[00:00] Speaker 1: (marching band plays)

[06:09] Speaker 2: (orchestra music)

[12:19] Speaker 3: (choir sings)

[16:05] Speaker 4: The God who was present with the disciples on the darkest day, who sat with them through three days of grief, and was there when Jesus rose again from the dead, is here with us this morning. And he greets us with these words. May grace, mercy, and peace be to you, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. And reminding us of the good news that Christ is risen.

[16:35] Speaker 3: Christ is risen indeed.

[16:37] Speaker 4: Alleluia. Good morning and welcome to La Grave Avenue Christian Reformed Church. Whether you're worshiping with us here in person or through our livestream, we are glad you have joined us this morning to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It is right for us to celebrate Christ's resurrection together as a church family. And so after this service, uh, all of you, whether you're a visitor, a regular 8:40 attender, or a visitor to this service because you have lunch to get to later, you are welcome to come down to the multipurpose room for treats, coffee, and fellowship. That room is found down the hallway and to the right. If anyone has any questions today or wonderings about upcoming events at La Grave, I invite you to visit the Welcome Center, which is in the back of our narthex. Today we celebrate the good news that after His death on the cross and after three days' time, Jesus rose from the dead.

[17:46] Speaker 4: This good news of Christ's resurrection is the heart of our faith and the heart of the narrative of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, we see God inviting His people to understand, to know, remember, and believe this good news. And so this morning, we will journey through Scripture and see how from the beginning of time then up until now and until the day the Lord comes again, we proclaim Christ's resurrection. The psalmist sings about God's love and how He will not abandon the faithful one to the realm of the dead.Keep me safe, my God, for in you, I take refuge. I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord. Apart from you, I have no good thing." I say of the holy people who are in the land, "They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight." Those who run after other gods, will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods, or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure.

[19:10] Speaker 4: The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely, I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night, my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you ... "let your faithful ones see d-" "Do not let y-" "Nor will you let your faithful ones see decay." You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

[20:08] Speaker 5: (singing) Christ the Lord is risen again. Christ has broken every chain. Now through all the world it rings out, the Lamb is King of kings. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ the Passover Lamb indeed! Christ, today your people feed. Alleluia. He who gave for us His life, who for us endured the strife, takes our sin and guilt away, that with angels we may sing. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ the Passover Lamb indeed! Christ, today your people feed. Alleluia. He who bore our pain and loss, comfortless upon the cross, is exalted now to sing, casting victory from the grave. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ the Passover Lamb indeed! Christ, today your people feed. Alleluia.

[22:49] Speaker 4: The Gospel writer proclaims the good news that Christ is risen and has conquered death. Jesus' friends were sad. They would never see their best friend again. How could this happen? Wasn't Jesus the Rescuer? The King God had promised? It wasn't supposed to end like this. Yes, but whoever said anything about the end? Just before sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake and an angel from heaven. When the guards saw the angel, they fell down with fright. The angel rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it, and waited. At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women headed to the tomb to wash Jesus' body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive trees, drops of dew glittering on leaves and grasses. Little tears everywhere. The friends walked quietly along the hilly path, through the olive groves, until they reached the tomb. And immediately, they noticed something odd. It was wide open. They peered through the opening into the dark tomb.

[24:20] Speaker 4: But wait, Jesus' body was gone. And something else. A shining man was there, with clothes made from lightning. "Don't be scared," the angel said.... but they couldn't help it, they screamed anyway. The angel asked them, "What are you doing here? This is a tomb, and tombs are for dead people." The women couldn't speak. "Jesus isn't dead anymore," he said, "He's alive again." And their hearts lept. And then the angel laughed with such gladness that they felt for a moment as if they had woken from a nightmare.

[25:09] Speaker 3: (organ music plays) Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won. Angels, keepers heaven, behold the Son of God; Hail the holy Great Host, lend thy power to bear it. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won. O Jesus, meet me, risen from the tomb; Lovely thee, greet me, sad and weary, poor; Grant this church to thine own, where lost life might be seen; For the Lord hath given it, death has lost its sin. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won.

