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We are going to turn to God's word.

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And on this Resurrection
Sunday, we're thinking about journeys.

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We often think Holy Week is
the journey that Jesus makes, not

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only to Jerusalem, but through
Jerusalem to the cross.

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But actually what was
accomplished through the cross and

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Resurrection Sunday is as much
a journey as any other part of the

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story that leads us to Easter.

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And I think for those of us
who live here in this part of the

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world, we know what making
journeys are like.

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Because if you want to go
anywhere, well, you have to turn

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to the left or to the right.

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You head to Kilkeel, you head
to Newcastle, and if you're really

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brave, you'll go over the
mountains and you'll go through Hilltown

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and Rathfa Island.

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But really, let's be honest,
it's a nightmare.

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I know people will travel and
flock here and that's great, but

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they only have to do it once,
spend a week and then disappear.

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But for some of you, you do
that every single day.

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And it can get tiresome
because we know that we all have

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a decision.

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Much like the mission of last
year, life at the crossroads.

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Thought about, we live at a
crossroads where you have to make

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a decision.

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Are you going to go straight
on are to you going, are you going

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to go right or are you going
to go left to find out wherever you

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want to go?

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Because there's very few roads
in and out of Anna Long, but we know

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that that's the price we pay
for living in such a beautiful part

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of the world.

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Well, this morning a few folks
made the journey to Ross Trevor.

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And if you want to take the
register, there they are.

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And it was the presbytery dawn
service and the journey began in

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darkness as most of us left
before 6:00'.

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Clock.

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And by the time we made it to
the shore front, because we couldn't

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go up to the big stone as we
normally do, well, there was an inkling

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of light.

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Well, perhaps this year more
than any other year, there's more

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of an inkling.

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And it was actually quite bright.

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And once the service was over,
we either made our way for breakfast

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in Rust Trevor church hall, or
we made our way home to get ready

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to come out to worship this morning.

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And so whether our journey is
down the road or whether it's further

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away, there's always three
stages to every journey.

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Number one is getting there,
the journey that you're taking to

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get there.

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The second thing is being there.

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There's a purpose for why you
go, be it long or short.

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And then thirdly, it's about
leaving that journey home.

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No matter how long each of
these stages take, well, they have

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to go in that order.

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Otherwise it's not a journey
at all.

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And the story of Resurrection
Sunday is very much a story of.

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Of a journey.

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We see at least three women
going to the garden tomb, spending

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time there, and then leaving.

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And when they awoke on that
first Easter Sunday morning, they

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had expected to do all of
these things in one particular way.

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Go to the garden tomb, do what
they had to do in the preparation

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of the body, and then go home.

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But it ended up being
completely different.

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Now, whenever you think of the
week that Holy Week is, it is an

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unbelievable week in many respects.

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But whenever we take it down
to the human level of those who experienced

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it as it happened, it was
truly an unbelievable week for Jesus

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family and his friends.

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Not only has it been Passover,
and that was a big thing in itself,

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it was the busiest and the
biggest of the festivals the Jews

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celebrated in the year.

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It was that annual celebration
and pilgrimage of going up to Jerusalem,

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quite literally up to the city
on a hill.

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They would sing the psalms as
they would go, the Hallel Psalms

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of Hallelujah, Psalms that are
in the mid-1002 and tens through

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118.

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But the week leading up to
that Sunday morning, it had been

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one of joy and celebration.

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But as the days went on, that
joy that they experienced became

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the depths of their sorrows.

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Because Jesus, as we know, was
welcomed into Jerusalem as a king

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on that Palm Sunday.

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And he died a murderer's death
just a few days later on Friday afternoon.

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And amidst the fullness of
emotions and the inability to comprehend

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what was going on and what had
happened, it turns out on this Easter

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Sunday morning, the rituals
and the rites of death still had

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to be observed.

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And so the first day of the
week began by Jewish time at sunset

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on Saturday, when the Sabbath
officially ended.

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This was now the time to go
about and do your work and whatever

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business you needed to do.

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And so the women had gone to
buy the spices that they had needed

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and or that they would need to
prepare the body.

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Why had that not been done?

