Easter Shopping

Easter Sunday is celebrated among Christians with night prayer vigils, sunrise service and Easter processions. Girls and boys wear beautiful white clothes with laces, and shawls on their heads with beautifully decorated faces in Easter Parades. In the early Christian communities, baptisms were celebrated on Easter Sunday where the people who were to be baptized wore spotless white robes as a sign of their new life in Christ.

Christian experience is compared to a change of clothing with a "new self". Old items like anger, wrath, malice, pride, slander, abusive language, and lying are stripped off and clothed afresh with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3).

You cannot find these items in the 'Morality Mall'. Garments like goodness, patience, compassion and kindness can only be picked only up at the 'Resurrection Mall' because while standing beside the resurrected Christ, one finds really poorly dressed, and realizes that some serious shopping is needed. The Holy Spirit, the helper, will measure you against Jesus and custom fit you.

You may be tempted to pick up some items for a difficult coworker, an unpleasant spouse or a rude driver on the highway. But nothing in the resurrection mall can be bought for others. The Helper will convince you that every item in this mall is custom made, and the purchaser must get it for himself or herself.

You may notice that the prices are high, and become doubtful if you can afford these. Then the helper steps in, and gives you the offer, "everything in this store is free to those who ask. The price has been paid for by The One by His death, and made available free by His resurrection" (1 Timothy 2:6). Jesus wants you to be just like Him, dressed in the righteous robe.

No wealth can buy the righteousness of God, but through the simple faith in the resurrected Christ. "Over all put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and be thankful" (Col 3:14).

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Fulll sermon audio: Mathew Philip

Blessings

Mathew Philip

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