Between Good Friday and tomorrow Easter Monday – that is four days – we the great British public (and some very nice Expats) will have consumed rather a lot of Easter Eggs. Do you know how many? If you put them in one big pile, how much would it weigh? Is it 260 tons of chocolate, 2,600 tons, or is it 26,000 tons. Yes its 26,000 tons. That is a lot of chocolate to eat in four days.
Do you know what the link is between the egg and Easter? It goes back to the time when chickens laid their eggs in the Spring, like sheep have their lambs. Easter marked the end of Winter and the Lenten fast. People celebrated Easter by feasting on things like new laid eggs which were traditionally scarce in Winter. It all got a bit confused when farmers realised they could trick chickens into laying eggs all year round by keeping them in light warm buildings,
and it got really confusing when Mr Cadbury in the 1870s realised there was more money to be made in selling hand-painted chocolate Easter eggs than real ones. Everything else is, as they say, history.
The encouraging fact, however, is that in a recent national survey, one in three people in Britain indicated that they believed in the historical and physical resurrection of Jesus. Whether they understand the purpose is another matter.
C. S. Lewis once said, “Easter is not primarily a comfort, but a challenge. Its message is either the supreme fact in history or else a gigantic hoax...”
This morning I’d like us to think about how the resurrection of Jesus is three dimensional.
Delinda Hanley has written an article in the 
How do we nurture our souls in a secular world? Historically, Christians have responded in two very contrasting ways:
A presentation by Colin Chapman
Our Advent reading from Luke 3 introduces us to the three most important themes of the Bible. They can be summed up in three questions. The primary theme in the gospels concerns the identity of Jesus. “Who is Jesus?” The second theme has to do with the mission of Jesus. “Why did Jesus come?” The third theme has to do with the call of Jesus. “What does Jesus demand of us?” When you read the gospels thoughtfully – you discover that every event, every story, every quote, every conversation is about one of these three themes. It is asking or answering one of these three fundamental questions. About Jesus’ identity; his mission; and his call. Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus come? And what does Jesus demand of me? Let us try and answer these three questions this morning. Then we can celebrate Advent and look forward to the return of Jesus. 