From Garden to Garden | Easter Sermon
From Garden to Garden
Where Do You Feel the Ache
We all feel it in different ways. Sometimes life feels steady and good, and other times everything changes in a moment. Anxiety, guilt, broken relationships, loneliness, suffering, there’s a weight we carry living in this world. The Bible helps us make sense of that ache. It reminds us that what we’re experiencing isn’t how things were meant to be, and it invites us to honestly ask where that heaviness is showing up in our own lives.
Life Before the Curse
In the beginning, God created a world that was completely good. Humanity lived in perfect relationship with Him and with one another. There was no fear, no shame, no pain, and no death. Everything was marked by peace and wholeness. When we long for life to feel right again, what we’re really longing for is a return to that kind of world, a life without the ache.
Life After the Curse
When sin entered the world, everything changed. Relationship with God was broken, and the effects of sin spread into every part of life. We see it immediately in Scripture and we feel it every day: conflict, suffering, death, and the ongoing struggle with sin in our own hearts. The problem isn’t just “out there” in the world; it’s also within us. We contribute to the brokenness, and at the same time we are wounded by it. The question we’re left with is: who can actually fix something this deep?
Our Savior from the Curse
From the very beginning, God promised that one would come to defeat sin and undo the curse. Jesus is that promised Savior. Where humanity failed, He was faithful. Where we chose sin, He chose obedience. And ultimately, He took the curse on Himself through His death on the cross. But the story doesn’t end there. His resurrection is the decisive victory over sin and death. Jesus didn’t just sympathize with our brokenness; He entered into it to rescue us and make a way for new life.
Our Response
The right response is humility, gratitude, and trust. We recognize our sin and our need for grace, and we look to Jesus for forgiveness and new life. For those who follow Him, there is also real hope in the middle of a still-broken world. The curse has been defeated, even if we still feel its effects. Jesus is at work, bringing life out of what feels dead, often in ways and timing we wouldn’t expect. So we come to Him honestly, we trust Him daily, and we look for where His resurrection power is already at work in our lives.