The Beautiful Easter Service

As we are going to reflect through events and significance of Christ’s sacrifice. It is my prayer that every part of what we do this morning humbles us.

That for those of us who are followers of Christ, who have already repented of our sins and put our faith and trust in Christ, that this remembrance instills in our hearts a thankfulness and worship. That it moves us to full on commitment and devotion; that it prompts us to consider how we can live more fully and richly for His glory and purpose.

Maybe some are gathered here this morning who have never committed to Christ, never repented of their sins, never trusted Christ to forgive, who have NOT been restored to a right relationship with Him. If that is you, it is my prayer that you will hear the story of God’s love for you, that you will see His desire to be in intimate relationship with you, and that you will be moved by the Spirit to repent, turn from your sin, and trust Jesus. OR at the very least, bring questions and desires to mind that will set you on a journey of searching and discovery towards God.

It is my goal to combine many elements and mediums to help us reflect and be challenged in our love for and devotion to God.

Scripture - John 19:1-30.

John 19:1–30 ESV

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” 12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus did all of this…endured this pain, this suffering…

because of my sin

Your sin

Our sin.

He had committed NO wrong.

He deserved NO punishment.

We had.

We rejected God. We chose self over Him.

And our sin earned us an eternal separation from him.

Romans 3:10 is clear

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Not only could we do NOTHING about it, we did not want to.

We had chosen our path of rebellion

But love pursues.

And God pursued us. He wanted us. But his justice and holiness demanded our sin be dealt with once for all.

And we could not

We would not

So God steps in.

Jesus steps up

and offers the one perfect sacrifice that would suffice for all mankind for all time.

His death was the substitute sacrifice needed to satisfy God’s holy wrath against our sin

Video - The Beautiful Sacrifice - Skit Guys

2:40

All that was required, to enjoy the benefits of his substitutionary death on our behalf was our repentance and faith.

Our trust and submission

Our repentance and confession.

When moved to guilt over our sin, guilt that leads to repentance, a turning away, from our sin, God applies the payment, offered by Jesus, to our debt, to our account, FOREVER to secure us in intimate fellowship and union with Him.

SUCH THAT Jesus himself says in John 15…

Scripture - John 15:12-17.

John 15:12–17 ESV

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Jesus’ sacrifice brought about infinite good.

Jesus’ sacrifice brought life.

It brought forgiveness and a reconciling of our broken relationship with Him.

AND WITH that restoration of a broken relationship, it brought even more…

It brought such life and beauty, such good that continues well beyond the initial act, initial moment of salvation.

Though not good in and of itself, God brings good out of death and suffering,

Suffering and death is NEVER good…having been the result of sin and the curse.

BUT GOD CAN and DOES PRODUCE good out of it.

He made beauty and life sprout out of that which is by its nature, bad.

This week, I was writing. I have taken to using the Dictionary’s word of the day as a writing prompt, just to give me some creative direction to writing.

This week, one of those words of Wabi-Sabi. It refers to the Japanese aesthetic concept of finding beauty and serenity in objects, landscapes, designs, etc that are simple, IMPERFECT, and impermanent.

I focused on attention on the IMPERFECT part.

Is that which is imperfect, really beautiful?

Can beauty exist in the imperfect?

Since that which is imperfect comes from sin, from the curse of sin, from the brokenness that sin causes, the imperfect in and of itself IS NOT beautiful.

HOWEVER

The promise of Romans 8:28 is that God REDEEMS suffering, brings beauty OUT OF ASHES. This does not make the ashes, the fire, the suffering beautiful itself, but only that He CAN and DOES bring beauty out of that imperfection, that brokenness.

Here is what I wrote as I pondered it…

Wabi-Sabi

Word of the Day Poem

A Japanese aesthetic concept that finds beauty and serenity in objects, landscapes, designs, etc that are simple, imperfect, and impermanent.

Is there beauty in imperfection?

Can beauty be found in the broken,

under the lens of scrutiny and close inspection?

Is there truly a serenity to be found

in that which sin’s curse has delivered,

in that which to fallenness is bound?

Is there?

Is the broken beautiful?

Is it? If so, where?

Certainly You, Abba, redeem the broken

bringing beauty OUT OF ashes

in a glamorous display of grace’s token.

But that does NOT make broken beautiful

for that which rises out of sin’s curse

is most of all properly profoundly, pitiable.

Wabi-Sabi wants us to believe

that the imperfect, the imprecise

does to beauty and glamour cleave.

But brokenness does not shine.

You created nothing less than wholeness

Only sin distorts that which was divine

No. There iOS no beauty, no serenity

in that which is flawed, marred by sin.

Brokenness is to you an obscenity.

Yet being God, Ruler of all

Not even that which the curse has wrought

can stand forever, proud and tall.

You will…You DO redeem and restore

bringing beauty OUT OF the imperfect

shaping it to your own ends forevermore.

Wabi-Sabi, though well intended

falls short of truthful expression

And will in the end fall on knee bended

It will not hold up under scrutiny

for sin and it’s cursed decay

produces no good in its cosmic mutiny

Thus, do not confuse the broken and bad

with the beautiful and good

The imperfect cannot make the heart glad

Nevertheless, we still need never fear

for though the broken is not good

It is MADE good by You who come near.

In the midst of our suffering and the brokenness, the pain of life, God WILL bring beauty

The assurance of it is this…OUT OF THE greatest sacrifice and pain known to man, the greatest beauty blossoms.

We can trust Him and trust He will redeem our pain because of His sacrifice.

