Easter Glory: Unveiling the Stories of Redemption and Hope

Welcome to Heaven Earth Church.

My name is Ross Stackhouse.

I'm the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church.

From the beginning, our heart was to be a church for people who

don't fit neatly into church.

Our heart is to meet people where they are, to learn their stories,

to honor their stories.

Because in every human story is God's story.

In this podcast, you'll hear more about the people who now call

Heaven Earth Church home.

Their stories, in many cases of misfits who are discovering or

rediscovering faith.

If you want to know more about us, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org

Otherwise, we invite you now into the story.

Hello, good people.

Brad Miller here, the producer of the Heaven Earth Church podcast.

One of the main benefits of being a part of the Heaven Earth

Church community is our Sunday morning conversations taught by founding

pastor Ross Stackhouse.

You can watch and participate in the Sunday morning conversation

this Sunday morning, 9:30am Eastern Time at YouTube.com Heaven

Earth Church.

The audio version of the Sunday morning conversation is available

here on the podcast, which you can find at Apple Podcasts, Spotify

and on the website, which is heaven earthchurch.org here now is

Pastor Ross Stackhouse with the message Easter Glory.

All right, let's pray and then have a conversation.

Lord, help us to hear from you the good news of Easter today.

Help us to hear from you the good news of Easter.

In Jesus name, amen.

So a lot of times, almost every Sunday, if you're new to us,

we have a conversation.

I ask questions and I hear back from you.

We have a rather large group today, so we might only get to one

question.

But first, Hudson, can you go to the scripture for today?

It's John, chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

I want to focus on this.

Just to start.

This is from John, chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

There are four gospels that tell the account of Jesus life.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

The Bible is like a library of books.

Not all books are written the same.

You don't read them the same.

The Gospels are written more with like, hey, we want to tell you

what actually happened.

There's still some stuff in there that's honestly hard to believe,

but that's what faith is about.

Mary stood outside.

Mary was a woman who followed along with Jesus, who was kind of

an outcast, but Jesus had brought her into his fold.

Mary stood outside near the tomb.

What's that next word?

Mary stood outside near the tomb.

I still don't have everybody.

Mary stood outside near the tomb.

Thank you, class.

You know, somebody said to me, one of the things that's hard About

Easter for me is that, like, you come to Easter and it's joyous,

and now everything's supposed to be okay.

Because the church, if you're not, if you're new to church, we

come and we say things like, he is risen.

And the church says back.

People are like, I didn't know that.

Listen, it's real easy.

When I say, he is risen, you say, he is risen indeed back.

He is risen.

And we're like, woo hoo.

Everything's good now, but then it's not right.

It's not.

Everything's not okay.

Mary, from her vantage point, she's still living in Good Friday.

She had followed this person who is like her poor, an outcast,

a nobody, and yet she had come to believe with other people that

this was the long awaited anointed one of God who is going

to restore all things, including her.

And then he gets brutally crucified like a criminal.

And it seems like all hope is lost.

So she's crying.

And so for her on Sunday, it's still Good Friday.

Maybe that's true for you too.

All right, I want to tell you a story to begin.

It's one of the best stories that's ever happened to me in the

history of this church.

And it just happened this week.

I want to celebrate it with you.

Some of you already know this story.

When I came here, I did a ride along with a police officer.

In September of 2018, I was in a local neighborhood.

There was a wonderful police officer named Chris Spear.

Love that guy.

He introduced me to 20 people that day, including a mom in a local

neighborhood who had an adult son.

She called me back, she found my number and said, whatever you're

doing with your new church, you got to do something for people

in recovery and you got to do it now.

I wanted to do that already because I love my mother so much,

and my mother is a recovering alcoholic.

And so I started meeting people like Spencer Metcalfe and

John Luby, who at the time was a server at Ann's Restaurant.

Nate wouldn't mind my telling you that, like, he goes back and

forth between that neighborhood and walking all the

way to Indianapolis and sleeping on the streets.

He comes back and forth to our meeting.

He wrestles in and out with, like, wanting to go to treatment

or not.

Every time we're like, Nate, today's maybe the day, man.

I told you a story not long ago, three or four years ago, that

Nate finally said he was ready.

