[00:00] Speaker 1: (music)

[06:15] Speaker 2: (peaceful music)

[12:19] Speaker 3: ...hallelujah! All creation joins to sing, Alleluia! Raise, O joys,

[16:15] Speaker 3: and triumphs, high, Alleluia! Sing, O Heavs, and earth reply, Alleluia! Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Faught the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! Praise the name of glorious King, Alleluia! Where, O death, his number sing, Alleluia! Caused he thy vanquished soul to save, Alleluia! Where, O grave, thy victory keep, Alleluia! (instrumental music plays) Soon we all with Christ shall stand, Alleluia! The victor race of children, Alleluia! Made by Him, our King, we'll rise, Alleluia! Cast our trusts upon Jesus' strength, Alleluia!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 and 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.

[19:03] Speaker 3: Lord, You alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure. 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 one 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.

[20:05] Speaker 4: (singing) Christ the Lord is risen again. Christ has broken every chain. Now through all the world it rings. That the Lamb is King of kings. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ has passed, the 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. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ has passed, the Lamb indeed. Christ, today Your people feed. Alleluia. He who bore our hidden loss. Comfortless upon the cross. Is exalted now to say. That He came straight from the grave. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ has passed, the Lamb indeed. Christ, today Your people feed. Alleluia.

[22:55] Speaker 3: 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 the 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 noticed something odd, it was wide open. They peered through the opening into the dark tomb.

[24:29] Speaker 3: 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.

[25:18] Speaker 5: (organ music plays) Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won. Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away; then the folded graveclothes where thy body lay. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won. Oh, Jesus meets me, risen from the tomb; lovingly He greets me, sinners healed and groomed. Glad His Church delights, 'tis a triumph scene, for the Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won. No more without Thee, Lord most wise and high; life is naught without Thee, pain and sin and strife. Make us forever Thine own, through the endless dawn; make us fitly drawn, Christ, to Thy holy throne.

[28:15] Speaker 5: Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son; endless is the vict'ry thou o'er death hast won.

[29:25] Speaker 3: 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 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.

[30:26] Speaker 3: 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.'" (instrumental music plays)

[30:57] Speaker 6: Alleluia, Jesus is risen! From the grave's dark deep he'll open us wide; splendor of light, heaven forever; oh, for the miracle God has inspired! Jesus is risen and we shall arise; give God the glory! Alleluia! Walking the way, Christ is our center, telling the story to open our eyes; breaking our bread, giving us hope, Jesus our blessing, our constant surprise. Jesus is risen and we shall arise; give God the glory! Alleluia! Weeping, be gone; sorrow, be silent; death, do not stammer; and Easter is bright!

[33:55] Speaker 6: Cherubim sing. Cherubim sing. They sing, "Oh, grave, be opened; clothe us in wonder; adorn us in light" Jesus is risen and we shall arise; give God the glory! Alleluia! Amen! (instrumental music plays) Send the power of Easter forever; born the universal: Jesus, the Lamb! River of life, saints and archangels, sing their creation to God the Father! Jesus is risen and we shall rise; give God the glory! Alleluia!

[35:46] Speaker 7: All right, children. It's time for the Easter children's message. Come on up, come on up and we'll talk together a little bit about Easter. (laughs) Hello, friends. You're the ones who have not gone o- gone on vacation, right? That is, uh, I'm so glad there are some of you here. Got our balcony friends coming.

[36:13] Speaker 5: Tomorrow I'm going to for my birth-

[36:14] Speaker 7: Tomorrow you're going on vacation. Yeah, you know what?

[36:16] Speaker 5: I have a-

[36:17] Speaker 7: Me too. Me too.

[36:19] Speaker 8: (laughs)

[36:19] Speaker 7: Tomorrow. (laughs) We're not talking about that now.

[36:23] Speaker 8: (laughs)

[36:24] Speaker 7: Come on down, everyone. We have more. All right, almost there. Come on, friends. Excellent. Okay. Uh, let me see. Do you remember what day it is today?

[36:39] Speaker 5: Easter!

