Easter Sunday

WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come! Why so sad? Wipe away your tears. He is risen! Let us celebrate! Hallelujah! Christ the Lord is Risen today! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

HYMN

H&P193: Christ the Lord is risen today.

PRAYERS

Lord God, your Son Jesus walked the earth as we do today, and his life, death and resurrection free us to embrace the fullness of life you offer to all that you have made. In his name, we your Church, your family, gather to celebrate this day, to encourage one another, to draw close to you – glad to be alive, glad to worship you, glad to sing out: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

We are sorry, Lord, for the times when we stay in the tomb of our lack of belief and fill it with our fear. Forgive us, and release us to be your witnesses in your world today. We are sorry for the times we are sceptical when others share the power of the Resurrection in their lives. Forgive us, and release us to be your witnesses in your world today. We are sorry for the times when we live as if there were no Easter. Forgive us, and release us to be your witnesses in your world today. Amen.

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive! Death is overcome Jesus is alive! He is your one true Son: Jesus is alive! We are freed from sin: Jesus is alive! Our new lives can begin: Jesus is alive! On this joyful Easter Day: Jesus is alive! So let us sing and dance and rejoice. Jesus is alive! Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

HYMN

H&P 250: Alleluia, Alleluia give thanks to the risen Lord

READINGS

Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my defence[a]; he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

1 Corinthians 15: 1-11

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word, I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

HYMN

StF 215: And can it be that I should gain.

SERMON

Our reading from the Psalms repeats the phrase “his love endures forever” this psalm is a victory psalm eventually pointing to the victory of Jesus over sin and death.

In Paul’s letter he re-enforces the promise that Jesus died for our sins. but more than this he tells us the Lord is the mighty victoius King who overcame death.

But it is down to each one of us to identify with Christ in this time of instant gratification. We are asked to make a decission do we follow him or do we turn away.

It all Comes down to this!

We find examples of this wherever we go,

It all comes down to the last minute 3 of injury time; the home team is facing a draw. The coach calls a timeout and sends his best substitute onto the field. The team takes their positions, the referee blows the whistle, the ball is in play, the player kicks towards the goal. He scores! The crowd goes wild. At least half the crowd goes wild. The other half leaves in defeat.

It all comes down to this…you’ve waited for that 20-week ultrasound. It seems you can’t wait any longer. You know your life is about to change dramatically, you just want to know if it will be pink, or blue. The ultrasound technician does her magic and…what a great day for a new mom and dad.

‘‘It all comes down to this.’’ That phrase points to a defining moment. It calls to mind a critical stage in your life, a momentous or important occasion. In other words, this is what you’ve been waiting for.

Well, this morning, as we celebrate Easter, I want you to know that this is one of those times. This is a defining moment, this is an important occasion, this is what we’ve all been waiting for. It all comes down to this.

READ Luke 24:1-12

Luke 24: 1-12

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

I want you to see two important realities about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Number one it’s the most important event that ever occurred: 1-8

The story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a story that changed the world. It is the most important event that has ever occurred, and the most important story ever told.

Now, his birth was normal, but it was unique. You see, He was born just like you were born. He was born of a woman. His mother went through the normal process of pregnancy and delivery, *probably even craved pickles and ice cream and wanted them at 2am.*

But His birth was totally unique. He wasn’t just born of a woman; He was born of a virgin. He was totally untainted by sin that each of us inherit at birth.

His death was not atypical of Roman executions. Jesus wasn’t the first person to be crucified by Rome and He certainly wasn’t the last. In fact, He was crucified between two criminals that day.

But His death was totally unique. For in His death, He paid the price for your sin and my sin, satisfied the judgment of God against sin and purchased salvation for all who will turn to Him in faith.

That he died for our sins can be a stumbling block for those who say “ I lead a good life, I give to charity, i dont cheat on my partner, I give to the poor, if there is a heaven surely there will be a place for me?”

But thats not the point those people dont understand every word we speak in anger, every action we take has sin built into it.

When it comes to his resurrection, now that’s completely unique right? Well, sort of. I mean, But as you read the gospels you realize that He was not the only one to rise from the dead. *Everywhere Jesus went he seemed to interrupt a funeral. He turned so many funerals into festivals because He raised so many back to life. * He even empowered His disciples to raise the dead. So, His resurrection is not completely unique.

But it is totally unique. Everyone else that was raised from the dead died again! Their resurrection back to life was only temporary. Not Jesus, His resurrection is final and complete. He rose again and is alive forevermore.

*There are 4 Major Religions: Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Each rest on a historical personality: Buddha, Mohammad, Abraham, and Jesus Christ. Over the tomb of Buddha Abraham Mohammad, you can write, ‘‘occupied’’…. However, over the tomb of Jesus you write, ‘‘He is not here. He is risen!’’*

Listen to what the text says here in Luke 24.

5 The women were very afraid and bowed their heads to the ground. The men said to them, “Why are you looking for a living person in this place for the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen from the dead.

