The Victory of Easter

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus is God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, then rose on the third day to give us victory over sin and death.

John 14:6 NIV

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans 8:2 NIV

2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Mark 15:33-39 NIV

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Abandonment: a strong emotion of feeling unwanted, discarded, and unworthy of love.

Jesus was abandoned by His Father so you would never be abandoned by the only Father you would ever need.

Jesus was truly abandoned by God so that we would only apparently be abandoned by God.

Isaiah 49:15 NIV

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breastand have no compassion on the child she has borne?Though she may forget,I will not forget you!

Ezekiel 16:6 NIV

6 “ ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”

A Cinderella Story is when a person who is abandoned and abused unexpectedly experiences grace and glory.

You don't have to be afraid any longer because God has called you by name and you are His.