Easter Sunday 2024

Let us pray before we enter into the Lord's Word this morning.

Father, eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand.

This is what we ask this morning.

Lord, we pray that we would hear your Word,

that it would go deep in our hearts,

that it would change our lives.

Lord, we thank you that the resurrection is a reality

and that we celebrate it today,

not in some kind of symbolic way

or that resurrection is an archetype of just bettering ourselves,

but that you truly and literally rose from the grave.

Lord, may this truth affect our lives

from this day forth and forevermore.

Amen.

Amen.

Friends, what are you hoping for?

What does your heart long for?

What is the thing that you most need?

Whether or not you are right in that assessment,

maybe you need something else even greater.

But what is the thing that your heart longs for?

The resurrection is this bold, bold statement

that everything that you are longing for,

everything that you are hoping for,

is found in the resurrection.

But things that seem too good to be true

quite often are.

Are they not?

I'm sure many of you, like me,

have gotten scam calls a ton.

I don't know how they get my phone number.

I don't know how Nigerian princes get my email.

I haven't given it out.

But whenever I get some kind of scam email

that's promising me the world,

tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It's too good to be true.

I don't believe it.

The resurrection

promises even greater things than that.

It promises eternal life.

And joy that is unspeakable.

Bodies that are incorruptible.

A life that goes on forever

with no tears,

with no hunger,

with no disease,

with no pain.

In high school,

we had a really gullible friend.

We still have him in our lives.

He's less gullible now.

But he would fall for everything.

We'd roll our eyes.

We'd make fun of him today,

even though, like I said,

he's not gullible anymore.

But we're not gullible people, are we?

Come on.

The promises of the resurrection,

again, they're too good to be true.

Gullible people believe them.

The people of the Bible,

it seems that

they take the resurrection at face value.

But the people of the Bible

weren't gullible either.

They struggled with supernatural claims.

They didn't believe everything

that Jesus said.

So when we look at John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

we see Mary Magdalene,

who was a companion of Jesus,

a part of his entourage,

heard him teach and speak

and do miracles,

and she was witness to a lot of things.

One of the things,

that he would rise again

after three days being buried.

And we'll see here

that Mary does not believe him.

At least her actions betray her,

if she says she does.

We'll look at John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

and we'll specifically look at

the claim of the resurrection

that all of our hopes and longings

are found fulfilled in that.

And no matter how gullible

it seems somebody needs to be

to believe it,

that it is the only hope we truly have.

So we'll look at three things

in this brief narrative

that helps us to understand

the beauty and the joy

of the resurrection

and how it is

the very thing we long for.

The first thing

is the importance of truth.

If Jesus didn't rise from the grave,

if this is a bit of a sham,

then there's no point

in putting our faith and hope

in something

that didn't really happen.

The second

is that the resurrection

is the biggest picture

of the gift of grace

from God to us.

And finally,

that the resurrection

beckons us

to live a life

of faith.

The importance of truth,

the gift of grace,

the life of faith.

If you have a Bible,

please turn with me

to John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

and we'll be looking

at verses 11 to 18.

There's some Bibles

at the back.

If you forgot your Bible,

you don't have one,

no problem,

grab one.

You're not going to interrupt me.

So at any time,

you can grab a Bible

at the back.

Well, we'll jump into it,

the importance of truth.

Mary, like other characters

in the Gospel,

does not recognize

the Messiah.

Sometimes it seems

that Jesus is interacting

with certain people,

and they don't know

it's him.

The two companions

on the road to Emmaus,

they don't recognize Jesus.

And in this situation,

we have a similar example.

However,

it would seem that

Mary,

like the others

that don't recognize Jesus,

seemed to not recognize him

for a deeper reason.

There's something remarkably

different about Jesus.

Something different

about his resurrected body.

Something that was

unfamiliar to them.

Jesus rose from the grave,

fully human,

not some ethereal being

or ghost

or angelic character,

but a man

who was like us,

but also unlike us.

Talks,

the Apostle Paul

will talk about

how we will rise

from the grave

like Christ

in bodies

that are imperishable,

not subject

to death and decay

any longer.

So,

on one hand,

it's no wonder

that Mary didn't

recognize Jesus.

Something was different.

We're not exactly told

what.

This isn't just

Jesus disguised himself,

he put on

a wig,

or he

dressed up

like an actual gardener

in the case

of the narrative.