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Because if you remember what
happened on Good Friday, Jesus body

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had been taken down from the
cross and it had to be buried quickly

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because it was the start of
the Sabbath.

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And so everything had to be
done within just a matter of an hour

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or two.

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And so the women had no
opportunity to prepare the body as

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they normally would.

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And so they've had to wait,
now that the Sabbath is over, to

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go and prepare it.

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So having bought all of those
things that they needed, the spices

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and the herbs the night before.

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They were ready to set out
early on the Sunday morning.

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And in his Gospel, John tells
us that it was dark when they started

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their journey.

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And by the time that they
arrived at the garden tomb, well,

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it was early dawn.

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Now, Luke, in the passage that
we read, doesn't give us much detail

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of their conversation, but
from Mark's perspective, he tells

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us that their conversation was
a very practical one, because in

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chapter 16 and verse three, he
says, and they asked each other,

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who will roll the stone away
from the entrance of the tomb?

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Well, that's a very practical question.

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It was a question that really
needed an answer because as we know

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of the accounts, on Good
Friday Jesus was led in a new tomb

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and a stone had been rolled in
front of it.

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And so how were these women
going to maneuver this stone?

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Because of gravity?

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They would have to push it
uphill because it went into a little

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channel and sat in a groove.

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So they knew what they were
going to do.

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They knew what they had to do
to do it.

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And their conversation,
according to Mark was one as well.

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How are we even going to get
into the tomb?

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But when they arrived at the
tomb, they realized that the whole

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chat about the stone was
pointless because as we read in Luke

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24:2, they found the stone
rolled away from the tomb.

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It wasn't there.

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Although their conversation
had been important and meaningful

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to them with what they thought
they were going to, it now was presented

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to them as meaningless because
the stone wasn't there.

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The biggest obstacle to what
they needed to do was quite literally

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rolled away.

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And this got their attention.

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And they must have known
something was up.

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And it wasn't a joyful sense,
it was a foreboding.

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It was a sense that
something's not right in a bad way.

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And perhaps they thought the worst.

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Perhaps they thought that the
enemies of Jesus, those who had gone

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against him again and again
and again, had taken his dead body

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to.

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To dispose of it in an
inappropriate way in their minds.

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Perhaps they thought these
enemies of Jesus thought that Jesus

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didn't deserve a proper
burial, and so they did something

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with his body to continue the
shame that they wanted to heap upon

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him.

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Or maybe they thought that
some others had come to make the

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same preparations that they
had come to make.

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Well, before they can
contemplate which of these things

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had happened, all of a sudden
before them, two men appear.

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And did you hear how they were described?

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They were bright like lightning.

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This was not normal.

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This was unusual.

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Luke describes it for Us in
verse four, while they were wondering

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about this, suddenly two men
in clothes that gleamed like lightning

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stood beside them.

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Now these two men appeared.

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And as the mystery of the
rolled away stone faded into their

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minds of what was important
now, this new scene, these two new

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men, gleaming as bright as
lightning, standing beside them,

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have their focus.

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And they come with good news.

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And so these women are the
first to hear the good news of the

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Gospel.

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And in an act of reverence and
in an act of fear as well as an act

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of awe, the women bow down to
the ground.

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And although not called angels
here in verse 4, the report given

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of these women later in verse
23 tells us that they describe them

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as angels.

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Now, our modern culture has
taught us to believe that seeing

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an angel is the most
comforting thing that we can know.

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But in reality, for God's
people, when an angel appears, it

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is something to fear.

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Angels would normally be
bearers of news of judgment.

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And so the women fall to the ground.

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But the message they receive
is not what they expect.

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At the end of verse five, they
are first asked the question.

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And it is perhaps a pretty
silly question to be asked in the

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minds of these women, because
they are asked, why do you look for

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the living among the dead?

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Now why wouldn't they be
looking for a body in a tomb in a

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graveyard?

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Jesus, after all, had been
crucified two days before.

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And to prove that he was truly
dead, John tells us that when they

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came to Jesus and found that
he was already dead, they did not

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break his legs.

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Instead, one of the soldiers
pierced Jesus side with a spear,

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bringing a sudden flow of
blood and water.

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And that's what John tells us
in John 19.

