, unlikely couple and live as an average person—although He was anything but average. In fact, He appeared so average that no one who grew up with Him would believe He was the Son of God!
He was labeled a radical, a rebel. The religious rulers didn’t know what to do with Him—they considered Him a loose cannon and decided to kill Him. He lived a perfect life but died in a manner of a common criminal. He was falsely accused after having been forced to face a kangaroo court all night long—literally.
And all for one reason. He loved us so much and wanted to redeem us from an eternity of hell.
Amazing!
Is it possible, then, that the enemy has purposely tried to subdue the true message of Easter?
There are five ways you can use Easter to evangelize:
1. Host a focused home Bible study for your neighbors. You can do a group study through a book about Jesus and His life or just about the truth of the gospel. One good study would be Lee Strobel’s book The Case for Christ.
2. Host a five-day Easter club for children. This would also give you an open door to their parents. Choose stories, games, activities and crafts that focus on Christ, His life, death and resurrection and what they mean for us.
3. Do crafts and activities with your children that focus on the true meaning of Easter and include their friends. Pinterest is full of ideas, from resurrection gardens to pretzel crosses, resurrection rolls and resurrection scenes (like a nativity scene).
4. Purchase and distribute free copies of books that present the gospel in a clear way. Ideas are Jesus: the One and Only by Beth Moore, The Case for the Resurrection by Lee Strobel or Good and Evil, a comic book Bible that is perfect for children. Let them know that this is an Easter gift from your family to theirs.
5. Plan a family outreach. Whether it is volunteering in a food kitchen or assisting your church in a specific Easter outreach, reach out to the lost.
The message of Easter is not spring. It’s not a new dress and white shoes. It is not going to church and hearing a nice sermon. It is not a huge potluck after service where you eat a lot of good food and have a good time with old friends.
The message of Easter is that Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, defeated death, hell and the grave and paid the penalty for our sin. His resurrection was the final blow to Satan’s kingdom. It was the final victory.
It is finished!
Rosilind Jukic is an American girl married to a Bosnian guy who lives in a small village just outside of Zagreb.
(Source: Charisma News)
