Where Is Your Hope Found?

The Bible reading today comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletin.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn,

they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

And they found a stone rolled away from the tomb.

But when they entered, they did not find the body of Lord Jesus.

While they were perplexed about this,

behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing.

And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground,

the man said to them,

Why do you seek the living one among the dead?

He is not here, but he has risen.

Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee,

saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,

and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

And they remembered his words,

and returned from the tomb,

and reported all these things to the eleven,

and to all the rest.

Now they were Mary Magdalene,

and Joanna,

and Mary, the mother of James.

Also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

But these words appeared to them as nonsense,

and they would not believe them.

In 1 Corinthians 15,

the apostle Paul later wrote,

For I delivered to you,

as of your first importance,

what I also received,

that Christ died for our sins,

according to the scriptures,

and that he was buried,

and that he was raised on the third day,

according to the scriptures,

and that he appeared to Cephas,

10 to the 12.

After that,

he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time,

most of whom remain until now,

but some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James,

then to all the apostles,

and last of all,

as the one untimely born,

he appeared to me also.

I say to you,

for if the dead are not raised,

not even Christ has been raised,

and if Christ has not been raised,

your faith is worthless.

You are still in your sins.

Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only,

we are of all men most to be pitted.

If the dead are not raised,

let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.

This is the reading of God's word.

One of the neat things about being on a journey together

is you see God change people's lives

and work into people's lives

and move them and make them different.

I get to see those things happen in couples

and in individuals and in kiddos.

As we think about Easter and hope,

I asked Kelvin and Cindy,

who have been a part of Watermark

since we started dreaming about it,

maybe two or three years ago.

They were in our community group

at our sister church when we were there at Island.

Cindy is a part-time volunteer worker,

puts up with the office,

and Kelvin is on the transition oversight board

that oversees all the money and things like that.

I've asked them to come up,

and we're just going to ask them some questions,

and I promise not to embarrass them too much.

Hey, guys.

It might be easier taking it sitting down.

Okay, so I have to ask the first question to Cindy,

and this is unscripted totally,

but as you know, in our church office,

everyone gave up cigarettes before they joined staff.

So at least it seems like everyone did.

So I just wanted to see how many packs did you smoke a day.

I used to.

Well, hopefully you don't do that anymore.

Well, okay.

So, yeah, you can get me later.

Guys, I just wanted you to share,

can you maybe introduce yourselves

to those people who are seeing you for the first time here

and just share a little bit about who you guys are.

Okay, I'm Kelvin, and this is Cindy.

Basically, we came to, we were born in Hong Kong.

We were both born here,

and our families moved to Australia when we were still kids.

And that's, you know, where we became Christians in our teenage years,

and then later on we met each other during university.

And the Lord has blessed us with two beautiful girls,

Esther and Harley.

And, yeah, and, you know, and...

Just getting that shot in you.

Did I get that photo in there?

Right, yeah, yeah.

It's very important.

It's all about photos.

Yeah, and we had our kids.

And then five years ago we came back to Hong Kong.

A job back then brought me here.

And back then we found a church to attend.

And for, you know, for quite a while we were attending a church,

literally just attending a church.

We'd never volunteered to help with anything.

We'd never joined a community group.

And then we realized that our faith and our spiritual lives

were just going downhill.

We're not growing.

And so Cindy and I prayed for a community group.

And behold, you know, we found Tobin's

because his group actually allowed kids.

And then we had kids.

And back then everything was too hard.

You know, we had young kids,

and it was just way too hard for anything.

And that's, you know,

and that's when we got to know Tobin a bit.

And after a year or so,

we were called to consider, you know,

be involved in planning a church

at a place called Area 15.

And for those of you who didn't know,

that is like the reverse of Area 51.

And that's where we are today now.

And that was the name that we took before Watermark came about.

And as Tobin mentioned,

Cindy now works part-time as a finance manager

for the Watermark office.

