CALL TO WORSHIP
OPENING PRAYER
OPENING COMMENTS
Today is Easter Sunday (a.k.a Resurrection Sunday) … the climax that Holy Week was moving us towards.
A few days ago, on Good Friday, we remembered the SORROW of the crucifixion … Today, on this Easter Sunday, we pause to remember the JOY of the Resurrection.
For many of us, this is the high point of the liturgical year — the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
The theme for today, then, is The Resurrection.
FIRST READING
14 The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
OPENING SONGS
SERMONETTE
- A special video re: Easter Sunday …
From the PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT …
In the quiet embrace of dawn, the world stirs with a promise of new life. As the sun’s first rays cast aside the shadows of the night, we are reminded of a profound truth – that the resurrection of Jesus brings forth the dawn of our own resurrection.
Easter Sunday heralds a symphony of hope, for the tomb could not contain the Author of Life. In his rising, we too find our own awakening, intricately woven with the very essence of the One who conquered death.
Through the Incarnation, we have been intricately connected — with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Bonded by love, we stand as one, sharing in the victory of the empty tomb.
As we gather in worship, hearts united with Christ and one another, we rejoice in the truth that our resurrection is bound to His. In the dance of life, we find our steps guided by the risen Christ, leading us towards the fullness of His promise.
Just as spring bursts forth in glorious bloom, so too does the resurrection of Christ herald the ultimate restoration of all creation. His plan, intricately woven into the very fabric of time, surpasses our finite understanding.
In the brilliance of Easter’s dawn, we are reminded that Jesus is not finished with us. He beckons us forward, towards the fullness of His restored creation, where every tear will be wiped away, and every heart will find its true home.
” On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. 9In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Resurrection. Redemption. Restoration. May we walk in the fullness of this glorious truth.
He is Risen!
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- PRAYER REQUEST???
- OFFERTORY MESSAGE
- OFFERING COLLECTION
- OFFERTORY PRAYER
- WHAT’S ON MY MIND … Q & R …
- Are we ready to go forward as a church … or should we continue, for the time being, as a fellowship group?
- Why do people really go to church? Love … or Fear? … Duty … or Desire?
- Why do you go to church?
- Will you be in church next Sunday?
John 20:1-18
Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
A. Hallelujah! Jesus is alive. Death has lost it’s victory … and the grave has been denied … Jesus lives forever! He’s alive!! He’s alive!!!
B. “Death has lost its victory.” What does that mean? How do you understand that statement?
C. For me, it’s another way of saying Death has been defeated. He has not died, as yet … but he has been defeated.
D. The title of my sermon, today … Remembering THE DAY DEATH WAS DEFEATED … and the keynote passage is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Let’s read it …
A number of things to notice …
- the number of times “according to the scriptures” is mentioned in the passage
- and the number of times “was seen” are mentioned in the passage …
- Both are important because 1) the resurrection was prophesied and 2) the resurrection was THE ultimate proof Jesus’ messiahship, SO there had to be witnesses — the resurrected Jesus had to be seen.
The point I want to focus on, however, is what constitutes the Gospel … what the Gospel is all about … what the essential aspects of the Gospel are.
- 1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you
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- 1 Corinthians 15:3-5a For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by ….
Notice …
IF we take “delivered” in verse 3 to mean the same as “preached” in verse 1 … THEN the “gospel” in verse 1 is about the things about Christ in verse 3 …
“… Christ died … Christ was buried … Christ rose again ….”
- IF we understand “buried” assumes “dead body” … THEN we can conclude that the Gospel is really about the DEATH and the RESURRECTION (the rising again) of Jesus Christ.
- This is importaant because many tend to think that salvation is because of the death of Christ and that the good news of the Gospel is that all our sins have been forgiven because Jesus died for us.
- That is true … but that is only a part of the Gospel.
The Gospel, according to Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, is about the death of Christ, yes … but it’s also about the resurrection of Christ. CONSIDER that if Christ had not risen (been resurrected), He would still be paying the penalty for our sins … and our sins would not have been forgiven completely.
Why is the Resurrection SO important?
There are many reasons we could look at (and Paul does that in some of the later verses in 1 Corinthians 15)
…. but I want focus on just one that I’ve come to understand better over the years.
The POINT: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is how He defeated death.
The Gospel is about God’s Provision for solving Man’s Problem.
Because Man’s Problem was two-fold … God’s Provision had to be two-fold as well (God’s Provision/Solution had to address the two aspects of Man’s Problem)
What are the two aspects?
- SIN …
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- Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …
2. DEATH …
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- Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Ephesians 2:1-7 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the [j]course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel is about the Resurrection of Jesus, as well as the Death of Jesus.
- The Death of Jesus … because that’s how he defeated SIN.
- The Resurrection of Jesus … because that’s how he defeated DEATH.
CONCLUSION
A. Many people think we are saved because of what Good Friday reminds us of — the death of Christ.
B. The truth, however, is that we are really saved by His resurrection.
- Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
C. We were reconciled by Christ’s death.
D. But we shall be saved because of His resurrection.
E. The death of Christ made our salvation possible … but it is His resurrection that made our salvation a reality.
F. It is because He lives, that we can have the hope of eternal life. Amen.
CLOSING SONG
CLOSING PRAYER
BENEDICTION