Don’t miss it. It all comes down to this. Jesus Christ is risen. He conquered death, hell, the grave and all of His enemies. He is triumphant, victorious, and glorious. *The account of the life of Jesus Christ is the only biography known to man that does not end with death and burial. This biography never ends! *

2. It’s the most important decision that you will ever make:

Not only is this the most important event that ever occurred, but it’s also the most important decision you will ever make. It all comes down to this. You are faced with a choice, believe in faith, and experience a complete transformation of life, or turn away in disbelief and reject Jesus. This is the most important decision you will ever make.

READ 9-12

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

The women who heard of the resurrection ran to announce it to the apostles. They went to tell the others. In other words, they believed, and they went to tell somebody.

But here are some tragic words, ‘‘they did not believe them.’’

Some may hear these words today, you’re going to hear about Jesus Christ, His birth, life, death, and resurrection, and you are going to do the same thing. You will walk out these doors after hearing this amazing story, and you are still not going to believe. Let me challenge you today to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. *This is not a fairy-tale, a myth or a legend. This is reality. And the same Jesus that rose again from the dead lives today, and He can live within you through the Holy Spirit of God. *

They did not believe. But notice how verse 12 begins. ‘‘But Peter…’’ The others didn’t believe, but Peter did. READ 12 You see, some of you will hear of the empty tomb today and walk away in unbelief. But others of you will come to see for yourself.

And what you will discover is that Jesus Christ is who He says He is,

He has done what none other could do, and He offers salvation to you today.

*A young man one day was on his way to visit a friend called John who lived on a farm. He entered the farm and began to walk up the road that led to his friend’s home. He had to pass by a barn and as he got near to it, he stopped, totally surprised. He saw something that both mesmerized him. On the barn were twenty targets. In the middle of each target was a bull’s-eye, and in the middle of each bull’s-eye was a hole. Someone had used the barn as target practice and whoever it was, was a crack shot. There were no other holes on the barn except the holes in the bull’s-eyes, centred in the targets. He couldn’t believe it. He carried on up the road to the house. When he met up with John, he said, ‘‘before we begin our day together, I’ve just got to ask you, who in the world did the shooting on the barn?’’ John said, “I did.’’ The man looked surprised and said,’ Wait a minute! There are twenty targets, with twenty bullseyes. You mean to tell me you did that?’’ John said, ‘‘Yep, I made every shot.’’ ‘‘Where in the world…how in the world did you learn to shoot like that?’’ John said, ‘‘It’s simple, I shot first, then I drew a picture of the target around the hole.’’*

A lot of us are just like John. Maybe we know the right words to say; maybe we know how to dress up for church on Easter. But it’s not so much that we’ve hit the bull’s-eye, we’ve just learned to paint well. It’s possible to go through the motions and not live a life on target.

You have a choice to make. It’s the most important decision you will ever make. It all comes down to this. This is a moment that changes everything.

You are faced with the reality of the gospel. The perfect and sinless life of Christ, His death for you on the cross, His victorious resurrection and His offer of salvation. You are forced to make a choice. You can see for yourself and respond in repentance and faith, or you can hear the story, choose not to believe, and remain unchanged, unsaved.

There are many people who can believe the idea of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, after all the sacrifice of one person for others is held up as a great thing. But stumble on the idea of the resurrection.

This changes everything; it is that moment that separates victory from defeat, winning form losing, life from death.

Conclusion

*There is a true store about the Duke of Wellington after the battle of Waterloo that defeated Napoleon. The story tells that when the battle was over, Wellington sent the news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to send messages back to England. The message sent was ‘‘Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.’’ But a fog set in and interrupted the message. As a result, people only saw ‘‘Wellington defeated-’’ Later, when the fog cleared and the full message continued, which was quite different that the people originally thought had happened! The same is true today. When many look at what happened on Good Friday, the death of Christ, they see only ‘‘defeat.’’ Yet, on Easter, at the Resurrection, God’s message was completed. The resurrection spelled ‘‘victory.’’*

don't allow the fog or the trappings of this age, to confuse the message of that Jesus gave us.

So how you respond today to His resurrection and offer of salvation it will determine whether you experience victory or defeat.

HYMN

H&P 173: My song is love unknown

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

Amazing God, we praise you that from the silence of an empty tomb, a message of joy has spread around the world. From the brutality of a death on a cross, healing love has touched the whole of creation. From the initial uncertainty of the first disciples, your Church has grown and reached out in faith to all. Thank you for Easter; thank you for life; thank you for everything. Amen.

Let us pray for those for whom today is just another day: those who have to work; those who have not yet encountered the risen Christ; those who do not celebrate his love. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. We pray for all who flee their homes in desperation, and travel into an uncertain future. Strengthen them on their journeys, and keep alive their vision of finding a secure and welcoming home. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. Let us pray for those who grieve today: those recently bereaved; those for whom this is a time of anniversary; those who wait beside a loved one who is dying. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. Let us pray for all in need throughout the world: those without access to clean water; those with insufficient food; those who cannot access the health care that they need. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. Let us pray for each other and for ourselves, that we may have wholeness, peace and hope through the presence in our lives of the risen Lord. For God gave his Son, to show his love and bring life. Amen.

HYMN

H&P 212: Thine be the Glory

BLESSING

Risen Lord, you always go before us – preparing the way, leading us further along your path of life. Today of all days, there is no more fear. We praise and adore you! Allelulia! Amen.

END