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And they did this to make
double sure that in fact Jesus had

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died on the cross.

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And in one respect it was
another act of brutality.

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And so, with a mix of blood
and water being released, it was

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mostly that piercing the side
upwards pierced the pericardium,

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which is the sac that that
surrounds the heart.

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But they will also have
pierced the heart as well.

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These were professionals in
their jobs.

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The Romans made sure Jesus was dead.

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So why wouldn't these women go
to a graveyard to look for the dead?

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No one could have survived
this piercing, never mind the crucifixion.

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And so as the women hear this
question from these two gleaming

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men, knowing the death that
Jesus died, they hear these words

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that they will never Forget in
verses 6 and 7.

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He is not here.

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He has risen.

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Remember how he told you while
he was still with you in Galilee,

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the Son of man must be
delivered into the hands of sinful

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men, be crucified, and on the
third day be raised again.

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And so for these women, it's
now starting to make sense, because

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verse 8 confirms that they did
indeed remember those words as they

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were retold to them.

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They probably didn't
understand what Jesus was saying

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at the time.

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But now, in the warm light of
that spring morning on that first

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resurrection Sunday, it is as
clear to them as the sun in the sky,

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the rolled away stone, the
empty tomb and the promise Jesus

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made.

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He wasn't dead, he was alive.

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And the next moments aren't
recorded for us in Luke's gospel,

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but we can be left in no
shadow of doubt that this news was

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both something to be
celebrated and something to be understood.

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And with this, they now leave
the tomb and they go and tell the

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disciples.

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And what about the disciples?

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Well, they don't believe them.

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Like the women in those first
moments at the tomb, what they're

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hearing is so incomprehensible
that it can't be true.

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They believe.

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And Luke says that it seemed
like nonsense to them.

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But with Peter leading the
way, they rush to the tomb.

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And it's now Peter who
confirms that it is indeed empty.

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There is no body, but there is something.

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And the strips of linen cloth remain.

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You see, no one takes the time
to steal a body and remove the linen

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strips.

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No, they take it all.

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So why would they even choose
to leave strips cloth behind if Jesus

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hadn't risen from the dead?

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And once again, like the
women, Peter goes away, unable to

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understand everything that he
has just seen and heard.

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How could it be?

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And like Peter, regardless of
how many times you have read this

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00:13:41,510 --> 00:13:45,070
story and how many Easters
that you've lived through, is there

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anything more marvelous to
hear than that death could not hold

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him because the Father would
not allow his Holy One to see corruption?

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And as that day continues, the
scene moves from the morning hours

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and takes us to the Sunday
afternoon and evening and the road

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to a mess.

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And I love the account of that
journey to Emmaus.

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And we're going to be looking
at that this evening whenever we

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come for evening worship.

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But for now, let's think about
what we learn from the first verses

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in Luke 24.

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You know, people have read
this story for centuries, and as

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people have read it, they've
done two things with it.

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They've either believed it or
they've rejected it.

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They've either believed that
it is true or they've rejected it,

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00:14:37,900 --> 00:14:39,540
saying that it is a lie.

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They say it's A myth, they
say, that no one comes back from

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death.

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00:14:45,780 --> 00:14:48,660
It's just not scientifically
possible, they say.

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But God's word tells us in
Acts, chapter 2 and verse 24.

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But God raised him from the
dead, freeing him from the agony

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of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its

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hold on him.

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You see, it was by no elements
around him that Jesus rose from the

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dead.

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It wasn't resuscitation that
brought him back to life.

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It was the act of God, who can
do all things, that brought Jesus

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back from the dead.

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Because to the grave, Jesus
had to go.

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Presbyterian pastor and
commentator R.C.

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Sproul says this death had no
claim on him whatsoever.

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Though he died for the sins of
people, Jesus remained sinless, and

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corruption had no title to him.

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Death had no title to him.

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And so he got up and he walked
out of the tomb.

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Do we understand why Jesus
couldn't remain dead?

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He was perfect.

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00:16:00,330 --> 00:16:02,090
He didn't do anything wrong.

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He was innocent on the cross
as much as he was innocent in life.

