Easter 2016, 3/27/16

Easter 2016 version 2  Jn 20:1-18 bb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

It is easter.  

Typical easter sermon.  Proofs of the resurrection or X the victor over death

Im fine w that.

But that really doesn’t matter

I can tell you a,b,c but it doesn’t matter unless it matters to you

Too many Christians want to leave Jesus in the tomb

We want Jesus, but we want him on ice

No proof of the resurrection will matter as long as we keep him sequestered

Question isn’t did it happen, question is has it happened for you

Have you let him out of the tomb

Many ways to keep him still in the tomb

I believe in love, but I cannot give it to others

I believe in generosity, but I spend it all on myself

I believe in going the second mile, but I just don’t make myself do it

Believe in forgiveness but do not forgive

Believe in hearing the call, but will not hear the call.

I believe in Believe in the power, but don’t turn it loose in life

If this your story, then he might as well not have risen, you’re keeping him on ice

People today don’t believe

Today:  jesus rose, so what

Why don’t people believe?

Our Jesus is still in the tomb

1-People don’t believe our message because -Christians can have an arrogance

People are not allowed to ask questions

          You must just take it by faith

2-People don’t believe our message because -Christians don’t love

          They point the fingers at people instead of pointing to God

3-People don’t believe our message because -Christians Don’t forgive others

4-People don’t believe our message because -Christians are just as guilt laden as I am.  They don’t really believe that they are forgiven

When we act like this, Jesus is still in the tomb.

Friends.  There is an alternative.

Jesus talked about an abundant life.  In the abundant life we can know that we are loved.

And because we are loved, we can know that we are forgiven and we can forgive others.

Jn 3:16  God so loved the world

God loves you.  Believe it or not

You cant forgive yourself?

Maybe you need a special crucifixion just for you……

Friend, the work of jesus on the cross is a once and for all time action

And because of it, We are free from Fear and guilt…………

we no longer have to live in them.  romans 5.  No condemnation to those who are in Christ

Story of the sheeply lion

We are free from retribution and from living a life based on getting even. 

The payback is over.  The resurrection means that the cross has put an end to this.  you can live as a forgiver.

To err is human to forgive is devine

It is human for us to want to hurt back

     When u get hurt – what do you do?

1. You might hold back- less likely the next time to step out.   We are artists is k-garten

2. We start making lists-labels…. They hurt me because they are _________.  We protect ourselves by shutting off people that we think might hurt us

3. Revenge- sometimes w hurt back

Because we are forgiven

We can learn to forgive

 Christians should not be  just student s of forgiving, you have to get really good at it

Forgiveness means refusing to make them pay for what they did

To refrain from lashing out at someone when you want to do it with all of your being is a form of agony

In forgiveness, you are absorbing the debt. Taking the cost of it completely on yourself .

You completely absorb the pain instead of lashing out at the other person.  It feels like a kind of death - a kind of suffering

Parker Palmer

   “The cross says, the pain stops here.”

    The cross is a way of absorbing pain,  not passing it on.

“Father forgive them, they don’t know what…”

The way of the cross is a way that transforms pain from destructive impulse into creative constructive transforming power

You see, you are a Christ follower, you do have great power

When Jesus accepted the cross, his death opened up a channel for the redeeming power of love.

This pattern unleashes amazing power in this world- and you get to play.

Any experience of life can be turned for the good.

You will be hauled before magistrates and it will be an opportunity for a testimony. Everything that happens to you in this life, good or bad, a Christian can use. You can transmute anything that comes to you and bring some good. A testimony of God’s grace, rescuing some good out of everything that happens to you.

Yes we can turn pain into joy.  That is the resurrection message.  Bad news to good.  Death into life.  Worry into hope.

Life is stormy.  Relationships are stormy.  You have a chance to bring calm to the storm

As jesus did it, so you too can be used by god to end hostility

God so loved the world

We are free from rejection……he welcomes us.  He embraces us.  Prodigal sons welcome home…….this is how Jesus sees Gods love

Victory………. although we sense the struggle from time to time, but the battle has been fought and the victory is ours in Christ. 

