The Message of Easter

On Easter Sunday (March 27, 2005) I had the opportunity to teach a Sunday School Lesson at a local youth correctional facility. All of those in attendance were incarcerated for various offenses. I had to teach this class 3 different times, to three different groups. There were a total of about 65 class members among the different classes. Here are the notes I used for the lesson:

Why do we celebrate on Easter?

- Atonement in Gethsemane
- His Death on the Cross
- The Resurrection

What does Christ’s Victory over Death and Sin mean to you?

- It gives us hope. What do we hope for?

- Redemption from Sin and Death

What is a Redeemer?
The dictionary gives the following definitions. Think of these definitions in terms of how they may apply to the Savior:

- To buy back, to repurchase
- To get back, to recover, as by paying a fee
- To rescue, ransom, or liberate from captivity or bondage,
- To pay an equivalent for a debt or obligation
- To deliver, rescue or save in any manner
- To make good on a promise, by performance
- To make amends for, to atone for, or to compensate
- To deliver from sin and its penalties by a sacrifice made for the sinner

How does Christ’s Victory over Sin Bring Us Hope?

- Hope that we can be forgiven of our sins and mistakes
- Hope that we can, through Him, overcome our weaknesses
- Hope of a better life, both now and in the hereafter.

How does Christ’s Victory over Death Bring us Hope?

- We will live again. Like Jesus, we will be resurrected too one day.
- When we are resurrected, we will have glorified and perfected bodies:
- No Longer subject to pain, disease, deformities, disabilities and weaknesses.
- We will no longer age, deteriorate, or die.
- Our bodies and spirits will be inseparably united, never again to be divided.
- All will be resurrected


Because of Christ’s resurrection, we will all be resurrected one day. However, the quality of life that we will experience in the hereafter will be based on how well we have repented of our sins, and followed the teachings of Christ.

The quality of our lives here and now in this life, is also based largely upon our obedience to the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As the Redeemer, Christ will also be our judge. He who paid the price of our sins, will be the one who will decide if we have repented, and if his redemption will be applied toward us.

If we have not repented, we must bear ourselves, the price of our own sins.

Implications of the Resurrection

If we believe that Christ was resurrected, and that one-day we, too, will be resurrected, How does knowledge influence the way we live our lives here and now?

- This life is not the end of our existence
- There will be a judgment one day.
- We will be held accountable for our actions in this life.
- If there were no resurrection, and there was no life after death, how would that influence the way we conduct our lives now?

- Would we be concerned about our behavior when no one was looking?

Death Valley

Have you ever heard of a place called Death Valley?

- Death Valley Normally receives 1-2 inches of rainfall per hear. (Salt Lake City averages between 18-20 inches per year, by contrast.)

- Some years Death Valley can go an entire year without any rainfall at all!

- This winter, there have been 6 inches of rainfall in the last 4 months. What do you think has happened as a result?

- (Show pictures of wildflowers)

- Rainfall like this occurs only about once in every 100 years in Death Valley

- Embedded In the dry and parched desert soil of Death Valley, there are millions of tiny seeds, just waiting to spring forth into life, when the conditions are right. This year the conditions were right, and you can see the results.

Seeds of the Divine

- Just as there are wildflower seeds, embedded in what normally looks like dry, arid soil, there are hidden within each of us, seeds of the divine.

- Each of us is a child of God. We are precious to him.

- We carry within each of us some of his own divine and noble attributes, just like we carry many of the physical attributes of our earthly parents.

- Like the wildflower seeds waiting for rain, the seeds of divinity, inherited from our Heavenly Father, are waiting us to make the conditions right for those seeds to spring forth into life.

The True Message of Easter

The true message of Easter is a message of love.

- The love of our Heavenly Father for sending us his Son

- The love of Jesus Christ for us, for his willingness to be our Redeemer, and suffer both in body and spirit until he gave his life for us.

- Because of what he has done for us, the Lord Jesus Christ has a great and infinite love for each of us.

- He has already given each us the gift of the resurrection.

- He does not want his sacrifice for our sins to be in vain.

- He invites each of us to come unto him. To repent of our sins, and be healed.

- We are not alone as we face our sins and weaknesses. He can help us overcome them, and lift great burdens from our souls, and give us rest

- Come unto Him, that you may be healed.