Easter 2026

We’re a multisite church. When Prairie Lakes gathers every weekend, we gather together in (7) different locations: Decorah, Osage, and New Hampton up north; Independence, Cedar Falls, and Fort Dodge along Hwy. 20, and Grinnell down in the central part of our state.

And second:

We’re a “No Matter Church.” You’ve probably already heard that at least once in the room that you’re in. But here’s what we mean by that:

You’ve got people worshiping with you from literally all walks of life and faith. Coming from all different places and perspectives. And no matter who you are, where you’ve been, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you—you’re welcome here. And you can look for God here.

So: glad you’re here!

Hey: we don’t have some of your typical church traditions—and you probably picked up on that already. It’s not a very traditional place.

But at Easter, one of the things we kinda like to do is a little more traditional. And if you grew up going to church at Easter, you might be familiar with it.

I’m gonna say to you:

“He is risen.”

And across our campuses, I’d love it if you’d say this back to me, out loud:

“He is risen indeed.”

Ready?

“He is risen.”

(He is risen indeed.)

Now, let’s move into our offertory time as we pass the plate… (just kidding).

The End is the Beginning

Alright—I’ve had kind of a weird last couple of weeks.

A few weeks ago, I started to feel like I was getting sick. Nothing major at first—just thought it was a cold. But by the next day, I felt worse. And then Saturday hit… and I was down. Couldn’t get out of bed.

I was supposed to preach that Sunday—but I couldn’t. Ended up in Urgent Care, and they said it was probably the flu or Covid. Either way—same plan: rest and fluids.

So I went home… and for the next couple days, I was just out. Nauseous. Fatigued. Head pounding. That weird in-between of asleep and awake where you lose track of time.

And somewhere around day three… your mind starts to go to some dark places. You start thinking:

“I can’t do another day like this.”

Sounds dramatic—but when you’re in it, it’s real.

And for me, I’ve got a mechanical heart valve, so I can’t take most of the meds that would help. I just had to ride it out.

And then just as I started to turn a corner… the coughing fits hit. The kind where you feel like you might pass out.

And I found myself back in that same place:

“I can’t do another day like this.”

“I just need this to end… or this might be the end of me.”

Of course—it wasn’t. I’m still here. (For now.)

But some of you have been there.

Maybe physically. Maybe mentally. Maybe relationally… or financially.

That place where you just want it to end—or you start to wonder… is this the end?

But here’s what we’re reminded of every time we get to Easter Sunday:

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With Jesus, the end is the beginning.

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With Jesus, the end is the beginning.

The End: Telos in John 13

There’s a few moments in Jesus’ life as he walks up to the cross, and then is crucified, and then is risen again which you can see this truth really clearly. The end is the beginning.

The first one of those moments is in John 13.

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John 13:1

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John is one of 12 guys who followed Jesus for (3) years and then was an eye witness to the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. And as he writes his particular account of these events, he spends about half of his words describing the events of the last week of Jesus’ life—and then what happened after.

His account is 21 chapters long. But almost right in the middle, in chapter 13, we get this verse:

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John 13:1 “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

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That word translated in English as “end” is the Greek word, “telos.” Telos.

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τέλος - “end”

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When we use that word “end” today, we usually mean something like the termination of something. The end of the line. End of life. Or the last frame of a movie with those two words on the screen: “the end.”

But telos doesn’t mean that. Telos means a purpose fulfilled. A goal reached. A mission completed.

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τέλος - “end”

Purpose… fulfilled. Goal… reached. Mission… accomplished.

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Think of it more like how the last chord of a song brings the feeling of resolution; it’s the beginning of that feeling of satisfaction and relief.

Or the last piece of the puzzle finishes it so you can see the full picture. It’s the beginning of being able to sit back and enjoy that feeling of accomplishment as you see the fall landscape or the ship at sea.

It’s why we use this word, telos, to describe modern things like telescope. What do you do with a telescope? Well, you aim it at a destination.

Even metaphorically: when you ask someone what’s their aim in life… what’s their goal, their purpose, what they’re shooting for… it’s kinda like asking them where they’re pointing their telescope.

That’s telos.

Now, if we were continue to read the next couple of verses from John, we’d see that the first way Jesus loved his own “to the end” was to do this:

Wrap a towel around his waist and wash his disciples’ feet.

Doing the work of a servant. Telos. That’s Jesus, fulfilling his purpose.

And then he prays for his disciples—including all of the ones who will one day believe…

You and me. That’s telos; praying that you and I would fulfill his purpose.

