Sermon Tone Analysis
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Call to Worship
Song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today( He is not Dead)
Announcements
Focus on the Cross & Death
Song: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
Song: When I surveyed the Wondrous Cross
Meditation
This morning’s celebration we are going through three stages as we reflect upon the Easter Story.
We are in the reflection of The Cross and the Death our second will be on the tomb, and we will end with the greatest story, true story of Christ rising and defeating death.
But first, I want to walk you through and focus on the Cross and His Death
The Crowds
On Friday we had the opportunity as believers in Merritt to come and focus on the willingness of the suffering servant to come to the cross.
As we begin our first of three meditation, it is amazing to see the response of the crowd.
That very crowd that a week earlier where shouting Hosanna, were now rallying to have him crucified.
Let’s look at the Word
They shouted all the more.
The very people who were praising God had no turned their praises to curses.
The followers of Christ
What happened to the followers of Christ?
They had scattered when he was arrested, Peter had denied Christ and had gone away in the most agonizing shame.
Knowing that he too had deserted His master.
Matthew tells us
The disciples had fled but standing in the distance were the women who were active in the life of Christ.
Mary, that same Mary who would have anointed Jesus was able to be near the event.
Jesus’ mother stood by her son.
As God stood by and watched in agony of his only son being crucified for us, Mary, the mother of Jesus has to watch as well.
Mary, the young girl who was approached by an angel to do the impossible.
To be the mother of the messiah.
Every Jewish girl’s dream was being fulfilled, yet now at the foot of the cross she watched in sorrow as her gift from God was being crucified for her sins.
For our sins.
She must have reflected on the many times he was growing up, the time he was at the temple and she knew then that he was destined for something she couldn’t bear.
She was there when he cried out,
The very words taken from the Ps 22.
She would know those scriptures.
Written by King David as he was fleeing for his life.
Written during a low time in the King’s life as he awaited his crowing moment as Saul was hunting him down to kill him.
David’s cry to God was out of desperation.
Hoping that his prayers would reach the father’s ear and rescue him.
David’s trust was in the father and he rested in that assurance.
Christ uttered those words knowing that God was in control.
Knowing that this act must continue for the redemption of the world was at work that First Easter weekend.
An author I know penned these words on reflections of the silence over the first Easter weekend.
We, ourselves, go through our suffering much like Mary did as pictured here.
Trials enter our life and we wrestle with God over His promises.
We beseech the throne of heaven.
We grapple with our finite knowledge against an infinite God with divine wisdom.
It is not that we do not believe the promises of God, but we do not see them fulfilled in the way that we expect.
Sometimes we begin to doubt our understanding of God’s word and His promises.
The voice that we thought was God’s leading seems to have disappeared and in its place, there is doubt.
We ask God why He has forsaken us, if He has forgotten
His covenant-keeping character.
In fact, nothing seems to make any sense at all.
Maybe it seems like our very faith has been shaken to the core.
There are times when we may feel overwhelmed and even defeated.
The burial of Christ was a silent time.
God did not speak for three days.
God, for the moment may appear to be silent.
But just because He does not speak, does not mean that He is not there.
He was there in silence…waiting for the right time to fully reveal His plan.
During our difficult hour, silence is what seems to accompany us.
He may appear to be distant, standing back as an uninterested party.
But the duration in the tomb resulted in the power of the resurrection.
The time of silence ended with the glory of God being revealed in the resurrected body of Christ.
It is only in the darkness that the Light can truly shine.
God does not turn away from our questions and fears; He remains there the entire time allowing us to experience the burial of these fears.
We must not forget the burial during this Easter season.
We know that we must appreciate the suffering of Christ so as to realize the magnitude of His death in our stead.
The resurrection is the basis of the power that we Christians have to live the abundant life that Christ talked about during His time on earth.
But we miss the burial.
It is unless we bury our doubts, our fears, and ourselves that God can truly work in our hearts and empower us.
God is waiting there in the silence.
He has His hand upon yours, waiting.
Take hold of that silence and rest in it.
He is not waiting because He is hesitant, or fearful, or cruel.
He is waiting because He knows the best time to release you into the power of His resurrection.
Mourning has turned to joy!
I wanted today to take a few moments and reflect on the cross and his death.
It is Easter and without those reflections, we cannot see the true picture of the resurrection.
Mourning has turned into Joy,
This morning we call all say
Christ has risen, He has risen indeed.
Pastor Josh
Children’s Moment
Focus on the Tomb
Song: Alas and Did my Saviour Bleed
Song: You are my All and All
Meditation
To begin our meditation of the Tomb, I would like to read a poem reflecting on the tomb and its meaning.
Out of the Grey
Grey.
After the funeral and before our lives go on.
Before the awful realization settles like dust on our shoulders…
That we will forget his face.. his smile.. the way he made us laugh..
His puzzling words…this…King…disguise.
Grey
All cried out.
Not energy left, even to mourn.
But none either for moving on with life.. now however small.
So the women decide to do…something…
Anything to keep from sitting in that dark house.
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