May we now choose to live as Easter people

Winston Churchill had planned his funeral, which took place in Saint Paul’s Cathedral. He included many of the great hymns of the church, and used the eloquent Anglican liturgy. At his direction, a bugler, positioned high in the dome of Saint Paul’s, intoned, after the benediction, the sound of “Taps,” the universal signal that says the day is over. But then came the most dramatic turn: As Churchill instructed, as soon as “Taps” was finished, another bugler, placed on the other side of the great dome, played the notes of “Reveille” - “It’s time to get up. It’s time to get up. It’s time to get up in the morning.” That was Churchill’s testimony that at the end of history, the last note will not be “Taps,” it will be “Reveille.” The worst things are never the last things.

death is not the end.  Depression is not the end.  Hurt is not the end.  Anger is not the end.  The resurrection wakes us up to new life………

Because of the resurrection of jesus we have the promise of new life.

Yes life eternal, but also life now. 

Life filled with love, life filled with hope.  Life filled with joy.

We All Have a Story to Tell: Transformation: What About You?, 4/5/15

Easter sermon 2015   Apr 5      Jn 20:1-18

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalenewent to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

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Its easter what will we talk about?

Usual sermon are about jesus being raised.  Yeah jesus.  What we believe.

Sometimes they are aobut proofs of the resurrection.  Why we believe.

These are good topics, but we will save for another year.

Today, what does it all mean for you.  Do you ever feel like you need a resurrection?

Does religion seem irrelevant

When the guru sat down to worship each evening, the ashram cat would get in the way and distract the worshipers. So he ordered that the cat be tied during evening worship.

After the guru died the cat continued to be tied during evening worship. And when the cat died, another cat was brougt to the ashram so that it could be duly tied during evening worship.

Centuries later learned treatises were written by the guru's disciples on the religious and liturgical significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed.

Do you ever feel like you need a resurrection?

We are running running running in this life

Do you run?

Have you ever run?

Some story about track and wanting to quit.

There is a lot of running around on easter.  From the tomb.  Back to the tomb. Back and forth.

Are you exhausted from a busy life? Working, cooking, fixing, driving kids around

Most of us are

Playing whack a mole - picture

Yes Jesus rose [tell the story]

What a morning it must have been for the women who found the empty tomb!  What a morning, what a day for the disciples.  Their understanding of everything changed with one bit of news - He is no longer here, he is risen from the grave.

Easter =

Resurrection

Renewal

Do over

Start over

New life

Clean slate

We can rise too

Not just in eternity,

But now today – maybe you are tired, maybe you came here skeptical

Rise to the life that god has given you

Jesus brings joy – hope - meaning

Find renewal

Find new life

Find joy

How to do this

1pray- not asking for things but getting to know god

The Jews of a small town in Russia were eagerly awaiting the
arrival of a Rabbi. This was going to be a rare event, so they
spent a lot of time preparing the questions they were going to
put to the holy man. When he finally arrived and they met with him in the town
hall, he could sense the tension in the atmosphere as all prepared
to listen to the answers he had for them.

He said nothing at first; he just gazed into their eyes, and
hummed a haunting melody. Soon everyone began to hum.
He started to sing and they sang along with him. He swayed
and danced in solemn, measured steps. The congregation followed
suit. Soon they became so involved in the dance, so
absorbed in its movements that they were lost to everything
else on earth; so every person in that crowd was made whole,
was healed from the inner fragmentation that keeps us from
the Truth. It was nearly an hour before the dance slowed down and
came to a halt. With the tension drained out of their inner
being, everyone sat in the silent peace that pervaded the
room. Then the Rabbi spoke the only words he pronounced
that evening; "I trust that I have answered your questions."

2 find a place of renewal – redwoods.   Lake jacomo, your deck. A quiet place

You find renewal when it helps you be grounded in  the present

Most of us are worried about the future or tortured by the past.

We go to some cool place and we don’t even see it because we are taking selfies

The Japanese general finally goes to sleep

Where is the place that you must go to see that where you are is wonderful?

