WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.200 Hi, I'm Pastor Creighton, and thank you for tuning into News on Churches Podcast. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:16.079 We're a typically faithful, gospel-centered Anglican church in Port Perry, Ontario, proclaiming the true and life-giving word of Jesus as we love and serve our neighbors. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.160 You can learn more about us at newsongportperry.ca. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.160 May God bless you today through his life-giving word. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:30.800 This is the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.520 Glory to you, Lord Christ. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:43.679 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:54.799 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat on it. 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.240 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:05.599 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:17.519 But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:23.519 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:37.680 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:39.840 There you will see him. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.359 See, I have told you. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:50.799 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:56.400 And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:02.239 And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:07.760 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:14.800 Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:17.680 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:20.319 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:26.800 Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.560 He is not here, for he has risen. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.280 Hallelujah, Christ is risen. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:35.439 The Lord is risen indeed. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:36.479 Hallelujah. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:37.919 Let's pray. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.599 Lord Jesus, this is the day that you have made. 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:47.360 Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:55.280 Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be always pleasing in your sight. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:58.400 Our Lord, our rock, and our Redeemer. 00:02:58.719 --> 00:02:59.360 Amen. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:01.280 Please be seated. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.680 Well, who doesn't love a good Instagram scroll? 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:16.879 Not long ago there was a block quote making the rounds. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:20.400 You know those block quotes just come text on a picture? 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:33.919 There was a block quote making the rounds, and it read like this Reading stories is a gentle way for a child to encounter the hardest truth that shadows mortal life. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.039 There are no happy endings. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:48.479 Reading stories is a gentle way for a child to counter, encounter the hardest truth that shadows mortal life. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:51.439 There are no happy endings. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.599 Now, there's a lot of stuff on Instagram, let's put it that way. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:00.960 But this particular quote doesn't just come from some random corner of the internet. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:09.039 It comes from an article published by well-known author Margaret Renkel in the New York Times in 2022. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:14.960 I wonder if this is a way of giving expression to the flavor or thinking of our moment. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:22.800 See, despite the power of a happy ending and the stories that we love, the question is, is it childish? 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.480 Is it irrational to think that the story that we participate in, this story of history, will have a happy ending? 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.800 Renkel seems to think so. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:34.399 We ought to grow up. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:36.240 We ought to live in reality. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:39.759 Reality doesn't have happy endings. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:41.839 Or does it? 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:46.399 See, our gospel reading this morning comes from the Gospel of Matthew. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.680 Matthew is writing as an eyewitness to Jesus. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:53.279 He has lived with Jesus, he's eaten with Jesus. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:59.040 Matthew is bearing witness to what he has heard and what he himself has seen. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:05.920 He describes these women visiting Jesus' tomb and not finding what they expected to find. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:15.839 The stone that had sealed the tomb had been rolled away, and an angelic visitor is announcing that Jesus isn't dead, he's alive. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:18.959 Why is Matthew writing this? 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:24.879 Is he writing fiction for childish people like us to believe? 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:38.800 Or is he trying to make sense of something so unexpected, so extraordinary, his language it struggles under the strain of what he is trying to convey to us? 00:05:39.759 --> 00:06:06.480 See, Matthew and the gospel authors and scripture and all of Christianity is bearing witness to one central hope, one hope, not just at the center of the Christian faith, but Christians proclaim is the hope at the center of the whole universe, the center of all of life, and that hope is this the hope at the center of it all is the resurrection of Jesus. 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:15.360 So the question is this how do we, like the women at the tomb, respond to this hope? 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:18.079 How do we respond to this hope? 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:28.319 And the amazing thing about this passage in front of us in Matthew 28 is that it gives us three suggestions, three imperatives to follow, three action words. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:37.920 Notice as we respond to the hope of the resurrection, these women and we are told to come and see, and then to go and tell. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.000 And finally we're told, don't fear. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.439 Come and see, go and tell, don't fear. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:51.120 This is how Matthew wants to invite us to respond to this announcement. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:57.199 This announcement that Jesus isn't dead, he's alive, and that is the hope at the center of everything. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:01.360 It can be the hope that animates your life today. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:12.079 The resurrection promises a happy ending, not a childish fantasy, but a real and grounded hope. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:13.839 So let's examine this hope. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.519 Let's interrogate it together. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:19.680 How do we respond to the announcement of the resurrection of Jesus? 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:27.439 If you've got your order of service open with me to Matthew 28, or if you want to pull out a Bible in front of you, it's page 784. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:35.920 Let's consider how we ourselves respond to this announcement of hope. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:40.160 First, we're invited to come and see. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:42.720 Matthew 28, verse 5. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:52.720 The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:08:05.199 He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, and here it is, come, see the place where he lay. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:14.240 So notice that the angel doesn't just announce the good news of Jesus' resurrection, he offers an invitation. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.040 Come see the place where he lay. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.360 It's as though he's saying, don't just take my word for it. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:25.759 Check out the evidence and consider it for yourself. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:29.839 See, here's one of the things I love most about being a Christian. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:34.720 My faith never asks me to turn my brain off. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.759 God gave us minds to think, to examine, to consider. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:45.679 He expects these women to look at the evidence and come to a conclusion for themselves. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:52.080 And by the way, let's not make the mistake of thinking ancient people would believe any tall tale that they were told. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:56.720 They knew the difference, just like we do, between myth and history. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:03.279 They would have been just as incredulous about the claim of an empty tomb as you and I are today. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:09.120 In every century, the principal objection stays the same. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.720 Miracles like this don't happen. 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.399 Dead people don't come back to life. 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:20.159 And to think otherwise would be irrational. 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:22.480 But consider this. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:30.559 Regardless of our worldview, we all believe at least two extraordinary things have occurred. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:38.559 Number one, the universe we live in has sprung into being, seemingly, out of nothing. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:45.120 And two, life itself has come from non-life. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:51.919 So we have theories, but these realities still defy full explanation. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:57.360 And if we posit the intervention of a higher power, it's not irrational. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.919 If it best explains the seemingly inexplicable. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:14.080 And if that's the case, then the resurrection of Jesus is not really asking for much more belief than the skeptic already has, that life can come from non-life. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:22.960 And there are, of course, established facts about the origins of Christianity to which most historians, both Christian and non-Christian, agree. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:29.440 Number one, there was no Jewish expectation of resurrection in the middle of history. 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:34.000 Number two, Jesus was crucified and died. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.679 That actually happened. 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:46.240 And number three, something happened at the tomb which convinced these women and his earliest disciples that he had risen. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:53.440 So given facts one and two, the question is, how do we account for fact number three? 00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:02.559 And how do we explain that many of the earliest Christians were being executed for proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead? 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.519 See the facts need explaining. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:13.759 And the burden of proof is not just on the believing, but on the unbeliever to offer an equally plausible explanation. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.799 Does the gospel narrative best explain Easter morning? 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.240 If not, why not? 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:34.159 So renowned historian Molly Worthen was a longtime skeptic toward the resurrection until she re-examined the presuppositions of her own materialist worldview. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:48.159 She says this if you are committed to an anti-supernaturalist understanding of reality, then any possible explanation of the empty tomb is preferable to the Christian explanation. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:12:01.200 But if you're willing to suspend your disbelief in the supernatural, that is, to consider that God might actually intervene in history, well then you can begin to investigate the historical claims of Christianity. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:07.679 Yes, you're still faced with a leap of faith, but it's not a wild leap into the dark. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.840 It's a reasonable leap. 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:25.279 In response to the hope of the resurrection, these women are invited to come and see, to think, to examine, to consider the evidence for themselves, and to courageously reconsider their presuppositions in light of the facts. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:28.559 This is our invitation as well. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:37.840 Not an invitation to blind, take my word for it kind of faith, but an invitation to investigate for ourselves. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.559 So for the curious, I have a few book recommendations. 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:41.679 Are you ready for this? 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:42.320 Okay. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:45.679 Some great books I can recommend. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.879 We'll be, we'll, we'll, you know, just get increasingly harder, like a video game here. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:56.480 A fantastic introduction is Rebecca McLaughlin's Is Easter Unbelievable. 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:59.600 An excellent book to consider some of the facts about Easter morning. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:03.679 The second would be the case for the resurrection of Jesus, a little meatier. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:13.120 And that's going to help us consider some of the historical and uh and philosophical context here, and then the preeminent, the gold standard study of the resurrection. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.879 One person says it's longer than the Bible itself, and she might be right. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.600 This is the resurrection of the Son of God by N. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:19.840 T. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:26.559 Wright, a fantastic antiquities historian and scholar and churchman. 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:31.200 All of these can help shed light on the facts of Easter Sunday and help us think that through. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:35.840 And yes, all of these are coming from a Christian perspective, so you might say, well, I want to hear both sides. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:42.080 In which case, let me uh suggest a couple of YouTube debates that you could watch this afternoon. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:48.159 You can watch Bart Ehrman and Michael Likona debate did Jesus rise from the dead? 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:56.000 Or you can watch the apologist William Lane Craig debate the skeptic Gerd Ludabon on Jesus' resurrection. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:57.759 Is it fact or figment? 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.000 Just send me an email if you want some links. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.519 I would love to share them with you. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.919 Point is this how do we respond to the hope of the resurrection? 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:11.440 The invitation is to come and see, to consider for ourselves. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:15.279 If you're not convinced, don't dismiss it. 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:19.440 That seems to me to be the most irrational choice we could make. 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.399 Instead, investigate it. 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:27.039 That's the first thing we can do to respond to the hope of the resurrection. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:28.559 We can come and see. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:34.639 And then if we come to see and are so persuaded, then the invitation is to go and tell. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:35.840 Verse 7. 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:46.080 Then the angel said, Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:47.919 There you will see him. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.720 See, I have told you. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:59.919 So in other words, if you are persuaded that Jesus is no longer dead but alive, then it's time to share the news. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.320 Start with his disciples. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.799 This happens to clarify, I think, a common misconception about Christianity. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:13.840 And the misconception is this: that at its center, Christianity is a message about good morals. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.759 How to be a kinder, more patient, more forgiving person. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:22.480 Now, Christianity does indeed have moral implications. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:26.000 It should transform the way we live our lives. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:32.240 But at its core, is it just a message about morals? 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:34.879 Is it just good advice? 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:43.200 See, the women are sent away with a message to share, and the message was not, Jesus can be your example of a good life. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:49.679 No, their message was this: Jesus died, and now he's alive. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:16:01.039 And the implication for us is this: through Jesus, we can have hope that we too will overcome death by resurrection. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.759 We heard the Apostle Paul's words being sung earlier today. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.320 He goes on, but each in his own order. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:26.960 Christ, the first fruits, that is, Christ's resurrection comes first, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:37.759 So, friends, let's let these women help us understand the hope at the center of the Christian faith, the hope for which many of the earliest Christians gave their lives. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:51.919 Christianity is not good advice about what we ought to do, it is good news about what God has done for us through the resurrection of Jesus. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:17:01.840 And if we, like these first witnesses, have come to be persuaded by the resurrection, then we are called to go and tell. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:02.960 Why? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:04.319 Two reasons. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:09.599 First, we go and tell because we are commissioned to do so. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:17.440 The women are commissioned here in verse 7, but the church finds her great commission later in this same chapter. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:34.079 The risen Lord Jesus says to his disciples, as he says to us, go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:45.599 Now, if we, the Church, are not making the most of every opportunity to share this good news with the world, with our neighbors, with those we love, then what are we doing? 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:54.880 Second, we go and tell, not just because we are commissioned to do so, but because we are compelled to do so. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.240 We don't just have to share the good news, we get to share the good news. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:01.599 Think about it. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:09.359 If the resurrection is true, then it is surely the most remarkable news that anyone could ever hear. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.279 Everyone in history has died and stayed dead. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:14.559 I checked that this morning. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.000 Is that still true? 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:25.359 But even if one person has died and not stayed dead, then everything changes about our paradigm. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.960 Our understanding of death needs to be reconsidered. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.400 What better news could we hope to receive? 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.440 What better news could we hope to share? 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:42.400 So how do we take up this call, this commission, this con this compulsion to go and share? 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:44.000 Well, first let me say this. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.759 We do not need to have all the answers to share the good news. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:53.920 I don't know is a great thing to be on the lips of a Christian because it means we still have a lot to learn. 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.119 But we pray, we pray for opportunities. 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.400 Respectfully, to be invited to share that good news. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:06.000 Not to kick down the door, but to make the most of the opportunities that God makes clear to us. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:16.000 And we can use great resources like Word 1 to 1, which I'd love to show you after service, or we can invite someone to Christianity Explored when we run it next in our community. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:24.799 Now, if you feel commissioned but not compelled, then perhaps I would recommend this. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:33.119 Perhaps take a season of life to consider the resurrection and its implications for yourself more closely. 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:43.599 Because if the resurrection does not move your heart to such great joy that you cannot help but share it, then you yourself can enter deeper still. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:46.880 How do we respond to the hope of the resurrection? 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:48.559 Well, first we come and see. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:56.480 We investigate, we consider for ourselves, and if we are persuaded, what can we do but go and tell? 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:02.319 But friends, we don't just go and tell as the same people we were before we considered. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:09.359 No, our whole outlook on life has changed because of the third imperative. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.279 Don't fear. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.119 Verse 8. 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:21.519 So they, the women, departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:26.559 And behold, Jesus met them and said, Greetings. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:30.640 And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:41.359 And Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid, and go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.000 Okay, you might say, for argument's sake. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:50.960 Even if Jesus did rise from the dead, so what? 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.160 I still have taxes to file. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:56.559 I still have kids to raise. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:00.640 I still have a job to a job to do, or at least to show up at. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.440 Whether or not Jesus is alive, I still have bad days. 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:09.359 Perhaps I still have a diagnosis to face. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:14.720 What difference does the resurrection make to my life, really? 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:21.359 Do not be afraid, is what these women are told. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:27.839 The women hear it twice, first from the angel, and then from the risen Jesus himself. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:30.000 Why would they be afraid? 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.119 Well, certainly extraordinary things are happening, right? 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:37.440 An earthquake, Roman soldiers overcome with fear, an angel. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:52.480 But beneath all of these fears, and perhaps beneath all our fears, is one deeper fear, a looming, unavoidable threat to our well being. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:57.920 The prophet Isaiah calls it a veil cast over all peoples. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:02.799 That fear, that singular fear, Behind all fears is death. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.599 Danger, diagnosis, deprivation and disaster. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.759 All of these things bring death a little closer, don't they? 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:17.599 And we fear most what brings death closest. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:28.000 And yet, if Jesus is no longer dead, but alive, then the sum of all fears has been defeated. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:34.000 For the first time ever, death has been swallowed up by life. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.160 And if death is a defeated enemy, then what is left to be truly afraid of? 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.039 O death, where is your victory? 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.839 O death, where is your sting? 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:53.279 See, it's true, in life, we will still face danger and diagnosis and deprivation and disaster. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.200 Death still looms. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:05.039 But the light of the resurrection deprives death of its claim over us, and it dispels the shadow of fear that it casts. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:19.200 Like these women at the empty tomb, we may fear, but it will be mixed with joy, because the power of death has been put to death, and the thing we fear most no longer has the final word. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:25.759 Surely this makes all the difference in facing life's fears. 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:27.200 How couldn't it? 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:35.119 In 2020, the world was in the midst of a global pandemic, economic recession, social crisis. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:42.400 At the same time, pastor and scholar Tim Keller was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which eventually took his life. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:50.480 Now, these circumstances didn't inspire Keller to despair, but rather to take a closer look at the resurrection. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:24:06.160 Keller writes, During a dark time for most of the world and for me personally, as we all long and grasp for hope, there is no better place to look than the resurrection of Jesus. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:15.200 And he continues to say, faith in the resurrection implants hope into the root of our souls. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:21.519 It becomes such a part of who we are that we can face anything. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.440 What difference does the resurrection make? 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:33.759 It means that death, yours and mine, need not be the end of the story. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:39.119 No matter the circumstances of life, the best is yet to come. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:47.200 The resurrection gives us reason to trust the risen Jesus even more than we fear death. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:53.920 I wonder if this is the news a world consumed with fear needs to hear. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:25:00.480 We converse, we analyze, we fret endlessly over our world, don't we? 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:05.200 And yet we cannot remove the fear at the bottom of it all. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.640 We're helpless. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:09.839 We so often teeter, don't we? 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:13.440 On the brink of nihilism and despair. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:18.640 Easter offers us the hope we need most. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.960 And the church has the privilege of sharing it with the world. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:29.680 No matter how dark the present may seem, we, like the women at the tomb, do not have to be afraid. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.039 Because Jesus is alive. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:39.519 Perhaps you hear this and think, that's really nice. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:43.039 But I just can't make that leap of faith. 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:46.400 If so, I'm so glad you're here. 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:48.720 And you are in good company. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:53.359 But even if you reject the resurrection, can we agree on this? 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.920 We should want the resurrection to be true. 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:07.440 Not because wanting it to be true makes it true, but because if it were true, it would be the best news imaginable, wouldn't it? 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:10.559 Your death has been defeated. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:16.880 And if we want it to be true, is it not worth investigating? 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:24.319 And if you do investigate it and conclude that Jesus is still dead, then at least you've taken the question seriously. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.519 And you've gained some insight and you've lost very little. 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:44.559 But if you come to find that the empty tomb holds more water than you might first have thought, and that the resurrection is perhaps the most plausible explanation for the facts of Easter morning, then you have gained everything. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:49.920 Because if Jesus is alive, we need not fear. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.880 We have only to trust in him. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:00.559 That's how we ought to respond to the hope at the center of everything. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.240 We all want a happy ending, don't we? 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:09.119 If Jesus is still dead, then perhaps what Renkel wrote is true. 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:10.880 There are no happy endings. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:14.160 But the Gospels beg to differ. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:16.559 Matthew begs to differ. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:23.039 And instead, Matthew offers us a reasonable, grounded hope. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:28.559 The hope at the center of it all, which is the resurrection of Jesus. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:32.880 Matthew invites us, come and see for yourself. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:34.640 Go and tell. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:37.440 Don't fear. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:44.400 The resurrection promises a happy ending, not a childish fantasy, a real hope. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:54.799 Maybe happy endings are so powerful because God has wired within us an anticipation of history's climactic and joyful conclusion. 00:27:55.920 --> 00:28:07.359 If that's true, then our ending is far less like Renkel's vision, engulfed by the shadow of this mortal life, and far more like Tolkien's. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:25.680 At the end of The Lord of the Rings, after our heroes have been through perilous trial and through great self-sacrifice have conquered evil, they wake in Rivendale and being cared for, nursed back to health, and they're reunited with their company of heroes, including Gandalf the Wizard. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:30.640 And so Sam Gamgee, this brave young hobbit, sees Gandalf. 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:38.480 Having destroyed the One Ring, the source of all power, of evil, death, destruction, shadow. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:44.240 He wakes up and sees the wizard Gandalf and says, I thought you were dead. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:47.519 But then I thought I was dead myself. 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:56.799 What happened to the world? 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:02.319 Gandalf said, A great shadow has departed. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.880 And then he laughed. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:10.480 And the sound was like music or like water in a parched land. 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:20.319 If Jesus is raised from the dead, then it would be childish to think that history doesn't have a happy ending. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:25.359 If Jesus is raised from the dead, then we have no reason to live in fear. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:34.319 If Jesus is raised from the dead, then we can truly say everything sad is going to come untrue. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:39.039 Don't miss the significance of the resurrection for you. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:50.480 Rebecca McLaughlin writes, if Jesus did come back to life, it means the maker of all time and space has stepped into the universe for love of you. 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:56.880 It means that you were worth his death and he wants you in his life. 00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:10.559 It means that you are more seen and known and loved than you could ever dare to hope, and that the greatest offer ever made is sitting on the table waiting for you to take it up. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:14.720 Today you can take up that offer. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:16.480 Come and see. 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:18.160 Go and tell. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.759 Don't fear. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:27.279 Trust in Jesus, and you can know for yourself the hope at the center of it all. 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:33.039 Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who is crucified. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:36.640 He is not here, for he is risen. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:38.319 Hallelujah. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.599 Christ is risen. 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:41.839 The Lord is risen indeed. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:42.960 Hallelujah. 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:43.920 Amen. 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.359 We hope that you've been blessed by God's word today. 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:53.039 If you live in the area, we hope that you'll come and worship with us in person on Sunday at 10 a.m. 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:57.279 If you'd like to learn more about Newsung Church, we'd love to connect with you. 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:02.720 Please find our contact information at newsongportperry.ca and reach out to us. 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:09.279 Newsong's ministry is entirely funded by the generous giving of those who worship and journey with us. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:17.680 If you feel called to support our ministry with a financial gift, please go to newsongportperry.ca slash giving to make your contribution. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.279 Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.