April 3-4: Easter is a Celebration of Miracles

1. We should celebrate miracles

1. Some people called the 1980 Olympic Hockey victory over Russia a "miracle"

2. Was it a miracle? The world typically defines a miracle differently

3. What a miracle really is: the impossible happens and is seen

2. Today we celebrate a miracle:

1. The miracle in Jesus: God raised the man from the dead

2. The miracle in us: Our sins are forgiven, they are no longer a part of us
3. Example: Sand of more than one color, mixed – is it impossible to separate?

3. A miracle from Numbers 21:4-9

1. The people of Israel are wandering through the desert. Many are forgetting or disbelieving the promises of God

2. God sent snakes among the people - not to punish them, but to remind them they were reliant on him

3. The people call out, desperate to be saved

4. Moses lifts up the snake in the desert, they look to it, and they are saved

5. God did this miracle to prove that he could do things they couldn't do for themselves.

4. We are also sick & in need of God

1. Our sin makes us imperfect - we are stained, broken, scratched up, and it cannot be undone on our own.

2. Yet, the Bible says only perfect people can stand before God

3. What God wants is the same as he wanted Moses' people to do - to turn to him for help

5. The parallel reference is in John 3

1. v. 13 - 16 - when Jesus was "lifted up" it was on the cross

2. When we believe in him we're like a man bitten by a snake…we tell God that we are sick and need his help