CMLC 2025-04-20 Sermon (Easter)

I gotta let you all know today, He is risen!

Ah, you were ready for me, okay, good. Whenever

coming to Easter and you're always wondering

how in the world are you gonna start off an Easter

sermon? Well, I figured hey, let's just make

sure we cover cover everything So I figured we're

gonna go ahead and just read through the whole

Bible Okay, it's only 72 hours to read from cover

to cover So we should probably get started in

the beginning God. Oh, I think somebody might

need a bathroom break. Okay, did you know? that

a Lutheran pastor actually had the record for

the longest speech in Guinness for about a year.

Zach Zender out in Florida. He actually made

a 53 -hour sermon to raise $90 ,000 for his church.

He was in the records for about a year. He actually

took it from a guy who had it at 48 hours, and

then that guy a year later took it back with

60 hours. And then neither of them have it now.

Apparently some guy in Nepal got it with a 90

-hour speech. So, if I go over by a minute or

two, I'm sure you can forgive me. But one of

the things that we see here is that today, as

we recognize the resurrection, it is more than

just one person coming back to life. It is the

culmination of a gigantic story. What story is

that? The story of humanity. It is meant to be

the core focus of who we are and what we say

and do, because it is the core event of so many

things that have led up to that. So, all jokes

aside, I do want to bring up Adam and Eve. You

see, Adam and Eve, they were put into this perfect,

beautiful place, and they were given all of this

place to not only care for, but also to eat almost

anything that they wanted. And one of the things

that's interesting about what is described here

is to realize that this is so different. from

what people oftentimes see as all of the earliest

religions that we would see. Instead of having

a belief where they would worship the earth around

us, instead they were the ones who were meant

to care for and give oversight over the earth.

Instead of being ones who were meant to worship

the animal kingdom, they were meant to have oversight

and to care for the animals. It was only later

down the line that we end up seeing people go

into in such an odd, different direction. But

as we see this, is that this oversight, this

understanding of what's happening, is that they

still lost sight of who they were. Now, we're

not talking about how maybe they were like, five

trees in the garden and then there's like one

that they're like you can't have this one it's

like Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday well it's

Friday we might as well have this forbidden tree

we're talking about the whole land the whole

area however many trees and bushes and crops

and everything else that they can have anything

they want and there's just this one one tree

the whole place you know how that is The one

thing that you really, really want and that you

know you're not supposed to have it, you're on

the cholesterol meds and you're like, yeah, but

that steak looks amazing. And you're struggling

with your blood sugar, but you're like, they

brought chocolate from Germany, oh my word, what

am I going to do? It's always the one thing that

you can't have, and yet that becomes the thing

that we want. And what's funny with this is that

then as the serpent comes along and is saying,

Are you sure God said not to eat of this tree?

And this is always interesting. Whenever there's

something we want, and we're not allowed to have,

don't we turn it into such a bigger deal in our

minds? Because it's not just, oh, we can't eat

it. You can't even touch it. Come on, it's not

what God said. But that's the thing about this

feeling, and is that this feeling that no matter

what, pushes them to wish that they were the

ones making the decisions. And so they do and

decide that they are the ones who want to be

like God's. So Eve and Adam together end up deciding

to go a different direction. And God says that

you must be cast out of the garden. You are no

longer able to have the eternal life that I had

planned for you in this perfect, beautiful place.

But notice... that at the very end, there is

going to be one who will put sin and death underneath

his heel. There is still a promise. God could

have just wiped him out, but he didn't. He still

gave them the opportunity to know him and to

still have a chance to repent. Now, you would

think that... Adam and Eve already have it figured

out. They will make sure that all of their kids

from then on never make the same mistakes that

they did, right? Wrong. And what we know is that

while later down the line people did know who

Yahweh was, you end up seeing so many people,

I mean Cain and all of his descendants and the

like, that decide they're going to go off in

all of these other directions. Until eventually,

there is now, from the line of Seth, Abraham.

And Abraham's children become the nation of Israel.

And they end up getting stuck over in Egypt in

this indentured servitude that they cannot leave.

And people argue all the time, well was it slavery?

Was it not? Whatever it was, they didn't want

to stay. And they were being forced to do so.

Until God made a way. And they left. And they

crossed the sea. And they were able to get to

the promised land. Not in two years. but in 40,

because they still didn't want to listen. And

when they're there, what ends up happening? Israel

cannot help but fall into the same idols that

all the other nations were into. Israel still

ended up falling into the same pits. See, they

were meant to push out all the other nations

that were worshipping the other gods. And why

is that? Because, in so doing, they were trying

to avoid everything they did. See, it wasn't

just the fact that these other nations were worshipping

other gods, which is bad enough already, but

it's all the things that came with it. The fact

that their sacrifices were not just of animals.

The fact that they did not only want their spouse,

and they wanted everyone else's as well. The

fact that they didn't care whether they represented

anything better other than what they could have

at that point. And Israel was supposed to push

them out and instead they acted like them. But

even more than that, they weren't satisfied with

the way God had made things. They wanted a king.

They wanted someone like all the other nations

had. They wanted someone who was tall and loud

and forceful. They wanted someone that everyone

would just stand up and take notice of because

they were afraid. They were afraid in that land.

