Gtcotr/ss041104
I am not one who searches the internet or reads books written by my contemporaries each week in efforts to find another good sermon to preach. However, this particular week has been an extremely busy week with all that is going on in our church; the new church we planted in Bridge City; the Russian church we began a decade ago which is undergoing pastoral transition; the new addition to our current building here, which the architects have begun hard-lining this week; the meetings on the pending sale of our former church building; working with the production staff for our live web broadcast; touching base with the COTR Health Services staff, who, by the way, have received a promising resume from a USAF DO who is interested in perhaps becoming our new resident doctor; the normal pastoral counseling and hospital visitation loads; time spent with another local independent pastor who wants to know more about COTR and asked if our church could help his church; and in my home life: caring for the horses including 3 pregnant mares which are due to deliver next month; 2 new puppies I am trying to train; then we lost another 7 ducks this week; and in my spare time I am finishing the remodeling of a garage apartment for my daughter-in-law to live in. Also there was a football game I got to attend and in the midst of the week wrote you all a church update letter which will be mailed out this coming week. O yes, our signs! This is not an abnormal week, but I felt bad for 3 days and had a hard time keeping going physically.
So, after preaching at COTR in Bridge City this past Wednesday evening and then finishing out my week in the office, I felt a bit in need of help in preparing for this all important Easter Sunday service. I do not want to waste the precious time each of you give to attend church nor the opportunity Jesus affords me to deliver a relevant message to His bride.
What I have for you today is admittedly a message someone else already preached. It is not original to me and it is possible that some of you have already heard this message. It is, nonetheless, (ST) The Best Easter Sunday Message I Have Ever Heard.
I ask for your attention as I repeat what I learned from this message.
Let me give you some background on this sermon.
* It was originally a two part sermon with 5 broad points
> Part one consisted of point one and was preached on a Sunday Morning outdoor Easter Sunrise Service
> Part two with the remaining four points was preached that same Sunday in the evening, at a more intimate home group meeting
* Not all of the regulars could be there to hear it, so this well known traveling preacher decided to come back the following week where he preached it again for those who had missed it the first time.
Here are the five points: Don’t expect me to do as good as he did.
Point #1. Go And Tell
> The preacher told how that:
* Jesus chose a woman to be the first evangelist
* He told her to proclaim His resurrection
* Some people who are looking for Jesus don’t always recognize Him, and how that:
* One word from the Master can change everything.
Point #2. Don’t Let Fear Rule Your Life
> Here he taught that:
* Even when there are reasons, we should not let fear control us
* Jesus knows where we are, even in our secret places
* We cannot lock God out of our lives
* When we least expect it and may not deserve it, Suddenly Jesus shows up with a plan
* Jesus does not mind proving nor repeating Himself
Point #3. We Are Ambassadors Of Christ
> This point teaches that:
* It‘s not over, resurrection is just the beginning
* The Christian’s duty is now as important as Jesus’ was
* A Believer has authority in the Name of Jesus
Point #4. Receive The Holy Spirit
> Here the preacher taught that:
* This was not just a suggestion, but an imperative
* The Holy Spirit is an evident necessity
* God’s presence is with His people
* Our cry, (should be) “Breath on me, Lord Jesus.”
Point #5. What We Do Makes A Difference
> Finally that Sunday night, those there heard how that:
* Jesus has transferred real power and authority to His followers.
* Christians hold a key to setting others free
I happen to have an outline of the notes from that sermon right here.
I. Go and Tell That The Resurrection Is A Reality
II. Don’t Be Afraid
III. You Have Authority In My Name
IV. I Am With You
V. What You Do Makes An Eternal Difference
In fact, I recently purchased a copy of the transcript of that preacher’s sermon. I don‘t mean to bore you, but allow me read it to you in its entirety. I don’t think that I can do Him justice, so I’m going to let Him speak for Himself. The preacher that Sunday, Jesus!
Would you turn in your bibles to that first Easter Sunday sermon.
John 20 (NLT)
1 ¶ Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!"
3 Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.
4 The other disciple outran Peter and got there first.
5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in.
6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,
7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side.
8 Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed—
9 for until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead.
10 Then they went home.
11 ¶ Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.
12 She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.
13 "Why are you crying?" the angels asked her. "Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don’t know where they have put him."
14 She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.
15 "Why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him."
16 "Mary!" Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, "Teacher!"
17 "Don’t cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God."
18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his message.
19 ¶ That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said.
20 As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!
21 He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."
24 One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.
25 They told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."
26 ¶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you."
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!"
28 "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway."
The preacher was Jesus, the sermon was His. It was so good, the message so powerful that everyone needed to hear it, but not all of the disciples were present at that first home meeting.
So, Jesus showed up the following week and proclaimed the resurrection message to those who had heard, but had not yet believed.
You know, He is still showing up each week to confirm His resurrection in the hearts, the homes and the houses of worship all over the world.
He is here today, right here, in this sanctuary, in your home, office, hotel room, in your secret place.
(2Tim 2:17-18 - error to preach it is past --- it is present!)
Won’t you hear and believe what Jesus is saying?
I. Go and Tell That The Resurrection Is A Reality
II. Don’t Be Afraid
III. You Have Authority In My Name
IV. I Am With You
V. What You Do Makes An Eternal Difference
You can leave here today and tell people that you have just heard the best Easter Sunday sermon in the world.
But what are you going to do about the message?