And I mainly serve with the worship team

and take a few pictures.

And Albert's part-time today.

Cool.

Yeah.

So as you've been on this journey

and you're learning,

and I know that there are some very difficult times

in transitioning over.

We all had kids who loved where we were at.

And there's all these tensions and those things.

But in the midst of all this time,

what would you say are some of the things that God's been teaching you

or you've been learning?

God's really been encouraging me so much

by, first of all, letting me work at Watermark.

The people there have taught me so much

and they've really encouraged me.

And then God's been changing my heart.

This is the Australian school system, right?

You just write it right down there.

You just kind of read it off your palm.

God's been really changing my heart.

And it started during a meeting

when my boss told me to share my testimony

with one to three people a week.

And I thought it was impossible.

Nobody could do that continuously.

And then I haven't shared my testimony

with anybody for years at that point.

And I thought my role as a Christian

was just to bring people to church

and you would do the magic

and they would love God somehow.

And so...

Yes, and then...

But I thought,

because God loves me so much

that Jesus,

He would let Jesus die on the cross for me.

Why shouldn't I share my testimony?

And why can't I?

Jesus died on the cross.

I'm not going to die by sharing my testimony.

I need to die of embarrassment.

So, you know, that was the case.

So God's changed my heart

to be a bit more courageous,

especially on stage as well.

Eric stopped laughing.

I'm so scared.

So I thought of people who I've met,

who I meet during the week,

prayed for opportunities to talk to people

about my testimony

and was mindful of people who I could talk to.

And it started off with that.

And it actually started off

when I was having a facial.

I couldn't see them.

They couldn't really see me.

And so it made it easier.

Shared my testimony with my beautician.

Getting my hair done.

They love to talk.

And then, so I'm very thankful

that God's changed my heart

to want to share my testimony now.

Yeah.

So as you guys think about, like,

Easter being hope

and what that means for you as a family

and what God's been teaching

and doing in your life,

because some really neat things have happened.

So what would you say

that that idea of hope translates now

for you guys?

What's God doing?

Yeah, I've seen some amazing changes

happening in our families.

I think one of the things that happened

not so long ago was,

it's a story behind this.

Basically, for many,

for the whole year, actually,

when we have communion here,

you know, our six-year-old daughter

would ask us, you know,

why can't she have communion,

you know, have the cookie

and the drink?

And we would explain to her that,

no, no, no, you can't do that.

And she goes, but I love God, you know.

And then we're like, no, no, no,

you can't do that.

But then we would use it as a teaching time

and to share with her

what the bread was about

and what the cup was about.

And so, you know,

she just kept asking

and we kept sharing.

And she always said,

oh, Daddy, I want to eat the biscuit,

you know, I want to take a drink.

And then we would just, you know,

we tried to explain to her that,

you know,

the biscuit is actually Christ's body.

It was broken for us.

And the cup was representative

of Christ's blood

was spilled for our sins.

And then we also share with her,

not expecting that she'd understand it all,

that, you know,

the Bible warns us

that if we don't truly trust in God

and we take the cup and the bread,

we would be eating and drinking

of our own sins,

which is very bad.

You know, so we try to explain that to her

and then she somehow just,

you know,

a bit disappointed

and we go on.

But then on the 26th of February,

which is not so long ago,

Cindy was spending time

with her during communion

and she asked her,

you know,

would you like to accept Christ?

And she basically said,

yeah, I would like to do that.

And then we also always check and verify,

you know,

whether it was authentic, right?

And then Cindy would ask,

you know,

so why, you know?

And Esther said,

I want to trust in God.

This is from a six-year-old.

And so we could no longer doubt

and then Cindy basically just prayed with her

during the communion time.

And then a few days later,

you know,

we checked on her again

and then I asked her,

Esther,

now that you've prayed

and accepted Christ into your life,

how do you feel?

And then she said,

we were just walking along the road

and she said,

Daddy,

I feel like a new person.