Live in the present - Japanese warrior

A Japanese warrior was captured by his enemies and thrown into prison. That night he was unable to sleep because he feared that the next day he would be interrogated, tortured, and executed. Then the words of his Zen master came to him, "Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The only reality is now." Heeding these words, the warrior became peaceful and fell asleep

3. find people. A church. a group.  A mission. A friend

When this you see remember three

My daughter has been asked to join a small group

Introverts don’t join small groups very well

To see the good in the gift of the people around you

In Budapest, a man goes to the priest and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"

The priest answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the priest insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the priest. "The goat is filthy." The priest then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week."
A radiant man returns to the priest a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us."

Choosing to live a different life

The book, the Survivors club

Interviewing those who forgot to pull the ripcord.

I froze.

In a moment of difficulty some people freeze

Those who survive take a different path

They look for hope.  They cling to light.

They know where the exit is on the plane.

They drive defensively.

They make a conscious decision to live.

Running.  There is a lot of running around at easter.

Are you running yourself into the ground

Or are you running for joy

Change the world by changing me

I was a revolutionary when I was young and all my prayer to God was "Lord give me the energy to change the world."
"As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to "Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me. Just my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied."
"Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, my only prayer is, "Lord, give me the grace to change myself. "If I had prayed for this right from the start I would not have wasted my life.

Conclusion

What a morning it must have been for the women who found the empty tomb!  What a morning, what a day for the disciples.  Their understanding of everything changed with one bit of news - He is no longer here, he is risen from the grave.

A day that began in worry and fear quickly gave way to joy and celebration.

Easter should still have this affect on us.  We may rise in the morning with despair and gloom, but the moment we think of Jesus, our outlook can change. 

Lean to get lost in the amazingness of God.

Find a place that renews your heart.

Get connected to people of the soul.

The bad news is not the last news.  worry is temporary, the joy is eternal. 

Don't simply rise to the day.  Awaken to the day!  Jesus is alive, Jesus is with us!

Easter is god's reminder that you can live life with him.

Just as jesus called marys name and everything changed…. Jesus calls your name today and every day.  Easter isn’t just for jesus.  Its for all of us. Lets pray 

RUN FOREST RUN

Opening the Door to Hope: Easter Sunday, Matthew 28:1-10, 4/20/14

Sermon Easter Sunday 4-20-14 Mt 28:1-10

 

28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” ⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 

Easter Sunday….what should we talk about?

The resurrection of Jesus

It is talked about so much, do we even recognize the significance?

 

Legend of the Touchstone

According to that ancient legend of the touchstone, if you could find the touchstone on the coast of the Black Sea and hold it in your hand, everything you touched would turn to gold. You could recognize the touchstone by its warmth. The other stones would feel cold, but when you picked up the touchstone, it would turn warm in your hand.

Once a man sold everything he had and went to the coast of the Black Sea in search of the touchstone. He began immediately to walk along the shoreline picking up one stone after another in his diligent and intentional search for the touchstone. However, after several days had passed, he suddenly realized that he was picking up the same stones again and again. So he devised a plan... pick up a stone; if it's cold, throw it into the sea. This he did for weeks and weeks.

Then one morning he went out to continue his search for the touchstone. He picked up a stone; it was cold... he threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone - cold! He threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone... it turned warm in his hand, and before he realized what he was doing... he threw it into the sea!

this can so easily happen to us. We can come upon a miraculous moment like Easter... we can feel it turn warm in our hands... but then (so dulled by the routine) before we realize what we are doing... we throw it away. Absentmindedly, mechanically, nonchalantly... we toss it aside and miss the miracle of Easter.

 

Easter should never be approached, mechanically or routinely.

Easter is a miracle.

 

Easter is about power

Power to live this life in a way that matters and

Power over death

 

All of us have power in this life

I’m not the boss, I have no power.

You have power over many things.

How you spend your free time, how you spend your money, how you speak to people, how you drive, who you love, who you forgive, who you don’t. 

We all have power.

 

Jesus message is verified by his resurrection

And it provides us with a chance to live a life of meaning

Had he not risen, everyone could say, oh, he was a nice guy

By rising from the grave, Jesus declares what message will be told

History belongs to the victors..  To the victor goes the spoils.