[27:55] Speaker 3: O power be unto us, O blessing from above; Thine is the victory, made us sinners nigh; Make us more like others, purer and more sober; Make us fit for heaven's glory, to dwell forever. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; Endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won. Amen.

[29:11] Speaker 4: At the end of all things, there will be a new heaven and new earth where death has no place. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people. And He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

[30:10] Speaker 4: There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new." Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

[30:45] Speaker 3: (organ music plays) Alleluia! Jesus is risen! From his grave a great glorious light; Splendor of God in heav'n forever; Lo, the miracle of rising sun; Jesus is risen, and we shall rise; Give God the glory! Alleluia! Walking the way, Christ in the center, Telling the story to open our eyes; Breaking our bread and giving us glory; Jesus, our blessing, our constant supply; Jesus is risen, and we shall rise; Give God the glory! Alleluia!

[33:18] Speaker 3: Weeping, be gone; sorrow, be silent; Death put us under, but Easter is bright; Cherubim sing (Cherubim sing) , oh grave, be opened; Clothe us in wonder; adorn us in light; Jesus risen, we shall arise; Give God the glory! Alleluia! Amen! (instrumental music plays) City of God, visible heavenward! Holy Jerusalem, Jesus thou lord; River of life, set thy people free; Save from Satan's power, bring us home to thee; Jesus is risen, and we shall rise; Give God the glory! Alleluia!

[35:27] Speaker 6: All right, children. It's time for your Easter children's message. Come on forward. Come up to the front and we will talk together. Come on down. All right. Hello. It's so good to see you. Come on down. Some of you look very spring-like even though it's a little bit cold outside, right? A little bit cold. Oh, we got one more friend coming down the stairs. Okay. So, you know what day it is, right?

[36:13] Speaker 7: Yeah.

[36:13] Speaker 6: What day is it? Easter. Easter. Yeah, no kidding. That's, it's a really special day. It's a day when we talk about and we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. So after, un- like, Jesus was crucified, they put him on the cross, and then he died. And they put him in the grave and they put a big stone in front. And it was super sad, and all his friends thought he was gone forever. But then on Easter morning when the sun came up, there was an earthquake and the stone rolled away and light shone and two angels came and he is risen, he's not here. Jesus walked out.And he, death was beaten and now we know that when we die, death doesn't get to have us. When we die, someday we will rise from the grave too, just like Jesus did. Now when Jesus first rose from the day, dead, it was hard for some people to believe him. I want to tell you a story about that.

[37:08] Speaker 6: So when he rose from the dead, one of the first things Jesus did was he went to visit his disciples, 'cause they were all sad and they were worried about him. And he showed up and he said, "I'm not dead, I'm alive!" And they were so happy to see him, they hugged him. But there was one disciple who was not there. His name was Thomas. I don't know where Thomas was, maybe he was out getting groceries, maybe he was getting a haircut, I do not know, but he wasn't there. And so when Thomas came back everyone said, "You will never guess, Jesus is alive! He's not dead, he rose from the dead, he's alive!" And you know what Thomas said? "I don't believe you. You guys are making this up. I do not believe you." And they said, "Come on, no it's really true. We saw him, he's alive." And Thomas said, "I still don't believe you and unless I see the holes in his hands, I'm not gonna believe you." Well, guess what happened two days later?

[38:07] Speaker 6: Jesus came back and he came to see the disciples and this time Thomas was there. So Jesus came in and said, you know, "I'm, hi everybody." And everybody was so happy to see him and then he said, "Thomas, could you come over here please? I have something to show you." So you can imagine that Thomas was probably a little embarrassed, a little ashamed. He came over to Jesus and Jesus held out his hands and showed him the place where the nails had been, and lifted up his shirt and showed him the side which is a place where the, the soldiers had put a spear in his side, and he said, "I'm alive." And Thomas fell down on his knees and said, "My Lord and my God." Someday, we will see Jesus. And before that day, sometimes it's hard for us to believe that we will rise from the dead. But someday, probably after we die, we will see Jesus.