And it was like,

well,

okay,

a new person.

All right,

do they teach that in Sunday school here?

But anyway,

from that,

we've seen really dramatic changes in her life.

Before,

you'd notice that we sit on the second row here.

You took my seat there,

by the way.

We sit there

and then she used to,

you know,

just stand there for weeks and months

and she would not sing a word of worship

in the morning.

She'd just be standing there

and just,

you know,

looking around,

you know,

giving me a hug,

you know,

sitting down,

being a bit bored.

But now,

she would actually ask us,

you know,

to join the Easter choir

and sing for us in worship.

And during the school interview,

she would ask,

you know,

at my birthday party,

did we sing song and worship God?

Obviously,

we didn't,

but,

you know,

we sang happy birthday,

right?

Yeah,

but unfortunately,

she couldn't be here today

because she got sick.

But she actually wanted to come up

and share with you guys

how she feels.

Wow,

that's great.

That's great.

That makes it,

I remember that first,

the next first communion,

when you guys took communion as a family

and she took it for the first time,

that was amazing.

And especially,

and just to see her face

and all that.

And I just thought,

I think that's why God has the church here,

right?

The church is here to reach people

who don't know him

and to present the love of Christ

and to help them take the next step

in their spiritual journey.

I want to pray with you guys

and just pray for Holly

and now pray for Holly

and thank God for Esther and her life.

Can we do that?

Let's pray together.

Well,

we thank you for this day.

We thank you for Kelvin and Cindy

and just even as you are

knitting them together

as husband and wife

and as they walk with you.

Father,

we just thank you for the mercy

and grace that you've poured out upon them.

We pray for their family

and for their marriage

that they would just continue

to seek you

and trust you

for your goodness.

And Father,

we just praise

the amazing transformation

that happened in Esther.

We just thank you

that you worked in her heart,

in her eyes,

and in her mind.

And we pray,

Lord,

that you would help us

as a church

to be encouraging to her,

to come alongside of her,

and to instruct her

about your son,

Jesus Christ.

And Father,

we pray for Holly

that she would come to know you

at an early age

and that she would do

mighty things for your kingdom.

So Father,

we just thank you

for this family

and I know there are

countless families

like that in here right now

and throughout this Area 15.

We pray,

Lord,

that they would also have

these stories of transformation

and come to know you.

And we pray these things

for your son Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks, guys.

Thanks.

Okay,

so you gotta be careful

what the kids learn

when you're teaching them,

right?

Especially,

I don't know what kind

of underwear Jesus wore.

Linen, I guess,

or something like that.

Let me see if I can

get this up here.

How you guys doing?

Okay,

well,

I feel like after the video

I can just stop

and do nothing

because that's all

you need to know.

Jesus rose from the dead

and he loves us.

Easter,

for me,

is an amazing time.

I didn't grow up

in a family

that were churchgoers.

We would be called,

I guess today,

we'd call us CEOs,

Christmas and Easter

only people.

And so we were CEOs

and the thing

that I realized

about Easter

was a couple things.

One is,

you always go to church

on Easter.

The second thing

that we were told

is everybody gets

new clothes.

So we always got

a new set of outfit

for Easter

and we always

had to be nice

when we went

to church

on Easter.

We didn't quite

understand

the whole Easter bunny

thing or what Easter

was about,

but one of the things

I remember

even as a young kid

on a military base

was that Easter

was about

new beginnings

and hope.

The Easter

was about hope.

And I've been thinking

about that a lot

just for this time

and for this service here,

praying about

what can I share

that deals with hope

in our life?

Because I realize

that all of us

are at different stages

in our journey.

All of us are

dealing with different things

in our life.

All of us

need a different type

of hope

in some ways,

but in some ways

we need the same

type of hope.

And so the question

I want to ask you

is what do you hope in?

If we were having

a Starbucks cup of coffee

and we were just

by each other

and I were to ask you

a question,

what do you hope in

right now?