There's something

different about him.

However,

she also had

a failure

to recognize him

because of a deep-seated

problem.

She was looking

for the wrong Jesus.

Look with me,

verses 11 to 15 here.

But Mary stood

weeping outside

the tomb,

and as she wept,

she stooped

to look into the tomb.

By the way,

just before we continue on,

the narrative

before this

is Mary Magdalene

has come to the tomb,

maybe she's come

with others,

the other gospel accounts

have multiple women

coming,

likely to

prepare his body

more fully

for burial,

and she sees

that the stone

is rolled away.

She tells the disciples

Peter and John come,

they look inside

the tomb,

they see that Jesus

is no longer there,

and then they

take off

back home

despondent.

Mary stays,

and this is where

we pick it up.

So we'll start

in verse 11 now.

Mary stood

weeping outside

the tomb.

As she wept,

she stooped

to look

into the tomb.

And she saw

two angels in white

sitting where

the body of Jesus

had lain,

one at the head

and one at the feet.

They said to her,

Woman,

why are you weeping?

She said to them,

They have taken

away my Lord,

and I do not know

where they have laid him.

Having said this,

she turned around

and saw Jesus standing,

but she did not know

that it was Jesus.

We'll continue

on verse 15.

Jesus said to her,

Woman,

why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?

Supposing him

to be the gardener,

she said to him,

Sir,

if you have carried

him away,

tell me where

you have laid him

and I will take him

away.

And we'll pause there.

Like I mentioned

at the beginning,

Mary would have heard

Jesus repeatedly teach

that the Son of Man,

the Son of David,

me,

I have to go

to the cross.

I have to die,

I will suffer,

I will be handed over,

I will be buried,

but on the third day

I will rise again.

She had heard that

not just once,

multiple times.

In fact,

Jesus,

although in other

circumstances

he would talk

in parables,

that's kind of like

a coded story

in a way,

when it came

to his passion,

his death,

his burial,

his resurrection,

he spoke plainly.

In one case,

he spoke so plainly

that Simon Peter,

one of his

inner circle friends,

rebuked him

for saying such a thing.

There is no ambiguity

in the way Jesus

proclaimed his death

and resurrection.

So that's why

in a sense

it's somewhat perplexing

to consider Mary's

complete grief

at the empty tomb.

It would seem

that she should be

actually more grieved

if the tomb

was full.

Because then Jesus

would not have

risen from the grave,

he would have been

a false teacher,

she would have

followed him

in vain.

But instead

she sees

an empty tomb

and her immediate

thought isn't

he rose from the grave.

It is,

the tomb was robbed.

Maybe it was

the religious leaders,

they took the body

to desecrate it,

to dishonor Jesus.

Maybe it was

the Roman soldiers

who decided

that he ought not

to have a fantastic

funeral

in a borrowed grave

but should be tossed

in a mass grave.

I mean,

we're not given

the reason,

but it's very clear

that Mary,

her immediate

reaction

reaction

is just

absolute grief.

The body

has been stolen.

Huge,

huge,

huge,

huge,

huge problem.

Mary loved Jesus.

That is clear.

She loved him

very much.

However,

we see

that her reaction

speaks

not

to her lack

of love

of Jesus

but that she

made little

of Jesus.

Jesus.

She saw

Jesus

do all

of these

things

but in

the end

when Jesus

was killed

upon the cross

she made

much of his

humanity

and almost

nothing

of his

divinity.

Jesus,

a fantastic

teacher,

I loved him,

I will follow him

to the end

but clearly

he's just a man.

The tomb

is empty

not because

he rose

from the grave

but because

somebody robbed

the grave

of his body.

Whether we

are believers

in Jesus

or spiritualists

or agnostics

or maybe

we have somebody

struggling with atheism

or maybe not struggling

has embraced it.

We are not

different from Mary.

Why?

Because we all

desire

and look for

and search out

a savior

whether that's

someone

or something

to fix

our problems

and to make

life better

for us.

We look for

saviors.

It's just the way

we're wired.

But we want

a savior

to fix

our external

problems

not our

internal

problems.

