From the What, to the Why. Ressurection Sunday 2023
Resurrection Sunday • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Sunrise Service Sermon, “What Jesus Changed at Resurrection”
Recall the resurrection story:
John 20:11-18
It is early morning. Passover is over, and the body of Jesus must continue to be prepared.
Imagine the feelings of the disciples, and those who followed Jesus
Was he the Messiah?
Why did this happen?
Was he a lunatic?
What does this mean for me???
Then we read…
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
Then later on that evening, we read on...
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Jesus also has another account with the disciples in the book of Luke:
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
We are so blessed to read these accounts this morning, as what has happened on this day, will never stop being impactful or meaningful.
EGGSTRAVEGANZA 2023:
— Share my experience of the day taking photos
— She the hope of impact of Eggstravaganza
So why is this day, this Easter celebration, so much more to us Christians than the eggs, the bunny and the food coma some of us will tackle later on?
We know this morning, as the body of Christ, who is the church, that what Christ has done, on the cross, and in his resurrection, was accomplished through his love, his power, and through his grace. This ultimate act of redemption to man, has transformed and renewed the way man and God relate… forever.
So what exactly has the resurrection has changed?
Share testimony of being called and struggling with what I know..
Our Past:
We have been baptized into his death, and sin has no authority over us:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
In other words, our past, our sin, is gone. We have died of our selves, and set free to live with Christ.
Our Present:
Our new lives now are different than before
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Today, we set to live a life, like him, devoted to him, set apart from the world. Today we choose to be imitators of Christ.
Our Future:
We will be raised from death
knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
ALSO: JESUS CHANGED THE QUESTION FROM WHAT WE DO, TO WHY WE DO IT.
THE WHAT:
What do we do to be in right standing with God?
What do I do to be be a good person?
What do I do to make sure I don’t go to hell?
The Truth is, as we read God’s Word, and understand Christ, with man alone, it is IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish the “WHAT.”
SHARE THE STORY OF THE RICH MAN WHO GOES TO JESUS - Mark 10:17-22 (ENCOURAGE THEM TO READ 17-31 later)
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
This lesson is less about money, as it is the WHAT -
What he was living for was keeping him from following Christ.
His WHAT was different than what he was asking for
As Christians, we change everything to the “Why”
Why? Because what Christ did made our lives right with the God the Father again.
Why? We are justified, and atoned through his death and resurrection. And through his ascension, Jesus currently sits at the right-hand of the father, as both Son of God and Son of Man.
Why? Because we have a helper, who teaches us the thing of God, who helps us to understand scripture, and helps us to transform our lives, living a life of holiness, becoming “christ-like.” We walk with the Holy Spirit.
Today we worship, the fact, that our lives will never be the same.
We come as a community, and as individuals, live with a hope, and a desire to be more like him. To be his hands and feet.
(Talk to anyone who may be visiting or may be new)
We live each day acting out our spiritual disciplines, to be closer to him, in our relationship, adoration, and worship of him.
We practice and work on ways to be closer to Christ through prayer, meditation, reading and studying scripture, being in community with the body of Christ, and by practicing the sacraments. We do all of these things, knowing it is only through his grace, we grow closer to him.
Right now, as the band comes up, we prepare for a practice we do as a body of believers, communion.
My prayer, is that as we celebrate this morning, and as we partake in the sacraments, as a celebration of what Christ has done, and through it, we are forever changed, to no longer worry about what we can do to be right with God, but we live our lives in faith knowing the reason why. Jesus, IS the son of God, who over 2,000 years ago shed his blood on the Cross, resurrected from death, defeating the enemy, death, and sin, and ascended, currently sitting at the right-hand side of the Father, as our Lord, Savior, Messiah, and our friend.
Let’s Pray.