And so even though they had God speaking through

His prophet and that they could worship Him with

the priest, they still wanted a king. And what

ends up happening is that God says, fine, have

one, but you're going to regret it. And that's

the thing about King Saul, is that King Saul

ends up going there and he's basically all the

things that they wanted. He is loud, he is tall,

he is proud, he is forceful, and then he ends

up taking the prophet and the priest role for

himself, not being satisfied with just being

a king. And that's the funny thing, when we ask

for things, sometimes we get exactly what we

want. And that's the hard part about this, is

that instead, God has to give them something

better. Saul loses the throne, and David has

to come and take it. And that's the thing about

David. David was not perfect by any means. David

made some really dumb mistakes. But why was David

different? Because David was humble. before God.

How often do we see when leaders are willing

to apologize or to admit when they did wrong?

And that was the thing about David. He was different

from Saul. He was the one who was willing to

repent and to say, I am a sinner. But you see,

the line of David would not stop there. It would

end up continuing forth. and we end up seeing

an interesting legacy to come. You see, turns

out that many of David's descendants would end

up going off in their own direction as well.

You see, the kings that would come forth, they

did much of the same. They left up high places.

They let people worship whatever they wanted

to in their area as long as they just recognized

their authority. They continued to go off and

enslave peoples or take as many wives or concubines

as they wished. They continued to participate

in all the wars and the battles that everyone

else had. They acted just like everyone else.

And so God had to teach them a lesson. You know

how it is like whenever you realize that it's

your own kid doing something. You know, if like

this, if somebody else's kid, alright, you know,

punches somebody in the arm, and it's just sort

of like, oh, you know, kids will be kids. But

then you see your kid do something, you're like,

get over here, I've got to teach you something,

alright. It is okay in your mind somebody else

does it, because that's somebody else's problem.

But when it's your kid, and you're like, you're

going to be better than this, don't make me look

bad. Could you imagine that in God's eyes? You're

my people. You're supposed to be different. But

you're not. So he lets them be pulled out into

exile. Judah, the last two of the twelve tribes

remaining, because the other ten went off in

their own direction for quite some time, they

ended up going into Babylon and they had two

things that were in front of them that looked

really easy. One was that many of them just wanted

to pretend... This is only going to last for

a little bit. Just a few years. We'll get through

it. Okay? And then we'll be right back. It won't

be that big of a deal. And the prophets like

to be able to say that, the false prophets. But

God said no. 70 years. And then there were some

that could find it easy to just be like Babylon.

Let's just fit in, eat what they eat, do what

they do, worship what they worship. And God's

saying, no, you're supposed to still be my people

no matter where you are. And even as Ezekiel

is over there having his dream, and God is saying,

you may be away, but I'm here too, and I'm still

your God. And so after 70 years, God still brings

them home. Each story, we mess up, and God is

still showing there's a future, there's a hope.

When will it finally be fulfilled? And then we

finally get to see it in Jesus. And we just had

this last week to realize that as much as Jesus

came into Jerusalem being celebrated as the King,

is that the very people who should have known

Him the best were the ones who sacrificed Him

to the Romans and let Him be put on a cross.

But that's not where He stays. Rumor has it,

that he is alive. And what do Peter and John

do? And they end up racing off. And this is how

you know that John is the one who wrote this

one. Because it's not Peter and John went. It's

Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. And,

you know, which, you know, I mean, hey, if I

were there too, I'd say the same thing. But more

than that is, don't you just love the fact that

John gets there first? And it's like, well, Peter

did go in there, but... the disciple Jesus loved

the one who got there first said blah blah blah

and I'm like John you are so petty I love it

it's hilarious but the thing about this though

is that we rush over those parts because the

good news is what they found what they didn't

find was Jesus in that tomb what they did find

is what Mary saw and isn't it amazing Mary doesn't

recognize him at first Was it because He was

perfectly healed? Was it because He was displaying

a glory that He hadn't before? Or was it because

she wasn't expecting to see Him alive? Whatever

it may have been, He says, Mary, and then she

sees it. Time and time again in these stories,

there is something else that God has in mind

that He wants to provide for each and every person.

And that as He has risen, His Spirit is now with

us. Because that's the thing, it's now a different

story. It's a story where God is with us at all

times. Do you realize what a big deal that is?

It doesn't matter where you go. It doesn't matter

where you've been. It doesn't matter what your

struggle may be. It doesn't matter what others

may do to you. You always have God right there

with you to lead and to guide. And that really

does come down to the core of today, is to ask

you, which path do you choose? Which path to

choose in so many different options that are

there in the world? The world continues to want

to try to paint things as this or that. These

are your only two. This is all that you have

in front of you. Either ignore God and live however

way you wish, or be completely domineering and

judgmental. Either go back to what everybody

else has said makes the most sense, or ignore

everything that God is trying to say to you because

it's just too hard. The choices that are there

are not God's choices. because the only choice

that God has ever provided is through His Son.

The only choice comes from sacrifice. The only

choice comes from grace and mercy. The only choice

comes from the love of God for sinful human beings

like us. The choice is not something we can come

up with. And if you've got a great idea in your

head, I promise you it's wrong. Because the one

idea is the one didn't come from us. It's the

one that only God could have seen since the time

before Adam and Eve, throughout all the times

of Israel, and into the time when His Son came

and gave His life. And He knew that as much as

the people had hurt His Son and killed Him, that

there was life on the other side. And that with

that life would come forgiveness. And so that

is what I offer to you today. My hope and prayer

is that today, your only hope and trust is in

the resurrection of Jesus. Because as much as

people might want to say it's a story, the reality

of it is the only place where we have life everlasting.

And with that, each and every day that God's

Spirit is there to lead and to guide you. So

wherever you may have been, Whatever your story

may have been up to this point, the story now

belongs to Jesus and you get to be the character

that Jesus loves. Thanks be to God.