[39:02] Speaker 3: Yes.

[39:03] Speaker 6: And we will run to him and maybe he'll run to us, and he'll give us a hug, and he'll show us the nail holes in his hands and in his feet, and we will say, "My Lord and my God." That's what I wanted to share with you this morning. Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[39:23] Speaker 3: The Lord be with you. And also with you.

[39:26] Speaker 6: Go in peace.

[39:31] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[39:34] Speaker 4: Some of your children might come back to you because there's no children's worship.

[39:38] Speaker 6: There's no children's worship yet.

[39:40] Speaker 4: So some of them might funnel back.

[39:43] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[39:43] Speaker 4: We're gonna give them a moment. If my mic had been on sooner, not, no one's fault, just (laughs) was trying to yell it. Hey guys, you're gonna sit with your parents. Yeah, come on back.

[39:54] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[39:54] Speaker 4: Oh, it's good, I have the authority I have.

[39:57] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[39:58] Speaker 4: Hey, good job. Awesome. Does every parent have their child? I am so glad. God is good. All right. Welcome to A picture into my job.

[40:11] Speaker 3: (laughs)

[40:11] Speaker 4: All right. Two announcements before we go to God in prayer this morning. Uh, first our short term mission team that's out in Mexico City visiting some of our missionaries arrived safely yesterday evening. So they will be there for the week and we will continue to hold them in prayer while they're away. Uh, oh, and I'm supposed to mention, they're celebrating Easter with Uri and Carmen Alcivar who are out there as missionaries. Second announcement is that Jodelle Belades is in the, back in the hospital with respiratory issues. So we will pray for her that she will receive strength and can breathe easily again. Let's go to God in prayer. Dear God, because you are God, because you have a cross-shaped heart, your son humbled himself, became human, dwelt among us, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. And three days ago, we sat in this place and remembered the journey your son took to the cross.

[41:20] Speaker 4: We relived the darkest day and we sat with our own grief, sadness, hurt, and fear. But that's not the end of the story. We're here this morning, Lord, to celebrate the good news that Jesus did not stay dead in the tomb but in fact rose again on the third day just as you said he would. And his resurrection reminds us, Lord, that you are faithful, you deliver on your promises, and you love us and want nothing to stand in the way of us being with you, not even death. As we celebrate the good news of Jesus' resurrection, we rejoice alongside others in our community who celebrate today. We re- rejoice with Mitchell and Lauren in the birth of Audrey and with Kevin and Shannon in the birth of Noah, continue to strengthen and care for them as they all adjust to this new season of life. We thank you for our missionaries serving in Nepal and for our short term mission team who is in Mexico today celebrating your resurrection with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

[42:39] Speaker 4: Thank you for the reminder that your church is not limited to La Grave, to Grand Rapids, or even to the United States, but it's a global church.Bless the team's time in Mexico and may You protect them, sustain them, and give them eyes to see what You are doing there. While Easter is a day of rejoicing and hope, we do not forget that we live in an already, not yet time. We know that You have already come to earth, died, and rose again. We stand on that firm foundation. Yet you also told us that one day You would come again. And when You come again, that is when all things will be made new. And so as we wait for You, Lord, we continue to stand beside those whose grief, sadness, hurt, and fear are at the forefront of their lives. We think of the Gelderloos family, the Rooks family, the family and friends of Karel Vanbrughen, and the Weller and Scullin family as they all grieve the loss of loved ones. Draw near to them and may the Easter hope of today bring them comfort in the days ahead.

[44:03] Speaker 4: Be with Jim, Stu, Steve, Jack, and Jodell, as they each are on their own unique journeys with health needs. Grant each of them strength and restore them to full health. We continue to pray for those receiving hospice services and for others who are living with cancer. And we continue to pray for countries at war and for world leaders. Give them wisdom as they navigate a way to peace. You know all of the needs, Lord, whether unsaid or said, and so we ask Your Spirit to bring comfort, hope, joy, and healing. On this Easter morning, Lord, we celebrate the good news that Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. He is the first fruits of what is to come. Thank You for the hope His resurrection brings. May that hope sas- sustain us as we seek to be Your faithful servants here on earth until You come again. In Your name we pray, amen.