What is there

in your life

that if was taken away

your life would fall apart?

your wife,

your husband,

your kids,

your job,

your money,

your title,

your integrity,

your health?

What is it

that you ultimately hope in

that if this thing

were to be removed

that you would fall apart

and I went on

this kind of quest

and I was asking people

the last couple weeks

what is it

that they hoped in

and I asked a friend

who I've been developing

a relationship

with a long time.

He's not here

right now.

He said he would

never come to church.

He's a rugby player.

I don't quite understand

what being a rugby player

and never coming to church

has to do with anything.

But as we talked about hope

and what we hope in,

he gave an answer

that I'd never heard before

and it really disturbed me.

I didn't really know

how to answer it

and I asked him

what do you hope in

and he looked at me

squarely in the face

and he said nothing.

And I looked at him

and I was like,

what?

And he said nothing.

I hope

in nothing.

And then he went on

to explain to me

his world view.

He said basically

that this world

began with nothing

and that when he dies

there will be nothing.

And as he lives life

he says that his life

basically exists

between the nothings.

I kind of went,

whoa!

Somebody's been reading

a lot of French

and German philosophers here.

But I was intense.

I actually didn't really know

what to say

when he said that.

And so for some reason

in my head

I just asked him

this question

because sometimes

when people talk

about their philosophy

then it's different

when it gets down

into their life.

And I asked him,

well how's that going for you?

Is that working?

And he got really quiet.

And I think maybe

in one of the few

honest moments

in his life

he said,

no.

Not too good.

I'm lonely

and I fear

the nothingness.

First time I ever

heard somebody say that.

I fear

the nothingness.

I fear the nothingness

when I consider

my past

and all the people

I've hurt

and wronged.

And I wonder

if there's a God

I'm in big trouble.

I fear the nothingness

when I look at the world

around me

and I see it

out of control.

And there seems

to be no hope.

I fear the nothingness

when I think

of my future

my family

my kids.

I wonder what

my kids are going

to hope in

as they see me

as a dad

hoping in nothing.

And trying to come

to grips with

the fear

that I feel.

Sometimes I just

wonder if I should

eat and sleep

and die.

And the minute

he said that

it kind of spoke

to my head

because I was like

well that's

that's the passage

that's what the Bible

says.

And so I asked him

well how did you

hear that?

He said I think

I heard it in some

kind of movie

on an airplane.

But as I thought

of my rugby friend

for these 15 minutes

that I get the chance

to speak to you

I wondered

what is it

that we hope in today?

Do we hope

in the nothingness?

I mean I think

if we're honest

some of us

would have to say

throw away

all of my costumes

and all of my mask

and all of the cars

and everything I hide

to protect myself

that is my life.

One modern philosopher

said it this way

he said

that we live

in this age

of crisis

in the age

where the world

has lost

its story.

Again I've never

heard anybody

say that before

but he says

we're in the age

of crisis

and the world

has lost

its story.

It has no purpose

it has no hope

life used to have

meaning and purpose

but now

all I think of

when I look around

in the world

is nothing.

I see no hope

for the sufferings

of the world

I see nothing

that will bring meaning

I feel nothing.

Have you ever

heard somebody

say that?

I was like

whoa

I said okay

let's go get a beer

and lighten up

a little

or something like that

but I think

that if we're honest

and we pull away

our veneer

that each one

of us in here

is hoping

for something.

