Welcome to this Easter edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post this message, and I've enjoyed posting the other Holy Week messages this week. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I want to wish everyone a happy Easter.
This has been a wild week for me. On Monday, we had a horrible storm. I had a little damage to the house, but thanks be to God, I was able to get it fixed. Writing has been very good this week, and I am thankful to the Lord for that.
This week, we are getting a return to winter in my area. Please pray that the repairs I made on the house hold up in the blustery and cold weather. I had to do the repairs myself as getting someone to do them is too expensive. I did the best I could, but I have to admit that I'm not a very skilled person when it comes to home repairs.
In other prayer matters, I heard a report this week on NPR that there are still many people in Puerto Rico who need help. Please pray that they will receive the aid and the help that they need.
I've not heard anything lately about how recovery efforts are going in Papua New Guinea as a result of the earthquake. Let us continue to pray for that area, and I will try to get an update and report on that next week.
Please continue to pray for peace in the world. Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan and many other nations need peace. Let us pray for peace.
During this Easter season, let us pray that many people will hear of the love of Jesus. Let us pray specifically this week for the nations of India and Kuwait. Pray that many will hear and respond to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Yesterday was Good Friday. It is the day when Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. He bore our sins in His body on the cross.
After Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, Fe was removed from the cross and buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. A great stone was rolled in front of the grave, it was sealed by Pilate, and a Roman guard was placed in front of the tomb.
Since Saturday was the Sabbath, no one visited Jesus' grave until the following day. Mary Magdalene and some other women came to the tomb early on Sunday morning. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away from the grave.
An angel said that Jesus was not there. He had risen just as He said that He would.
Over the course of the next 40 days, Jesus would appear in His risen body to several different people. We read about this in I Corinthians 15. The Apostle Paul states that Jesus appeared to Peter and to the Twelve. (Judas was no more, they are still called the Twelve because Matthias was added to the number of the eleven remaining disciples). Paul says that Jesus appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters. We know He appeared to Mary Magdalene. He also appeared to His brother James. I am sure that He appeared to His mother. Paul also says that Jesus appeared to him.
I Corinthians 15 is a great chapter in the Bible that speaks to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and what that means to us who believe. Paul says in this chapter that the resurrection of the Jesus is of vital importance. He says in verse 17 that our faith is futile and we are still in our sins if Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave. In verse 18, Paul tells us that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, then those who have died are just dead. They have no eternal life. Paul says in verse 19 that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, we are of all people most to be pitied because we have believed in something that is not true.
Paul makes it clear that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. In Adam all died, but in the resurrection of Jesus, all have been made alive. By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus has conquered the result of sin.
On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and secured our forgiveness. Through His resurrection, Jesus took away those things that sin brought. Sin resulted in death. Jesus defeated death, hell and grave through His glorious resurrection from the dead.
Because Jesus lives, we have the hope of everlasting life with Him. Because Jesus lives, we know that those who have died in Christ are with Him right at this very moment.
I find this to be of great comfort. Because Jesus rose from the dead, my Mom, Dad, friends and other family members are with Jesus right now. They believed in Jesus and what He did for them on the cross. I believe that my friend Toby is with Jesus, because I believe along with one of my spiritual heroes John Wesley that animals are in Heaven.
I know that I will see my loved ones again. Although I am sad that I can't be with them now, I know that when I die, or when Jesus returns in His glorious Second Advent, I will see all of them again. This is all possible because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we will receive a glorified body like unto His glorified body. This old body with its pains and hurts will pass away, and we will receive a glorified body when we go to be with Jesus. As Paul tells us, our new bodies will be imperishable and immortal.
I know that I am looking forward to that. Right now, my Mom is well and doesn't have any limitations anymore from the stroke that devastated the last five years of her life. My Dad's knees that were so bad from arthritis are restored. My uncle who was a pastor and died of pancreatic cancer when he was 47 is cancer free and with Jesus.
This is possible because Jesus rose bodily from the grave on Easter Sunday morning. Thanks be to God.
I have two favorite passages in the Bible. One of them is found in John 11:25-26 which states, "I am the resurrection and life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."
Jesus said this just before He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is my verse of hope. Jesus has risen. He is the resurrection. Whoever believes in Him and trusts in Him as Savior and Lord will have eternal life.
My second favorite verse tells me why I can be sure all of this is going to happen. Hebrews 13:8 says the Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. To me, this means that who Jesus was, He is and He will be. What He said, He is doing now, and He will do what He said in the future.
I don't know what the state of everyone's relationship with the Lord is who reads these sermons and messages that I post. I hope and pray that most of you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord. I hope that you are looking forward to the day when Jesus will come in power and great glory.
If you are reading this right now, and you have never turned to Jesus in repentance and faith, I hope that you will consider doing that today. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Believe that He took your sins on Himself on the cross. Believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Ask Jesus to be your Savior, and invite Him to be the Lord of your life. If you do that, the Bible says that you will become a new creation in Jesus. All the old things will pass away, and all things will become new. Trust in the Lord Jesus today.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Next week, we will go back to the regular blog schedule. On Monday, I will try to post the verses. I will have to see how much snow we get and if I can get to the library. On Wednesday, I will post a dog book review. This book really got to me in a good way. What a book. On Friday, I will post the Weekend Sermon. We will return to the series on misinterpreted passages. May God bless you all. Amen.
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