Easter Sunday
Key Takeaways
The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that evil doesn't win.
The resurrection reframes what we call loss.
The resurrection has the power to bring joy from our pain.
Study Questions
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Pastor John said, "Once you believe something explains everything, you start seeing the world through that lens." How has the resurrection of Jesus changed the way you view the world and your circumstances?
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Reflect on the story of Brandt Jean forgiving Amber Guyger. How does this example demonstrate the power of resurrection hope in the face of tragedy?
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The sermon mentions that "Christians can forgive like this because they know what it's like to be forgiven like this." How has experiencing God's forgiveness changed your ability to forgive others?
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Discuss the concept of being "scattered to be planted." Can you share an experience where something that felt like a loss actually became an opportunity for growth or ministry?
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How does the resurrection give you hope in dealing with your current struggles or pain?
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Pastor John provided four reasons to claim the truth of the resurrection. Which of these reasons do you find most compelling, and why?
5-Day Devotional
This Week’s Liturgy & Playlist
MEDITATION - —John Updike, “Seven Stanzas at Easter” (1960)
Make no mistake: if he rose at all
It was as his body;
If the cell’s dissolution did not reverse,
the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
The Church will fall.
It was not as the flowers,
Each soft spring recurrent;
It was not as His Spirit in the mouths
And fuddled eyes of the eleven apostles;
It was as his flesh; ours.
The same hinged thumbs and toes,
The same valved heart
That—pierced—died, withered, paused,
And then regathered out of enduring might
New strength to enclose.
Let us not mock God with metaphor,
Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence,
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted
In the faded credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.
The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that
In the slow grinding of time will eclipse
For each of us the wide light of day.
And if we have an angel at the tomb,
Make it a real angel,
Weighty with Max Planck’s quanta,
Vivid with hair, opaque in the dawn light,
Robed in real linen spun on a definite loom.
Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
For our own convenience,
Our own sense of beauty, lest, awakened
in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed
By the miracle, and crushed by remonstrance.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Christ is risen!
People: The Lord is risen indeed!
Leader: Glory and honor, dominion and power, be to our God forever and ever!
People: Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Confession of Faith - the nicene creed
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Looking Ahead
Next week’s scripture: Acts 8:9-25