[36:39] Speaker 7: Oh, yeah. (laughs) That is exactly right. Such an important day.On Friday, Jesus died on the cross and his friends were so sad, everyone was so sad. And he went in the grave and everybody thought, "That's it. It's done." But then on Easter morning, there was an earthquake and the stone rolls away from the grave and light comes out of it. And Jesus gets up and he walks out and he's alive. He's alive. Death has no more power. Now, one of the first things that Jesus did after he rose from the grave is go talk to his disciples. And not all his disciples believed that it was possible. So Jesus, after he rose from the grave, went to talk to his disciples. And they were so excited to see him. They said, "Jesus, you're alive." And they gave him a hug and they were so happy. But there was one disciple who was not there the first time Jesus came and met his friends. His name was Thomas. Thomas. Okay? And later, when... I don't know where Thomas was.

[37:44] Speaker 7: I mean, he maybe was out getting groceries or getting his hair cut. I don't know. But he wasn't there. And when he came back, they said, "Thomas, Thomas, while you were gone, we saw Jesus. He's not dead. He's alive." And you know what Thomas did? He did not believe them. He said, "No way. That did not happen. I do not believe you." And they said, "Come on. He did. He rose from the grave. He was right here." And Thomas said, "Unless I see him alive with the nail holes in his hands, I am not gonna believe that it happened." Well, a couple days later, guess what happens? Jesus shows up again. Jesus comes back to his disciples. And this time, Thomas is here. So all the disciples are excited to see Jesus and Jesus says, "Thomas, can you just come here for a minute? I have something to show you." So how do you think Thomas felt? He was a little embarrassed, right? He was maybe a little ashamed. He comes over to Jesus. Jesus shows him his hands. He says, "See?

[38:47] Speaker 7: I'm alive." And Thomas is so happy, he falls to his knees and he says, "My Lord and my God." Sometimes, even though there's such good news, Jesus has risen, sometimes because we've seen so many people die, it's hard to believe. But one day we will see Jesus, just like Thomas did. It'll probably be after we die. Probably be after we die. But after we die, we will see Jesus. And maybe he'll run towards us and we'll run towards him, and maybe he'll hug us. And we'll see the holes in his hands and in his feet, and we will say, just like Thomas, "My Lord and my God." And that will be wonderful. That's my Easter message to you today. Congregation, what is our prayer for these children?

[39:34] Speaker 5: Lord, be with you.

[39:35] Speaker 7: Okay. Now, don't... You have to go back to your parents. There's no children's worship. We had an episode at 8:40. We don't want that again.

[39:50] Speaker 9: (laughs)

[39:53] Speaker 3: We're gonna give everyone a minute to f- find their seat again. So, not as quick as running down the aisle.

[40:01] Speaker 5: (laughs)

[40:02] Speaker 3: Okay, awesome. (smacks lips) Two announcements before we go to God in prayer. First, uh, our short-term mission team that's, uh, down in Mexico visiting some of our missionaries there arrived safely yesterday evening. So we praise God for that and we'll continue to hold them in our prayers. They are worshiping this morning with Uri and Carmen Alcivar, who are serving down there. The second announcement is that Jodelle Beladis is back in the hospital with respiratory issues. So we will pray for her strength and healing. Let us 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. We relived the darkest day, and we sat with our own grief, sadness, hurt, and fear. But that is not the end of the story.

[41:19] Speaker 3: 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 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 all of them as they 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. Thank you for the reminder that your church is not limited to La Grave, to Grand Rapids, or even to the United States. It is a global church.

[42:38] Speaker 3: 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 Carol VanBruggen, and the Weller and Skolton family, as they all grieve the loss of loved ones. Draw near to them, and may the Easter hope bring them comfort today, and in the days ahead. Be with Jim, Stu, Steve, Jack, and Jodell, as they each are on their own unique journeys with health needs.

[43:59] Speaker 3: Grant each of them strength, and restore them to full health. Lord, 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 sustain us as we seek to be Your faithful servants here on Earth, until You come again. In Your name we pray, amen.