We need help

with our job

our neighbors

my difficult

sibling

my incompetent

boss

my difficult

children

my cold

spouse

my lack

of money

my lack

of opportunity

my lack

of a spouse

them

that

there

it's all

external

our problems

are all external

and we need

somebody to help

us

we need the

problem to go

away

so that we

can live

our best

life

because

okay maybe

we can do a bit

of self-improvement

but really we're

fine we're okay

we're nice

we're good

there's nothing

inherently broken

in us

the problem

is out there

not in here

but that's not

the case

if we're honest

about our

shortcomings

if we're honest

about our

lack of

tact

our lack

of kindness

our lack

of grace

our lack

of love

our

the way

we immediately

assume

somebody has

ill motives

toward us

never giving

them the benefit

of the doubt

always assuming

that they're

conspiring

against me

don't they see

how hard I work

why are they

picking on me

we flatter

ourselves

to think

that our sins

are not great

we think

theirs

are great

but mine are

excusable

just a problem

again just

needing a little

tweak

when have

you ever

thought that

your motives

were sinister

you excuse

them away

and I think

what this does

is it helps

us to understand

again if we're

honest with

ourselves

that we want

salvation on

our terms

devoid of a

savior

if that savior

causes us

to change

let alone

submit to him

or her

or it

for if a

savior saves

then undoubtedly

that savior

has a claim

upon our lives

and the

thought of

someone

laying a

claim upon

our lives

is

unimaginable

we are

the captain

of our own

ship

to have

somebody else

me submit

to them

completely

unacceptable

so what do we

do

even as

christians

especially as

christians

we can

dismiss

jesus

for his

burden

seems

intolerable

and what

we end up

doing

is we

fashion

jesus

into the

savior

that we

that we

want

we fail

to recognize

him

because

we're too

busy

flattering

ourselves

and we

can't truly

recognize

him

because

our deep

need

our deep

need

and

for salvation

it's

downplayed

mary

doesn't

recognize

jesus

because

she is

looking

for a

jesus

that

doesn't

exist

she's

looking

for her

friend

her

master

the one

that she

loves

so

dearly

she is

not

looking

for

god

the son

of god

who took

upon

flesh

who said

that he

would die

for her

sins

and the

sins

of many

that would

be buried

and on the

third day

rise again

to new

life

she's not

looking

for that

jesus

she's

looking

for the

jesus

that cast

out the

demons

from her

that made

her well

that healed

her and

gave her

dignity

which is

wonderful

and fantastic

and incredible

but that

wasn't

all of

who jesus

was

that's

the jesus

she was

looking

for

but that

jesus

was not

who jesus

truly was

this jesus

is not

dead

his body

had not

been stolen

he is

alive

so it's

it's an

important lesson

for us

we must

know jesus

on his

terms

and that

must be

rooted

in the

truth

with all

of the

implications

of that

reality

either

he is

the risen

savior

who defeated

sin

evil

and death

and not

just defeated

sin

evil

and death

but made

a mockery

mocking

sin

mocking

satan

mocking

evil

mocking

death

or

jesus

is

truly

the

greatest

charlatan

that has

ever

lived

that he

has

duped

billions

of people

over two

millennia

but it's

either or

it's either or

jesus is the

savior

according to the

truth

that he truly

did rise from

the grave

or friends

we are here

for no good

reason

maybe some

good baking

after

a good

chat

but that's

it

do you like

the idea

of jesus

that he is

some kind of

archetype

of a godly

man who

did good

deeds

and was a

good example

of how to

show mercy

and forgiveness

i'll try to be

like jesus

i'll try to

emulate jesus

he is

he might have

even been the

greatest person

that ever

walked the

earth

fantastic

he's a

great guy

but this

passage

tells us

something

different

about who

jesus is

you see

before jesus

reveals himself

he asks

mary

who are you

seeking

which is

in a sense

a double

question

is it not

there's an

obvious question

who are you

seeking

but there's

a deeper

heart question

that he is

asking her

and he's

putting forward

that to us

this morning

who are you

seeking

which savior

are you

after

is it

the jesus

that's

according to

the scriptures

that has

laid his

life down

for you

really

truly

physically

not just

figuratively

died for

your sins

that

that rose

again to

new life

that promises

that you too

will rise again

to new life

if you put

your faith

and hope

in him

is this

the jesus

you're after

the jesus

that will

have a claim

upon your

life

or are you

looking for

something else

who are you

seeking

what are you

truly after

what do you

think will

answer your

deepest

longings

solve your

greatest

problems

both inside

and outside

who will be

or what will be

your hope in

difficult times

your identity

your purpose

how will you

have true

forgiveness

reconciliation