But because of the insurance he had, there was only a few places

we could go.

So I drove him all the way up to Lafayette.

After our meeting, he did a long intake.

We waited for two to three hours, and then he did an intake,

only for them to say, sorry, there's no place for him.

And we had to drive home.

And so Nate went back out.

In and out, in and out, in and out.

He recently did some time.

He came out and he showed back up at the meeting.

He really wanted it this time, but he couldn't.

He's like, I need something.

He came, and if you think the carpets look awesome, it's because

Nate vacuumed them on Wednesday.

Nobody thinks the carpets look awesome.

I understand that.

Thank you.

Nate vacuumed them, and he was struggling.

And I said, nate, maybe today's the day that you give up

in a good way.

If I could find you a place, would you go today?

And he said, yes.

So I called all of our connections, Spencer, Misty, Hogan,

Caleb Lane, and we said, we know the place.

So I asked John Luby, who, when I met him, had a year and a

half of sobriety and was a server at Ann's.

Now he's got seven years of sobriety, and in December, he finishes

his apprenticeship electrician program.

And so John and I took Nate to this place, and we waited again for

two to three hours in the waiting room.

This waiting room was fun.

We're sitting there, and there's a lovely guy who.

I don't know if he realizes it, that when you do talk to text,

everyone can hear what you're saying.

So he's saying out loud how he wants to do violence to somebody.

But listen, listen, folks.

Jesus promises that Sunday will break into Friday.

He promises.

Nate said, can you pray with me?

Because I'm scared.

We stood in the middle of that fun waiting room, and that guy who

didn't realize that talk to text is something everybody can hear,

he.

He stepped over and said, can I pray, too?

Everybody cleared the waiting room except for one guy.

And they came out and said, the last bed just got filled up.

My friend Nate has experienced so many good Fridays that haven't

been so good.

And then we said to this person, you can't do this today.

This guy is suffering.

He needs help.

We have waited here.

You cannot do this to them.

It's already happened once.

We begged and we pleaded.

We had people praying.

She said, hold on a minute.

She went back in.

She said, okay, he can sleep in the intake office tonight and

tomorrow we'll get him a bed.

And on Easter morning today, Nate is in treatment.

We all know this the promise that it will all go well from here.

It's not there, but we have to celebrate Easter in the midst of

Good Friday.

The kingdom of the heavens is here now, but not yet.

But one day it will be fully here.

That's what we celebrate today.

The Good Fridays aren't over yet, folks.

They're not.

I wish to God they were.

But Jesus says, come with me.

Easter is breaking in.

The restoration of all things is breaking in, inviting you to turn

away from this kingdom where the forces of evil and sin and darkness

rule.

Turn away from that.

Join up with the kingdom of light and glory.

Glory is breaking in like you cannot imagine.

How many of you for today?

Are all your Good Fridays over with?

They're not, right?

But I'm telling you, I experienced church on Wednesday night

where I saw Sunday breaking in.

And it's the promise that it shall break in.

And in the history of this church with you all, I've watched

Sunday after Sunday after Sunday break in.

And there have been more Good Fridays that show up.

But then Sunday breaks in again, and it's a promise.

One day, Jesus said, I am making all things new.

One day.

I hold the keys to death in the underworld.

So let's read this story together and watch how Sunday breaks

in.

The one thing I want to tell you today is that nobody, Jesus,

is calling each of you by name, by name into the kingdom of

light and glory.

Whatever experiences you've had with Christians in Christianity,

I'm sorry if they've been bad and they've traumatized you.

I mean that.

And I also ask you to not let them determine your conclusion about

who Jesus is.

He is calling you by name from the kingdom of evil and darkness

into the kingdom of light and glory, to be reborn into it.

Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying.

As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb.

Keep going, Huddy.

She saw two angels dressed in white seated where the body of Jesus

had been, one at the head and one at the foot.

The angels asked her, woman, why are you crying?

Do you see this?

Mary is looking at this event from the vantage point of Good Friday.

That's our struggle, isn't it?

We're looking at everything from the vantage point of all that

has gone wrong.

And how could we not?

We're human.