[45:15] Speaker 4: (chair creaking)

[45:20] Speaker 3: (gentle music) (choir humming) Servants of God, your master proclaim, and publish abroad His wonderful name. The name all-victorious of Jesus extol; His kingdom is glorious and rules over all. Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb. Salvation to brought who sits on the throne; let all cry aloud and honor the Son. The praises of Jesus, the angels proclaim; fall down on their faces and worship Him. Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb. God rules in the height, almighty to save; though hid from our sight, His presence we have.

[48:09] Speaker 3: The great congregation His triumphs shall see, ascribing salvation to Jesus our King. Worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb, worthy the Lamb. (instrumental music) Let us adore Him, all glory and power, wisdom and might, honor and blessing with angels above, ever ceasing in infinite love. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God Almighty.

[50:59] Speaker 3: (instrumental music plays)

[55:12] Speaker 3: (organ music plays) He is Lord, He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

[56:40] Speaker 6: Our Bible reading this morning is from Luke's Gospel. Luke Chapter 24, the first 12 verses, which is found on page 1,643 in your pew Bibles. Earlier this morning, Rachel read the account of Jesus' resurrection from the Children's Bible perspective. Now we will hear the same account, except this time from God's word. Listen. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took spices that they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found a stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 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? He is not here. He is risen. Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee?

[57:49] Speaker 6: The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again." Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and, and to the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and 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 there by themselves and he went away wondering what had happened. This is the word of the Lord.

[58:43] Speaker 3: Thanks be to God.

[58:44] Speaker 6: In the way that Luke tells the story, um, on the weekend of Jesus' resurrection, on that first Easter weekend, there are two main enemies, two main enemies. So when those women are coming to the tomb with their spices, ready to prepare the body, there are two enemies in the p- that place on that day. And the first of those two enemies I think is, is pretty obvious to you. The first of those two enemies is death. Death is a terrible enemy and not particularly subtle, especially on that weekend, right? Death has been absolutely stomping on Jesus all weekend long. Death tortured Jesus, spit in his face. Death got Jesus to cry out, uh, both in pain and with a sense of abandonment, right? Death has slowly been squeezing Jesus until the very last breath has been squeezed out of his body and he is hung limp and gray on the cross. And as if all that weren't enough, death has taken Jesus, thrown him in the tomb, and slammed the door shut.

[59:55] Speaker 6: And in so doing, has attempted to squeeze every last drop of hope out of every one of his followers, and he's been pretty successful at that. Death is the most obvious and blatant enemy of Jesus on that morning. The other enemy is not as easy to see. The other enemy Luke shows us is death's, um, co-conspirator and confidant, which is cynicism. Cynicism is the other enemy of that morning. I was tempted to call this enemy doubt, but I don't think that's quite right. Um, doubt is often momentary, and I think doubt is something that, if you're just a human being, you can't help popping up in your head (snaps fingers) once in a while. Cynicism is different than doubt. Cynicism is doubt turned into a habit, right? Cynicism is doubt hardened into a world view, into a way of looking at the world. Here's an image for cynicism. Cynicism is the glasses that death wants you to wear. Death doesn't just wanna menace the end of your life. Death wants you to have a certain kind of perspective-...

[01:01:11] Speaker 6: every single day of your life. Death wants you to have a cynical, scoffing, skeptical view of the world. And so death holds out to you these glasses and the lenses of these glasses cause you to look at the world with cynicism. Did you notice the cynicism in our passage? Women get to the tomb, they're perplexed that the tomb is open, they meet these two bright and shining angels who say, "He is not here. He is risen." And they run to tell the disciples, they say, "Jesus has risen." And what do the disciple say? They do not believe the women because their words seem to them like nonsense. "Jesus has risen? Oh, please. Come on. I wasn't born yesterday. This is not how it works." Right? Dead bodies do not rise from the grave. They have a cynical habit of mind. So death and cynicism, those are the two great enemies of that first Easter morning, and I will say to you something that I think you already know.

