Easter Sunday

He is risen!

Easter Sunday 2025

Northside Church

Jamey Mills

ILL:

Good Morning…

He has risen…

Happy Easter (Easter slide), My name is Jamey Mills, and I am the Lead pastor here at Northside; and I am excited and blessed to celebrate Easter with you all this year.

We moved last weekend to the other side of North Albany…

It 's amazing how much stuff you find…

So much of it you don’t want let alone need…

Years ago, Brandi and I found Detlef Schrempf's HS state championship basketball plaque at a yard sale. Found it.

Baseball cards… and tons of old pictures.

It was neat to see my son and daughter-in-law going through them.

And there is something about that… combing through the years that helps us remember what really matters… I wish I could learn to live with that in mind every day.

I think of things like…

My Wedding day

The day I adopted my wonderful kids

The day I met my grandkids

My last day as a youth pastor

The first staff meeting at NS

Pictures that are so incredibly important…

Full of meaning…

They are a big deal…

A big deal that we often overlook or… rarely take the time to look…

And I can’t help but wonder if that’s what Easter (the resurrection of Jesus Christ) has become to us.

We wonder… What’s the big deal…

Or at the very least… give it so little of our time and attention…

And so today, here’s what I am hoping to do…

Look at how those who were closest to Jesus handled the resurrection as it happened

See the impact that it had one them

And maybe reframe the way we see it and the way it should be impacting us.

WAYYY back in the early 90’s as I was working on my undergrad… there were several secular schoalrs out there that denied the fact that Jesus even existed…

Today, scholars that hold that view aren’t taken very seriously… even in the secular world… there is just too much evidence that supports it.

Today, the question isn’t whether or not Jesus exists… but who is He, what is He about, and why does it matter?

The question is… who was He, what is He about, and why does it matter?

And that question is a big deal.

Over the 30+ years of ministry… I’ve come across far too many who have rejected Jesus…

Simply because they didn’t know Him

Or that have a false/bad picture as to who He is

Or, simply don’t take the time to look into it…

There is no shortage of thoughts when it comes to who Jesus is…

Several people claim that Jesus was simply a good and moral man with a gift for teaching….

I think it was CS Lewis who pointed out the obvious.

The Bible, from start to finish, is about Jesus…

Between what the Bible teaches about Jesus

And who Jesus claimed to be…

Jesus cannot simply be a good, moral, and gifted man.

Jesus is either;

A liar

A lunatic

Or He is Lord

1.

A lunatic

Or He is Lord… exactly who He claimed to be.

Jesus lived… and he is one of those three things… and whatever you decide… is either of the utmost importance… or… of no importance at all… so choose well.

I know that one of the reasons a lot of people reject Jesus… is the very reason we’re here. The resurrection is a lot…

And we learn a lot by looking at the way those who were closest to Jesus handled it…

These are very real, everyday people just like you and I.

Mark 16:1 “Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.” (NLT)

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.

This all happened so fast… we celebrated whats called the triumphal entry into Jerusalem Sunday… the people were laying palm branches and their own garments on the road… kind of like the red carpet treatment… crying out to him and praising him…

Day’s later he’d be arrested and sentence to the most brutal form of executiont here is… He’d die on a cross the very next day.

What does this verse suggest?

Those closest to Jesus believed he was dead. AND… they treated His body as if He’d stay that way.

Mark 16:2–4 “Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.” (NLT)

2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

Right away… they realize something is off.

What do you think they’ll assume?

If you combine all the gospel accounts, you get a much fuller picture… it sounds like as they looked in the tomb… they were terrified. It was empty.

One author said it like this…

Nobody… regardless of what Jesus said… Nobody expected there to be no body.

They thought the same thing that many of us would be tempted to think…

Jn 20 tells us what they thought… they ran back and told the disciples as much…

Someone… maybe even the gardner… as taken His body and we have no idea where.

Luke 24:11 says… it sounded like nonsense to them.

And my point is… if you’ve struggled to make sense of the resurrection, you're in good company. Those closest to Jesus struggled with it too. For a while.

Luke 24:12 tells us Peter jumped up and had to see for himself… He took off running… John wants us to know that he actually outran Peter there…

As Peter looked in, he didn't pull back and yell “He is alive”...

It says what he saw… the empty tomb caused him to wonder.

It’s so important that we see these real people… thinking and behaving like real people, trying to make sense of what happened… it validates their testimony.

To me it’s powerful that the Bible records the truth, even here.

Another author suggests… we see skepticism in the very ones who, a short time later… would be the spokesmen and women of the early church.

Jn 20:19 shows the disciples meeting behind closed doors… afraid for their lives… if they killed Jesus, they likely wouldn’t be treated a whole lot better.

When Jesus shows up…

Luke 24:37 reveals a similar situation… and it says they were startled and afraid… Understatement of the year.

Jesus asks them, Why are you afraid? I told you this would happen…

And then in 24:48; Jesus says something powerful. I can help but wonder what they thought of it….

He says… and you… you’ll be my witnesses of these things…

And even though it doesn't line up at all with what we see in their reaction… they would.

They would in ways that make absolutely no sense whatsoever… unless they saw it with their own eyes… and believed with every ounce of their being…

If you honestly look at the resurrection….

It is the event the changed the world

That launched the Church

That has endured time

Becomes the lens in which we make sense of Jesus, what He did, and what He said.

That has radically changed the lives of millions of people, including my own.

I would say, more than any other event… the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit is what launched Christianity.

