Second Sunday in Easter - Rejoice! Christ Is Risen!

Goes along with Adult Devotion of the same title.

Even when bad things happen, we can praise the risen Christ!

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9.

Bible Focus: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” -1 Peter 1:6

Do you know the traditional Easter greeting? One person says, “Christ is risen!” The other person replies, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”

Easter is a huge deal for us Christians, and it’s summed up well in those three words: “Christ is risen.” Of course, there is a lot more to say about Easter and what it does for us. Peter, in today’s reading, gives us many more details. Here are just a few.

Because Christ is risen…

• We have hope that never dies.

• We will go to Heaven someday.

• God himself guards us from danger.

• We are saved from our sins.

All of those things are true, even when bad things happen to us. And bad things will happen, even though Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning. While we live here on Earth, our lives will not be perfect. We will have troubles. 

Jesus’s resurrection, however, gives us the ability to praise God even when bad things happen. God’s power is bigger than our troubles. And someday, we’ll go to Heaven, where our lives will be perfect. Because Christ is risen, there is no doubt about that!

Your challenge this week:

Write one of Peter’s details on a sticky note, and post it somewhere you will see it.

Please pray:

Dear Jesus, I praise you for your resurrection on Easter! I confess that I worry about my troubles sometimes. Thank you for dying and rising again for me. I ask you to remind me that your power is bigger than my troubles. In your name I pray, Amen.