Weekend Sermon -- Easter

      Thanks for joining me today for the Weekend Sermon. Christ is risen today, glory be to His name. 

     Over the course of the last few weeks, we've been in a series of messages called the Way of Jesus. This is Holy Week, and it is Easter, so I am taking a short break from our current series to bring a message about Easter and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

     On Good Friday, we saw from the Gospel of John that Jesus was crucified. He died for our sins, and then He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. As the Sabbath was quickly approaching, the full preparation of the body of Jesus wasn't carried out, so on Sunday morning, some of the women who followed Jesus went to the tomb in order to prepare it. What they saw shocked them. 

     When the women arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone was rolled away. An angel told them that Jesus was no longer there. He had risen from the dead just like He told them He would. The women were told to go tell the disciples that Jesus was risen, and that is what they did. However, the disciples didn't believe until they saw the Risen Lord revealed to them in person. After His resurrection, Jesus made several post-resurrection appearances so that there would be no doubt that He was alive. The apostle Paul tells us that there were at least 500 people who witnessed the fact that Jesus was alive. 

     So, what does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us. It means everything. When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His blood to redeem us from our sins. However, we know from what the Bible tells us that there is a consequence for sin. Sin brings death. In order to truly defeat the power of sin, Jesus had to rise from the dead conquering death, hell and the grave. 

     On Easter morning, Jesus rose in triumph over the grave. Sin had been defeated once and for all. Those who put their faith and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus would have eternal life. He would be with us now and for eternity in the place that He has gone to prepare for those who love Him. 

     Because of what happened on Easter morning, those who are in Christ need not fear death. For those who know Jesus, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When we die, we go immediately to be with Jesus. It isn't because of anything that we have done, it is because of what Jesus has done for us. 

     Because Jesus rose, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We will be reunited in Heaven with those who we love who were in Christ. All is well and all will be well because Jesus is the Risen Savior. 

     I want to invite you to come to know the Risen Lord today. Believe in what He did for you on the cross. Belief in His resurrection. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin and to come into your heart as Savior and Lord. You can come to know Him today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. 

     Coronavirus is still a big problem in many places. Pray for an end to this pandemic, and pray that the sick will recover. 

     Continue to pray for the people of Tonga as they recover from the effects of the volcanic eruption that occurred a few weeks ago. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of  Guinea and Djibouti. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will return to our series on the Way of Jesus. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will try to post something midweek. May God bless you all.