Without the ressurection, Good Friday is nothing more than remembering the life and death of a good man who actually lied and deceived millions.

For years, the Bible has been the most criticized book of all TIME… and over and over again, it’s proven itself, under great scrutiny, to be historically accurate… even things once firmly doubted and denied like historical figures/locations/events…. Have been proven true…

And I’m not about to say… except for the resurrection.

One of the strongest arguments for the resurrection is to look at those who were closest to Jesus

It wasn’t just that they eventually accepted it, but something… somewhere, somehow happened… that radically changed their lives in powerful and undeniable ways.

Ways that would not be silence

That would embolden them to face rejection, ostracism, persecution, and evnetuallyd earth.

In ways that would change the world

We are here in part… because of their testimony… because of what they saw… and were willing to do and face because of what they saw.

And going from the crowd of Jesus' closest followers, I want to narrow in on one. The one that I would argue was closer to Jesus than any other.

Peter…

The one who believed, then didn't believe, then swore to a middle school girl he never believed… but now… post-resurrection… became this rock solid believer that Jesus actually named him to be…

Peter, now an old man… who had seen some incredible things…

Wrote this to the early first century, likely newer believers…

1 Peter 1:3–4 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” (NIV)

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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1 Peter 1:6 “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.” (NLT)

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

Peter tells us what it was…

That made this change in him that is so radical it can only be described as… a whole new life..

That gave him purpose and courage

Is the reality of the resurrection.

That Jesus lives.

And He echoes that same truth… and the hope it brings to those brand new first-century Christians…

The resurrection brings hope of an inheritance that cannot and will not spoil, fade, perish, or depreciate

That is greater than the hard things we face.

Peter… and those early Christians didn’t reject Jesus because hard things happen to Good people…

They lived it in ways very few can imagine.

One author reminds us…

Jesus followers literally saw the worst imaginable thing happen to the best person they’d ever met

-Andy Stanley

He saw Jesus suffer… he saw Jesus die… and then he had breakfast with Jesus on the shore.

Peter didn’t doubt God… or God’s love and goodness because of pain and suffering. That is the result of sin… in the world.

His faith in God was tethered to an imaginary God whose very existence centered on humanity’s comfort or whims.

Peter knew firsthand that death didn't have the final say.

He saw it… and it changed him forever.

Jesus is greater than death

And that's what Easter celebrates.

It radically changed Peter…

This week as I was preparing…

I couldn’t stop thinking about this…

As you read through the Bible, you begin to see just how intentional God is… There is so much profound meaning and purpose in what God says and does…

The very thing we see in Jesus on the cross and in the resurrection points to the very work God wants to do in you.

On the cross and and the resurrection… is the very work God wants to do in you.

It’s important that you hear this… a lot of churches have decided it's not cool to teach it anymore…

In order for Sunday to be what it is, Friday had to happen.

In order for us to know the resurrection, the cross had to happen.

And that is such powerful symbolism of the very work God wants to do in you…

This new , full and free life that we have in Christ…

Involves death… this dying to ourselves… to our will and way… to pride and selfishness… loosening our grip in order to take hold of Christ… and the new life He brings.

The resurrection has profound implications for you.

For your life, your marriage, parenting, your family, your true identity, your hopes, your fears, and even for your meaning and purpose.

For your life, your marriage, your parenting, your family, your true identity, your hopes, and even your fears.

Where are you with it?

Struggling like the early believers:

Have you outright rejected it? My heart breaks for you.

Have you taken the time to dig into it?

Are you living, thinking, and acting like the resurrection never happened?

Are you in a place where you feel like its too late…

That there is no way God could save you or love you because of the past…

HERE THIS… and now it.

There isn’t a sin in this room more powerful than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Have you come to realize the reality that Jesus lives… and that He lives in you.

It is worth your time and attention…

Peter's life… was radically changed by the truth of the resurrection.

My friend Eric… He is a cool dude…

His story is radically changed by the resurrection of Jesus.

Mine is…

My dad’s is…

My mom’s is,

My wife's is…

What about yours?

I’m going to be out in the hall after… if you’d like to talk.

COMMUNION SLIDE:

Every week we give the opportunity to take communion and on Easter Sunday… we are going to take it all at the same time.

If you haven’t already grabbed communion, I want to invite you to quietly send one from your group or family, get it for you all…

The life, death, and ressurection…

Jesus instituted communion… as a way of remembering… celebrating… and commemorating it.

Why… because its big deal… In fact, if true…

It is the biggest deal.

Bigger than money, careers, homes, worries, fears… it's really hard for us to imagine, but it's so big… it's even bigger than family.

On the night Jesus was betrayed… he took the bread and broke it… saying this is my body that was broken for you…

I want to invite you to take the bread and break it in half and take it now…

He said do this, as often as you gather… remembering that Jesus died for you… that took your place and sin… and put you in His place…

Then, he took the cup and said This represents my blood that was poured out… and that covers you.

I want to invite you to drink that now.

Today… we celebrate the reality that Jesus lives…

And its worth celebrating every day…

Jesus lives… and he lives in me.

He has risen…

He… has risen.

Come, one church… say it with passion. Say it like you mean it. If we cannot get excited about this, we are among the most miserable people.

He is risen.

Lets go.

Have you outright rejected it?

My heart breaks for you…

Have you even taken the time to really dig in and consider it?

Have you come to realize the reality that Jesus lives… and… that He lives in us.

It will wreck your life in the most glorious way.