[01:02:18] Speaker 6: Death and cynicism are not just the enemies of that first Easter morning, death and cini- and cynicism are the enemies that you confront every single morning of your life. Every single morning of your life. Every morning of your life, de- comes to you, menaces you, and holds out those cynical glasses and wants you to put them on. I know that the older I get, uh, the more death is menacing me. When I was about 40, I developed tinnitus. I don't know if you know what tinnitus is. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in the ears. There's probably some of you who have it too. I, I, it's... The way I best describe it, it's like in those old gyms where you used to come in and turn off the, on the lights in an old gym and you'd instantly have that humming sound, right, that was just sort of constant. It's like that, except it's like pitched way higher than that. And it's all the time.

[01:03:16] Speaker 6: I still remember, um, lying in my bed one night and all of a sudden the noise was there and it's been with me ever since. You get used to it, right? Most of the time I don't think of it. But in the silence sometimes when it's quiet, there it is. I've come to think of it as the sound of my mortality, right? It's death saying to me, "I'm coming for you someday." Death sends a lot of those messages to us the older we get, right? You wake up in the morning and there's a new ache or new pain or a ringing in your ears or something's just not working the way that it used to and you realize, "Okay, this is me the rest of my life." It's the slow depreciation of your assets.

[01:04:13] Speaker 8: (laughs)

[01:04:15] Speaker 6: All you kids here, all right? And by kids I mean everyone under 30.

[01:04:21] Speaker 8: (laughs)

[01:04:23] Speaker 6: This is gonna happen to you. And it speeds up the older you get. And no amount of dieting, right? No nuts and berries and tofu, no facial creams, no amount of exercise is going to stop this from happening to you. Suddenly one day you will find that one of your most frequent social events is going to the funerals of people who are the same age as you, right? I'm not there yet, but some of you are. Science has a word for this. There's a scientific word for this, it's called entropy. It's a scientific concept, it's well observed, there are equations. Over time, in a complex system, ene- uh, energy will dissipate within the system and will cause it to decay. So ice melts, when a plant dies, it rots. If you abandon a home and no one takes care of it, it will quickly fall into disrepair. Entropy. When you look through the scientific lens of entropy, death seems absolutely inevitable.

[01:05:37] Speaker 6: So death points to the science of entropy and death points to the inevitability of our own deaths and it says, "See, I am the lord of all things. All rivers will eventually flow into me. I am the alpha and the omega and I will bring you and this entire world down into darkness in the end. You can count on it." Death is the enemy that greets us every morning of our life and death is not content simply to remind us of our death in the end, death wants us to have death's attitude every single day. Death wants us to put on those cynical glasses as well. Death wants us, through fear, to become like those disciples where someone tells us really good news and we dismiss it because it seems to us like nonsense. Someone is hopeful about the future and says, "Hey, things are really getting better." And we say, "Ah, the world is falling apart." Seems to us like nonsense.

[01:06:46] Speaker 6: Someone is optimistic about the church and its ministry and we think of everything that's wrong with the church, it seems to us like nonsense. Someone talks about the power of God to change a really broken life, seems to us like nonsense. Death wants to put those cynical glasses on your face every morning holding them out to you. Why? Because death wants to flatten your world, that's what's happening when death gets you to think that way, it's flattening your world. Those glasses of death, they're like sunglasses, right? Sunglasses-... filter out UV rays. Death's glasses filter out hope and joy and transcendence and sacredness in the world, and they flatten it out so that everything is mechanical and cold. I recently read an article by a journalist named Elizabeth Bruenig. Ms. Bruenig grew up as a Christian, she grew up Methodist. And then as she got older, she started to ask questions and when she got into college she started to feel her faith whittle away.

