Made New in Life

Message Transcription

Good morning church. Happy Easter, it is so good to be with you. You feel a little further away this morning. Maybe. Maybe I seem a little further away, but that's. That's all right. Um. It is good to be with you. Uh, we are thankful, um, to those of you who have Easter lunch plans and preparations, I just want you to know. I know what time it is. I promise I'm wearing my watch. So, uh, but I have a couple of things I want to share with you and talk with you about that I think are really significant. And I hope it will bless and and deepen and enrich, uh, whatever Easter plans that you have today. Uh, for those of you who saw that video just a moment ago, Lisa talked about the power of an invitation. Uh, I've loved Tracy and Lisa's stories about how significant it is to be invited to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Uh, we have these cards in front of you on the seatbacks. These are for the folks that you're inviting. That if you want to give us their name, we're going to be praying. We have been praying. We're going to continue praying. I have mine here this morning. I'll be turning that in in just a minute. But if you have the name of someone that you've been reaching out to or inviting or hoping that they would come and receive that invitation, would you please let us know? We would love to be praying with you along with you this week.

In fact, as we talk about praying, let's do that right now. God, it is a gift to be together, to gather as your people here in this place. Along with the angels. God, your church cries holy. Your King of kings and Lord of lords. Yeah. This Easter Sunday, we are trusting and believing that you are a God who brings dead things back to life. And we're trusting and we're hoping. We're crying out that you would do it again today. In us, through us, for us. For our church, our city, our country, our world. Yeah, but you do that resurrection work again today. Would you make us new in life? Father for us to to receive that work, that gift from you. We know we're going to have to create some space. And, Lord, this Lenten season has been about trying to give something up that we might be more open and aware of your presence and the availability of your kingdom in our life. Now, this morning, we want to pause for just a moment. To offer over to you whatever it is that may threaten to distract us from hearing whatever it is that you want to say, that work you want to do in us. God, would you hear us as we offer our hearts to you in prayer? Thank you father.

Thank you for hearing. Thank you for being here with us today. Thank you for calling us once again into your presence. Thank you for the new life that you have created even in our midst today with Dwayne's baptism. God, thank you for his commitment to following you. Thank you for the new families you bring to us all the time. Thank you for the hope that we find and hold together in Christ. Father. Thank you. And now, Lord, may the words of my mouth and meditation of each and every heart be acceptable and pleasing unto you. Oh, God, our rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Amen. Well, if you have your Bible with you, I invite you to open over to first Corinthians 15, the passage that Melanie read for us just a moment ago. As you're making your way there, I want to invite you to remember perhaps this not too terribly theological television program that was in the 90s called Seinfeld. There was an episode where Jerry meets a police officer and she's an attractive lady, so he decides to ask her out on a date. And at some point in the conversation in the precinct, they're talking, and she brings up this. You would never believe all the all the famous people who've been in our precinct. And he goes, really? He goes, yeah, you remember that show Melrose Place? Do you watch Melrose Place? Jerry pauses for a moment.

No. You've never seen Melrose Place? No. Really? Hey, Bill, I think we need to put Jerry on a lie detector. Have him have a polygraph. I think you're lying to me. And Jerry says, no, I would never lie. Right. So Jerry agrees to to take the polygraph as well as the story kind of unfolds. He doesn't know what to do because he, in fact, has been watching Melrose Place, right? Every week his friends gather around to watch it. He knows every detail well, as he's talking with his friend George, who is an amazing liar, if you will. Uh, the best that he knows, he says, George, can you give me some advice? How do I beat the polygraph? And George says, hey, man, that's like asking Pavarotti, can you teach me how to sing? I mean, I just know how to do it. He goes, please, you've got to help me. And so Jerry's walking away from the cafe and George stops him. He goes, hey, Jerry, remember one thing. It's not a lie, okay? If you believe it. Jerry. Oh, okay. It's interesting advice, isn't it? And maybe it cuts a little too close to home. It's not a lie if you believe it. Do you remember the last time you were caught in a lie? I was looking this week about some research. How often do people lie? Here are just a few.

Kind of a hodgepodge of some of the recent stats that I came across about people in line. Supposedly 60% of people lie at least once in a ten minute conversation. Men tend to lie six times a day on average, women three times a day. 40% of people lie on their resumes. 90% of people lie on their online dating profiles. You can probably add that to Facebook or, you know, X or whatever is your media of choice. Who gets lied to the most? Mom and dad. Sorry, you are numero uno. Like 90 something percent of people said they've lied to their parents. Now how many of you have lied to your parents before? Come on. All right. The rest of you are a bunch of liars. You're lying in church. Don't do it. Don't you do it right. Friends are number two, siblings are number three. And all my siblings are like, Amen and amen. Uh, spouses are fourth. Now, what I thought was interesting, they said between 2 and 3 years old, is the first time a child learns to lie or lies. Now, how many of you remember lying at 2 or 3 years old? Right? You're all lying right down because that's the truth, right? Something about lying. Now, you may be wondering, Carl, this is Easter Sunday, like Resurrection Sunday. Why are we talking about lying? Well, I think it's important because in Paul's day, this was a topic of concern when it came to the resurrection.

