Easter at Rock Point 2026 · Rewind

Easter at Rock Point 2026 · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Apr 5, 2026

Big Idea

Jesus won because we can't — Easter shows we don't chase the win, we trust the One who already won it.

Easter shows us that we spend our lives chasing wins we think will finally give us life, but we can never actually win that way. Jesus didn't come to save our day — He came to save us, defeating sin and death Himself so that we could stop striving and simply trust the One who already won.

Key points

1
1We tend to live with confidence but no truth behind it, chasing wins that can't deliver.
Pastor Bill opens with his dad's teaching that most 'intuition' is really confidence without information, then illustrates it with a string of absurd 'Florida Man' news stories, especially a man who spent his life savings and nearly died attempting to cross the ocean in a hamster-wheel-like bubble. He applies this to all of us: we chase things we're confident will give us life, happiness, or contentment, with no truth behind the chase.
2
2The women at the tomb, and the disciples, expected a loss, not a win — because dying looks nothing like winning.
Walking through Mark 16:1-8, Pastor Bill notes the women came with burial spices expecting a dead body, not a resurrection, even though Jesus had told them exactly what would happen. He connects this to Peter, singled out by name in the angel's message, who had tried to stop Jesus from dying and then denied Him three times, believing he'd blown it and forfeited his place with Jesus.
3
3Jesus didn't just survive death, He defeated it, swallowing up sin's poisonous sting.
Pastor Bill unpacks 1 Corinthians's 'death is swallowed up in victory' language, explaining that the Greek word for 'sting' pictures a deadly, poisonous thorn, and that thorn is sin. Jesus didn't cheat death, He beat it, wearing a literal crown of thorns as a symbol of the sin and death He defeated rather than a symbol of shame.
4
4Sin isn't a matter of degree — it's missing the bullseye by any amount, and we've all missed it.
Using the archery background of the English word 'sin,' Pastor Bill explains that hitting anywhere but dead center, whether by an inch or by a mile, is still called sin. He argues we naturally minimize our own sin and magnify others', but before God's holiness any sin, like any dose of a poison, is fatal, which is why only Jesus, staying true to His own justice and mercy, could pay the penalty for us.
5
5Jesus is the key that opens the door to life, even though He didn't look like a winner by the world's standards.
Pastor Bill tells a story from a mission trip to Malawi where a beat-up, ancient-looking key improbably unlocked a truck everyone thought was hopelessly stuck, saying it 'shouldn't have worked' yet did. He likens this to Jesus, who didn't look like victory to His own generation because He didn't come to fix their government or solve their daily problems, but to open eternal life for them.
6
6The only way to share in Jesus's win is to surrender to Him rather than keep chasing a win of our own.
Pastor Bill points out that Jesus let the Romans kill Him and gave up His spirit willingly, confusing everyone who expected Him to fight or flee as He had before. He explains that we receive that same victory not by earning it or by attending church more, but by confessing we can't win and professing faith in what Jesus did, citing the call to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to quit chasing the win and surrender to the One who already won it.

Stop chasing your own win
Identify whatever you're confident will finally give you life, success, marriage, kids, achievement, and recognize it's a blessing but not the destination.
Confess that you can't win
Admit honestly that you are a sinner who has missed the mark, without comparing yourself to others or minimizing your own sin.
Profess faith in what Jesus did
Put your trust in Jesus's death and resurrection on your behalf rather than in your own effort, believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that He is Lord.
Raise your hand and surrender in prayer
If you've never surrendered to Jesus, physically raise your hand as an act of faith, imagining handing Him your sin and taking His hand, and pray the prayer of surrender.
Come back to Him if you feel like Peter
If you already know the Lord but feel far off or guilty over past failure, know He isn't rejecting you and wants to meet you again today.

Take it into your week

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

Related passage

There is a way that appears right to a person, but in the end it leads to death. Pastor Bill opened with a truth that cuts quietly but deeply: most of us are not chasing obviously bad things. We are chasing things that feel completely reasonable — security, success, relationships, comfort — with real confidence and real effort. The problem is not the effort. The problem is the destination. Proverbs 14:12 doesn't say the wrong road feels wrong. It says it feels right. That's what makes it so easy to stay on it for years without questioning whether it's actually taking us anywhere. The sermon's opening challenge is worth sitting with honestly: What are you running toward right now, and where do you actually expect it to take you? Not the Sunday school answer — the real one. The thing you think about when you're quiet. Pastor Bill wasn't trying to shame anyone for wanting a good life. He was pointing out that the confidence we place in things that cannot deliver is something every person does, and that God is not standing at the finish line of that race to punish you. He's trying to redirect you before the race ends. That redirection starts with honesty — with yourself and with Him.

For reflection

What is one thing you are pursuing right now with real confidence — and have you actually tested whether it can give you what you're hoping for?

Pray

Pray for honest eyes to see where you are placing your confidence and why.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Think about something people chase hard in life — a career, a relationship, a goal — believing it will finally deliver the real thing. This message asks whether the confidence behind that chase is matched by something actually true.

Discussion questions

1
Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death. What does that tell us about how confidence and truth can come apart — and why is that a dangerous combination?
Related passage
2
In Mark 16:1–8, the women come to the tomb to anoint a body — they are grieving, not expecting anything. What do you think it would have taken for them to believe what the angel told them, and what does their reaction reveal about how hard resurrection is to accept?
3
Pastor Bill described sin using the image of an archery bull's-eye — Romans 3:23 says every person has missed it entirely, regardless of how close they got. How does that picture change the way we think about who Jesus came for?
4
First Corinthians 15:54–57 describes Jesus removing the 'sting' of death by dealing with sin. Pastor Bill said Jesus didn't just escape death — He defeated it. What difference does that distinction make for how we understand what Easter actually accomplished?
5
Pastor Bill pointed out that Jesus won through surrender and sacrifice, and Romans 10:9 connects that victory to our own act of confessing and believing. Why do you think surrender — rather than effort or moral performance — is the posture that receives what Jesus did?
6
Pastor Bill addressed two kinds of people in this message: someone who has never stepped toward Jesus, and someone like Peter — who already knows Him but feels disqualified by how they've drifted. How might the same good news land differently for each of those people, and what does it look like for a community like ours to hold space for both?

Pray together

Gratitude that Jesus pursued us before we turned toward Him — and honest surrender to what He has already won

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Topics

Easter Resurrection Sin and Confession Surrender vs. Striving Victory in Christ

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