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And because of that innocence,
he was the only one who could take

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00:16:11,330 --> 00:16:16,650
the punishment we deserve for
our sins because death could not

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00:16:16,650 --> 00:16:21,280
hold him, because death could
not charge him, because there was

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no sin within him.

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00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:28,960
How unlike us the Savior is,
where sin entangles us and ensnares

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00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:30,760
us day and daily.

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And this is the amazing truth
of resurrection.

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Sunday.

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Yes, Jesus is alive.

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00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:41,120
It took a group of women and
some apostles to make a journey to

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the tomb, to spend some time
there and to leave it to return home.

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And what did they do when they did?

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00:16:47,870 --> 00:16:51,310
Well, just like the shepherds
leaving the manger scene, they told

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everyone whom they saw.

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00:16:54,670 --> 00:17:00,470
And that message continues to
this day that we still speak of the

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empty tomb because it is the
truth the world needs to hear.

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00:17:04,830 --> 00:17:10,590
Just as they saw the empty
tomb, so it changed their understanding.

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00:17:11,710 --> 00:17:14,190
And it also must change ours.

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00:17:15,780 --> 00:17:21,460
You see, what did change them,
it turns out it wasn't looking at

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00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:24,260
an angel that didn't change them.

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00:17:24,660 --> 00:17:26,180
It was what the angel said.

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00:17:26,180 --> 00:17:31,300
And it was in that little line
that Luke records for us that Jesus

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00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:36,420
had done and was about to do
everything he had said.

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00:17:37,060 --> 00:17:41,130
You see, it turns out it was
the very words of Jesus himself that

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caused them to believe and
understand what was happening.

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00:17:47,130 --> 00:17:50,410
No work of Jesus, and
certainly not his last and greatest,

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00:17:50,570 --> 00:17:53,290
has been without accompanying words.

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00:17:54,010 --> 00:17:56,250
No event has been left unexplained.

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00:17:56,570 --> 00:18:00,450
The disciples know the words
of Jesus and need to be reminded

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00:18:00,450 --> 00:18:05,290
of them in that moment, as the
disciples in every generation continue

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00:18:05,290 --> 00:18:06,970
to tell the truth of the Savior.

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00:18:08,050 --> 00:18:11,570
Michael Wilcox A British
commentator says the first step in

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00:18:11,570 --> 00:18:15,370
the way of salvation is to
begin to see that life does make

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00:18:15,370 --> 00:18:15,810
sense.

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00:18:16,050 --> 00:18:19,450
And it is the teaching of
Jesus which enables men and women

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00:18:19,450 --> 00:18:20,130
to see this.

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00:18:20,610 --> 00:18:22,930
And that's what must draw us
this day.

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00:18:23,570 --> 00:18:27,370
To believe in a resurrected
Savior, we are to take him quite

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00:18:27,370 --> 00:18:28,930
literally at his word.

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00:18:29,410 --> 00:18:33,890
We must remind ourselves of
what Jesus said, how he is the fulfillment

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00:18:33,890 --> 00:18:35,510
of the Old Testament prophecy and.

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00:18:35,820 --> 00:18:38,940
And when he declared himself
the Messiah and Savior of the world,

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00:18:39,180 --> 00:18:43,940
that is exactly who he is, as
demonstrated not just on Calvary's

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00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:47,180
cross, but in the empty tomb.

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00:18:48,540 --> 00:18:52,380
Now, you may not have made the
journey to Rose Trevor this morning

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00:18:52,380 --> 00:18:53,340
for the dawn service.

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You may not have stayed a
while and then come home again.

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00:18:56,700 --> 00:19:00,500
But there is no question that
we are each invited on a journey

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00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:01,420
to the tomb.

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00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:07,120
We may not walk to that garden
where Christ was buried, but we must

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00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,400
go as those women and
disciples of old did, to see the

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00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:16,040
stone rolled away, to see the
grave clothes lying there and the

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00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:17,360
body resurrected.

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00:19:17,679 --> 00:19:22,320
To hear the words of Jesus and
know them to be true, and to walk

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00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:29,260
away with full assurance that
Jesus is alive and he has defeated

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00:19:29,340 --> 00:19:35,180
death so that death will have
no more hold on him and on his people.

