Tag Archives: Resurrection

The Lord is Risen – What Now?

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“Then the disciples went back to their homes.” John 20:10

Dear Friends,

“The Lord is Risen!  He is risen indeed!”

Now what?

It’s fascinating what John tells us happened after the disciples had discovered the empty tomb.  Mary had told them what she had seen, and John and Peter ran to the tomb to see for themselves.  They saw that the tomb was, in fact, empty.  The burial cloths were lying on the ground, the face cloth was folded neatly by itself.  But then, what happened?  John tells us quite simply, “Then the disciples went back to their homes.”

In a way, this still happens today.  Seven weeks ago we started a journey called Lent, a time of reflection and preparation for the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  We start the journey with ashes, we remember the Lord’s last supper with his disciples, we read the accounts of his death.  Then comes Easter, and we celebrate the Good News of his resurrection from the dead.  We shout “He is Risen.  He is risen indeed!”

Then we go home.

Monday comes after Easter Sunday, and we go back to life as usual, exhausted from the journey, but no different than before we started.

This should not be.  Jesus spent the next 40 days leading up to his ascension teaching the disciples to go out into the world to make know what had happened.  The book of Acts recounts for us what happened when the disciples followed this call.  They preached the risen Christ because they knew the risen Christ, and they knew the new life given by the risen Christ.  Through their sharing and living the Good News lives were changed.

The risen Christ changes lives.  If we believe that Jesus Christ is risen today, let’s not just sing it and celebrate it in worship, but let us let this joyous truth transform the way we look at the world.  No longer can we simply go back to our homes, to our offices, to our classrooms: we go into the world as a mission field.  Our homes, our offices, our classrooms are now our mission, places for us to take the Good News of Christ so that lives may be changed.

Friends, in the spirit of the resurrection, go into the world and let it be known that the Lord is risen.  He is risen indeed.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Ethan

His Voice Gives Life

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“Jesus had to say, “Lazarus, come forth!” because if He had just said, “Come forth,” all the dead would have come forth.”
Matthew Henry

Dear Friends,

While preparing or the message on Sunday, I was reminded of this quote from Matthew Henry.  Such is the power of Jesus, when He called Lazarus from the tomb (John 11:43), if he had merely said, “Come forth,” hell would have been emptied and every tomb burst open.  Here stands the one through whom all things were made, and without whom “was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).  Standing before the tomb was the Word of God, the very Word that was spoken in creation bringing all things to life.  Jesus had to be careful what he said, there was power in His word.

What is truly amazing is that Jesus still calls us by name, calls us out of the tombs and into a new life with Him.  Each of us, at some point, or maybe even now, have lived in the tombs.  We may be living, but we are living in the ways of the world, following after the desires of our own hearts, living for ourselves.  We think we are alive, but the truth is, we are dead to the things of God.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).  While we were dead in our sins, Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life, called us out of the tombs, out of the death of sin, and into a new life with Him.  It is important that Jesus said He is the Resurrection and the Life (and in that order), for there is no life for those who are dead unless they have first been resurrected.  As it was for Lazarus, so it is for us today.  We are dead in our sins, and Christ calls us to life. 

When Jesus calls, his call brings the grace and forgiveness that comes with His cross.  We are set free from sin and death, and set free for life with Him.  He calls us out of a life of sin, in which we lay aside the burial cloths, those sins that bound us and trapped us, and He sets us free to a life of peace and righteousness.  He has raised us, and given us life!

Friends, Jesus is calling.  He knows your name, and He loves you.  You never have to doubt His love, He demonstrated it on the cross.  If you have heard Him calling, or if you hear Him calling today, know that the One who is the Resurrection and the Life is calling you to Himself.  Rise up out of the tombs, and begin your new life in Christ.

May the joy of the Resurrection be yours!

SDG