‘How do I know I’m safe?’ That’s the question posed by Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, at the start of his Easter message to the people of the County for 2025.

And he gives us the answer … it’s Jesus.  

The Diocesan Bishop for The Church of England in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) says many people are asking the question in these troubled times. He also invites people to find Jesus for themselves by visiting their local church this Easter.

The video message is available in full now across all the Diocesan social channels as well as our website.

Bishop Philip says: “In the midst of an endless cost of living crisis where hundreds of thousands of families struggle to put food on the table, how do I know I’m safe? In urban communities riddled by drugs related crime and where ketamine abuse has risen by 75% in 12 months how do I know I’m safe?

“And in a world where the most powerful nation is also the least predictable and the rules-based world order is at threat like no other time since World War II, how do I know I’m safe?

“That is exactly the question that Easter answers.”

The Bishop continues: “In Jesus, God knows what it was to feel as unsafe as we are. Jesus came from the perfect safety of heaven into this unsafe world. He suffered profoundly as a victim of human sin. He knew life as a refugee. He experienced rejection by his friends.

“He underwent mockery and abuse. And then on Good Friday he went into the ultimate place of unsafety which is death. He was nailed to a cross. His side was pierced with a spear. He breathed his last. He was placed into a stone cold tomb. Jesus, God’s own Son, died.

“But by experiencing our lack of safety, Jesus invites us to a place of safety. By being unsafe, he makes us safe. You see when Jesus died, he didn’t just die his own death. He died our death also. He stepped in and did the dying we sinners deserve on our behalf.

“Then on Easter Day he rose magnificently from the dead, and as he did so he destroyed death altogether.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the message Bishop Philip invites people across Lancashire to go to their local church this coming weekend.

He says: “This Easter, why not explore more deeply what it means to find safety in Jesus? In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, in your local church, Christians will be gathering to give thanks for all that Jesus does to make us safe.

“They will be meeting for worship and for fellowship. There may well be activities for families and for children. And you won’t just be made welcome at your local church. It is your family. You belong there.

“They are waiting to meet you and welcome you home. Above all they are longing to share with you the best news ever. That Jesus has risen from the dead. And that if we turn to him and trust in him, we can be safe with him for ever.”

Full Easter message text

Read and watch the full message below and on YouTube here.

How do I know I’m safe? That’s a question that so many people are asking right now.

In the midst of an endless cost of living crisis where hundreds of thousands of families struggle to put food on the table, how do I know I’m safe?

In urban communities riddled by drugs related crime and where ketamine abuse has risen by 75% in 12 months how do I know I’m safe?

In a world where the most powerful nation is also the least predictable and the rules based world order is at threat like no other time since World War II, how do I know I’m safe?

In a nation where the public services seemed stretched to breaking point, how do I know I’m safe?

With our fragile bodies, our short lives, our uncertain futures, how can any of us ever know that we are safe?

That is exactly the question that Easter answers.

In Jesus, God knows what it was to feel as unsafe as we are. Jesus came from the perfect safety of heaven into this unsafe world. He suffered profoundly as a victim of human sin. He knew life as a refugee.

He experienced rejection by his friends. He underwent mockery and abuse. And then on Good Friday he went into the ultimate place of unsafety which is death. He was nailed to a cross. His side was pierced with a spear. He breathed his last. He was placed into a stone cold tomb. Jesus, God’s own Son, died.

But by experiencing our lack of safety, Jesus invites us to a place of safety. By being unsafe, he makes us safe. You see when Jesus died, he didn’t just die his own death. He died our death also. He stepped in and did the dying we sinners deserve on our behalf.

Then on Easter Day he rose magnificently from the dead, and as he did so he destroyed death altogether. Because Jesus  has died our death, death is defeated and we can live his new and beautiful Easter life. Jesus came from a place of safety to this unsafe world, and by so doing he has drawn us from this unsafe world to the safety of heaven itself.

So if you trust in Jesus, you know you are safe. He has claimed your life and isn’t going to let go. He loves you to death and that means he will love you for ever.

There will of course still be times when you feel unsafe: when life is hard, when grief is painful, when your body hurts or when you are worried about the people you love. But the promise of Easter is that such times cannot last. Jesus has died so that you can be safe. And that promise of future safety means you can live in the present with hope and with joy.

This Easter, why not explore more deeply what it means to find safety in Jesus? In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, in your local church, Christians will be gathering to give thanks for all that Jesus does to make us safe.

They will be meeting for worship and for fellowship. There may well be activities for families and for children. And you won’t just be made welcome at your local church. It is your family. You belong there.

They are waiting to meet you and welcome you home. Above all they are longing to share with you the best news ever. That Jesus has risen from the dead. And that if we turn to him and trust in him, we can be safe with him for ever.

I hope that you have a happy and blessed Easter. I hope that you have a chance for a rest from work and to be with friends. But above all I will be praying that this Easter you might find some time to look into the tomb with the disciples and find that it is empty. Jesus is risen. Death is destroyed. And in him we are alive with a new life. A life of love, a life of hope, a life of safety.

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn

Ronnie Semley, April 2025