We're looking at all of the world, including our own lives, from

the vantage point of our trauma, our suffering, our mistakes,

the prisons that were built for us and the prisons we built brick

by brick.

We're looking at everything from the vantage point of that cell

Mary is too.

She's crying and weeping because she's just been through the

trauma of Friday.

The angels are looking at it from the vantage point of Sunday

and the vantage point of the kingdom of glory and light.

So for them, crying is a little bit odd.

They're not making fun of her like, you moron.

Stop crying.

Like some Christianity that you've been a part of that was all

about toxic positivity.

Everybody was just a happy, glad robot Christian.

They're not doing that to her, not shaming her.

They're just saying, hey, what you crying about?

She replied, they've taken away my Lord and I don't know where

they've put him.

Keep going, Hudson.

As soon as she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing

there.

But she didn't know it was Jesus.

Why?

Because this fella has been transformed into glory, like where

he is.

Brilliant shining holes in his hands, still wound in his side, which

is some mystery that we won't forget what we've been through, but

we will see it fully transformed.

Did you hear what I said?

We will not forget what we've been through, but we will see it

fully transformed.

Jesus said to her, woman, why are you crying?

Who are you looking for?

Second question.

Hey, what you crying about?

Thinking he was the garden, she replied, this is the so what?

Hang on to this.

We'll get to this at the end.

Sir.

If you have carried him away, tell me where you've put him and

I will get him humble, hungry and willing.

She keeps it up and then here it is.

Did I tell you he calls each of us by name like nobody else?

Michelle.

He knows you so well.

So well.

Ugo.

He knows you so well, my friend.

The Lord knows you so well.

All of you.

She can't see him.

Mary.

She turned and said to him in Aramaic.

Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.

Rabboni, which means teacher.

Keep going, Hudson.

Jesus said, don't hold on to me.

We've got more to do.

No, wait, that didn't say that.

But it's kind of like that.

For I haven't yet gone up to my Father.

Jesus is.

Jesus came from glory, became flesh, and is going back to glory.

And he's taking all of us to glory with him.

Go to my brothers and sisters, all the people who left me for dead.

Maybe you've left faith.

You gave up.

He's still calling you.

Tell him I'm going up to my father.

To your father.

To my God.

Your God.

Mary Magdalene left and announced it to the disciples.

This outcast this rejected person, Mary, whom people looked

on probably like she was a dog.

The first missionary of the Jesus movement.

Praise God for her.

She said, I have seen the Lord.

And probably all these men looked at her like, look at this.

Look at this idiot.

She told them what he had said to her.

It was still the first day of the week, which in that time is Sunday.

That's why we get together on Sundays.

Every Sunday, did you know, is a celebration of the resurrection.

Did you know that?

Since the first movement, that's why they got together and

ate together on Sundays.

Every day was resurrection Sunday.

In a way.

They didn't forget that Fridays happen.

Everybody was like, hey, was this whole week like Friday, brother?

Yes, it was.

Got my butt kicked all week.

I had to grind all week.

And they're like, hey, brother, we get it.

But it's Sunday too, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

And he has risen.

You're still with me.

I think they said, hey, brother, we get it.

Fridays are still unfortunately part of this fallen

creation.

But he has risen.

And that's where we're heading, the restoration of all things.

Jump in.

The new creations kicked into gear.

It's like the earth, you know, my phone is always attacking me,

saying, you have new updates available, and I never want to download

it.

Well, Jesus, it's like he came and said, there's a whole new update.

There's an operating system for the earth to start downloading.

It's called the New creation.

Download it into your soul and start living for it.

That evening, Jesus came and stood among them.

This is a regular greeting in his time, but I love this.

There's just chaos, mass chaos.

And Jesus breaks in and says, you say it, go ahead.

He said, he brings us his peace.

It says that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding

will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

In Philippians, after he said this, he showed them, I told you,

we won't forget, but we'll see it transformed.

He showed him his hands and his side.

When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with, because

he is risen.

Keep going.

Jesus said to them again, as the Father sent me, I am sending.

They're so frustrated by this.

They want Jesus to come on with lightning bolts and start striking

everybody down.

God doesn't work through manipulation and force.

He works through relationship.

Relationship.

God could do it alone.

