I was blessed to grow up in a Christian family. My father was a minister, and Easter was always a very important time for us. A lot of the local churches (in my home town in France) would get together to hold special meetings. We had speakers and worship, and it was an exciting time for the churches to work together on evangelism. I have great memories of those days!

Today, Easter is just as special for my family and I. It is a reason to celebrate the gift of life that Jesus has given us through His death.

The team at UCB know that I like to use acronyms, and a few years ago, I shared the below with friends and supporters of UCB.

E.A.S.T.E.R.

ETERNAL – (John 3:16) Through the gift of His son, Jesus, God the Father offers the gift of ETERNAL LIFE to all those who believe in Him.

ACCEPTED – (Ephesians 1:6) We are ACCEPTED in Jesus Christ.

SAVED – (Ephesians 2:8) Anyone can be SAVED if they believe because of God’s Grace and God’s unmerited favour.

TRANSFORMATION – (2 Corinthians 5:17) Only real and lasting TRANSFORMATION takes place in Jesus Christ. ‘If we are in Christ … we are a new creation …. old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.’

ENDURES – (Psalm 100:5) God’s love ENDURES forever.

RISEN – (Luke 24:34) Jesus has RISEN, meaning He is alive today and we have access to a living and true God.

Here is a link to one of my favourite worship songs: ‘Forever’ by Kari Jobe. It is a tremendous and powerful song that describes the fullness of the Easter message.

Let’s never forget that ‘Forever He is glorified, forever He is lifted high, forever He is risen, He is alive, He is alive!’ It reminds us that we are worshipping a true and living God.

I learned as a young man that the Gospel has the power to transform every life, even the most broken, and at UCB, we often receive letters and emails from people who have experienced it for themselves.

Sid O’ Neil discovered God’s love after a terrible accident which left him with serious injuries. He experienced the power of the resurrection, which changed his life. Thank God for His sacrifice and for restoring countless lives.

Can I encourage you this week to take time to consider what the resurrection means to you? Why not tell your story to someone who hasn’t heard it before?