[45:02] Speaker 5: (coughing) (clearing throat) (instrumental music) (chanting) Worthy the Lamb. Worthy the Lamb. Ye 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 God, who sits on the throne. Let all cry aloud and on earth a song. The praises of Jesus, the angels proclaim. Fall down on their faces and worship the Lamb. Worthy the, worthy the Lamb. Worthy the, worthy the Lamb. God rules in the height, almighty to save. Though hid from our sight, His presence we've learned. The great congregation its triumph shall sing.

[48:02] Speaker 5: Ascribing salvation to Jesus our King. Worthy the, worthy the Lamb. Worthy the, worthy the Lamb. Worthy the, worthy the Lamb. Enter in the... (instrumental music) The. Heart of. God. From. Earth. To. Come. By. Our. Father. In. The. Sky. When. The. Queen. Comes. Through. The. Air. We. Hear. The. Son. Of. God. The. Second. Verse. The. Lord. Came. Down. Upon. The. Mountain. Where. The. Angel. Stood. And. A. Message. Was. Given. Unto. Him. Saying. Do. Not. Worry. But. Take. Heart. And. Mind. For. These. Are. The. Days. Of. Our. Lord. Jesus. Christ. The. Third. Verse. Read. By. Me. And. The. Last. Verses. By. Me. Also. Be. Bold. And. The. Spirit. Of. The. Lord. Be. With. You. All. The. Way. Through. Eternity.

[49:17] Speaker 5: Amen.He

[55:11] Speaker 5: is risen from the dead.

[55:56] Speaker 5: He is Lord. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

[56:28] Speaker 7: Our Bible reading this morning is from Luke's Gospel. Luke Chapter 24 verses 1 through 12. A little earlier in the service, Rachel read the, the sort of the Children's Bible version of this story. Now, we're gonna hear the original as we find it in scripture. Found on page, uh, 1643 in your pew Bibles. "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 the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of our Lord Jesus. And 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?

[57:34] Speaker 7: "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners to be crucified and then on the third day be raised again."' Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others that were with them who told the apostles. But they didn't 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 himself, by themselves, and he went away wondering to himself what had happened." This is the word of the Lord.

[58:22] Speaker 5: Thanks be to God.

[58:28] Speaker 7: In the way that Luke tells the story on that very first resurrection weekend, there were two enemies that were facing Jesus and his disciples. On that Easter weekend, there were two main enemies that came against the power of the resurrection. The first of those enemies, I think you know. The first of those enemies is obvious. The first of those enemies is death. And death is not a subtle enemy, and death was particularly not subtle on this weekend. Death had been absolutely stomping on Jesus and his disciples all weekend long, right? Death had tortured Jesus, spit in his face. Death had nailed Jesus to the cross and caused him to cry out, uh, both in pain and in loneliness and abandonment. And death, by slow degree, had squeezed Jesus until the last breath went out of his body and he hung there limp and gray on the cross. And as if that wasn't enough, death took Jesus, put him in a tomb, slammed the door shut.

[59:37] Speaker 7: And all of that was meant to squeeze every last drop of hope out of his followers, out of his disciples. And honestly, death did a pretty good job of doing that. First enemy of Easter weekend is death. The other enemy is maybe not so easy for you to see. It's death's companion, death's cohort, death's colleague. And the name of this enemy is cynicism. Cynicism. I thought of saying that the other enemy of, of, uh, this weekend is doubt, but I don't think that's right. Um, doubt is often momentary, and I think for us, uh, often inevitable in little bursts. Cynicism is different than doubt, right? Cynicism is doubt that has turned into a habit, right? When doubt and skepticism become your habit of mind, become your everyday approach to life, then you've become cynical. Cynicism is the second enemy. Let me give you an image for cynicism. Uh, cynicism are the prescription glasses of death. Cynicism is the way that death wants you to look at the world.