God refuses to do it alone.

He wants you.

He wants you.

So he says, I gotta go.

I'm leaving.

And so, Lucy, I'm sending you Adam.

I'm Sending you.

He doesn't leave you alone, though.

He breathed on them and received the Holy Spirit.

So guys, listen, Right at the beginning of The Bible, Genesis 1,

right at the beginning, it says there was chaos and darkness.

It's not a science textbook.

Genesis 1 is more like Hebrew poetry.

And then it says the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep,

the wind of God hovered over, and all of a sudden there was calm

to the chaos.

So Jesus is carrying that on.

There's been all this chaos, the chaos of Good Friday.

And he hovers over them with his Spirit and says, verse, receive

this.

Take it with you.

And then.

Just a minute, Hudson, stay there.

You're good, brother.

Then just like in the beginning when God said, let there

be light.

Maybe that, I don't know, maybe that's when those ancient writers

are saying they're describing the Big Bang.

In one instant there was nothing.

And then I told you about this a few weeks ago.

Then there was the inflationary period.

Anybody a big student of astrophysics in their spare time?

In a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second.

Did you get that?

In a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, the

universe expanded at a rate of 10 to the 26th power.

Everybody with me?

That's okay.

It just got bit real big, real fast in a really, really, really,

really itty bitty tiny bit of time.

The same thing happened at the resurrection when he jumped up out

of that tomb.

Jesus did.

See, here's what he did.

He took all the things that are destroying creation.

Generations of human free choices, generations destroying this

creation which is meant to be of beauty.

He takes all that stuff Jesus does with him to the tomb, but only

one guy comes out.

I said recently, Jesus in death went into a tomb and only one

guy came out.

He is risen and he did it to free you.

But it's up to you to say, I'm in.

I'll follow, I'll show up, receive the spirit, the very person

of God.

This isn't like, hey, hope it goes well.

No, I'm going with you.

In the person of the Spirit.

God is with you, inside you, changing you, making you a part of

this new creation.

Matt, you become a new creation and you help Jesus build

the new creation.

Are you with me?

Every day is an opportunity.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

I should let you know I had my first cup of coffee in over a month

today.

So I think I'd be this way anyways though, because this has

changed my life.

It's changed my life, and I hope it can change yours.

Wait, I know it can change yours.

So he sends them out, and he sends you out, too.

What time is it?

Thank you, PT what's this stirring in you?

And then I have one more thing to tell you.

What is this making you think, feel, wonder, question.

Oh, by the way, if you're new, this is when I actually want you

to say something back to me.

But we got a rather big group, so don't go more than like 30 seconds,

okay?

If you go five minutes, we might have to cut you off.

What's a stern in you?

Thankfulness, Hopeful.

God knows me.

He calls your name like no one else can.

What's this stirring in you?

Don't be shy.

God gave me the way in.

A big symbol.

As far as death.

Like, how else would he show the masses?

And how else would he show.

I know the desires of your heart.

I understand that.

I want you to live this way.

And it's hard, but I'm giving.

Joanna said, like it's stirring in her.

Like God knew we needed a way and there was no more powerful way

to make a way in the face of death, to show us, like, hey, nothing

can overcome what my love can do.

What's a stirring in you?

Kate?

Thank you for your honesty, Kate.

Kate said I wasn't going to come today.

Rough week.

Wanted to sleep in.

But then, like, today was a reminder.

Like all those things pale in comparison.

The Fridays still happen.

Good Fridays are still happening.

But Sunday's breaking in.

Kate said Jesus wasn't too busy for me.

Emptied himself, came here, became obedient.

Hudson, it's exciting to imagine the possibilities.

All things are possible.

The Scriptures say, what else?

What's it stirring in you?

Andy?

He's with us on Friday.

He doesn't just suffer for us, he suffers with us when we're crying

out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

He also cried that out.

He's with us on Friday and Sunday.

Ellie.

Yes.

Judas had betrayed him.

Peter denied him.

Thomas doubted him.

They all abandoned him.

And they were still.

He still called them friends.

What else?

Melissa?

Yes.

Melissa says this might be pessimistic, but she's still confused.

