Easter 2009

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; HE HAS RISEN!"

HE'S ALIVE, HE'S ALIVE, HE'S ALIVE, HE HAS BEEN RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. HE'S ALIVE SO WE MIGHT LIVE ALSO.

Good morning, my dear Brothers and sisters, what a great morning ... what a great day to be alive and even greater when you are alive in our Lord Jesus. Please let's just start the day with prayer ...

Dear Father in Heaven, we are so blessed because of You and Your Son Jesus, we are so blessed because we serve a Risen Savior and not someone or something with no hope for us. Today we want to give thanks to Jesus for going to the cross for us, for taking our sins with Him to the cross. Father, thanks to the cross, we can be free this morning. Bless Your children today Lord, as you have washed us clean of all sin and shame, let us, with Your help, repent of sin and walk with You. Keep us safe this day, oh Lord, and may Your churches be full today and all Pastors preach the truth, the truth of our risen Savior. In the mighty name of Jesus, I humble, bow, and give thanks ... Amen.

Easter 2009: Picture this morning that you and a friend go out early to the cemetery to put some fresh flowers on the grave of a dear friend, or relation. You get to the cemetery at first light and something feels different, something looks different, but you have never been to the cemetery at first light. You park your car and get the flowers out, and as you walk to the grave site of your friend or family member, you notice that there are grave sites sort of open. So your first thinking is that some folks might have been buried late the afternoon of the day before and you are thinking that the workers will arrive soon and fill in the open graves. Then you get to the grave site you came to put the flowers on. This grave is open also and the heavy vault lid is up on the ground and the casket lid is open and your loved one's body is gone. How would you feel? Would you be scared?

When our Lord Jesus was placed in the tomb, and the tomb sealed, and guards placed at the tomb for security reasons on that day we call good Friday, then on the very first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, went to the tomb. They were going there to put spices on the body of Jesus, when they arrived they found the STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY, and the guards who were standing there were as stone statues. When they went looking into the tomb, an Angel of the Lord came upon them and asked them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" "Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee. 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'". Then they remember His words. (Luke 24: 5B,6,7,8 NIV)

Folks there is not one question in my mind that this happened. It is recorded in my Bible and I believe my Bible, God's Holy Word, that this all happened, and I also HAVE FAITH, that it did. Folks, for the nonbeliever this event is recorded in history and there is no way that anyone can say it did not happen. People saw Jesus killed, they saw Him buried, and as we find out in our coming lessons that Jesus walked and talked again with folks here on earth before He goes up into heaven to sit at the right hand of our Father in Heaven to judge us as we come to get into heaven.

Yes folks, we serve a Risen Savor, we do not serve a piece of iron, or a stone statue, or anything else, or at least we should not. We serve Jesus our Lord only and folks HE IS ALIVE, I SAID HE IS ALIVE! Praise God, Praise God, Praise God ... AMEN, AND AMEN.

So folks, how would you feel if you were in the sandals of one of the women? Would you have questions, would you be frightened at first? Think about it ... You saw this man, your wonderful Friend Jesus put to death on the cross, you saw Him taken down and taken to the tomb. You saw all of this with your very own eyes, and then three days later you go to the tomb and see He is gone. Your first thought is that someone stole His body, and then You are told He is alive. You are shocked, then the angel of the Lord reminded you of the words of Jesus, these words ... "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." You are sort of at peace, but not really, really sure at this point. So you are walking along a road talking to each other about this when Jesus comes up to you and walked along with you. But you did not really know who this man was. Jesus then asks you, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" (Luke 24: 17 NIV) You tell this man Jesus who you did not know at first because Jesus wanted it that way ... After talking about this for a period of time and as evening came on you arrive at your home and you still did not know this man who started walking with you as Jesus blocked you from knowing. You invite Jesus to stop and stay over as it was getting late. When you were at the table to eat, Jesus picked up bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and then he opened your eyes so you might see Him. He is alive, He is alive, HE IS ALIVE. You are so excited you now want to tell everyone.

So, now let us go back to our visit to the local cemetery, and you are standing around that grave of the loved one, and you see the other graves open. What happened the night before, you are thinking, who wanted to rob all these graves, you ask yourself. Then you started to remember about Jesus and the stories about Jesus but you did not take it seriously, you put off this personal relationship, and now you are finding out that Jesus returned the night before and as He promised He would. He came back to get His family, the family of believers, those who were BORN AGAIN. Oh how you hated those words, BORN AGAIN. You went to church once in a while, in fact most of the time you went two, even three times a year. You were a good person, you said you believed in God, but you never asked Jesus into your heart and confessed to Him your love for Him. It is too late, you missed the call. Jesus has returned ...

My dear brothers and sisters, in these days of fighting, of downturn in the economy, when you see killings on the street, when you have loved ones serving in Iraq or some other hotspot in the world, when all else seems to be falling apart, there is hope today. I tell you, my dear brothers and sisters, there is hope in our Jesus, OUR RISEN SAVIOR. THERE IS HOPE, AND A BETTER PLACE AHEAD OF US. Someday our Lord Jesus will return, and I don't know when, it could be today, it could be a thousand years away ... not even Jesus knows, only our Father in Heaven, only God The Father. But why wait? Don't miss the boat, so to speak. Put in for your sure entrance to Heaven. Block the space now by just coming to Jesus.. All this is real, will you join me now and either book your spot, or if you have done this already, then renew this Easter Sunday. Remember Jesus is alive, you are not serving the dead but the living Savior. Jesus is alive, alive. Will you join me right now? Do you have the faith this day to start walking with Jesus? I cannot pray this one for you, only lead you ...

Dear Father in Heaven ... Forgive me this day of my sins. I do believe in Jesus as my Savior and I want to book my place in Heaven right now, I do not want to let it go another minute. Help me to repent of my sins and walk the best I can in the footprints of Jesus. I want to live to please Him, I want to serve Him. I want to be given life after death. I have the faith now Father, help me. In the name of Jesus, I believe and pray ... Amen.

Go forth now, have a great Easter, and remember to share your blessings. love ya, dan.