Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Easter | Holy Week 2025
The resurrection of Jesus isn't just a historical event—it's the cornerstone of our faith and the source of transformative power in our lives today. Pastor J opens his heart with raw vulnerability, sharing how he drifted from his faith despite growing up in church. When bitterness took root, he pursued his own path until a horrific car accident on a California freeway became his wake-up call. Hanging between life and death, his face split open and bleeding, J cried out to Jesus—suddenly aware he wasn't ready to meet God.
That near-death experience revealed a profound truth that echoes through this Easter message: God isn't finished with you yet. No matter your mistakes, your regrets, or how far you've wandered, resurrection power offers a fresh start and a new identity. "You are not your mistakes," Pastor J declares. "You are a child of God."
Through powerful scripture passages from John and Luke, we journey from humanity's separation from God to the empty tomb where angels proclaimed, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!" This resurrection transforms everything—making us new creations, not just improved versions of our old selves.
The message culminates in a moving invitation to experience this resurrection power personally. Whether accepting Christ for the first time or recommitting to follow Him wholeheartedly, dozens respond to the call to say "yes" to Jesus. Because when we understand what happened that first Easter morning, we can't help but run toward the open arms of the One who conquered death for us.
What area of your life needs resurrection power today? God is waiting to make all things new.
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He is risen. Happy Resurrection Sunday church. I'm excited for you. I've been praying for you up early this morning, praying that you would encounter the power of God, that you would encounter the Spirit of God, that he would draw you near to Himself, that he would speak to you in the depths of your heart, inside the knowing of your being, that he would speak to you in the depths of your heart, inside the knowing of your being, that he would speak to you today and you'd have an impartation of the power of God in your life, that you would understand the value he has over your life and that you would understand that you are the child of the most high God and he created you with a purpose, on purpose, for a purpose, and then he has a future for you that's brighter than your past and that you in Christ, don't have to be attached to your past or your history. You are not your mistakes. You are a child of God. You have a future that's greater than anything that you have planned for yourself, and I've been praying that over you. That you would have the realization of the power of God in your life and that he would speak to you and draw you near.
Speaker 1:I've been praying for your family, for your children, that your children would know God, that they would have a relationship with God that is their own, that your grandchildren would know the love of God, that they'd experience his hands around them, his arms around them. Protection of God over them. I've been praying against any kind of anxiety, any kind of thoughts of self-harm. In the name of Jesus Christ, we come against it. We ask for the peace of God to preside over all things, that passes all understanding to be upon your life. We've been praying for the passion and the power of the Spirit of God to be inside of us so we can have boldness to step out and be obedient to what God has for us, that we would know that we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us, and that we would stand, that he is risen and we would understand it. Friends, that is the resurrection, that is what we celebrate today, that is the love of God for us. Would you say amen? Amen? I tell you.
Speaker 1:I've been thinking about so much about God's narrative and how he gives us a second and a third and a fourth chance, how he calls us to himself and he speaks to us in the depths of who we are in our story, that he knows exactly where we are. And he's the one that speaks to us, because he doesn't want us to live in shame or shambles, in brokenness. He wants us to experience the holistic restoration and healing power that he has for us. He wants us to know that he has a plan and a purpose for us. And I was thinking about that in my own story how God is not done yet. And I'll tell you I'm the first to tell you, man, I'm far from perfect and I grew up right here in this church, experiencing the power of God, experiencing powerful times at this altar and listening to my father preach the word of God and being compelled by the spirit of God and going and serving out in the community and overseas, and in all that time God was doing an amazing thing and I was so excited in my faith.
Speaker 1:But I allowed some hurt to get in my heart and I allowed that hurt to become bitterness and it took root inside of me and that anger started to form and it started to drive a wedge in my heart between me and God. And I could tell you, because I was someone who I blamed church people oh, that's the church people, that's these people. It's that, yes, people hurt people, but it's on us, on how we're going to respond. And while I saw my parents forgive, I had instead turned to bitterness and got angry and I decided to go and do whatever I wanted to do and I went from here and I went to university and I was really trying to hold on to my faith. I went to a school in California because we had had so much desert out here but no beach and I needed the water, I needed the ocean. And so we went to California. And I'll tell you, friends, because when you grow up on Baywatch, everybody runs in slow motion with an awesome jacket. You guys know what I'm talking about and you look super cool. That's what I look like when I live there. I'm just running slow motion, looking awesome. No, but I'll tell you, I could barely pay attention. I was so broke. You know, in California it is Newport Beach. Man, I'm like going to school, I was working three jobs to try to make it go.
