Easter Sunrise Service
Cane Creek Baptist
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Responsive Reading (from the handout sheet)
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet will they live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died,
For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality,
When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality,
Then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Where, O Death, is your victory?
Where O Death, is your sting?
But thanks be to God,
Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:20,53-55,57; Hebrews 4:14,16.
Prayer
Eternal and Almighty God,
We give You praise for the glory of the creation — and for the glory of the sunrise.
We praise You for the resurrection – and the promise of eternal life with God.
Our thanks are indeed to God for what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.
May our hearts be filled with that same wonder and amazement of all those who experienced the risen Christ.
And may our spirits be emboldened by the power that the resurrection had upon their lives.
Through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Reflection
On Easter morning it is customary to read one or more Biblical accounts of the resurrection of Christ, and to marvel, as did the disciples and their friends, over the empty tomb, and the unexpected appearance of Jesus in their midst.
And there are many evidences in the Gospels of Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead.
But my question to you is, what difference does Easter morning make in your life today?
So instead of reading one of those accounts from the Gospels, I’d like to share with you another passage that is seldom heard on Easter morning.
And I will read it to you without first telling you where it is found.
Scripture: Acts 2:22-24,29-33,36-39
22You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you your selves know —
23this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.
24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
29Fellow Israelites, may I say to you confidentially of our ancestor David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne.
31Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.
32This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
36Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said (to Peter and to the other apostles), ‘Brothers, what should we do?’
38[And he] (Peter) said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’
Reflection: So What Difference Does It Make?
Does anyone recognize the source of this reading?
This is Peter, addressing the crowd that gathered on the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter. The passage is Acts 2: 22-24,29-33,36-39.
For me, the significance of Peter’s words lies in their boldness and directness. His sermon is an in-your-face confrontation of those who were mocking the power of the Holy Spirit.
What is really remarkable about these words is their contrast with the fear and timidity of the disciples immediately following the crucifixion. In John 20:19 we read that after the crucifixion, the disciples were hiding, and “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.”
But in the verses we’ve just read, there is no sign of fear or hesitation at all. And later (Acts 17:6) we find that the disciples are accused of “turning the world upside down” through the power of their witness to the world.
What a remarkable change! What can account for it? For me, the real proof of the resurrection lies not so much in the fact that Christ was seen alive after his crucifixion as in the way in which the lives of those who believe in Him are radically changed — even to this day!
The power of Easter is the power of the resurrection. And the power of the resurrection is the power of the Holy Spirit. The lives of the disciples were changed forever because of that power.
But what about us? Have we experienced the power of the risen Lord? Do we experience His power in our own lives?
We come today to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. And my question to you is, what difference does His resurrection make in your life today?
Christ’s sacrifice for you, and the power of His resurrection, do you no good unless they make a positive difference in your life every day.
So what difference DOES the resurrection make to you this morning? That difference is what we really celebrate here today. And that difference is the real meaning of Easter.
In closing, we sing (the first and third) verse(s) of one of my favorite hymns, a hymn that speaks of the effective resurrection of Christ in our own lives every day.
Hymn: #220: “He Lives!”
1. I serve a risen savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, and just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
(Refrain) He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me, along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!
2. Rejoice, rejoice O Christian, lift up your voice and sing Eternal Hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.