Is this true or is it a lie because Paul was convinced, if this is true, it changes everything. It changes how we live. It changes how we see other people. If not, Paul says it, then we're we have a different situation on our hands. In fact, I want you to to look at these words again. We're going to back up a couple of verses before the passage Melanie read as we look at Paul as he's been writing his letter to the church in Corinth, who, if you haven't read it, I invite you to go back and read it this week. It's a pretty wild story of all the craziness happening in Corinth. But one of those crazy things going on was people were saying, the resurrection. It's a lie. It's not true. It didn't happen. And not only that, they've been doing some other things. And so Paul's been working them through this letter saying, okay, we got to remember who we are. We got to remember when we are, we are part of God's story. And his story is playing itself out in history, in reality. And you're a part of that. So don't forget who you are. Don't forget where you are when you are. This is how Paul starts chapter 15. He says, for I handed on to you as of first importance. What I in turn had received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas.

Peter. Then to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me. Paul says, I began by sharing with you what had been shared with me. I have given to you what was first given to me. And then he begins to recount the story of our faith, right? That that Christ came on our behalf. You heard that this morning as we gathered around the table, right? Athanasius family shared with us the power of of that gift of Jesus life, that love. He loves us. But not only that, he died for us. He was willing to pay the price that we could never pay. And he was buried also as he was dead, he was dead heard and dead. He was dead in a tomb. But. He didn't stay that way. On the third day, he rose again and he appeared. It's an amazing part of the story. Paul is saying, don't forget our story. You're a part of that now. It was all part of the plan.

This wasn't some unexpected blip on the radar from the very beginning at creation. We know this story was part of what God was doing in the world. You see, Paul is helping them to learn how to live in light of this story. That's what we've been trying to do together this Lenten season, right? To step away from some of the things that distract us from the truth of the gospel story, that the tomb is empty. That's our story. And so we've been trying to set that aside so that we could focus again on the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. Because, see, if this is a lie, if this, especially this part of the story, is a lie, what's the point? And that's the question that that Paul is going to ask. Here's how Paul continues. Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, right. That's the story I've been sharing with you. It was the story given to me. It's the story I'm giving to you. How can some of you say there's no resurrection? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise. If it's true that the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you're still in your sins. And those who have also died in Christ, they've perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. If there is no resurrection. Paul says, your faith is futile. Now for Paul, you remember, faith is not just this idea of a belief, something that we believe in. For Paul, faith was active. It was dynamic. It was the sense of faith working itself out in action. You know, in English, we don't have a good translation of, of faith from the noun to faith as the verb right faith thing that just doesn't quite roll off the tongue like you hope it would. But that's really the sense in which Paul used that word. They they were faithing in Jesus. They were they were laying it all out and living in light of this amazing story. But some were challenged that their faith was being put to the test. What do you really have faith in? What are you really facing by? How are you living out your faith? You see, as Christians, our belief in the resurrection means we're going to faith different than others who don't have that same belief. We're going to live differently in light of that.

I've been talking recently of this upcoming election. Maybe you've heard something about it, but it's this November. Right now. Why have we been talking about that over and over again? Because I'm convinced you're going to see some faith thing in the next several months. What people really believe is the central part of our story. And you're going to hear some try to convince you that the most important faith thing you could do is faith in the right candidate, and put your hope and vote in the right one, because that's what's going to help us. And others are going to say, no, no, no. It's this faith thing you need to do. Well, Paul says, listen, listen, friends, if the resurrection didn't happen. Doesn't matter. None of this matters. In fact, he says, your faith is futile and you're still living in your sins. Not only that, you've been misrepresenting God to all the people. And I imagine God's going to have something to say to you about that. But you've been misrepresenting him by all this resurrection talk, by trying to order your life in a different way so that Caesar isn't Messiah, but Jesus is. And because Jesus is, then what Jesus says is what I do, he says, but if faith. If resurrection didn't happen, it's a lie. And if it's a lie, well, then those who've died in Christ, they're just dead. They're gone.

