Resurrection

Christians often turn to the Hebrew prophets for our holy days, which has given us a rather lopsided view of their message. We relish, "Comfort, comfort my people" and all the promises of streams in the desert, mourning into dancing, a return from exile, a savior to come, and life springing from a valley of dry bones.

John 20:1-9, 19-31; 1 Cor. 15:33-49

If you have been with us for the past few months, you know that this morning we arrive at the end of a long discussion of the Apostle's Creed. Line by line we have examined the teachings of the Christian faith and here, on Easter morning, we reach both the end of the Creed and the beginning of faith...the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

TEXT: Luke 24:44-52; 1 Peter 3:18-22

TEXT: John 20:1-18

For those of us who practice Christian faith, the resurrection is the central, monumental event of history. Whether you’re the type of Christian that looks at it as historical reality or the type of Christian that sees it as a story of only spiritual truth, for all of us, the message of resurrection is the absolute center. Of course it was the central message for the disciples as well, and the story is recorded in all four of the Gospels. But to say that all four report it is not to say that all four tell it the same way.

TEXT: John 11:38-44

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."