[01:00:51] Speaker 7: Death wants you to have a perspective on life, wants you to be skeptical and scoffing and cynical. So death holds out to you these glasses and wants you to put them on, and when you do, the lenses through which you view the world are cynical lenses. Cynicism are death's prescription glasses.Did you notice the cynicism in our passage? Right? The women, they, they go to the tomb, they find it open, they hear the two bright angels say, "He is not here. He is risen," and they, they're full of joy, and they run to tell the disciples. They say, "He's risen. Jesus is alive." And the disciples do not believe the women because their words seem to them like nonsense. "He's alive? Please. Come on. Do you think I was born yesterday? Dead people do not rise from the grave. You must have been seeing things. You must have been hysterical." Cynicism.

[01:01:57] Speaker 7: So death and cynicism, those are the, the two big enemies of our passage, the two big enemies of Easter morning, but they're not just the enemies of Easter morning. Death and cynicism are the enemies that face you and me every single morning of our life. Every morning, death greets you when you get up and tries to menace you and holds out to you a set of glasses and wants you to put them on, those cynical glasses. He wants you to wear them. Death and cynicism are still your enemies.

[01:02:30] Speaker 7: As an almost 60-year-old man, 59, that one year matters a lot-

[01:02:36] Speaker 10: (laughs)

[01:02:38] Speaker 7: ... I am more and more keenly aware of how death is an enemy for me. When I was about 40 years old, I developed tinnitus. I don't know if you know what tinnitus is. Tinnitus is a constant ringing in your ears. I, I have that, okay? Um, the way I liken it, I say to people, it's like when those old gymnasiums. Remember you used to go and you turn on the lights in an old gymnasium and there's this instant hum that hits? Tinnitus is like that, except it's pitched way higher than that, okay? Um, I still remember lying in bed in the quiet and all of a sudden this noise is there, and I thought, "What is this?" And it has been there ever since. You get used to it. Most of the time, I don't think about it, but when it's really quiet, I know it's there, and what I've come to think of it as is, it's the soundtrack of my mortality.

[01:03:28] Speaker 10: (laughs)

[01:03:29] Speaker 7: Right? It's death saying to me, "I am coming someday, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Those of you who are my age and older, you know that, um, death does that more and more the older you get, right? You wake up with a new ache, you wake up with a new pain, you wake up with a ringing in your ears, and you realize that this is not going to go away. It is the slow depreciation of our assets. I want to say a word to you kids, and by kids, I mean everyone here under 30.

[01:04:05] Speaker 10: (laughs)

[01:04:07] Speaker 7: It's gonna happen to you, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. There is no diets of nuts, roots, and berries and tofu, no facial cream, no exercise regimen that will stop these things from happening to you. Believe me, I've been on the treadmill.

[01:04:25] Speaker 10: (laughs)

[01:04:27] Speaker 7: It speeds up the older you get, right? Suddenly you find, and this is true, it's not true for me yet, but I know it's true for some of you, that one of your main social activities is going to the funeral of people who are your friends and colleagues. Science has a word for all this: entropy. Entropy is a scientific concept. It's an observable phenomenon in the universe. There are equations to describe it. Over time, in an organized system, energy will dissipate, and those ordered systems will tend towards disorder. That's why ice melts. That's why when a plant dies, it decays. That's why when you leave a house unoccupied and untended, it won't take very long for that house to fall into disrepair. Entropy. If you look at life through the lens of entropy, it seems like death is inevitable. And so death stands up and it points to the science of entropy, and death stands up and it points to the diminishment of our bodies and say, "See, I am the lord of all things.

[01:05:42] Speaker 7: I am the one into whom all the rivers flow. I am the alpha and the omega. In the end, I will bring you and I will bring this whole universe down into darkness, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Death is the first enemy of every morning of our life, and he is strong, and he's not content just to scare you about your end. Right? He wants you every day to adopt his attitude and his worldview. He wants you to put on those cynical glasses. Death wants you to be like the disciples at the end of our passage so that when someone tells you good news, someone tells you something hopeful, someone tells you something positive, it seems to you like nonsense. You say something or someone says something hopeful about the way the world is going, and you say, "Ugh, the world's falling apart. Nonsense." When someone is optimistic about the church and its possibilities, you say something about the failings of the church.