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00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:38,860
See, Easter is truly amazing.

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00:19:39,340 --> 00:19:42,420
That's what the girls and boys
are learning right now, just how

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00:19:42,420 --> 00:19:46,940
amazing it is, because it
demonstrates to us the amazing power

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00:19:46,940 --> 00:19:50,780
of Christ who conquered death
so that we could trust him with our

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00:19:50,780 --> 00:19:54,060
mortal bodies and our immortal souls.

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00:19:55,320 --> 00:20:00,240
I wonder, will you today know
this Resurrection Sunday as the day

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00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,520
of your salvation in Christ
because of what he has done for us

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00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,600
and because of why we celebrate?

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00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:13,840
The journey to Christ and with
Christ is to be lifelong, and it

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00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:18,360
is the only journey that will
see us into eternity in heaven.

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00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:24,020
Paul tells us in First
Corinthians 15 and verses 55 to 57,

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00:20:24,020 --> 00:20:27,060
as he quotes Hosea 13 and
verse 14.

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00:20:27,060 --> 00:20:28,820
O death, where is your victory?

354
00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:30,980
O death, where is your sting?

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00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:34,820
The sting of death is sin, and
the power of sin is the law.

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00:20:35,140 --> 00:20:41,140
But thanks be to God who gives
us the victory through our Lord Jesus

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00:20:41,140 --> 00:20:46,460
Christ, Christ's journey for
us to the cross, his resurrection

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00:20:46,460 --> 00:20:49,070
from the grave, and his
ascension into heaven pass.

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00:20:49,220 --> 00:20:51,460
Tell us what he has achieved
for us.

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00:20:52,180 --> 00:20:54,980
So let me ask you this
morning, which one of us doesn't

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00:20:54,980 --> 00:20:56,420
want to be found in heaven?

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00:20:57,940 --> 00:21:00,660
Honestly, who doesn't want to
be in heaven?

363
00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:06,660
A place of great celebration,
a place of great joy, and a place

364
00:21:06,820 --> 00:21:10,500
of eternal glory in the
presence of the Father.

365
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:16,220
The only way that we can know
we're in heaven will be in heaven.

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00:21:16,780 --> 00:21:18,380
Is to trust in Jesus.

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00:21:21,820 --> 00:21:26,860
Which one of us this day
doesn't want that assurance of salvation?

368
00:21:27,580 --> 00:21:31,380
Who would tell me that they're
happy with the weight of this world

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00:21:31,380 --> 00:21:34,940
and the sin that so easily
entangles each and every one of us,

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00:21:35,180 --> 00:21:40,380
that weighs us down, makes us
grumpy, makes us sad, makes us weep.

371
00:21:41,460 --> 00:21:42,820
Who doesn't want to get rid of that?

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00:21:44,420 --> 00:21:48,180
You see, there's no good works
of our own that can ever change that.

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00:21:48,740 --> 00:21:53,900
It is only Jesus, our
resurrected Savior, in whom we can

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00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:58,780
know salvation, that wonderful
promise and assurance that no matter

375
00:21:58,780 --> 00:22:04,260
what this life throws at us,
there is a day coming when he will

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00:22:04,340 --> 00:22:05,540
truly take us home.

377
00:22:06,430 --> 00:22:09,310
And I dare you to tell me that
you don't want that.

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00:22:12,750 --> 00:22:16,750
So when confronted with
Christ, the journey to the empty

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00:22:16,750 --> 00:22:20,630
tomb, to walk away and
disregard it means you're telling

380
00:22:20,630 --> 00:22:21,630
me you don't want it.

381
00:22:22,110 --> 00:22:26,150
It's telling me you're happy
in the agony and the pain and the

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00:22:26,150 --> 00:22:27,150
suffering of this world.

383
00:22:28,030 --> 00:22:32,590
But to go to that tomb, to
look upon the place where the body

384
00:22:32,590 --> 00:22:37,430
lay and the grave clothes now
are to walk away with great celebration

385
00:22:37,430 --> 00:22:41,350
and assurance that Jesus is
risen is the only way we can know

386
00:22:41,350 --> 00:22:42,030
this and why.