Now, those of us who have experienced a little bit of death in the last few years, right. That's an important verse for us. And we we've been risking our whole life on. My mom risked her whole life on the belief that the resurrection was true. And so she lived a particular way, and some people thought she was crazy. But she was faithing and she was living out that belief, that understanding. And Paul says, if there's no resurrection, then it's not just that you have an erroneous belief. You're misunderstood. Right? He says it's futile. It's worthless. Right? He's going to go on a little bit later in the chapter and talk about, I mean, if the resurrection didn't happen, then why did we get baptized for dead people? And we're kind of going, okay, what? Well, uh, what do we talk? And he says, and if and if the resurrection didn't happen, then why was I fighting all those wild beasts in Ephesus? And you're going, uh, okay. Do we back that up a little bit? What are you talking about? Fighting wild? We don't really know, right? If you look up a scholar, try to get some understanding commentary on what this verse is. What you'll often read is we don't know. Now we think this, but we're not really sure. But the point of it all is, is if if the resurrection didn't happen, then it's just a story, friends, and you're wasting your time.

In fact, Paul says so far he goes so far as to say, if it's not true, then of all the people on the planet, we're the most to be pitied because deluded ourselves. And we lived a certain way. In fact, he he appeals to a pagan poet of the day. That's might as well live and eat, because tomorrow we die. But Paul says, if if the resurrection did happen, if it's true, well, then that changes everything. Paul reminds them of the good news this way. These words Melanie refers just a moment ago, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. Church, can we say Amen? Christ has been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human, a man. The resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, a man, Jesus. As for all die in Adam, so all are made alive in Christ. But each in its own order. I, Paul, will go on to say there's a particular order that's happening, and it's this appeal back to the creation story, that there's this beautiful order and set up that one day Jesus will return, and in that day he will defeat death. For Paul and the early Christians and even the early Jews, death was the enemy. You never read something where Paul says, hey, don't worry about those who died.

Don't. It's not a big deal. Right. I don't know, death is the enemy. And again, those of us who had to face death, who've had to stare death eyeball to eyeball, some of us are doing that right now. We're facing a diagnosis or a situation. We're facing a relationship where death is staring us eye to eye and we feel the weight of it. And Paul says, if the resurrection didn't happen, well then good luck with all that. But if it happened, if that tomb really is empty, then we serve a God who brings dead things back to life, who is able to restore and renew any relationship, who was able to bring about hope and love and peace in situations that seem long gone. You see, the point of resurrection is that death has been defeated. And because of that, now we get to reorder our lives by the help of Jesus. To say on this Easter Sunday, and we proclaim every Sunday, but especially on this Easter Sunday, the tomb is empty. That the Savior has been raised back to life. And he's appeared. It's not just a story. We tell each other to feel better at night. And Paul said he appeared to all these people, over 500 of them at one time, and those stories continued to get passed down and that life continued to be passed down to us. You see, Jesus made this promise to his first disciples, if you believe, if you put your faith, if you start faithing in me, if you risk it all on me, if you will trust me, he says, you'll live even if you die, because the resurrection means death isn't the end of the story.

Death isn't the final stage of any person's life. Instead, it's just the next stage. It's ushering us into glory. Paul says, because of the resurrection, I live differently, and so should you, and so should we. It's the central tenet of our faith. Without it, life is meaningless. But with it, oh, everything is different. God. Thank you that the tomb is empty. Thank you that Jesus is not still in the grave, but you have raised him to life. Thank you for the hope and the joy and the fulfillment that we find in discovering that Savior who can bring new life into the dead parts of our life. And God, for some of us this morning, it may be our health or physical health. God, I've experienced that. Lord, would you breathe your new resurrection life into us? Would you make us new again in life? God. For some of us, we're dealing with a relationship that just seems insurmountable. Got. Some of us are facing problems and challenges at work and are in our school and our neighborhood that just seem insurmountable. Yet some of us see the the world just coming apart.

It's not the way you intended it to be, and the temptation is to live into a lesser story. God, would you remind us again today that the tomb is empty, that resurrection? It's not a lie. It's the truth. It's the most true thing about us. And because of that God, we can live differently. So, God, would you help us to commit to living differently this week? Would you send us forth in resurrection power to know that no matter what diagnosis, we're wrestling with God, you are with us. And no matter where this road goes, you are with us. And we are with you. And so where the road leads, we'll go. Yeah. Would you remind us in that relationship that just seems. It just seems dead. God, would you bring new life to it? And it may be a hard road, it may be a long road. But God, it's a road that we don't have to walk alone. You're with us and we're with you. God, would you would you make us new again? Lord, whatever circumstance we're facing. And I know a lot of we're facing them. God, would you help us to face them in light of the truth that that the tomb is empty, that Jesus has been raised. And because of that, everything is different? Thank you father. Thank you for the life we share in this resurrection. Promise the truth. Lord, would you make us new? In Jesus name, Amen.