How to Share Your Faith Using Easter
When you were a little kid, did you ever do the Easter egg hunt thing?...remember running around all crazy, finding jelly beans and chocolate eggs...what a sugar rush!
An innocent enough conversation starter - but also a natural opening for talking about Easter, God, Jesus, the Resurrection and all the mysterious and mystical things Christians celebrate this time of year.
Many teens have never heard the REAL backstory behind all the Easter bunnies, eggs, chicks, chocolates and jelly beans. So go ahead and ask a few simple questions about Easter. Find out how their families 'do Easter'. After your friends answer your questions, what better opening...? Jump in and introduce God talk into your conversation with a simple, "I'm going to church Easter morning." Then offer the backstory, explaining that Easter's about celebrating new life, fresh beginnings and the miracle of having a relationship with the God of the universe!"
Jesus' put it this way when describing why he came to earth, died and rose again:
"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, The Message)
Pretty amazing!! That's Good News everyone should have the opportunity to hear about.
But Easter also reminds us that for Jesus and His followers it wasn't always all happiness, joy and light. For three days before His resurrection, things looked painful, dark and hopeless. Jesus' followers had all but given up in grief and despair. It was in the midst of that despair that Jesus burst forth from the grave - offerring the gift of salvation because He paid the price for all sin by dying on the cross and conquering death. If you or your friends are struggling with a world of hurt, lonliness, pain or despair, know that Jesus has walked that road too. He understands and He wants to burst forth with His grace and presence in the midst of both the good and the bad that comes your way in life.
So launch into some God talk this week that's centered on Easter. You can open the door in your conversation further by following up with more questions. Try some of these:
- Why does your family do whatever it is they do on Easter?
- Do you ever go to church on Easter? Why or why not?
- Do you believe in God? What do you think He's like?
- Are your beliefs about God the same as your parents' beliefs?
- Do you think Jesus rose from the dead like the Bible says? Share what you believe. For help with this, check out the Soul Fuel on the evidence for the resurrection.
- Jesus gift of salvation is sometimes called the "Good News". Do you know why it's called that? Explain why it's Good News that Jesus has made it possible for us to have a restored relationship with God.
Just like new growth is exploding all around us in nature during this season of the year, the Good News of God's love and forgiveness should be exploding in our lives and our words. Do what you can to help it happen in your world!
