Luke 24: 1 - 35
What if Jesus is closer than you think—even when you feel most abandoned? On Easter Sunday, we looked at two disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how the risen Jesus met them in their confusion, not their certainty. As he walked with them and opened the Scriptures, their hearts began to burn with fresh hope. This message invites you to see how God often shows up in the questions, not just the answers.
Church spaces all throughout the globe are talking and singing about the resurrection of Jesus, and Christians have hope to be raised from the dead at Christ’s second coming. But there are ways we can experience resurrection life now! Somehow, the Spirit of the living God can raise us out of spiritual death today and seat us with the resurrected Christ in heavenly places. We can be raised out of the muck of guilt and shame now. There are so many more implications, and Pastor Scott points out the unexpected path to resurrection life is the same one Christ took. Through death to sin and self, there is new life ahead.
1 Corinthians 15: 3 - 8
Walk through 1 Corinthians 15: 3 - 8 to hear the credible witness accounts for Jesus to rise from the dead and why Christ’s resurrection makes all the difference for the world.
Luke 24
This message walks through the twenty fourth chapter of the gospel of Luke, looking specifically at the personalized ways that Jesus made himself known to people after the resurrection. Despite the fact that his disciples viewed the idea of Christ being raised as an idle tale, Jesus gets through to them. We see throughout the gospel accounts that Jesus employed interesting, personal, and even playful means to bring doubting individuals to a place of faith. This work of Jesus transforming unbelievers into fully persuaded followers of Christ continues to this day. Toward the end of the message Scott discusses some of the unique ways Jesus works to get through to people today.
As I started to think about an Easter message this year I felt that strange pressure that pastors feel to put some new spin on the old story of Easter. Thankfully, I really felt a strong impression from the Spirit saying, “Just tell the story.” This brought much peace to my heart since I knew that telling the story was something I could do. So that’s what this Easter message is. It’s a telling of the story, starting all the way back into eternity past and stretching out into the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. What a story it is! It doesn’t need to be dressed up. It is the greatest story of all, and the resurrection is the greatest event in the history of the world. At the end of the message I set aside my notes and gave a strong appeal to those who do not yet have peace with God to receive the free gift of eternal life that Christ purchased.
John 20-21
This present pandemic we are in has caused many of God’s people to spiral into sorrow, fear and uncertainty. The resurrection story in John 20-21 couldn’t be more relevant! The followers of Jesus came to a point of deep discouragement. Mary was crying her eyes out; the disciples were hiding in fear; Thomas was reeling with doubts and Peter was swimming in shame. But when the risen Christ showed up, everything changed. He spoke peace to them and their sighing was turned to dancing. The early Christians were marked by inexpressible joy. They experienced tremendous persecution and pressure but the Scriptures say that they broke bread together and ate together with glad hearts. This message is designed to spark joy. It’s a reminder that the risen Christ is with us and He is speaking peace to us. Despite the present circumstances of this dark pandemic cloud, we can fly above the clouds in the blue skies of God’s joy.
Coming to a place of deep conviction about the reality of Jesus Christ sometimes takes time. Many people, both seekers and Christians, struggle with doubts or feelings of unreality. Pastor Scott walks through the Luke 24 resurrection narrative and shows that those who were the mighty pillars of faith in the first church were weak, doubting and frightened. Jesus didn’t turn away from them for struggling to believe. He didn’t scold them. He didn’t hate them. Rather, He came to them as a merciful teacher to help them. And when they encountered the risen Christ they were transformed. The end of the message answers the question of what we can do to have an encounter with Christ that transforms our lives into people who are fully persuaded.
This message on Easter was designed not only to strengthen the faith of believers but to help people with doubts about Christianity consider the claims of Christ more carefully. As C.S. Lewis once said, Christ was either lord, lunatic or a liar. There’s just no option to call him a good moral teacher as many try to do. Scott draws a line in the sand and essentially asks the question, ”What do you believe about Jesus?” He also offers some practical wisdom on how to attain faith.
Pastor Scott walks through the resurrection narrative found in John 20-21 for most of the message and then points out three simple things that can be seen. We see weak, doubting people many of whom denied the Lord. We see the resurrected Christ coming to these struggling people not to condemn but to help. We see that when these weak seekers encounter the risen Christ their lives are utterly transformed and they go out and turn the world upside down. Parallels are made throughout the message of how Jesus works in our lives today in much the same way.
Pastor Scott unpacks Mark 16, and the astonishment that comes when we (like Mary Magdalene, Mary, Salome and the disciples) first realize that Jesus is actually alive, raised from the dead, now Lord and King and Savior of the universe. Something supernatural happens when the Holy Spirit makes the truth real. We stop hearing and seeing in the natural, but hear and see with our hearts. Scott also offers an exhortation against soul weariness: God is merciful and compassionate, and gives power to the weak.