Understanding Easter and how much God really LOVES you, his ultimate sacrifice so you can have forgiveness and new life

I found a wonderful article I wanted to share here:
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/easterbiblevers.htm

Easter, or Resurrection Day, as many Christians refer to the holiday,
is a time when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus
Christ.

Learn more about Easter:

* What is Easter?
* The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
* Timeline of Jesus' Final Hours
* Why Does the Date for Easter Change Every Year?

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die. (NIV)

Romans 1:4-5
And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God
powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit.
Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell
Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will
believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. (NLT)

Romans 6:8-11
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with
him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot
die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he
died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In
the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus. (NIV)

Philippians 3:10-12
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. (NIV)

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great
mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (NIV)

Matthew 27:50-53
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his
spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from
top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke
open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to
life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they
went into the holy city and appeared to many people.(NIV)

Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a
violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His
appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The
guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you
are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has
risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go
quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is
going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have
told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy,
and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings,"
he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then
Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go
to Galilee; there they will see me." (NIV)

Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,
and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were
on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the
stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very
large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a
young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they
were alarmed.

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,
who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where
they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going
ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told
you.' "

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.
They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (NIV)

(See also, Luke 24:1-12)