Here are the headlines from
msnbc today.
•
Hostages
from Japan, Britain reportedly freed•
Pope
calls on world leaders to resolve conflicts•
McCain
rules out Democratic V.P. bid•
Newsweek
poll: Kerry opens lead over Bush•
Iraq
jitters may weigh on stocks• 6
killed in Machu Picchu mudslides
Is there a need for hope in
today’s topsy turvey world? Is
there hope for the hopeless and help for the helpless?
Is there a resurrection from the dead?
Do we need a resurrection today?
The purpose of this sermon is to show the hope that we have in
Christ who is the risen Lord.
Scripture
Text: Psalm
88:1 O LORD, the God who saves
me, day and night I cry out before you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn
your ear to my cry. 3 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near
the grave. 4 I am counted among
those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. 5 I am set
apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no
more, who are cut off from your care. 6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in
the darkest depths. 7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me
with all your waves. Selah 8 You have taken from me my closest friends and
have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; 9 my eyes are
dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to
you. 10 Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up
and praise you? Selah 11 Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness
in Destruction? 12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your
righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? 13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you..
Is
the Resurrection for today? Is
Hope for Today? Is there a need
for hope?
1.
The feelings of the people. How
do you feel? Before the
resurrection of the Lord from the dead, how did they feel?
As we gathered in the graveyard this morning, this reminds us of
those times we have been here to bury our loved ones and friends. It isn’t a pleasant time. We remember the pain of the
disciples when their Master was buried.
Feel the pain of death: separation,
lostness, hopelessness, helpless, weakness, Have you seen the emptiness of
life: When the disciples realized
that the Lord was dead they began to experience the hopelessness of life.
The disciples were lost without their master teacher, and they huddled
in a room for fear of the Romans. What
would you have done? What have
you done?
2.
The questions of the people? Would
we question the Lord?
Will you show wonders to the
dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee?
Shall thy loving kindness be
declared in the grave or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in
the dark and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? Is it too late
for us now? Now that our friend
and teacher has died, now that our loved ones have died, and now that we know
that we are going to die is there anything that you can do?
Mary and Martha said Lord if you had been here our brother, Lazarus
would not have died. But,
it seems your too late. Why have
you allowed all of this death and misery?
It would even seem that you O Lord have inflicted your punishment on
us? What will you do now to us?
3.
The decision of the people.
Unto thee have I cried, O
Lord: and in the morning will my prayer come before thee.
Where else can we turn? Where
can we go? We have now hope and
no one to turn to. The women came
to the tomb to see the dead and they found the living.
Turn to Him.
4.
Hear the Lord’s Answer to the people.
I have loved you with an
everlasting love. I have loved even before I created you.
I have come to live with you and die for you. I lived with as a
transient not having a place to lay my head.
I have felt the pain of the death of a friend and a loved one. I have
cried. I have felt the pain of desertion and betrayal.
I have been wrongly accused and
murdered to further the evil plans of the religious right.
I have seen the injustices of society first hand.
I have been there. I was
crucified because I am the King of the Jews.
I was buried in a borrowed tomb.
I will show you, the dead, the
wonders of the only true living God. Even
though you are dead, yet will you live. Come
and see the borrowed tomb they put me in.
I am no longer there. My
Father raised me up on the third day. Come
and see the loving kindness that is to be found in the grave.
It is seen there. The tomb
is empty. Even though you may
think that I am unfaithful, you must remember that I am the Lord of the heaven
and the earth and I will act, as I will.
You must see that I am. You
must realize that I will not and have not forgotten you.
You must wait to see the wonders, but believe and not doubt.
I
have heard your cry. Now you must
believe that I have answered you. I
have not only answered you in the written Word of God, but I have spoken to
you in person through He, the Holy Spirit.
He has shown you who I am. He has shown you the power of living with me
in the world. Now go to proclaim
with your life, your lips, and your love who I am.
I am the Lord of the living and the dead.
I am the one makes the dead to speak and live again.
I am the one and only who will give you hope in a world of
hopelessness. I am the One who
loves you with an everlasting love. Go
and be not doubting but believe and show the others who don’t see and
don’t know and don’t believe that there is some light to be found in the
darkness.
Matt 28:1
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled
back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his
clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook
and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be
afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is
not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is
going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told
you."
5.
Will you let the Lord roll the stones out of your life?
Watch the stones roll, as He sends the angel to roll away the stone and
sit on it. There is no problem
too big for Him. Only those that
we don’t give Him are continual problems.
Trust Him with your life in all ways.
Give your problems and the results to Him.
He is able to defeat even death.