387
00:22:42,270 --> 00:22:45,590
Well, we will declare its
truth in our closing hymn this morning,

388
00:22:45,590 --> 00:22:47,310
which is called Resurrection Hymn.

389
00:22:47,390 --> 00:22:47,710
See?

390
00:22:47,710 --> 00:22:48,750
What a morning.

391
00:22:48,750 --> 00:22:51,710
And when we do something, pay
attention to the closing words.

392
00:22:52,350 --> 00:22:54,430
And we are raised with Him.

393
00:22:54,670 --> 00:22:55,550
And get this.

394
00:22:56,110 --> 00:23:01,950
Death is dead, Love has won,
Christ has conquered.

395
00:23:03,270 --> 00:23:05,910
And what's the great promise
for those today in Christ?

396
00:23:06,630 --> 00:23:11,910
And we shall reign with him,
for he lives.

397
00:23:13,590 --> 00:23:17,190
Christ is risen from the dead.

398
00:23:18,710 --> 00:23:20,150
Who doesn't want this?

399
00:23:22,790 --> 00:23:24,870
Come to the Savior, each and
every one.

400
00:23:25,830 --> 00:23:28,950
Each of our weary hearts and
souls need Him.

401
00:23:29,510 --> 00:23:30,230
Do not.

402
00:23:30,390 --> 00:23:35,250
Do not walk out through that
door thinking you will be okay, because

403
00:23:35,330 --> 00:23:36,770
you won't.

404
00:23:37,810 --> 00:23:43,250
It is only in Christ that we
can know the burden of sin released

405
00:23:43,490 --> 00:23:46,130
and we can know joy forever.

406
00:23:47,090 --> 00:23:52,330
Because death is dead and
Christ went to the grave to prove

407
00:23:52,330 --> 00:23:52,610
it.

408
00:23:53,490 --> 00:23:56,050
May you know this risen Savior today.

409
00:23:56,530 --> 00:24:00,850
And may you know the victory
over death and the grave, that it

410
00:24:00,850 --> 00:24:03,010
is yours because of Him.

411
00:24:03,570 --> 00:24:08,370
It's not ours by right of
birth, by right of culture or practice,

412
00:24:08,690 --> 00:24:11,730
or by our own assessment that
we are good enough.

413
00:24:12,370 --> 00:24:15,330
It can only be on profession
of faith.

414
00:24:15,570 --> 00:24:20,210
And like the women of old, it
will be good news that will be for

415
00:24:20,210 --> 00:24:22,770
us for all eternity.

416
00:24:23,650 --> 00:24:28,130
So on this resurrection
Sunday, turn to the Savior.

417
00:24:28,370 --> 00:24:33,570
Do not fear the grave, for he
has overcome it so that we can be

418
00:24:33,570 --> 00:24:35,330
his forever.

419
00:24:36,530 --> 00:24:37,410
Let us pray.

420
00:24:38,370 --> 00:24:42,050
Our Father God, we thank you
for this day of great celebration.

421
00:24:42,450 --> 00:24:44,610
We thank you for what it means
to know the Savior.

422
00:24:44,610 --> 00:24:48,930
But how sad a day it is for
those to reject him.

423
00:24:50,450 --> 00:24:54,290
How sad a day to think that
we'll be okay on our own.

424
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,840
For your Word has warned us
time and again that we won't be.

425
00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,240
It is only by what Christ has
accomplished on the cross and through

426
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,680
the empty tomb that we can
know assurance of salvation, a hope

427
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:12,360
that springs eternal, and a
joy that lightens our step in this

428
00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:12,680
world.

429
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,720
Because we know that we are
made for something better, and that

430
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,800
better is present with you forever.

431
00:25:21,170 --> 00:25:25,490
So speak to us by your Holy
Spirit, move amongst us, encourage

432
00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:29,650
each of us and challenge us
that indeed this day we will be right

433
00:25:29,650 --> 00:25:32,610
with Christ, and we will be
right forever.

434
00:25:33,810 --> 00:25:35,810
And we ask these things in
Jesus name.

435
00:25:36,770 --> 00:25:37,330
Amen.

436
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:52,880
Sam.