[01:06:46] Speaker 7: "It's all nonsense." Someone talks to you about the power of the Holy Spirit to change the lives of broken people, and it seems to you like nonsense. Death wants to put those cynical glasses on your face, holds them out to you, and he wants to put them on your face because he wants to flatten out your world. That's what happens when you wear those glasses. Your world becomes flat. They're like sunglasses, right? What do sunglasses do? They filter things out. Sunglasses filter out UV light to make your eyes healthier. Death's glasses...... filter out hope and beauty and wonder. They take all the transcendence and all the joy out of the world. Put on death's glasses and everything will turn into a machine, cold, flat. I recently read an article by a n- a journalist named Elizabeth Bruenig. Ms. Bruenig grew up Methodist.

[01:07:47] Speaker 7: She was a Christian person, grew up Christian, and then she got a little older, coming into college, she started to ask all these questions, doubt started to come up in her mind, and then when she went away to college, um, the doubt became more habitual, the doubt became stronger. She started to read the new atheists, they're old atheists now, but the new atheists back then in the '90s and in the 2000s, so that's Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, right? The new atheists are, are perfect cynics. If you read them, they just want to flatten out your world, right? They want to take all the joy, all the transcendence, all of the sacred out of the world and they will tell you, "Look, the world is just flat, it's mechanical, it's all process. It's just chemistry. Just atoms moving around. Love? That's just chemicals moving in your brain. Feels great, don't be fooled. It's flat. It's just chemicals.

[01:08:41] Speaker 7: Friendship, generosity, your mother's affection, those are strategies of evolution, adaptations. They look self- they look like they're not self-interested, but they are. Joy? That's not real, that's just electricity firing in your brain." So Elisabeth Bruenig, she goes off to college, she's reading the new atheists, her faith is starting to deteriorate, her world is starting to flatten out, and it probably would've gone all in that direction unless something had happened to her one morning while she was waiting for the bus. Here's what she says. "One brisk autumn afternoon in 2011, I was standing alone at a bus stop and I happened to witness the presence of God." She was in college, she wasn't thinking about God or anything when, quoting again, "'A sudden icy wind tore around the corner, sweeping into the gray branches and the climbing ivy and sent a spray of golden birch leaves spiraling into the sky.

[01:09:45] Speaker 7: Took 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.'" God reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. The wind that whipped those birch leaves into the air also blew her cynical glasses right off her face, and suddenly the world wasn't flat anymore. Now it was alive with transcendence and beauty and wonder and the glorious presence of God. But cynicism is a tough enemy. Guess what she was doing a week later? Guess. She was starting to rationalize what had happened, starting to invent mechanical explanation, starting to, uh, doubt her own experience, "Oh, I was tired. There were mid-terms coming up. Maybe it was something I ate. Did I really see that or was that just something that happened?" Cynicism was trying to flatten out her world again. She resisted, she did not give in, but that's what cynicism does!

[01:11:04] Speaker 7: That's what this enemy does! It does it to us too, you know it does! You hear something good, you hear something wonderful and your mind starts going to mechanical explanations. They did not believe the women because their world- words seemed to them like nonsense. Cynicism's an old enemy, powerful in the world and sometimes powerful in our hearts. So let's go back to that first Easter morning. Let's walk with the women back to the tomb. They're walking, the sun's just coming up, they're holding their spices, they're quiet, grief has made them silent, and if we look at them closely, we realize that cynicism has infected them too, right? They do not expect to find life, they don't expect any good news at the tomb, right? They think death has absolutely won. But when they get there, the good news of Easter morning just rolls the stone of their cynicism away, the bright angels speak, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here.

[01:12:12] Speaker 7: He is risen and this is just as you were told. This has always been God's plan. This is always what God was all, going to do. He was always going to raise His Son from the dead. He is risen." How do I explain to you how these words change everything? Every week before Easter when I'm trying to write my sermon, that's when I'm asking myself, "How am I going to tell these people and explain to these people how these words change absolutely everything?" They are the most uncynical words that have ever been spoken. Jesus is alive and death is beaten. Death has been lying to us all along. 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. Entropy is not how the world is going to end. The world is going to end in new creation and everlasting life. And love is not just chemicals moving around in your brain. Love is at the heart of God and someday love will fill the world. He is not here.