[01:07:55] Speaker 6: And that was accelerated when she started reading, um, the people they call the new atheists. The new atheists, uh, were the guys who were really popular, atheist advocates, popular in the '90s and early 2000s. So Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, you probably heard those names. The new atheists are perfectly cynical, all right? They want to completely flatten your world, all right? There's no such thing as holiness or transcendence or joy or love. All of these things are illusory. The world is just mechanical, right? It's just chemicals. Love feels great, it's just chemicals moving around. Friendship, generosity, your mother's affection, those are just evolutionary adaptations. They're survival strategies. I mean, they look good, but they're, they're really self-interested. Joy, it's not real. It's just electric firings in the brain.

[01:08:54] Speaker 6: So Elizabeth was getting older, she was going to college, she was reading the new atheists, her faith was whittling away and it probably would have gone all the way down, her world would have become completely flat if not, and this is quoting now, "Were it not for one brisk autumn afternoon in 2011 when standing alone at a bus stop, I happened to witness the presence of God." She was in college waiting for a bus, not thinking about faith, thinking about her midterms, when, again quoting, "A sudden icy wind tore around the corner, sweeping into gray branches and climbing ivy and sending a spray of golden birch leaves spiraling into the sky, taking my breath away along with them. And I knew that my soul was bared to something indescribably majestic and bracing, something that overwhelmed me with the unmistakable sensation of eye contact. What I saw, I felt, also saw me." Elizabeth felt God reach out and tap her on the shoulder.

[01:10:06] Speaker 6: The wind that sent those birch leaves into the sky also blew those cynical glasses right off her face, and all of a sudden her world wasn't flat and mechanical anymore. Her world was charged with the grandeur of God, with joy and with beauty. But cynicism is tough, right? So guess what happened, like, three days later? Guess what happened three days later to Elizabeth? She started to question her own experience. She started to have mechanical explanations for what had happened to her and what she felt. She went, "Oh, you know, I was just overtired." Right? "It was midterms. I just had a little moment. It was something I ate." Death started to try to get her to put on those cynical glasses again, flatten out her world, make everything mechanical and cold. Fortunately, she resisted.

[01:11:01] Speaker 9: (coughs)

[01:11:02] Speaker 6: But that's what death does to us, right? Death's done, I'll bet death's done the same thing to you. God does something wonderful in your life, you see something, you hear something, announce good news, and your brain does this little thing where you make an explanation, you flatten it out. "They did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense." Cynicism, it's an old and powerful enemy, it's powerful in the world and it's powerful in our hearts. So let's go back to that first Easter morning. Let's walk with the women to the tomb. There they're going, the light is just coming up, they've got their spices in their hands. They're pretty quiet. Grief has made them silent. And we can also see as we look at them that they are a little bit cynical. They're not expecting to find anything there. They think death has won, right? They're not expecting to find life. They are expecting to encounter only death. They think death has, has won the weekend.

[01:12:06] Speaker 6: But then the good news of Easter morning rolls the stone of their cynicism away. "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen. It's just as he told you. It's always been part of his plan." How do I explain to you the weight of those words and how they change everything? I feel this weight every S- Easter when I preach. What words can I choose to show you how important the words of the angel were that morning? Jesus is alive. Death has been gaslighting us. Death is not the end of all things. Jesus is the end of all things. Death is not the alpha and the omega. Jesus is the alpha and the omega. The world will not enter, will not end in entropy. The world will end in new creation and joy. Love is not just chemicals moving around. Love is at the heart of God, and one day love will fill this earth. He is not here. He is risen. Those are the most important words in your life, whether you believe them this morning or not.

[01:13:20] Speaker 6: They just are.And these are the words we Christians speak in the face of all of our fears, all of our doubts, all of our disappointments, all of our tragedies, all of our diseases. Every morning, death stands in front of you and tries to get you to put on his glasses. You could do worse than say to death when he does that, "He is not here. He is risen." Even those, those words are the, the strongest words that have ever been spoken. Uh, it's not always so easy to get rid of our cynical habit of mind. It wasn't easy for the disciples. We already saw how they were cynical at the end of our passage. Um, if you keep reading Luke, it keeps going, right? The very next story, there's two disciples walking on their way to Emmaus. You remember that story. And their faces are downcast, they think Jesus is gone. The women have told them. They admit, the women have said that he's risen, but they, they just can't see it.