Some of us

are hoping

I think

like the verse

in 32

that's in your

bulletin here

some of us

are just kind of

wanting to live life

and we find hope

in just finding

things that give

our life meaning

we become gatherers

we gather stuff

we gather people

we gather education

we gather titles

we gather relationships

we gather money

we gather trophies

we gather families

and we hope

that as we gather

all these things

that they actually

give our life

meaning and purpose

I mean that's

what we're hoping in

that ultimately

if I get enough

of this

then I'll be happy

I'll feel secure

and I'll be out

of the nothingness

some of us

in here

I think

we're trying

to find hope

in being religious

we think

in our mind

and I was here

we think

in our mind

well I believe

in a God

and if I follow

all the rules

if I do all

the right things

if I come to church

if I serve

if I tithe

if I do all the things

if I know the lingo

I know the Bible verses

I know how to quote

these things

if I do all these

right things

if I live by my strength

if I live by my intellect

if I live by my will

if I live by my goodness

then I'm going to be

and find hope

but what I realize

is that person

is just as bad off

as the first person

because as I walk

down that road

I still struggled

with self

I don't know how to say it

I always make up words

up here

I struggle with fixing myself

I struggle with saving myself

I struggle with redeeming myself

and the Bible says

that if we are one of these two people

that no matter how hard we try

no matter how much hope

and power we give in our lives

that we ultimately end up

in this pathway of discouragement

and despair

and spiritual deadness

and ultimately hopelessness

and it's interesting

because the passage today

is the passage about hope

in all the Bible

I mean I don't know

if you realize that

when you read it

I've read it hundreds

and hundreds of times

and sometimes I just kind of

skim through it

and I don't think about it

but it is the passage of hope

it's important to realize

that in Jesus' day

historians tell us

that there were at least

two dozen messiahs

that came about

do you know that

two dozen messiahs?

