Easter Sunday - April 5th, 2026 - Pastor Jono Zantingh

Creation places humanity at the center of a deliberate, good design: handcrafted in God’s image, breathed to life for relationship and stewardship. The narrative traces how a single act of distrust—one tree, one decision—unleashed sin, shame, and a curse that fractured that intimate access to the Father and corrupted creation’s flourishing. Even amid the fracture, God speaks a promise: a coming seed who will reverse the curse. That redemptive thread runs through Abraham’s costly obedience, the Passover’s protection, David’s royal line, and Isaiah’s prophecy of one who would bear sorrows and be pierced for iniquity.

The incarnation arrives as God with skin on, demonstrating the kingdom’s reality through healing, sight restored, and life reigned over death. Religious authorities respond with confusion and hostility, and the collision of sin and holiness culminates at a tree where the second Adam trusts the Father completely. The cross absorbs the full weight of sin and law; the earth quakes, the veil rips, and three days of silence test faith. The stone rolls away and the empty tomb proclaims a decisive reversal: death loses its sting, reconciliation becomes possible, and the cool-of-the-day intimacy with the Father opens again.

Responding to that victory requires tangible yielding. Knowing Jesus beyond a merely human perspective reorients identity: the old life falls away and a new life begins. Yielding functions as daily stop-and-start repentance—an ongoing dying to former ways and rising into new practices—visibly marked in baptism’s burial and resurrection imagery. Believers receive not just forgiveness but a delegated task: to live publicly as agents of reconciliation, stewarding resources and relationships in ways that authenticate the gospel. The gathering celebrates baptism testimonies, invites recommitment, and issues concrete next steps—reading plans, community involvement, and future baptisms—so that the resurrection’s power shapes daily living and mission.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Made in God’s image The breath of God animated humanity to reflect divine worth and intention. That image confers intrinsic dignity and a vocation: to mirror God’s character back into creation by loving, cultivating, and stewarding what God entrusted. Every act of life and labor becomes a means to reveal the Creator’s glory in ordinary breaths and choices. [11:14]
• 2. Sin’s curse met with promise The Fall did not end God’s plan; it exposed a war between the deceiver and the woman’s offspring, yet introduced a seed who would wound the enemy. That promise reframes suffering and failure as part of a larger narrative bearing forward God’s rescue strategy. Hope rests not in human schemes but in a divinely preserved lineage and unfolding fulfillment. [16:42]
• 3. Cross breaks death’s power The crucifixion places the penalty of sin squarely on the incarnate Son, fulfilling sacrificial provision and collapsing the law’s condemning power. The empty tomb proves that divine justice and mercy converge: sin’s dominion receives a decisive judgment and believers gain access to renewed life with the Father. Resurrection changes moral reality, not merely emotional experience. [24:33]
• 4. Yield daily; join the task Yielding means recognizing Jesus as more than human, performing daily “stop-and-start” repentance, and publicly identifying with his death and resurrection through baptism. That posture issues a concrete commission: live as an ambassador of reconciliation, steward gifts toward the kingdom, and engage others with an un-anxious presence rooted in the cross. Obedience becomes both personal transformation and missional responsibility. [57:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [11:14] - Creation and Humanity’s Purpose
• [15:00] - The Fall and Its Consequences
• [16:42] - The First Promise of a Redeemer
• [20:22] - Incarnation: God with Skin On
• [22:20] - Crucifixion and the Veil Torn
• [24:33] - Resurrection: Stone Rolled Away
• [52:54] - Responding: Yield, Baptism, Mission

Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 (NLT)
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Observation questions

1. According to 2 Corinthians 5:16, what two specific shifts in perspective have occurred for the person who belongs to Christ?
2. What are the two distinct "lives" described in verse 17, and what is the relationship between them?
3. What is the "task" that God has given to those who have been brought back to Him, as stated in verse 18?
4. The sermon described the crucifixion as the moment "the father placed the full weight of sin, the full weight of the curse onto the bloodied and shredded back of God the son." [22:02] How does this act relate to the verse which says God is "no longer counting people’s sins against them"?

Interpretation questions

1. What does it mean to evaluate someone from a "human point of view" versus the new way described? How might this new perspective change the way we view ourselves and others?
2. Verse 17 says the "old life is gone" and a "new life has begun." If this is a definitive change, why does the Christian life often feel like a daily struggle between old and new patterns?
3. The passage states that God was reconciling the world to Himself through Christ and then gives "us this task of reconciling people to him." What is the connection between the work Christ accomplished and the task given to believers?
4. The sermon spoke of the resurrection as a "decisive reversal" that makes "reconciliation possible." [24:33] How does the resurrection empower believers to be "Christ’s ambassadors" as described in the passage?

Application questions

1. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. [55:56] What is one specific "old" habit, thought pattern, or priority that you feel challenged to "stop" this week? What is one "new" Christ-like practice you feel prompted to "start" in its place?
2. We are Christ’s ambassadors. [58:12] This week, you will interact with people who do not know God. What would it look like for you to carry an "un-anxious presence" [58:46] into one of those relationships, consciously representing the reconciliation you have received?
3. Yielding means performing daily “stop-and-start” repentance. [57:23] Where is one area of your life—perhaps your finances, your schedule, or a specific relationship—where you need to pause, pay close attention to Jesus, and let Him go first this week?
4. The breath of God animated humanity to reflect divine worth and intention. [11:14] How can the simple, daily rhythm of your breathing become a prayerful reminder that your life is meant to be an exhale of God’s majesty into your family, workplace, and community?
5. The curse of sin was broken, and Jesus paid its all. [25:32] Is there a lingering sense of shame, failure, or "curse" from your past that you still allow to have power over you? How can you practically walk in the freedom of the truth that the full penalty for that sin has been paid?
6. You've been given a task. [57:23] Who is one person in your life that God might be inviting you to intentionally "plead" with, not with words of judgment, but with the gentle, compelling appeal to "come back to God"? [52:28]