[01:14:20] Speaker 6: And then Jesus has to come alongside them and he has to open their eyes, right? He has to take those glasses off their head. And then in the story after that, Jesus comes to the disciples in a room and meets them, and do you remember the reaction they have when they finally see the risen Jesus? They think he is a ghost. That is the perfect cynical move, right? What have they done with Jesus? He's not a living guy. They flatten him out. He's just a ghost. And Jesus has to come over and he has to, you know, "Touch me." Right? "I'm gonna eat something. I'm alive." The resurrection is real. Death is beaten. It's just hard for us to take that into our hearts sometimes. I said that death meets you every morning with his cynical glasses. I will also say to you that Jesus meets you every morning with glasses of his own. Totally different prescription.

[01:15:15] Speaker 6: When you put on Jesus' glasses, the world will no longer just be mechanical and flat and cold, but it will be charged with the grandeur of God and the beauty of God and the joy of life. There's a name for Jesus' prescription. It's called hope. And this hope is strong and well-founded. Yes, on that Easter morning, it was hard for people to believe, but pretty soon people came around and it's not an overstatement to say that only 300 years later, the news that those women told the disciples, it will absolutely change the world. Right? It will turn the world upside-down. Those three words, "He is risen." On the first Easter morning, only the women believed. The entirety of human belief was carried in the hearts of three women. But soon the disciples, stubborn as they were, they came around, Holy Spirit filled them, they went out from Jerusalem to Samaria to the ends of the earth.

[01:16:20] Speaker 6: The gospel soon enough was being spoken in the streets of Rome and less than 300 years later, the Roman emperor, the Roman Empire had been shaken to its core and emperors had fallen to their knees before this message. It's a revolution. It's a bloodless revolution. Right? No swords were drawn. Right? No armies were sent forth. The power from this resolution was just ordinary people like you who had this message in their heart and in their mouths, and they spoke that message in faith, hope, and love, and the empire was not able to stand before it. So as you go out into your world this week, this cynical world, as you go out to face these two enemies, take these strong words with you. Take them in your heart, take them in your mouth, and know that the truest thing and the strongest thing that has ever been spoken in this world is, "Jesus is risen." Amen. Lord Jesus, we are, um, we stand before this good news just as amazed as the women were that first morning.

[01:17:44] Speaker 6: You know all the times in our life that, uh, doubt or fear creeps into us, or all the times in our life where the, the things that are in front of us just seem too big for us to overcome. Thank you for this message. Thank you for this good news that reminds us that there is nothing that can stand before the power of your resurrected might. In Christ's name, Lord, amen. (organ music)

[01:19:13] Speaker 3: (singing) My Lord and my Redeemer lives. What joy is blest, what joy confers. He lives, him we adore; hallelujah, hallel- (organ music plays) He lives, my God, he lives again. He lives, eternally to save. He lives, with love forever more and more. He lives, to guide with all his truth and might. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to light the path of hope. He lives, all blessing to impart. He lives, my kind, wise heav'nly friend. He lives and loves me to the end. He lives, and while he lives I'll sing. He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. O how sweet to enter home into his kingdom.

[01:21:35] Speaker 3: There I'll live with Christ, my Savior, through all eternity. No death, nor Hades, nor grave can part me now from my Lord. Amen.

[01:22:23] Speaker 6: Receive the blessing of your resurrected Lord. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all.

[01:22:35] Speaker 3: Amen. (church organ music plays) Christ is risen! Christ is risen! Now is Christ risen. Risen from the dead. Is risen from the dead. Is risen from the dead. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (church organ music plays) (footsteps on the floor) (bell rings three times) (instrumental music plays) (crowd cheers)

[01:25:32] Speaker 3: (crowd continues to cheer(organ music)