two dozen men

who came forward

they gathered large groups

of people around them

they led a movement

and the movement

was a movement of hope

and freedom

from the Roman government

and historians tell us

that out of those

two dozen men

all of them were captured

all of them were killed

and after their death

all of their followers

disbanded and disappeared

all of their followers

lost hope

except for one group

the followers of Jesus

and something happened

to the followers of Jesus

that took them from guys

who were running

and hiding

and fearful

and hopelessness

to a place

where they started

a movement that changed

the face of history

in the world

and it's found

in this passage

right here

if you look at your bulletins

we're going to read it together

really quickly

and just go through it

Luke 24 1-11

but on the first day

of the week

it's early dawn

they came to the tomb

bringing the spices

which they had prepared

and when they found

the stone rolled away

we have pictures of it

up here

they entered

into the tomb

and when they entered in

they didn't find the body

now it's very interesting to me

this passage

has a lot of craziness to me

because we're studying Luke

as a church

and what we realize

in this passage

is that over and over

and over again

Jesus is saying

hey kill me

in the third day

I'm coming back

hey kill me

in the third day

my body is resurrected

hey kill me

and it doesn't matter

if you kill me

because in the third day

I'm coming back alive

but when we get to this passage

in the Bible

in Luke 24

there's no one

at the tomb

it's because

his disciples

didn't believe it

I mean they didn't have

a way to comprehend

what he was talking about

they had never seen

a resurrection

like he was talking about

and they weren't

at the tomb

I mean this was

the greatest event

in human history

and there was no one there

I mean if we

we make an announcement

that there's going to be

a new stamp

or a new Hong Kong dollar bill

the next morning

at 530

there's 5,000 people

lined up

to get these dollar bills

and these stamps

5,000 people

for a stamp

and a dollar bill

or a free little chess set

but here Jesus says

this is going to change everything

and no one

is there at the tomb

isn't that strange

they didn't believe

they saw him crucified

and they lost hope

in fact the thing

that's even harder

is the first people

to the tomb

are the women

and everyone knows

that women are worthless

that's not what I mean

but that's what

in Jesus' day

that's what they said

they said you couldn't

trust the testimony

of a woman

in fact when it says

when they were saying

that what they said

made no sense

in Chinese

it's la lao dao dao

two old ladies

talking

but they didn't

understand it

I mean for the first

200 years

every Greek philosopher

who tried to disprove

Christianity

he always used the fact

that the witnesses

were women

and everyone knows

you can't trust a woman

because they're hysterical

and so Luke

uses women

to verify

this amazing event

and they come

into this tomb

and they're perplexed

the word means

at a loss

they don't know

what to do

and two men

were told later

in Matthew and Mark

that they're angels

they stand there

in gazing clothing

and the women

in verse 5

were terrified

they bowed their faces

to the ground

and the men said to him

why do you seek

the living one

among the dead

and then in verse 6

they say 8 words

and these 8 words

give ultimate hope

to Jesus' disciples

they say 8 words

and these 8 words

give ultimate hope

to you and me

and the words

are on the screen

he is not here

but he is risen

these 8 words

change history

these 8 words

give his disciples

hope that no other

group of followers

had

these 8 words

push men

to sacrifice

their lives

and they die

some of them

terrible deaths

were these words

and it's not

just these words

because if it was

just these words

in a closed tomb

it would mean nothing

and if it was

a closed tomb

and someone walking

around that looked

like Jesus

it would mean nothing

and if it was

an open tomb

and there was

no body

it would mean nothing

but there was

an open tomb

and Jesus walking

around amongst

the people

for 40 days

and it meant

everything

it changed

everything

the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

changed these people

it changed

the movement

it changed

the Roman Empire

it changed

the world

but none of his

disciples believed

in it at first

until they came

into the tomb

and they heard

these words

he is not here

for he is risen

can you

just for the sake

of wanting you

to hear this

and so we can hear

it as a church

can you repeat

that after me

he is not here

for he is risen

one more time

he is not here

for he is risen

he is not here

for he is risen

changes everything

it changes

the nothingness

in our life

it changes

the hopelessness

that the disciples

have

and it changes

the hope

that you

and I have

when I think

of this passage

there are three things

that stick out to me

and we are told

not to say three things

in preaching class

but these things

are important

and I want to say

them to you

that an empty tomb

and a savior

walking around

means that our past

is forgiven

an empty tomb

and a savior

walking around

means that our past

is forgiven

and no matter

how hard

no matter how bad

we have blown it

an empty tomb

brings forgiveness

mercy

and grace

this is what I wish

I could have told

my rugby friend

but I didn't have

enough courage

to do that

because he was tough

and he believed

in the nothingness

but an empty tomb

changes everything

it's very interesting

in this passage

because every time