[01:13:27] Speaker 7: He is risen.These are the most important words of your life, even if you don't believe a word of them this morning. (laughs) They are the most important words of your life. These are the words we Christians speak in the face of all our disappointments, all our fears, all our sadness, all our diseases. Every morning when death stands in front of you and holds out his cynical glasses, you could do worse than to say to him, "Get lost, because He is not here, He is risen." Even though these words are so strong and the most important words of history, it's not always easy to get rid of our cynical habits. It wasn't easy for the disciples. Uh, if you ... I mean, you should read the resurrection accounts, and what strikes you is how persistent their doubt is, right? I already talked about how the disciples at the end of our passage don't believe. The very next passage, the Emmaus Road passage, two more disciples walking along. Their faces are downcast. They think Jesus is gone.

[01:14:32] Speaker 7: The women have told them. The women said to those guys that Jesus was risen. It doesn't sink in. Jesus has to come along beside them. And remember how it ends? He has to open their eyes. Right? Takes the glasses off their head. And then the last resurrection story of Luke's Gospel, Jesus shows up, and He shows up to all the disciples in a room, and He greets them. And do you remember their reaction? They think He's a ghost. Right? That's the perfect cynical reaction. What does a gh- He's, they flatten Him out. Right? He's not a, a flesh and blood human being, He's just, oh, He's something else. And Jesus has to reach out and say, "No, look. Feel my arms. I am, I'm alive." Eat, I eat something to show them. Resurrection is real. Jesus is alive, but our cynicism dies hard. I said to you that, um, death wants to put a pair of glasses on you, cynical glasses. Jesus, by His resurrection power, wants to put a pair of glasses on you too.

[01:15:33] Speaker 5: Amen.

[01:15:34] Speaker 7: Very different prescription. And if you put these glasses on, uh, the world won't seem flat anymore. The world will seem fully alive. It will seem beautiful. It will seem charged with the grandeur of God. There is a name for this prescription as well. It's called hope. And the power of this hope is observable in history. On that Easter morning, belief was hard to come by. But 300 years later, those three words, "He is risen," had absolutely changed the world, right? They had objectively turned the world upside down. On Easter morning, only those three women carried the hope of Easter in their hearts. That's, those are the on- only three human beings who were carrying the weight of the gospel in their human hearts. But soon, the Spirit would spread it out to the disciples, and the disciples would go to the ends of the earth. They'd go to Rome.

[01:16:32] Speaker 7: And less than 300 years later, the Roman Empire had been shaken to its core and emperors had fallen to their knees in front of those three words. It was a revolution, completely bloodless. No sword was drawn, no armies were sent out. The only weapon used was ordinary people like you and me who held this good news in their hearts and who were willing to speak it out on their lips. The words of the women may have seemed like nonsense, but they were enough to bring down the empire. And so, as you go out this week into your cynical world, as you go out this week to face those two enemies, and you will face them, put those words in your heart, carry those words on your lips, because He is not here. He is risen. Amen. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that, uh, in this place, the power of your resurrection is unveiled and we see the truth of the universe.

[01:17:46] Speaker 7: Lord, you know, um, so many of us have been touched by death and menaced by death over this last year and the years before through loss, through diminishment. Lord, thank you here in this place we can see the truth of all things, that you will have the last word, and that we will be with you forever. Strengthen us, Lord, to be people of joy in this world. In Jesus' name. Amen. (organ music)

[01:18:43] Speaker 5: (music) My good and my Redeemer lives. Watch to His breast, watch to His breast. He lives, to live who once loved me.He lives my Rock and Comforter, He lives the Word of His mercy, He lives and fought and won my war, He lives to rule on this earth above. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears, He lives to calm my troubled heart, 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,

[01:21:38] Speaker 5: and King. O glorious thought of heaven above, He lives my Savior to my soul, Love's perfect gift to make sinners pure, My God and my Savior here.

[01:22:28] Speaker 7: Receive the blessing of your risen 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.

[01:22:39] Speaker 5: Amen. 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.

[01:23:13] Speaker 5: (instrumental music(organ music)