with

with

with broken

relationships

clarity

in the face

of confusion

who are you

seeking

it's a question

he is asking

us this morning

is the one

you are seeking

the real jesus

the real savior

or is it

a pretender

and if you're

having trouble

with believing

the supernatural

claims of the

gospels

let alone

that jesus

literally

was dead

and three

days later

he rose

consider

that if this

was a conspiracy

to create this

story of the

risen jesus

you would not

have mary magdalene

be the first

witness

there is no

chance

that she would

be the first

witness

there's actually

really there's a

number of different

proofs

so to speak

but two in

particular

that's one that i

just mentioned

but also

peter and john

they are the

leaders of the

church

afterwards

and they are

shown to be

cowardly

they

in lacking

of faith

jesus rose

they look

they're downcast

they go back

to their homes

they're despondent

i mentioned

mary

mary

she was

a woman

in a patriarchal

first century

society

a shame and

honor society

she

did not have a

strong testimony

at all

you don't have

a woman

testifying

on the same

level as a

man

you need

multiple women

or maybe women

aren't believed

at all

they're seen

as lesser

weaker

untrustworthy

not in terms

of

they're gonna

spill every

secret

but

their testimony

is not sure

it's not right

i'm just saying

that's the way

it is

i'm not making

a statement

at you ladies

it's the way

it is

in in the

first century

so therefore

you don't have

the first witness

of the empty

tomb to be a

woman

you just don't

and you don't

have a woman

let alone

one like

mary

who was on

the fringe

of society

again i mentioned

before that she

had

she was a

troubled woman

she

the this

the gospels

say that she

was full

of demons

that jesus

casted

demons out

restored her

life

she was a

troubled person

and no doubt

her reputation

followed her to

some degree or

another even if

she was in her

right mind

she was walking

with jesus she

had dignity from

him and the

inner circle

maybe

but maybe the

people on the

street saw her

and snickered

and whispered

and gossiped

about this woman

who was crazy

who was on the

fringes

untrustworthy

the way that

mary is described

is in the

gospels is the

same as the

garrison demoniac

was described

now if you know

about the garrison

demoniac i think

it's mark chapter

six he is also

demon possessed

out of his mind

he is chained up

in a graveyard

outside of the

city because he

is wreaking havoc

on people he's

cutting himself

he's screaming

he's a giant

mess and mary

is described as

this in in in

very similar

language you

don't have this

person testifying

that the grave is

empty if you want

the message to go

forward you don't

and yet this is

exactly what we

see

this leads us to

our second point

for if this

account is true

that mary is

the one who

is the first to

see the risen

christ and to

testify about

his resurrection

that speaks to

the incredible

gift of grace

that is extended

to all who

would but

believe in

jesus

as we return

to the narrative

we see mary is

the lone person

who sticks around

the grave

peter and john

are back home

she is in

utter grief

and even though

she sees two

angelic beings

she's still

overcome with

grief

you think

an angel

there's something

incredibly different

and spectacular

about the angels

her grief is

still burdening

her

overwhelming her

and then jesus

appears

look with me

at verse 14

having said this

she turned around

and saw jesus

standing but she

did not know

that it was jesus

jesus said to her

woman why are you

weeping

whom are you

seeking

supposing him to

be the gardener

she said to him

sir if you have

carried him away

tell me where you

have laid him

and i will

i will take him

away

mary is searching

for jesus's body

she's desperate

to see him

she is bold

she's up front

with her search

she's putting

social taboos

aside

she in a

in a very real

way does not

care what other

people think

about her

if she does

not as much

as she wants

to see jesus

graveyard

is an unclean

place

she is a woman

she's alone

there's like

levels to this

social taboo

that she is

that she is

breaking here

so she sees

this gardener

and she

first

her first thought

is that

the gardener

would know

whether the

gardener has

taken the body

away

or not

she supposes

that even

if the gardener

could tell her

where the

body is

that she

could somehow

carry this corpse

by herself

back into the grave

this woman

is desperate

to see jesus

and what do we see

here in verse 16

jesus said to her

mary

the gardener

asks

the gardener

that asks

who are you

seeking

is the one

that she

sought

and we

can read this

jesus said

to her

mary

she turned

and said

to him

mary

rabboni

i think

what we

miss is that

there is

such deep

tenderness

in jesus

saying

her name

jesus cuts

through the

grief

he cuts

through the

searching

he cuts

through all

the noise

and speaks

directly to

her soul

