Sermon-Sunday-April 8, 2007
Easter Sunday
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Today is Easter Sunday and that is good news. Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and that is definitely good news. We have made it through the 40 days of Lent. We have made it through the darkness and despair of Holy Week. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty and Christ Jesus has been resurrected, and sin, death, and the devil have been defeated all for you.
Today we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s work that began way back in the garden of Eden at the fall of man. God put the wheels in motion after Adam and Eve partook in the forbidden fruit and brought sin into the world. God could not stand the thought of leaving His people, you, in the clutches of sin, death, and the devil. So rather than leave you to be banished into the darkness of hell He opts to send a light in the darkness of a world plagued by sin; that light comes in the form of His Son Christ Jesus your Lord.
He sends one who brings redemption to a condemned humanity, forgiveness to sinners, and new-life to a world condemned to death. In Isaiah we read that God promises that He is at work creating a new heaven and a new earth. He promises that the former things will not be remembered. He promises He will not remember your iniquities. He will not remember your weakness and how you give in to temptation. He will not remember the ashes and the blunders of your past. And He does all of this for you.
Today as you once again ponder upon the empty tomb you see the fulfillment of this promise made to you. You see the fulfillment of God’s promise to forget the former things, and to forget your iniquities and weakness. You see the very defeat of sin, death and the devil. You see the fulfillment of the promise that we read in our lesson from Acts for today; "…that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." It is in His name; the name of Christ Jesus your Lord that you find forgiveness of sins, redemption and eternal life.
In 2nd Corinthians we read "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new!"
In Christ Jesus you indeed are a new creation and He promises that through the Holy Spirit you are continually renewed. From John 14 we read where Jesus promises that the Father will send another, an Advocate to be with you forever, of whom Jesus says "This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you."
Jesus is of course speaking of the Holy Spirit here; the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies you through the Gospel, and through the sacraments and through fellowship with each other. He is speaking of the same Holy Spirit through whom, you were claimed by Christ as His word of promise and forgiveness was proclaimed over you at your baptism.
So in light of all of this, in light of all that you know about this day and all that was accomplished on this day, in light of the promise fulfilled, in light of the knowledge that you have regarding the defeat of sin, death, and the devil for you, in light of your awareness of the claim by Christ that was made on you at your baptism; as you once again ponder into the empty tomb, allow me to ask the same question of you that those two men in dazzling white clothes asked of Mary Magdalene and all those other women in today’s Gospel lesson, as they also pondered upon the empty tomb, and that question is "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"
You wallow and lament over that which might make it seem at times like your life is unfair. You seek fulfillment in material wealth, and relief from the burdens and the stresses of everyday life in the temporary securities of this world.
You do it all the time. When you feel like life is just throwing too much at you, you start to think your life is not that great, maybe you even start to think that life your sucks. So you decide that you have to do something to try to change this. When the stresses and the burdens become too much you decide to try to make things better by drowning your sorrows in things that are only temporary and ultimately only leave you feeling empty.
And so you find yourself trying to make your life better through indulgence in things of the world; be it alcohol, or gambling, or overeating, or even taking on too much in your work. Maybe you find yourself making a quick trip to Williston or Minot so you can indulge in some shopping at the Super Wal-Mart or the Dakota Square shopping mall. In the end all of this just leaves you feeling empty. It leaves you feeling empty because when you do this you are using things of the world to try to fill that which can only be filled by faith in Christ Jesus. In the end, you end up looking for the living among the dead.
But alas you have a God who does not leave you among the dead. You have a God who sends His Son to die for you and become a curse for you on the cross and three days later He walks out of the tomb victorious and reveals Himself to be the only true source of new and eternal life that there is.
You have a God who, as the psalmist writes, knit you in your mother’s womb, and beheld your unformed substance, and wrote all the days that were formed for you when none of them yet had existed. Because you see, it was you who God had in mind when He began the work that He began way back in the garden of Eden. It was you who God had in mind as He rescued His people Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was you who God had in mind as He provided military victory for His people through the leadership of King David. It was you who God had in mind as He spoke a message of hope and promise to His people through the prophets.
And it was you who God had in mind as His Son suffered and died on the cross for your sins. And it was you who Christ Jesus had on His mind as He walked victoriously out of the tomb. And today it is still you who He has in mind as He comes to you in His Word and in the sacraments and in fellowship with each other.
He does not leave you in the futility and the emptiness of a -sinful and empty world. In John 14 Jesus says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world."
Stop looking for the living among the dead. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty. The world, sin, death, and the devil have been defeated and your Savior Christ Jesus is breaking through to rescue you. He is coming to you right now proclaiming your forgiveness and redemption; the forgiveness and redemption you will literally be able to taste and touch in a few minutes when you come forward for the Lord's Supper. And He will continue to come to you in fellowship with each other. He’s been doing it all along, He’s not going to stop now. May the peace which surpasses all understanding be with you always.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Today is Easter Sunday and that is good news. Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and that is definitely good news. We have made it through the 40 days of Lent. We have made it through the darkness and despair of Holy Week. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty and Christ Jesus has been resurrected, and sin, death, and the devil have been defeated all for you.
