Hope beckons to a death-bound human race from the open doorway of Christ's empty tomb.

There's no greater affirmation to our humanity than the Bethlehem manger, no greater demonstration of God's love for us than the Cross of Calvary, no greater proclamation of human hope than the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.

The Christian hope of salvation isn't to become like the angels of the spiritual world, but to remain true humans, eternally at home in fleshy bodies of cosmic dust, reigning forever in a restored physical universe beside the God-Man, the Divine-Human King over both worlds, because His own glorified human body of resurrected earthly flesh points to the destiny of our own.

Against beliefs in extinction of self at bodily death or loss of identity in reincarnation stands the truly human-friendly hope celebrated by Easter faith: a personal, immortal reintegration of body, soul and spirit for which Jesus Christ’s Resurrection is the prototype.

The highest compliment ever paid to the entire human body, and the clearest commentary on its decency, dignity and sacred worth, is the bodily manifestation of God's Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, in truly 'human' flesh by His Incarnation, Resurrection, Ascension and predicted Second Coming.

To summarize, Easter Sunday is the most important Sunday. It is the Sunday of all Sundays. It is the day of the new beginning of the entire cosmos, the day of resurrection.

In our worship we must be careful not to reduce our message to the Easter fact only. The Easter fact must include the message this fact proclaims: God makes all things new. It must also include the message that we have been raised with Christ. Calling God's people to die to sin and rise to the new life is central not only to Easter day but to the Easter season.