in all the gospels

Jesus asked

for Peter

now you've got to

remember this is important

because Peter blew it

Peter was in the garden

he was there

he could have stuck up

for Christ

and at the end

he denied Christ

three times

with profanity

and he ran away

and every time

Jesus says

bring Peter

bring Peter

bring Peter

now if I were Jesus

and I said bring Peter

it meant I wanted

to get in trouble

I wanted to kick him

out of the club

because he screwed up

but what we see

in the gospels

is he takes the guy

who failed the worst

at the most critical moment

and he loves him

he changes him

he brings grace

and redemption

into his life

and an empty tomb

means that no matter

what you've done

in your past

no matter how bad

you've screwed up

no matter where

your fears are

an empty tomb

in Jesus walking around

means that all those

things are fixed

an empty tomb

in a savior walking around

means that my worth

and my identity

my significance

never changes

I mean think of this

we live in a world

where everything is changing

so quickly

information

technology

our jobs

we wonder if we're

going to have a job

the next day

we wonder if we're

going to have money

the next day

I have friends

that wanted to retire

and now they're worth

one half of what they

were before

and they can't retire

and some of my friends

were looking at our

portfolios

and every day

were going

and looking at the

bank account

and saying

what am I worth

and what can I do

and when can I retire

and how am I going to survive

in an empty tomb

says it doesn't matter

because God is in control

and he can take care of you

and that he paid the most

expensive thing

his son Jesus Christ

the greatest cost

and that cost

is never going to diminish

so when you walk

into the earth

to the work

and your boss

creams you

or slams you

your spouse

is angry at you

or your kids disobey

or you lose your job

or whatever happens

in your life

and the doctor tells you

you have cancer

it doesn't really matter

because your worth

is secure

and God is in control

and he's going to

take care of you

because he took care

of his son

an empty tomb

and a savior walking around

means that our future

is not at risk

that there's more

to this life

than the nothingness

and because we have

an empty tomb

and we see Jesus

in teaching

and we know

that he resurrected

we know that his words

are true

and we can trust him

you see if Jesus

was still in the tomb

as Paul says

in Corinthians

we might as well

just eat and drink

and fornicate

and do whatever

I don't know

if we can say

fornicate in church

but fornicate

because that's all

there is in life

because when you die

you just go to the worms

you go to the nothingness

but because there's

an empty tomb

and Jesus rose

it meant that his words

were true

it meant that when he

paid for our sin

that God said

the payment is accepted

because if his payment

wasn't accepted

Jesus would still be

in the tomb

and we'd be walking

around in our sin

and we'd be looking

for another Messiah

but because Jesus

is resurrected

and there's an empty tomb

our future is secure

because God

accepted him

in our place

and so on this Easter

when you leave here

I want you to remember

a couple things

and one of them is

no matter how bad

you've blown in the past

an empty tomb

means forgiveness

no matter where you're at

no matter where your stock is

no matter how you judge yourself

and your worth

your title

how people see you

it doesn't really matter

because when they look at you

and when God looks at you

he sees his son Jesus Christ

and that never changes

and finally

an empty tomb means

that our future is secure

and we can trust God

with everything

we can trust him

with my life

we can trust him

with my finances

we can trust him

with my family

we can trust him

with everything

because he's good

now I don't know

where you are today

in your journey

I don't know

what you're hoping in

I don't know

what you're trusting in

I don't know

if your life has a story

after working in ministry

for 30 years

I'm pretty sure

that there are some of us

in here

whose lives have no stories

and our lives have no hope

and no meaning

but the story

of the resurrection

the story of Easter

is that you don't have

to continue being surrounded

by the nothingness

for Christ

erupted from the grave

to free us

and bring us back

from the family

I shared this

with a friend

and he said

well why don't everyone

believe

if it's that simple

that's a good question

isn't it

if you can prove it

and it's just

right out there

why doesn't everybody

believe it's that simple

I was like

dude that's a

that's a great question

and I thought about

my life

and I realized

probably

some of us

don't want to believe

because we don't want

to stop being God

in our life

and if we believe

in a Savior

who's risen

that means that

we're not God anymore

but there is really

a God

and we have to deal

with him somehow

and that makes me

feel uncomfortable

if you're like me

it's just because

I was intellectually lazy

I mean I saw

the information there

but I didn't really

want to think about it

I didn't want to pray about it

I didn't want to say

okay God

if you're real

will you show me

I was just lazy

but the message

of Easter

that we want you to hear

that I want you to hear

that you can run out

of here afterwards

hopefully you'll go

to the outreach

because we're going

to have a great

we have 800 Easter eggs

we've been praying

for good weather

we have food

we'll have drinks

and ice cream

but the message

of Easter

the message of Jesus

is that

Jesus is God

he came to earth

to live a life

that we could not live