mary

and how

does she

reply

rabboni

it's

it's like

a rabbi

is the

the term

for teacher

but what's

here

rabboni

it's like

my dear

teacher

it's a sign

of affection

and love

it's like

her longing

has been

fulfilled

her soul

is quickened

her eyes

are opened

she could

have searched

until her

dying day

but what's

interesting

here is

that

it wasn't

until jesus

revealed himself

to her

that she

saw him

it's very

important for us

to consider

some of us

have spent

long season

searching for

truth

whether we've

known

that we

are searching

for a savior

or not

we've been

searching for

something

we've been

searching

maybe for

jesus

but it

hasn't

been until

he has

revealed

himself

to us

that

our

spiritual

eyes

have been

opened

and we

understand

who he

truly is

the bible

calls this

grace

it is

a kind

and loving

gift

from god

that he

chooses

to bestow

upon us

nothing

that we

have done

i mean

mary

is

she is

open

to see

jesus

but it

is jesus

who breaks

through

all of

the noise

and reveals

himself to

her

mary

searched

for jesus

but jesus

wasn't under

any obligation

to reveal

himself to

her

was he

and yet

he spoke

to her

grief

stricken

soul

he alleviated

her pain

gladdened

her heart

because he

loved her

mary

and she

turns and

she sees

her savior

jesus

understands

our deep

need to

be comforted

in grief

and to

have our

fears

relieved

he's

compassionate

with us

is he

not

he knows

we are

slow to

comprehend

slow to

recognize

his voice

slow to

have the

truth of

his

resurrection

sink deep

and take

root into

our hearts

but praise

god that he

is quick

to restore

we are

slow he

is quick

he is

quick to

pardon he

is quick to

meet us in

our grief

and confusion

he's quick to

repay our

bumbling

little

baby

confused

faith

with mercy

and grace

kindness

and love

christ

calls mary

mary

doesn't call

jesus

she doesn't

say teacher

and then jesus

says mary

i'm here

he says mary

and she says

teacher

jesus is the

one

who calls

her and his

call is

unmistakable

he's not

merely calling

her name

but calling

her out of

brokenness

her misunderstanding

her confusion

he is calling

her into a

deeper and

truer

relationship

with his

resurrected

self

he is helping

her to

understand who

he truly

is

but it's not

just with

mary

look with me

at verse 17

we'll read the

whole verse

we're going to

focus on the

second half of

the verse

but this is

what it says

jesus said to

her

do not cling

to me

for i have

not yet

ascended to

the father

but go to

my brothers

and say to

them i am

ascending to

my father

and your

father

to my

god

and your

god

jesus gives

grace also

to the

disciples

notice that he

doesn't say to

mary

listen

you have been

faithful to

me

you love me

you might have

been looking for

the wrong person

you mistaken me

for a gardener

but here i am

mary

but those

disciples send

them back to

me i have

i have to have

a word with

them

those betrayers

those cowards

where were they

in my time of

need

judgment and

punishment await

them send them

to me right now

no he doesn't say

that he says go to

my brothers

brothers

go to my family

they're no longer

disciples they're my

brothers because of

his resurrection and

their union with

him they will know

and be with god as

father it says here

i am ascending to

my father and

your father to

my god and

your god that's

his message to

his disciples

to the cowards

that left him

and they are

cowards

we'd probably be

cowards too i'm

sure of it

that's what he

says to them

again we see the

grace of jesus as

he calls the

disciples out of

their shame

restoring them

giving them

salvation through

his death and

resurrection again

the call of jesus

is unmistakable

you betray

somebody you've

really hurt somebody

in your life and

you know you've

hurt them i have

i have hurt people

most closest to me

and i have seen how

my words have brought

tears and there is

such guilt even when

forgiveness is

extended i feel

terrible and it

seems that only time

can at least help

the memory to

disappear

the shame that they

must have felt

the embarrassment

the cowardice that

that now mark who

they are that that's

who they are now

they're cowards

have mary come up to

them

jesus is risen and

he says that he

will ascend and he

calls you brother

he says that you

share his father and

that you are going to

be with him for

eternity

dispelling any

cowardice dispelling

any shame that is

grace

salvation is always a

gift of god's grace

but we take hold of

it by faith we

embrace god's grace

and then live out this

life according to god's

standards and this leads

to our third point

that the resurrection

that saves us that is

our deepest hope the

grace that god gives

us based on the truth

of the resurrection

it means that we have

to live a life worthy

of that calling a life

of faith

two points here the

first is that obedience

is very important for

the reality of the for

the reality of the

believer jesus tells

