Easter 2024

Happy Sunday, and happy Easter! I pray that today is a great day for you. I love Easter. I began this morning at Arlington Cemetery leading the sunrise service. The venue there is spectacular.

It's in a small area surrounded on three sides by a hill. The front wall is a cliff, and there in the cliff they've carved a small cave, or tomb. There's a large stone there, there statues of angels and of sheep, and I can't describe how perfect the setting is. I love meeting in a cemetery on Easter morning. I think it's most appropriate.

Do you know the origins of the word cemetery? The word cemetery is taken from the Greek word karian, which literally means sleeping place. I love that. As a pastor, I'm at the cemetery, the sleeping place, all too often.

I officiated eight funerals in January of this year. One week I had five, and someone asked me, "Doesn't that get to you? Doesn't being around death bother you?" Let me answer that question this way. I have a brother-in-law in Birmingham who has a green thumb. He's in the middle of planting his garden, a big garden.

He and my favorite sister are so excited PL about planting this year. They anticipate a great harvest. As a pastor, when I deal with so many funerals, I look at myself as a gardener planting a seed that will grow to something much better. Let me show you how I got there in my faith. I'll read from Matthew chapter 28 about the first Easter.

"On Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

And then the angel spoke to the women. 'Don't be afraid,' he said. 'I know you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here. He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

And now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there. Remember what I have told you.'"

Easter changes everything. It changes the way I think. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 we find this great truth: "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." The word first fruits is interesting here. One commentator said that this speaks of the first installment of the harvest.

Back to my gardening family members. When the first tomatoes ripened, they'll anticipate lots of good sandwiches. When the first cucumbers are picked, they'll get ready for many, many more. Because Jesus rose from the dead, I know that I will too. And please know that this is not automatic. Not everybody will be with Jesus in heaven; we must believe in him and give our lives to God.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 we find this about the death of believers. We are told, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body, it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is swn in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It has swn a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." Isn't God great?

Back to the cemetery. When I end graveside service of a Christian person, I often tell this story from my family history. Years ago in south Mississippi, Simpson County, my great-grandmother died. A man came to the church for the funeral, but he was late, and the service was over. He hurried to the cemetery to catch the gravide service, and, well, it was over too.

The only person left at the cemetery was the gravedigger. He was filling in the grave. The man who was laid approached the gravedigger and asked, "Is this Miss Kate's final resting place?" The gravedigger said, "No, sir, this is her getting up place." This is her getting up place. I love that. It's a great theology.

Because of Jesus, because of Easter, everything is different. Death is not final for the Christian. But there's something more. Because of Easter, I know all things are possible. I no longer believe in the impossible.

I know people can change. I know drunks who have become pastors. I know mean, hateful people that have become loving. I know thieves that had become, have become givers. There are so many stories, and to me some of the greatest proofs of the Resurrection are the stories of change that I have seen and people's lives.

Suzanne prayed for her husband Bob for years. He was raised in church, but after they were married he had other priorities. He became a very successful businessman. He climbed the corporate ladder, and he made a lot of money. For decades she would go to church alone; he had no time.

Have you ever prayed for someone for decades? It takes a lot of faith and a lot of love. Suzanne prayed. She thought about leaving him, and nobody would have blamed her. Everybody would understand. But she persevered, and she prayed.

Today Bob will be in church. He gave his life to Christ after decades of being prayed for. Who's the hero in the story? Is it Bob, for waking up? Is it Suzanne, for persevering? I'll tell you, the hero in this story, and in my story, and, if you're a believer, in your story, is Jesus Christ. All glory belongs to him.

That first Easter morning changed everything. There is hope, and you need to know that there is hope. Have you prayed for someone for decades? Have you given up on someone? Have you been hurt and don't know what to believe anymore?

Let me share this verse with you that I love looking at at Easter. It's found in Romans 8:11, and it's mind-boggling. There we are told, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you." Let me read it again: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you."

Please know that the resurrection power is alive and well today and available to to you and to me. People are changing all the time. It's not too late. Happy Easter. He is risen. Never give up.

Pray with me. Father, thank you for this day, this great day that changed everything. And as people watch this and listen to this, they all have different things that they have gone through. I have friends that have lost a child recently. I know others that have health this isues, and others that everything is seemingly okay, but you never know.

Father, thank you for the hope that you give us, no matter what we are going through. Thank you that everything is different. Even when death comes, it's just a temporary position for a believer's body when the soul automatically goes to heaven. So, Father, thank you. Bless us this day. Let us celebrate the risen Lord. In Jesus' powerful name I pray, amen.

God bless you. Happy Easter!