Our God is in the business of redeeming brokenness, of healing wounds, of offering forgiveness for sins, and reconciliation between Himself and His rebellious creation.

If you have already repented and embraced this…YOU CAN NOW TRUST that whatever suffering you endure, He can redeem. For He has already redeemed you.

If you have not repented and embraced Christ, know this…THE CROSS reveals BOTH the depth of sin and brokenness, the severity of your offenses against a living God that demanded the death of the Son of God to turn back AND AND it reveals the depth of his love and the strength of His commitment to make a way for you to return to Him.

And all it requires is your repentance and faith in Him.

For us all, it shows us the transcendence of his character and the purity of His love that he would it all for unworthy sinners.

And it shows just why we can trust Him every moment of our lives.

Our repentance and faith ensures that we are no longer separate or distant, but we are CLOSE, intimately united with Christ as His beloved.

We have gone from enemies to friends.

Solly and Sammy have prepared a special song for us that speak to this truth

And then the choir will sing as well.

Special Music - Solomon and Samara

(He Calls Me Friend)

4:16

Choir - Beautiful Hands

4:00

Video - The Beautiful Resurrection

3:04

Eddie ended the video with this question: Will you allow Jesus to come into your emptiness?

Whether for the first time, in the act of repentance that leads to salvation OR for the 100,000 time of dying to self, and letting the life of Christ fill us with all joy and purpose…we ALL need Jesus to FILL our emptiness.

The empty tomb has a powerful point.

Death is dead.

Jesus is alive!

We have hope, forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, restoration, grace, mercy, love, hope, peace, etc…

All because of an empty tomb.

It is the ultimate proof that our suffering and struggle in this life sin and curse WILL NOT defeat us.

But it does also serve the picture as well that without Christ, we are empty. Spiritually empty.

Without Him, we are not living for that which we were made: intimate fellowship with Jesus.

Listen…if you are this morning and you have not repented of your sins and put your faith and trust in Christ to forgive and cleanse you of your sin…you are empty. And if you die in that state, you will die, empty.

God is calling you this morning, through and empty tomb, to put your trust in Him, to repent of the your sins, to trust in Jesus’ act of obedience on that cross as the payment for your sins, and to turn away from it, bringing your life under the surrendered control of His lordship and direction.

AND IN SO DOING, BE FILLED with Him.

Be filled with everything your heart has ever ached for...because HE Is the very thing you were created for.

If you have done that, but still find yourself empty today…God is calling you to lay down pursuit of all the worldly, temporal, fleshly things you are running after in attempt to find satisfaction in this life…to EMPTY yourself of you and your pursuits, to embrace the one thing He is telling you IS THE BEST THING FOR YOU.

Himself.

God is giving us hope through an empty tomb.

He is extending an invitation through an empty tomb.

He is hopefully admonishing us to come.

To be filled with Him.

Will you?

Video - The Beautiful Empty

1:30

Scripture - Ephesians 5:18-21. Galatians 5:16-26

Ephesians 5:18–21 ESV

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Galatians 5:16–26 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We are called to be FILLED (controlled by) the Spirit.

We can only be FILLED if we are EMPTY in the first place.

To be filled, we must be an empty ready receptacle.

THUS

We are called to empty ourselves

Daily

to be filled with him

to walk with him

to be filled with love that overflows

Hearer (those hearing these words right now), what is so filling you right now that you are not empty enough to receive the love and life of God?

What are you being satisfied on that you are not even looking for Christ to satisfy you?

Is it pride at the skills, abilities and talents that God has given you?

Is it the praise of man?

Is the physical appearance you have?

Is it your health stability?

Is it your financial stability?

Is it the generally trouble free living you are experiencing right now?

Is it television? Media? Entertainment?

It is sports?

It is human relationships?

Is it food, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc?

One of the benefits of fasting is that it deprives us of something we cherish, specifically to make us hungry.

And this is not just for physical food. There are other types of fasts than just food.

Whatever it is you are choosing to surrender, you make yourself hungry for that thing…FOR THE EXPLICIT purpose of prompting your attention toward the true source of satisfaction.

It moves you, with desperation, to seek HIM and HIS FULFILLMENT of all good things.

What do you need to lay down today, to empty yourself of that you might be filled with the gospel, the light and hope of the gospel that gives life and joy, that brings life abundantly for those who embrace it?

If we want to be FILLED with the Spirit…if we want to WALK with Him, we have to empty ourselves of the things that are providing a false satiation, a false satisfaction in our lives. We need to make ourselves hungry…hungry enough to go looking for a better fulfillment than the temporary things of this life.

The gospel provides that answer.

Christ.

That is why, for us, there is ONE THING that we stand upon, that we cling to with HOPE and desperation.

THE GOSPEL

Christ

Song - There is One Gospel

4:00

Easter calls us to Christ.

It calls us to the GOSPEL

Daily.

It calls us to love, seek after, and cling to Jesus in powerful and intimate ways.

Will you come?

Will you boast in Jesus as the singular focus of your life, the sole passion of your being?

Choir - All My Boast Is in Jesus

4:00

DFJ - Because He Lives

3:20

Video - The Beautiful Goodbye

2:45

We have a hope BECAUSE HE LIVES.

Because He kept his promise to return to His disciples…His promise to return for us all…will happen.

Because His resurrection happened…

Because He defeated death…

Because He lives…

We have hope.

All the promises of God are YES in Jesus. HE WILL KEEP every one.

Let’s stand and sing together a song of praise to this promise, to this reality, to this truth…our God IS COMING BACK to take us to Himself.

The resurrection is His promise.

Song - Come People of the Risen King

4:00

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