Today we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s work that began way back in the garden of Eden at the fall of man. God put the wheels in motion after Adam and Eve partook in the forbidden fruit and brought sin into the world. God could not stand the thought of leaving His people, you, in the clutches of sin, death, and the devil. So rather than leave you to be banished into the darkness of hell He opts to send a light in the darkness of a world plagued by sin; that light comes in the form of His Son Christ Jesus your Lord.
He sends one who brings redemption to a condemned humanity, forgiveness to sinners, and new-life to a world condemned to death. In Isaiah we read that God promises that He is at work creating a new heaven and a new earth. He promises that the former things will not be remembered. He promises He will not remember your iniquities. He will not remember your weakness and how you give in to temptation. He will not remember the ashes and the blunders of your past. And He does all of this for you.
Today as you once again ponder upon the empty tomb you see the fulfillment of this promise made to you. You see the fulfillment of God’s promise to forget the former things, and to forget your iniquities and weakness. You see the very defeat of sin, death and the devil. You see the fulfillment of the promise that we read in our lesson from Acts for today; "…that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." It is in His name; the name of Christ Jesus your Lord that you find forgiveness of sins, redemption and eternal life.
In 2nd Corinthians we read "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new!"
In Christ Jesus you indeed are a new creation and He promises that through the Holy Spirit you are continually renewed. From John 14 we read where Jesus promises that the Father will send another, an Advocate to be with you forever, of whom Jesus says "This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you."
Jesus is of course speaking of the Holy Spirit here; the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies you through the Gospel, and through the sacraments and through fellowship with each other. He is speaking of the same Holy Spirit through whom, you were claimed by Christ as His word of promise and forgiveness was proclaimed over you at your baptism.
So in light of all of this, in light of all that you know about this day and all that was accomplished on this day, in light of the promise fulfilled, in light of the knowledge that you have regarding the defeat of sin, death, and the devil for you, in light of your awareness of the claim by Christ that was made on you at your baptism; as you once again ponder into the empty tomb, allow me to ask the same question of you that those two men in dazzling white clothes asked of Mary Magdalene and all those other women in today’s Gospel lesson, as they also pondered upon the empty tomb, and that question is "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"
You wallow and lament over that which might make it seem at times like your life is unfair. You seek fulfillment in material wealth, and relief from the burdens and the stresses of everyday life in the temporary securities of this world.
You do it all the time. When you feel like life is just throwing too much at you, you start to think your life is not that great, maybe you even start to think that life your sucks. So you decide that you have to do something to try to change this. When the stresses and the burdens become too much you decide to try to make things better by drowning your sorrows in things that are only temporary and ultimately only leave you feeling empty.
And so you find yourself trying to make your life better through indulgence in things of the world; be it alcohol, or gambling, or overeating, or even taking on too much in your work. Maybe you find yourself making a quick trip to Williston or Minot so you can indulge in some shopping at the Super Wal-Mart or the Dakota Square shopping mall. In the end all of this just leaves you feeling empty. It leaves you feeling empty because when you do this you are using things of the world to try to fill that which can only be filled by faith in Christ Jesus. In the end, you end up looking for the living among the dead.
But alas you have a God who does not leave you among the dead. You have a God who sends His Son to die for you and become a curse for you on the cross and three days later He walks out of the tomb victorious and reveals Himself to be the only true source of new and eternal life that there is.
You have a God who, as the psalmist writes, knit you in your mother’s womb, and beheld your unformed substance, and wrote all the days that were formed for you when none of them yet had existed. Because you see, it was you who God had in mind when He began the work that He began way back in the garden of Eden. It was you who God had in mind as He rescued His people Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was you who God had in mind as He provided military victory for His people through the leadership of King David. It was you who God had in mind as He spoke a message of hope and promise to His people through the prophets.
And it was you who God had in mind as His Son suffered and died on the cross for your sins. And it was you who Christ Jesus had on His mind as He walked victoriously out of the tomb. And today it is still you who He has in mind as He comes to you in His Word and in the sacraments and in fellowship with each other.
He does not leave you in the futility and the emptiness of a -sinful and empty world. In John 14 Jesus says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world."
Stop looking for the living among the dead. The stone has been rolled away, the tomb is empty. The world, sin, death, and the devil have been defeated and your Savior Christ Jesus is breaking through to rescue you. He is coming to you right now proclaiming your forgiveness and redemption; the forgiveness and redemption you will literally be able to taste and touch in a few minutes when you come forward for the Lord's Supper. And He will continue to come to you in fellowship with each other. He’s been doing it all along, He’s not going to stop now. May the peace which surpasses all understanding be with you always.
Amen
posted by Steve at 1:12 PM
1 Comments:
I was wondering if I was reading Peter preaching or Steve? Why? B/c you wove the history of GOd's working into the death adn resurrection of Christ Jesus and you included them in that history. (how dare you read Jesus into the OT?)
Wonderful sermon
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