Those who win the war, write the story

The message of selfishness&hate has been beaten by the message of love

Humans often use their power to hurt others

When we hurt others, we only hurt ourselves

When we hurt others, we never quite get it right

I am stuck on the irony of The white supremacist who visited the Jewish community center and killed 2 Methodists

          Reat underwood and his grandpa William corporon

Rhets mother, mindy corporon…..refused to let hate have the last word

Normally a quiet person, she decided to meet the press.  To tell her story

The story of hate cannot be the dominant story

There is a story of love, of faith

 

Jesus’ Power is expressed in love

Every time we express love we are walking in the path of Jesus

1 jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. KJV

 

The story of some friends in mark 2 who would not have someone be left out

Ken woodruff and his group went to great lengths to reach a distant friend

It is a picture of love

God sends Jesus to the ends o f the earth to find us and restore us

It is a message of love

He uses his power to love

 

Jesus comes out and meets the women. In John 20 he meets Mary

He doesn’t say, now that I am raised, I am large and in charge

Now that I am powerful I am going to act like the Pharisees………….

Did you ever know someone who got the promotion and it changed them?

Jesus does not use his power to hurt people

He sets the culture…..

He loves them

To Mary he says……… Mary

His candor is the same after the resurrection as it was before.

No pretense – just love

God is love

And so the movement of love is victorious

It is not a movement of who is good and who is bad

It is not a movement of who is right and left or right and wrong

It is a movement of love

 

And so followers of Jesus can step out on to the stage of life w the most powerful weapon ever created………the love of god

with love as his only weapon,  Gandhi liberated India from the British empire

with love as a Guide mother Teresa overcame personal depression and gave her life to the least of these

by the power of love, martin luther king jr changed the face of America

by the power of  love Jesus saved the world

Finish this sentence for yourself………

By the power of love, I _______ [did what?]

Friend you have power to create culture.  To create an atmosphere in your family

 

Finally, Easter means power over death

The grave is not the last chapter of the story for we humans

There is hope

on may 23^rd 1939, a navy submarine the uss squalis had a mechanical problem and sank to the  bottom - 243 feet.. It seemed that all was lost. There was no electricity and the oxygen was quickly running out. In one last attempt to rescue the sailors from the steel coffin, the U.S. Navy sent a ship equipped with Navy divers to the spot on the surface, directly above the wounded submarine. in command was  Lieutenant Commander Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, using the new McCann Rescue Chamber. When the sailors trapped in the sub heard the diving bell land,. In the darkness they tapped in Morse code, "Is there any hope?"

The diver on the outside, recognizing the message, signaled by tapping on the exterior of the sub, "Yes, there is hope."
The kids in the south Korean ferry

 

Some of you walked in the door today hoping to find hope.

Some of u have lost a loved one in the past and you miss them on holidays

Some of you have lost a loved one recently

Some of you have been diagnosed with something dreadful

This is not the last chapter of the story

There is a resurrection. 

 

its easter- conclusion? Yes its easter

we all dress up and everything looks good on the outside

shoes, dresses.  food.  family. 

Is that all there is?

 

For some it is enough.  Life is joyful and carefree. If so, im happy for you

But many need more because there are real concerns in this world.

 

Flight 370 is still missing

Russia - Ukraine

We humans still deal with fear, worry, financial concerns and illness

 

Easter is a story of power- of victorious power

What ever is going on in this world, God is bigger

he is the ruler over nations

 

what is going on in your life

God is big enough to handle it --he reigns

 you can cast your cares on him/ you can trust him

you can rely on him

we will still suffer in this life /but we are not alone

 

whatever is going on in your life, this is a great day because we all wake up to hope.

the brokenness of this life is not the final story
He is risen. 

In this life and in the next,

We have hope

Today we celebrate the greatest day in history.

The resurrection stands at the crossroads of history

Today we journey from death to new life!

Today we get caught up in God’s grace.

Lets hear the story again – pls stand for our scripture reading

Luke 24:1-12

1 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.

The Bible series depicts the story this way…… SHOW VIDEO CLIP

Easter

Interestingly, its an odd day to be a preacher

Its easter, my mother is here and the sermon better be good

The pressure to say something new

There is nothing new under the sun

There is no alternate ending – it is the same old story.  There’s no new spin

But does it matter……….