And then he goes to a garden to pray for what’s about to come—that he’d be faithful to why he came. Telos.

And then he’s arrested. And he’s tried for blasphemy against God in religious courts and treason against the emperor in Roman courts.

And then he’s flogged. And then sentenced to death by crucifixion.

And then he’s nailed to a Roman cross through both hands and feet. A crown of thorns was pressed down into his skull as a mock crown while a funny sign was nailed to the cross overhead pronouncing him “king of the Jews.”

The End: Telos in John 19

And then we get to the next moment of Jesus’ life where we see Jesus himself use this same word, telos, as his last words. John 19:

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John 19:28–30 “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

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The same word translated as “end” on the night of the Passover meal is now translated as “finished” at the cross. Same root word.

And so we get yet another perspective on how with Jesus, the end is the beginning:

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At the cross, at the end of himself, Jesus finished what we started.

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Ever since the very beginning, every one of us has aimed our life somewhere other than God. We’ve said things we can’t take back. We’ve done things we wish we could undo. We’ve become people we never intended to be.

And as our days turn into months turn into years, we find ourselves in some pretty dark and distant places—far from God, and far from where he wants us to be.

But at the cross, God closes the gap—not that we moved closer to him, but that he moved closer to us. Because all of that sin that we put between us and God—God puts on his perfect Son, Jesus.

And he buries our sin forever in that grave. At the cross, that part of our story is finished. It no longer has the final say on where we end up.

Jesus’ end is the mark of a new beginning for you and me.

The End is the Beginning: Easter

But we’re not going to understand that new beginning until we understand the events of Easter morning. Here’s the story:

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John 20:1–2 “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!””

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She didn’t understand what happened.

But that’s how it is when things are still dark.

I love that detail: “while it was still dark.”

Here in a couple of weeks, my son and I will be out in a turkey blind while it’s still dark.

And here’s what you learn when you gotta get out into the woods while it’s still dark:

There’s whatever time sunrise is.

But you need to be in your spot at least 30 minutes before that time, because it’ll be very light well before you see the sun peak over the horizon.

So this isn’t just before sunrise—this is before there are any signs of the sun rising. While it was still dark, Mary sees that the stone has been rolled away. But she isn’t really seeing what’s happened. Yet.

God came into the world as a baby in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night—and God rose out of the grave before first light. The two most significant events in all of human history happened right under our nose under cover of darkness instead of under the bright lights. That’s how God loves to work.

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John 20:3–6 “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,”

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John 20:7–10 “as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.”

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They saw. They believed.

But they didn’t understand. So they went back.

They saw. They believed.

But they didn’t understand. So they went back.

Here’s something I want to challenge you with:

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Seeing might be believing.

But believing isn’t the same as understanding.

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And some of you are right there. You believe something about Jesus, but you’ve never let it change anything about your life.

It was one thing to see the empty tomb.

It was one thing to see the risen Jesus.

But it’s another thing entirely to understand what it all means—much less means for us.

John documents the first (3) times that the risen Jesus appears to his disciples. And each time, he says something to them to help them not just see, but understand.

In his first appearance, Jesus appears inside a room that’s locked. And it was locked because they were afraid of who might be knocking on the door to come get them. All of them are there, except Thomas.

In his second appearance, they’re in the same house, same locked room—only this time, Thomas is with with them.

And then the third time he appears to them, they’ve finally ventured back outside. And we get this story in chapter 21:

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John 21:1–3 “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

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So ventured out, but still under the cover of darkness.

This is what they were doing when they first met Jesus. They were a bunch of commercial fishermen. And Jesus said, “Come, follow me—and I’ll help you fish for people.” Gives them a different mission and vocation—reaching people in his name.

But here they are, back to fishing for… fish.

And failing at that, too..

They saw. They believed.

But they didn’t understand. So they went back.

And this is a pattern for us, too, my friends:

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When you don’t understand what Jesus has done, you go back to what you’ve always done.

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But Jesus is not content to leave them in this place of misunderstanding. He’s not content to leave any of us there. He wants us to understand that with him, the end is the beginning.

So here’s what he does. Verse 4:

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John 21:4–6 “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”

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With Jesus, the end is the beginning.

That’s what they didn’t understand.

You’re trying to go back to what you know.

But what you know isn’t working.

You’re trying to do it your own way.

But your way isn’t working.

They were fishing all night. Didn’t catch a doggone thing.

But with Jesus:

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With Jesus, the end is the beginning:

When you reach the end of yourself, he invites you to start new with him.