Sunrise Service 2024 - Bringing the Dead to Life

Scripture: Romans 6:3-11

Romans 6:3–11 NIV

3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

3/31/2024

Order of Service:

Special Notes:

Opening Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for new mercies every morning and for bringing us new life every day. Today, as we gather, we honor your sacrifice and celebrate your victory. Most of all, we praise You for sharing that with us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bringing the Dead to Life

Easter Morning

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Easter morning was the most important day since the world’s creation. It is bigger than Christmas (and yes, you would not have Easter without the birth of Jesus), but if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, Christmas would be the birthday of just another person. Easter proves Jesus is God and the Lord of All. We are Christians, followers of Jesus today because Jesus broke the power of sin and death when He rose from the dead.

Trapped

Every one of us knows what it's like to be trapped. From a young age, we quickly learn how it feels when a parent bundles us up, packs us into a car seat, and drives us 100 miles to a family get-together with people we do not know. We are passed around from stranger to stranger, all with our names in their mouths, but none of whom we have come to trust. Other times, we got left off in a corner somewhere, trying to find ways to keep ourselves occupied and stay out of trouble. All the while, we wonder when we will ever see home again.

There are even worse moments when we feel the despair of being alone. Getting lost or left behind as a child. Finding ourselves sick or hungry without medicine or food. Surrounded by enemies without anyone to help defend us. These are the feelings we spend most of our lives trying to avoid. And yet, these are the things we will all face in the future. We try everything we can to prevent it, but death comes for us all, and our consciences remind us that because of the sin in the world and our contribution to sin, we do not deserve better. We reap what we sow, and no one can sow enough to help themselves out of losing everything in the end.

Dying Differently

Even Jesus, the Son of God, died. He lost everything in the end. Jesus suffered the fate that everyone had nightmares about. And He calls us to follow Him into death, which is strange since we all basically end up there anyway, don’t we? But Jesus died differently, and He also calls us to die differently.

From the waters of baptism, symbolizing a dying to sin, we pick up our cross and follow Jesus to the end, showing that our life following Jesus is a journey that begins with water and our first acts of repentance but continues daily. In a sense, we are not “fully” immersed until our hearts stop, our breathing ends, and they lay us in our tombs. It is only then that we are finally set free forever from the power of sin and death in our lives. So, to us, death is not something to fear. It is a temporary tool of God that finally makes us alive and righteous.

Set Free

That idea there, that death wipes our record clean and allows us a fresh start, is not difficult to swallow. It is proclaimed at funerals for Christians and non-Christians alike as we understand that our dearly departed are no longer suffering anymore. They rest in peace. It is a journey of baptism without a cross and the plan of salvation without a savior.

This is where Paul turns a corner in his letter to the Romans, and what he writes next sounds a little crazy.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Throughout this passage, Paul writes about Jesus dying and rising again in the past tense because, as I said earlier, it is one of the most critical events in the history of the world. Jesus died, and He rose on the third day. But when Paul tells us that we are united with Jesus in that death and that our old self is crucified, so sin has no rule anymore, Paul also writes about us in the past tense. The resurrection you and I will experience is in the future, according to Paul, but He tells us here that if you and I are on the journey, following Jesus to that resurrection, we have already died. Our physical bodies just haven’t realized it yet.

How Do We Now Live

Why, then, do we still sin, even on Sundays and even on Easter mornings? Because we don’t yet fully believe. We love to hear the story but aren’t ready to be part of that story yet. We still fear death, both our own and those we care about deeply. We still mostly believe that our faith is about having pie in the sky in the sweet by and by. Part of us wants the future to look like everyone forgetting the past, living together in harmony, and being nice to one another.

If that is all we want, we can take out everything Jesus taught about judgment. Get rid of all the disciples did to show people there was hope for true justice in God’s Kingdom under His rule. Forget about the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into someone our old, dead selves would never recognize. Throw out the entire Revelation at the end of the Bible for sure. And tell those Jewish children of Abraham, sorry, God couldn’t fulfill His promise. Most of all, take away Jesus. He is not needed if that is your vision of the future. You only need a few good men and women to share encouraging words.

But we have more than just a good man. We have the Son of God, the only one who ever walked out of His own tomb. We have the one with the power of resurrection and life in every word He speaks—yes, present tense because He is alive today. And He calls you and me to pick up those crosses, follow Him to and through death to our old lives, and find a new identity and life in Him.

When we believe in Jesus enough to follow Him, we recognize that the war with sin and evil is already over. Jesus has defeated the power of sin. All that we deserved because of our sins Jesus took upon Himself. Temptation is not hopeless to fight against. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes daily to new ways to live for God, and the Bible shows us how to live and love like Jesus. We have everything we need to be the people we expect to find in Heaven today.

Because Jesus defeated sin and death in our lives, sin has no claim on our past or our future. Because we have followed Jesus and already put our old selves to death, the threat of death will be no more than a change of clothes. We are strangers, away from home, living for a Kingdom we have not yet seen, but it will not be long before we see our God and Savior, whom we have spent our lives loving so dearly, face to face at last.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, We know your love and power are stronger than sin and death. We have heard it in the scriptures and experienced it in our lives. We know You sent us Your precious Son Jesus to free us from anything and everything that would come between us. Today, help us go out of the tombs we build around our hearts and run to you with every ounce of our being. We love You, Lord. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, and help us live for You.