Yes it matters……but sometimes we are not sure why.  We don’t remember the why

Jesus is raised…. So what?

Many adults would explain this simply as, your sins are forgiven and you have eternal life

But is this all there is??  Are there no implications for our lives now?

Easter is a celebration of a victory

There was a battle.  Between good and evil.  Between love and hate.

The world tells us a message that we hear over and over again

It finds its way into almost everyone

You are a bad person

You wont make the team- youre not good enough

Being cut from the 3 and 2 baseball team

You stink

You cant get the loan

You cant learn to ride a bicycle, wont get the job

You cant -----You wont ------You are going to hell

God tells us something very different

You are loved ----You are worth it

You are forgiven ----You can live  a life of joy

The resurrection proclaims once and for all that God is the victor

To the victor goes the spoils

The victor always gets to writ e the history of the event

The victor tells the message

a custom in the Greek Orthodox tradition. Believers gather on Easter Monday to trade jokes.  Since the most extravagant 'joke' of all took place on Easter Sunday -- the victory, against all odds, of Jesus over death -- the community of the faithful enters into the spirit of the season by sharing stories with unexpected endings, surprise flourishes and a sense of humor. A similar practice occurs among the Slavs, who recognize in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth a joy that it is Jesus who has the last laugh. --

What does this victory mean for our lives here and now?

Since every preacher needs 3 points

1] while the world tells us that we are no good….

The resurrection tells us that We can live free from Fear and guilt…

We are no longer condemned

romans  8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death.

Are you not good enough?

Are you still trying to do something to please God

Does reading Paul fill you with guilt? 

Also romans 13

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b] 10} Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law

In Jesus Christ, the Powers of Fear, Death and Sin are overcome

When we live this life of love, we do fulfill the law.

We are no longer condemned

2] the world tells us to hurt back.  Human nature tells us to get even

The message of the resurrection tells us that we don’t have to live lives that are based on retribution –

The payback is over. 

The resurrection means that the cross has put an end to this getting even. 

you can live as a forgiver.

You have heard it said

To err is human to forgive is divine

Sometimes we want to hurt back….To exercise revenge Revenge-

But Because we are forgiven

We can learn to forgive

 Christians should not be  just students of forgiving, you have to get really good at it

Forgiveness means refusing to make them pay for what they did

To refrain from lashing out at someone when you want to do it with all of your being

It is difficult.  It hurts to take in the pain instead of passing it on

In forgiveness, you are absorbing the debt.

Taking the cost of it completely on yourself .

You completely absorb the pain instead of lashing out at the other person.  It feels like a kind of death - a kind of suffering

Parker Palmer says

   “The cross has a message, the pain stops here.”

    The cross is a way of absorbing pain,  not passing it on.

“Father forgive them, they don’t know what…”

The way of the cross is a way that transforms pain from destructive impulse into creative constructive transforming power

You see, as a Christ follower, you do have great power

When Jesus accepted the cross,

his death opened up a channel for the redeeming power of love.

This pattern unleashes amazing power in this world- and you get to play.

Life is stormy.  You have a chance to bring calm to the storm

As jesus did it, so you too can be used by god to end hostility

To end the cycles of hurting back

Forgiveness and reconciliation are experienced

           Peter restored/disciples forgiven

            You too can live a life as a forgiven forgiver

           

3] the world tells us that we are unloveable

God tells us in the crucifiction and resurrection that we are loved

Its not just that we are not condemned, but we are loved

We are not just tolerated, we are loved

he welcomes us.  He embraces us. 

Prodigal sons welcome home…….

Because of the resurrection God no longer looks on your sin

You are pleasing to God   - --It is well with your soul

Romans 8….nothing can separate us from the love of God in christ jesus our lord

Conclusion

The disciples did not believe ---- Peter wondered what happened.

You don’t have to live your life wondering what it means…

Easter…so what? 

You are not condemned

You are forgiven – you can forgive others

You are loved

God wins.  Life wins.  We win.  Love wins

1 cor 15 ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”^[i]

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray.