5th April 2026 - Brendan Hurley (Easter Sunday)

Well, if you could keep your Bible open in front

of you, that'd be great. Let's pray. Let's ask

God for help as we look at his word now. Gracious

Heavenly Father, we ask that as we dig into your

word, help us to see the hope that we have in

Jesus. May it move our hearts to greater joy,

to greater peace, to greater delight. And we

ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, up near

Limberlost are some tennis courts. I don't know

if you've ever seen them up in freshwater there.

Court 4 recently was renamed the Tom Bentley

Court. Tom Bentley was president for 10 years

of the tennis club there. He was a member for

50 years. He was instrumental in acquiring the

land and even some of the bricks. He did a lot

for the tennis club there. But sadly, Tom is

gone. He died a few months ago. I was actually

at his funeral. Because Tom Bentley was no stranger

to me. Tom Bentley was my uncle. And naming the

court after him was a fitting honour, just as

he was greatly honoured by his family and friends

at his funeral as well. Yet no matter what we

do, no matter how well we honour people, There's

something really biting about death, isn't there?

When we lose a loved one, it's brutal. It's unnatural.

It's painful because it's so permanent. Uncle

Tom did a lot for his family and friends and

for his tennis club. But, you know, it's kind

of depressing, but it's worth asking, well, to

what end? If we all die and that's it, then all

the good we ever do is just palliative care,

isn't it? It doesn't truly change anything, because

hey, we're all going to die. It just makes life

a little bit more comfortable until we do. That's

the brutal reality of death. And it's so confronting,

we try to avoid it. Have you ever had dinner

guests who just won't take the hint and leave?

Do you want to know how to get rid of them? Drop

this bomb. What do you think happens when you

die? Rather than engaging in a deep and meaningful

philosophical conversation about the afterlife,

I expect they'll say, oh, look at the time. It's

a bit late. We'd better be going. In our culture,

we really don't like death, do we? It's dark,

it's unsettling, it's crushing. Life feels better

if we just don't think about death. Yet try as

we might, death is unavoidable. As the old saying

goes, there are two certainties in life. They're

death and taxes. And to be honest, I've got another

uncle who's actually a tax accountant and he

can give you a handful of ways to avoid taxes.

But death, there is absolutely no escape. It

catches us all. And this makes life, well, living

life, so hard, doesn't it? Our lives become plagued

with fear, falsehoods, indecision, because death

touches everything we do. Today, I want to ask

you, How can we ever truly live when the spectre

of death always looms over us? How can we ever

truly live when the spectre of death always looms

over us? Well, Easter Sunday and the resurrection

of Jesus show us how we can. It shows us that

we can have hope, power and joy even in the face

of death. Here's the one thing I hope you see

from our passage today. Jesus really has conquered

death, so he really can change your life. Jesus

really has conquered death, so he really can

change your life. And as we look at Jesus conquering

of death, we'll see three things today that change

our lives. So Jesus is alive, so do not be afraid.

Jesus is alive, so do not be deceived. And Jesus

is alive, so do not be indecisive. So let's have

a look at each of those. Here's the first one.

Jesus is alive, so do not be afraid. If you've

got your Bible there, look with me at verses

one to 10 of Matthew 28. And while we're reading

it, look out for the way fear is used here. Okay,

look out for the way fear is used here. Here's

what it says, after the Sabbath at dawn on the

first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the

other Mary went to look at the tomb. 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. His appearance

was like lightning and his clothes were white

as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that

they shook and became like dead men. The angel

said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know

that you are looking for Jesus who is crucified.

He is not here. He is risen, just as He said.

Come and see the place where He lay. Then go

quickly and tell His disciples, He is risen from

the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.

There you will see Him. Now I have told you.'

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid,

yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said.

They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped

him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There

they will see me. Now Jesus comes back to life

here with glorious power. There's an earthquake.

There's an angel. And for those opposed to Jesus,

the guards, this was terrifying, wasn't it? Such

power was out of this world with all their shields

and spears. They were no match for whatever was

going on here. And it was scary for the women

at the tomb. But for them, it was more of a confusing

awe, wasn't it? Wow, Jesus is alive. How great's

this? But as the angel and the risen Jesus tells

them, they are not to be afraid. You might ask,

well, why not? I mean, when you live life, it

seems like there's plenty of things to be afraid

of, especially for them. I mean, Jesus had just

been tortured, crucified and murdered after being

betrayed by one of his own disciples. The one

they had followed, the Lord Jesus, had lost.

He'd been humiliated and many of them abandoned

him. I mean, they were scared because they were

dealing with their own guilt as well. What's

he going to do now if he's alive? And sure, these

two guards were down for the count, but what

about all the other Roman soldiers? That's kind

of scary too, isn't it? And just like for us,

life for them, it just generally is scary, isn't

it? Because we're fragile. Storms, famine, unemployment,

economic crashes, the price of petrol, sickness,

war, people's negligence or violence could mean

life could end, couldn't it? Maybe the price

of petrol doesn't do that. It's brutal, isn't

it? It seems like there's plenty to be afraid

of. And yet the angels in Jesus' words, do not

be afraid. Don't just tell us, oh, don't be afraid.

This is not going to hurt you. They signal to

us something deeper. If you follow the risen

Lord Jesus, you do not have to be afraid of anything

or anyone. Why? Because Jesus' words, did you

see it in our text, happened just as he said.

It shows that he's in control. When Jesus died,

he didn't fall asleep at the wheel, did he? Everything

was going according to God's plan. And he says

that he's going to go on ahead to them in Galilee.

Why Galilee? Because that's where it all started.

It's all going to start again and they're going

to get a fresh start because Jesus bore their

guilt. No matter what his disciples had done,

no matter how they had failed. Jesus would forgive

them. And Jesus had overcome death. I mean, that's

the greatest fear that we have, isn't it? And

yet Jesus had beaten it. If you belong to Jesus,

you might know this already, but death will get

you one day. But it won't be the end. Because

of what Jesus has done, death is now a doorway

to eternal paradise. You don't need to fear it.

The most heartbreaking funeral I've ever seen

was when I was a minister back in Geraldton.

I assisted at a funeral for a 50 -year -old man

who died before his parents. His life was a mess

of broken and dysfunctional relationships. Do

you know the highlight of his funeral was that

he was a big Collingwood magpie supporter. The

coach of Collingwood, Nathan Buckley, wrote a

letter about how wonderful this guy was as a

supporter. He even had a Collingwood casket.

But it was so sad. There was no hope of anything

better. Just fear masked with empty platitudes.

People saying, he's in a better place. Me inwardly

thinking, really? Why? Why do you think that?

But contrast that with the funerals of Christians

that I've been to. I remember in the same church

building where we had this guy, this Collingwood

supporter's funeral, we had another guy from

our church had his funeral there, an older man

named Rex. And as he died, he died with immense

peace. And his funeral was so different. It was

full of hope and joy, despite the grief of losing

someone that we dearly loved. When people said,

Rex, is in a better place. It wasn't an empty

platitude. It was a certain reality. Because

Rex loved and trusted the risen Lord Jesus. And

Rex's life reflected it. It wasn't plagued with

fear, but a deep security in Christ. And all

of us there who knew Jesus were grateful for

Rex and knew that one day we'd see him again.

See, knowing the risen Lord Jesus, it changes

your life. It gives you a powerful hope that

calms your worst fears, including that greatest

of all fears, death itself. If you're a Christian

here today, I want to ask you, has that hope

slipped onto the back burner? Don't let it. Let

it be front and centre in your life, in your

thinking. Think about that hope when life is

scary. Think about that hope when you get bad

news. You know, and it doesn't just have to be

in the hard times. Marvel at it in the ironically

dead time that you might have. You know, dead

time where you have like you're there at the

stove and you're cooking the eggs or cooking

whatever you're doing, or you're there and you're

sitting in traffic. Spend some time thinking

about that hope. Let it fill you with joy again

because you know where you're headed. You know,

the direction of your life is clear. Okay, wherever

it's going, I know it's headed to eternity. I

know it's headed to eternity with Jesus in paradise.

Fill your heart with that hope. And if you're

here today and you're not yet a Christian, I

want to ask you, what hope do you have? Is it

a hope as good as that? What do you think happens

when you die? You know, you might leave my dinner

party right away if I ask you that, but I'm asking

you now, have a think about it. That's a deep

question. It's one of those big questions of

life that we all should work out. But Jesus'

resurrection doesn't just give us a hope that

soothes our fears. It's actually intellectually

satisfying. When you believe it, it makes you

a truth seeker. So Jesus is alive, so don't be

afraid. But also, Jesus is alive, so do not be

deceived. I'll tell you, when I first became

a Christian, I got hit with waves of doubt. I

kept thinking to myself, have I joined history's

greatest pyramid scheme? Is this as true as the

Easter Bunny? I've got no idea. And so I spent

a year researching into whether Christianity

really was true. And I want to share with you

that most of it boiled down to one thing. Did

Jesus rise from the dead? Did Jesus rise from

the dead? I mean, you can have all sorts of beef

and qualms about Christianity, but it boils down

to that. If Jesus rose from the dead, wow, I

better listen to him. If he didn't, well, hey,

you know, it's the greatest joke that anyone's

ever played or con job that anyone's ever played

on humanity. Just get rid of it. Dismiss it.

But if he rose from the dead, take Jesus seriously.

I love John Dickson's metaphor that in the resurrection

of Jesus, Christianity places its head on the

chopping block and invites anyone to take a swing.

See, Christianity doesn't say, don't ask, don't

tell. Did Jesus write something? I don't want

to know, I just believe. Christianity says, use

your brain, get it engaged, work out the truth.

It says, Take your swing. And if you do, then

be real. Ask what actually happened. One of the

books I really loved was a book called The Case

for Christ by Lee Strobel. It's a bit of a thick

one, so it's good as a paperweight as well. But

Lee Strobel, he was a journalist with the Chicago

Tribune. And his wife became a Christian. And

I think he just found her annoyingly kind all

of a sudden. He was kind of like, what has happened

to my wife? I'm really annoyed by this. And so

he went, I know what I'll do. I'll go and prove

that Christianity isn't true. So he sought out

to prove that Christianity wasn't true. By the

end of it, he'd become a Christian. Will you

be that honest? Will you be that unbiased to

give Jesus a fair go and work out if he really

rose from the dead. Well, if you do, you've got

to work out what actually happened there. I mean,

there's lots of different stories or ideas about

what happened, and in verses 11 to 15 we get

one of them. Here's what it says. While the women

were on their way, some of the guards went into

the city and reported to the chief priests everything

that had happened. When the chief priests had

met with the elders and devised a plan they gave

the soldiers a large sum of money telling them

you were to say his disciples came during the

night and stole him away while we were asleep.

If this report gets to the governor we will satisfy

him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers

took the money and did as they were instructed

and this story has been widely circulated among

the Jews to this very day. Well, this is the

story or the idea that the disciples stole the

body of Jesus. And it makes no sense to me. Because

the disciples were martyred for their faith.

No one knowingly dies for a lie, do they? What

motive would they have? But also this story is

full of holes, isn't it? If the Roman soldiers

slept whilst on duty, do you know what would

happen to a Roman soldier? You'd be executed.

It's doubtful they slept. It's doubtful that

these Roman soldiers with advanced militaristic

weaponry of the day were beaten up by fishermen.

And also... It just doesn't strike me as, you

know, when you read Matthew's version of it,

that Jesus rose from the dead, it doesn't strike

me as something that is made up. This story about

the guard sounds made up, but Matthew's version

doesn't sound made up. Do you know the first

witnesses of Jesus' resurrection are women? In

a patriarchal society like this one, women couldn't

testify in court. If you were Matthew and you

were there with the other disciples going, hey,

let's concoct a story to trick everybody, you

wouldn't do it this way. You wouldn't start with

women as the first witnesses. I actually love

this about the Bible, that it's giving women

in that culture a wonderful honour, isn't it?

But also, you've got to wonder why the first

disciples look so bad too. If this is just made

up, why do they look so stupid and horrible half

the time? They abandoned Jesus. Can you smell

that? It reeks of authenticity, doesn't it? Actually,

it takes more faith to believe other theories

about whether Jesus rose from the dead or not,

because they're so full of holes. Sadly, a lot

of people don't seek the truth because they're

like the guards in this story. They believe the

lie that being physically safe and materially

well off is what truly matters in life. Being

healthy and wealthy. But the death and resurrection

of Jesus exposes that fiction. These guards here

What's going to happen to them? One day they're

going to die, aren't they? What good is the money

that they got paid when they're standing before

Jesus face to face at Judgment Day? These guards

saw the evidence of a supernatural resurrection.

What should they have done? They should have

become curious. They should have seen through

the lie that being healthy and wealthy, that's

not what really matters, that there's more to

life than this life. If you're here today and

you're not yet a Christian, can I encourage you,

don't be like the guards. Seek the truth. What

happens after death matters more than the comforts

of this life. Get curious. Take your swing at

Christianity. See if Jesus rose from the dead.

Seeking the truth could change your life now

in so many wonderful ways and not only that,

it could change your afterlife, couldn't it?

You see these books? I've got a bunch of them

here. These are all the ones I read when I was

on my quest. They're all up the back here, up

the front here. If you want to read, borrow one

of them, please come talk to me. I'd love to

lend it out to you. I'll even let you keep it

if you really want it. But check it out. Give

Jesus a fair go. And if you're a Christian, you

need to learn this stuff too. We need to be able

to give an answer for the hope that we have in

Jesus. But not only that, it strengthens us when

we know these things too. When life hits us for

six, when there's all sorts of things that make

us suddenly feel disillusioned with God, having

this foundation is so helpful. Dig into it yourself,

work out. Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Engage your brain. But Jesus' resurrection doesn't

just give us hope. It doesn't just make us truth

seekers. There's one more thing it does. Jesus

is alive, so do not be indecisive. See, Jesus'

resurrection makes us bold. It stops us being

paralysed. In your Bible there, come with me

to verses 16 and 17. Then the 11 disciples went

to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told

them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped

him, but some doubted. Now, what's going on there?

Well, that word doubted literally means hesitated.

They hesitated to worship Jesus. Why? Well, maybe

they were stunned. Whoa, here's Jesus. I mean,

that's fair enough. He has just risen from the

dead. Maybe it's a self -defense mechanism. I

mean, their hopes have been dashed before. Sheesh,

I don't want to kind of get hurt again. Maybe

they were worried about their failures. Maybe

they were going, is Jesus going to get angry

at me because we did abandon him when he was

crucified? Well, I mean, it could be all of those,

but most likely is that they were good Jews and

that they said the Shema twice daily. Here's

the Shema. It comes from Deuteronomy 6. They

would say this twice daily, hero Israel, the

Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love

the Lord your God with all your heart and with

all your soul and with all your might. Basically,

you shall worship him. How many gods are there?

One. Who do you worship? Only Him. And now here

they are and some of them are worshipping Jesus.

And they're going, I say the Shema twice daily.

Can I really be worshipping Jesus? This doesn't

feel right. And so what Jesus does is he reassures

them. Look at verses 18 to 20. Then Jesus came

to them and said, all authority in heaven and

on earth has been given to me. It's godlike,

isn't it? Therefore, go and make disciples of

all nations, baptising them in the name of the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching

them to obey everything I have commanded you,

and surely I am with you always to the very end

of the age.' Again, Jesus explains to them that

God is one and three, that God is Trinity. and

that they are right to worship Him because He's

God, He's Lord of all. And because He has this

universal Lordship, He's also able to be with

them always. Things that only God can do, isn't

it? And the way they worship is to make disciples

and to obey what Jesus says. And Jesus' resurrection

backs all this up. There's no need to be indecisive.

There's no need to hesitate worshipping Jesus.

He truly is God. He truly is Lord of all. At

home, I have a great poker set and I love playing

poker with older boys and Laura. We use poker

chips, but we don't gamble anything. And when

we're playing poker, you get those moments, really

good for maths, so that's why I love it for the

kiddos. But you get those moments where you look

at your cards and you think, yeah, I've got the

best hand. And you go, I'll go all in. And you

know what happens? You hesitate. Have they got

a better hand? Well, they might have a better

hand. I'll just do a small bet. Well, that's

good for poker. There's my, you know, Brendan's

poker strategies 101 for you. But Jesus' resurrection

is not like that. Jesus rose again. And so if

you're a Christian, you have the greatest hand

you could ever have. It should give you confidence.

There's no need to hesitate. Should I go all

in on Jesus? Go all in on Jesus. You can't lose.

He's so glorious, wonderful. It's so certain.

Go all in on him. There's no better hand that

you can hold than to be a worshiper of the risen

Lord Jesus. See, when you are, it gives life

direction, purpose and clarity. You know what

you're here for. The good a Christian does, whether

it's in word or deed, it's not just palliative

care, is it? It helps souls to be saved for eternity.

We're pointing people to the risen Lord Jesus,

the only one who can give people eternal life.

When you're a Christian, death doesn't rob life

of meaning. It gives life meaning. You know where

it's all going. You have hope beyond death. Sadly,

too many Christians, myself included at times,

hesitate from going all in on Jesus, don't we?

We just make the small bet. We limit our worship.

Yeah, I'll do some making of disciples. I will

obey Jesus a bit, but I've got all these other

things going on in my life. And we're double

-minded, aren't we? And the antidote is to see

again that Jesus really did rise and is Lord

of all. To see reality. That death won't just

be the end. That it gives life forever to all

who trust Jesus. It's so meaningful and liberating

to go all in on Jesus and to know that as you

do, your life is making ripples into eternity.

Please don't hesitate. Look at His resurrection.

See how good it is to follow Him. All right,

let's wrap up. We started by asking, how can

we ever truly live when the spectre of death

is always looming over us? And I hope you've

seen that it's by living in the light of Jesus'

resurrection. That's what our three points today

showed us. Jesus is alive, so do not be afraid.

Live with hope of eternal life. Jesus is alive,

so do not be deceived. Don't fall for the lie

that this life is all there is. Seek the truth

of Jesus' resurrection. And Jesus is alive, so

do not be indecisive. Live with meaning and purpose.

Go all in on Jesus and live to see souls saved.

You know, you could sum it all up like this.

Jesus really has conquered death. so he really

can change your life. If you're a Christian here

today, I hope today you've been reminded of the

riches we have in Jesus. I hope you'll keep coming

back to those in the resurrection to soothe your

fears, to see the certainty of the hope you have,

to give your life purpose and direction. We have

a great hope that acts as the compass of our

lives. Moments like Easter are so important to

remember and recalibrate our hearts, isn't it?

To take the time to remember the hope that is

ours in Jesus. I'm glad that we've been able

to do that this Easter and I hope you keep doing

it throughout the school holidays as well. But

if you're like these guards that we read about,

if you're a materialist and you believe this

life is all there is, well, I hope I've pushed

you a little bit today to question what you think.

Is this life all that there actually is? To consider

the claims of Christ? I mean, and have you actually

thought about your position? If this world is

all there is, there's no meaning, there's no

justice, there's no hope. At best, all you can

do is just palliative care. I think that's a

horrible way to live. No judgement on you, I'm

just saying. That's very depressing. Are you

robbing yourself by living this way? Are you

ruining your eternity by living this way? Is

it really impossible that Christianity could

be both beautiful and true? If you want help

finding out whether Jesus rose from the dead,

come have a chat with me. I'd love to talk to

you about it. And honestly, What could be more

important? Because one day all of us will die,

just like my Uncle Tom did. All of us will enter

that grave and there's no avoiding it. Only Jesus

can provide us with a hope beyond the grave,

a hope that changes our lives. Do you have that

hope? Is it changing your life? Let's pray. Heavenly

Father, we want to thank you so much for the

hope that is in Jesus. Open our eyes to see how

glorious, how wonderful, how life -transforming

that hope is. Let it dwell in our hearts. And

for anyone here today who is uncertain about

this hope, Please help them to give Jesus a fair

go to see if Jesus really rose from the dead.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.