Is Easter Kid Friendly?
I've heard my fair share of sermons in my life. My dad's a preacher. I'm a preacher, and between Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday eveings, VBS, youth camps, Disciple Now weekends, winter retreats, mission trips, small groups, home groups, life groups, cell groups, house church meetings, seminary chapel, revivals, radio, and, of course, TV evangelists, I've probably heard 9,362 sermons (rough estimate).
Some sermons have been life-impacting, while others, forgetable. But there's one sermon I keep coming back to: Peter's sermon from Acts 2.
He sort of hits it all. He walks through the Old Testament, quoting prophecy by memory, before proclaiming the sovereignty of the Father in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He preaches the death and resurrection of Jesus, claiming to be a witness of both. Then, he drives it home, saying, "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
"...whom you crucified."
Now that's an invitation, call-to-response, pierce-the-heart conclusion if I've ever heard one. The crowd was cut to the heart and asked, "What shall we do?" And I love Peter's answer: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Filled with the Holy Spirit, preaching that Joel's prophecy of the pouring out of the Spirit is being fulfilled in front of their very eyes, Peter now says that they too can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But he doesn't stop there.
And this is where this Easter weekend breaks through your front door and sits down in the living room with your family.
Peter says that this promised gift of the Holy Spirit is "for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
"...and for your children..."
He preaches the death and resurrection of Christ, calls the sinful crowd to repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and then tells them this is also for their children. And I believe it's for our children today as well.
I believe that the blood-stained cross and empty tomb is kid friendly.
I believe we should be Acts 2 families. I believe we should realize that the Easter message of the death and resurrection of Christ is for our children. I believe we should preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in our homes, and I believe we should pray that the promised gift of the Holy Spirit would be received by our entire family.