he was crucified

to pay a debt

that we could not pay

to satiate

a holy righteous God

that he was put

in a tomb

and three days later

he rose

and that resurrection

changes everything

if we understand that

I was working

on my sermon

last night

and my five year old

came into my room

I should have just

let her come up here

and do the sermon

it would have taken me

two minutes

she comes in

and she goes

what are you doing

and I said

I'm working on a sermon

she goes

well tomorrow's Easter

right

and I said yes

and she goes

that means Jesus

rose from the grave

right

and I said yes

that means God

loves us

right

and I said

yes

you want to come

do the sermon

next week

but that's the message

of Easter

and our hope

and our prayers

wherever you are at

in your journey

that you would join us

as a church family

in taking the next steps

towards an amazing

savior

who's walked out

of an empty tomb

and he's walking

around

right now

let me pray

Father we thank you

for this day

we thank you

for the tomb

we thank you

for your word

we thank you

that you did not

leave us

for the nothingness

but that you gave us

ultimate hope

and ultimate purpose

and an ultimate relationship

with your son

Jesus Christ

I realize

even now

that there are

many of us here

who this is probably

the first time

they've been in the church

or they haven't been

in a church

for a very

very very

very long time

and Father

I pray that you

would speak to them

I pray that they

wouldn't be

intellectually lazy

I pray that they

would realize

that there is a God

and they are not him

and Father

as we come together

as a family

and journey together

and help each other

and encourage each other

I pray Lord

that you would

show yourself to them

and Father

for the rest of us

in here

who are your children

but we're still

trying to live

a religious life

help us to realize

that you've already

paid all of our debts

help our lives

be one of response

to what you've done

for us

help us to realize

that you're good

because you're good

we can trust you

with all things

even things

that we're even

afraid to talk about

and so Father

we pray that this

Easter Sunday

this new Sunday

this day of new

beginnings

that you would give us

a new beginning

in our hearts

that we would find

hope and peace

and love

and we pray

all these things

in your son

Jesus holy name

amen

okay so

choir

great

amazing job

Melissa

thank you for

all you guys

everybody up there

is just

who are you

young man

that was great

guys

hey

that was

I just want to

share with you

right afterwards

at one o'clock

we're having

an Easter egg

outreach

on the podium

up there

we'd love to invite

you just to come

grab some food

hang out with the

families there

it's from one to three

the church will provide

drinks and ice cream

cones afterwards

so just grab some food

and come hang out

and if you're not

in a community group

that's focused

on doing an outreach

we still need your help

to help us with the outreach

that would be a great

great event

also next week

we have a church wide

buffet lunch

and so we want you

to invite you to come

it's on the house

as everything is

in Hong Kong

on the house

and so we'll eat

out there right afterwards

so invite a friend

this will be a great

opportunity

to introduce them

to the church

and to the community

and what's going on here

and on April 17th

a Tuesday

we're going to start

a marriage class

six weeks meal

included

guys

Tuesday night

Tuesday night

730 at the community center

finished by 945

food

fellowship

and a great program

that we were going

to go through

of what it means

to love

and respect each other

so wives

bring your husbands

husbands bring your wife

and sign up

on the table

or online

and beyond that

I have one thing

to say

it's Easter

that means

that Jesus

rose from the grave

and he loves us

right

that's what my

five year old

told me

and I believe

five year olds

right

so guys

we're so glad

you're here

and we hope

that as you leave

here

that you would

bask in that

truth

of God's

relationship

and desire

for you

there'll be

people up front

with the lanyards

on

who have been

trained to pray

for each other

and pray for people

so if you have

a prayer request

please grab them

and just pray

and I'm going to

close with just

a quick prayer

I just feel like

if you've never

invited Christ

into your life

I'm just going to

do a quick prayer

of what that looks

like

and just

because I feel like

we need to do that

as we talk about

a church reaching out

and we'll hopefully

see you at one o'clock

so let me pray for us

dear Jesus

thank you for

rescuing me

from the nothingness

I come before you now

and I give you my life

and who I am

I trust you to be good

I trust you to be God

I trust that the grave

is empty

and that you are alive

as I walk in that faith

and that power

I ask that you would

fill me with your spirit

show me the hope

that the disciples had

help me to walk

in the newness of life

on this day

which is all about

newness and hope

Easter

and Father

for the rest of us

I just thank you

for what you're doing

in our lives

that we're on a journey

and we're taking baby steps

just help us to encourage

each other

in those steps

we pray for the outreach

and the fun today

and the podium

pray that it doesn't rain

help us to have fun

and just to enjoy

this beautiful day

you've given us

a day of hope

and a day of newness

we love you

and we pray these things

in your son Jesus name

amen

God bless you guys

we'll see you back here

we'll see you over there

at one hopefully

and then we'll see you

back here next Sunday

you