Like, how does Jesus take all those things to the tomb, so to speak,

and destroy them, but yet they're still here.

God, I wish I had an answer to that.

I really do.

I think that's why 40% of the Psalms are called laments, expressions

of sorrow toward God.

I said last week, we're pressing up against our limits with

this.

I'll keep asking that with you, Melissa.

And if we find any answers or anything, maybe we could share them

with each other.

Until then, let's just journey together and try our best.

Okay?

Thank you, Lucy.

It's part of the mystery.

Yes.

Salvation is so much bigger, brighter, more beautiful, freeing,

and mysterious than we've heard.

Yeah.

Good to see you, Emma.

Yeah.

We're gonna transition.

You just got us to the next part of the sermon.

Emma, great job.

Give Emma a round of applause for doing that.

No, I'm just kidding.

Yeah, no, go ahead.

We have a discipleship essential in our church.

If you want to know what those are, keep going with us.

We're practicing them together.

But the number two one is that we want to be humble, hungry, and

willing to seek Jesus.

It, as of this week, became one of our new pillars of Recovery

Church.

Here's why we had somebody relapse.

Relapse is a part of recovery.

This isn't Nate.

This is somebody else.

Somebody relapsed.

It was really rough, really awful.

They felt embarrassed, ashamed.

But, boy, they showed up the next week, said, I gotta step out

of my denial all over again and go Back to day one when I was

early in recovery.

I went to 90 meetings in 90 days.

In fact, I went to 365 meetings in 365 days.

I'm going back to that.

I got to go back to being.

She said it, and I was like, what did you just say?

I got to go back to being humble, hungry, and willing.

Mary Magdalene is our model.

Everything had gone wrong.

Did her hunger stop?

She says, where have you put him?

I'm not quitting.

You can't make me quit.

She's not proud, satisfied, and stubborn.

If you want to see Jesus, you have to give up being proud, satisfied,

and stubborn.

Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

For.

For they'll be filled until they're satisfied.

There's no such thing as being an expert in this.

Evan, Fruits.

Are you an expert or are you a beginner in this?

Dad, you an expert Beginner.

Okay.

I just want to make sure.

Kirsten, you an expert?

Beginning every day.

Heather.

What about you, newbie?

Today I just wanted to start over with Jesus.

It's just like someone in recovery.

A guy who had 15 years said, I'm just trying not to get drunk

today.

You keep that spirit up, you're gonna stay good.

So that's my so what to you today, it's my kind of, like, practical.

This is all great.

Ross.

But what do I do?

Keep showing up.

He's calling you by name.

Don't make the Easter the only day you show up.

Don't make Sundays the only day you show up.

Show up on Monday, fool though you may feel.

Show up on Monday in the morning.

Show up on Wednesday when you're at work with your co worker

and you're like, I hate this person so much.

Show up.

God, help me to see this person the way you do.

Oh, but also help me to see myself the way you do.

Don't make me just a mat that gets walked on, but help me to see

them me the way you do.

Be humble, hungry, willing.

And if you do, you will see the Sundays breaking into Friday.

And then one day the promises.

It's a mystery, Melissa.

One day the promises.

All things will be made new.

They will be as Jesus says, our joy will be complete.

He says, I've said these things to you, Kiersten, so that

my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete.

He's done it, Brad, so you can be a part of the restoration of all

things.

Are you an expert, Brad?

But aren't you a retired clergy person?

Hear, hear.

No experts, just beginners.

He has risen.

Let's pray.

God help us to believe.

What is so hard to believe?

I don't understand.

I'm with Melissa.

How it could be that you've dealt this decisive blow to the forces

of death and evil.

I don't totally understand that.

Help us to understand.

Help us to see, help us to believe and help us to walk with

you in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thank you for participating in the conversation happening at Heaven

Earth Church.

Your next opportunity to do so live is this Sunday morning, 9:30am

Eastern Time, either at the main campus at 3:09 East Main in

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You can always find out more by going to the church website heavenearthchurch.org

we.

Want to thank you for spending time with us today.

My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church.

And you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact

your faith story may just be beginning.

If you want more information about our church or you're interested

in the next step, you can go to heavenearthchurch.org otherwise.

We look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth

Church Podcast.