mary to bear witness to

the resurrection she

is not to keep silent

she is not to go on

living her life she is

to testify to proclaim

to share she has a job

to do and it's a job of

joy but nevertheless she

is now an agent a citizen

of heaven the life of

faith we are to live is an

obedient life we are no

longer our own we have

been purchased by the

most precious blood of

the sinless slave savior

jesus the messiah go jesus

commands to which mary went

she obeyed we must obey

jesus he calls us to live

as citizens of his

kingdom we have a master

now but not as a as an

earthly master who demands

much and gives little we

have a master who gives

complete new life but also

demands all the life touched

by grace is the life marked

by obedience the second point

it's related to the first

what happens when we're not

obedient what happens when

we we encounter the risen

lord it's we put our hope

and trust in jesus our faith

wanes our obedience is shaky

we don't trust we look at that

savior over there or we put

our hope in that thing or this

goal that we have becomes this

ultimate prize that we must win

and all of a sudden

priorities start to shift

what happens when that happens

look with me again at verse 17

jesus said to her mary do not

cling to me for i have not yet

ascended to the father mary in

her excitement clings to jesus and

you have this picture of her

bearing her face in his garments

tears and saliva it's just she

is overcome she is she doesn't

care what she looks like she's

excited that jesus is there and

jesus says to her to stop and

that's the question why why would

jesus want her to stop it's not

that jesus is like

like don't touch me these are new

garments uh he doesn't say that and

especially if we consider that other

people touch jesus and he appeared

for weeks before he ascended and

even thomas stuck his finger in his

side so it's not that jesus didn't

want to be touched after he rose from

the grave so why is he saying don't

cling to me other translations say

don't touch me but really it don't

cling to me and the reason why is

right after he says it for i have not

ascended to the father jesus was not

resurrected in his incorruptible body

in order to keep the status quo see

lazarus if you remember the story was

raised from the grave but lazarus was

raised from the grave and was just like

you and i and he eventually died he

died twice that's tough but jesus rises

from the grave in an incorruptible body

never to die again and a part of that

resurrection was that he would not just

rise from the grave as the first fruits

the proof that we too will rise from the

grave but that a part of this new life

is him ascending into heaven and as he

ascends into heaven he is seated at the

right hand of god the father forever

making intercession for us which is to

say that we need intercession that we

will live out this this faith imperfectly

not with fantastic obedience but with

shaky obedience and valley seasons where

we we don't trust the lord in the ways that

we should we don't obey the lord our faith

seems to be shaky he is at the right hand

of god the father in forever interceding

for us the ascension is is is critical but

also with jesus ascending he sends his holy

spirit down so that the holy spirit indwells

in us giving us the power to obey and

reminding us that jesus is actually much

closer to us than mary so when jesus says

don't cling to me i still have to be

ascended to my father in heaven he's saying

that listen you think i'm close now

i've risen from the grave you're here

you're touching me you think i'm close now

just wait till the holy spirit is poured

out

i've often thought if only i could see

jesus

i could endure anything i could power

through this frustration jesus he's seems

distant i want him to be really close

and all of a sudden i start having this

imagination that i need jesus in the flesh

but this is telling us that actually jesus in

the flesh

is not so close as having his very spirit

indwelling in us

and that takes faith to believe

and the faith that he will actually give us

and help us to believe but that is why

jesus has to ascend

the ascended jesus reminds us

that the life of faith is fraught with

failure and sin but that he offers more

and more and more in great of grace

and forgiveness and love

friends as we wrap things up who are you looking for

are you looking for the risen christ

who has conquered death and sin

and evil the devil

your fears forever more

offering new life if you would

put your faith and trust in him

uniting with him

promised new life

in the presence of god for eternity

or are you looking for a different kind of jesus

that will let you coast

that will let you continue on in the status quo

that will not cause reputational harm

jesus calls us

to a life of faith

because he has poured out

this gift of grace to us

because he truly rose from the grave

friends this is what easter is about

this is the hope we have

let us be enamored

with this risen christ

and by faith

let us walk in the power that he is giving us

let's pray

so let you know