Speaker 1:I was working at school, I was working. I was the guy on the side of the road with the sign. You guys know the sign guy that does a sign like this. But here's the deal. It wasn't cool like now where you have the wireless headphones. No, I had the old school over the head headphones with the disc man. You guys know what that is. There's a DVD. You put the CD in there and you had to only shimmy one hip because the other hip would make it skip. So you have to kind of shimmy to one hip and you have the sign trying to point to wherever you're going. And they paid me under the table. So I was very blessed. I was like yes, praise the Lord, here's the sign we're going this way. And then I worked the other job and the other a tip for the me, please. And in doing so we were headed to go and valet for like a fancy party.
Speaker 1:And we got on the freeway and it was three of us in the truck working together. It was a little rickety, s10 pickup and no air conditioning, windows rolled down. We're on the five freeway in LA, right before it gets into gridlock. So everybody's flying, we're all going, you know, 70 miles an hour. And in doing so it was, it was we took the wrong direction. We went north and we should have went south, towards San Diego, and so the guy who was driving the car, in his wisdom, cut across four lanes of traffic to try to get off at the next exit and we hit side on side with a mom in a big SUV who was coming with her kids from soccer. And we hit like this and he overcorrected and the car began to flip.
Speaker 1:And I could tell you, even though I had had all that history in my life, even though my parents are pastors, even though I had done all those things, I knew that in that moment it didn't matter, I was not right with God and if I was gonna go see him, in that moment I wasn't ready. Because I know it wasn't about how much good I had done or how much money I had given or how much time I had served. It was about my relationship with God in that moment. And I wasn't ready and I called to him Jesus help me. And I cried out to him as we flipped the car and I bounced in and out of the window. And we flipped again and I bounced in and out of the window and it split my face wide open and started bleeding everywhere. We flipped again and I came in and out of the window and we landed miraculously on our wheels the other direction, back where we started, in the carpool lane, and, by the miracle of God, all of us survived.
Speaker 1:And I can tell you this as I held my face together and the paramedics attended to us on the side of the freeway, as my white folded shirt, which I was saving to wear as a valet, I held to my face and it turned red. As I sat there, I was shocked, but I was also thinking, jesus, you saved me and I don't know why. I had two friends that same summer that died in automobile accidents just like me, and I had survived and I had this survivor's guilt. And why, lord, did you allow them to go? They're actually living a good life.
Speaker 1:For this one man, he needed more of your grace and he needed to be spoken to and I didn't know what to do. But I really felt as I pressed into God. He said I'm not done with you and so you need to listen to what I have for you to do. And, friends, it's the same message that he has for you today is that he's not done with you yet, that he still has a purpose and a plan for you. He's still calling you to something beyond yourself. That's something that your past can't hold you back from, because you're free of it. In the name of Jesus Christ and in him, we are a new creation and we are doing all those things, not in our own power, but in his, because he redeems us and because he is risen. And so I can tell you today, as my own testimony to you, that he's not done with you yet. Till he sees you face to face, my own testimony to you, that he's not done with you yet. Till he sees you face to face, he's not finished with you. He's finished with all of sin and hell and the grave, and he is paid for all those things. That is finished, it is finished and he is alive. We haven't met.
Speaker 1:My name is Jay Celeste, and I have such an amazing opportunity of leading here at Cornerstone, and we see ourselves very much as people on a journey with Jesus. None of us is perfect, far from it. All of us are in need of a Savior, and so that's why we use this imagery of Jesus walking with his disciples, because that's how we see ourselves, that we're following Jesus where he's leading us to go. And since that's true, then that means that we have to keep on saying yes to Jesus. That's our ambition to be more like Jesus, and so, collectively, we love God, we make disciples, we reach the world, and that's what we're about and that's why I want to challenge you to be intentional in your walk with God, beyond just our gatherings here on the weekend, that we would be people that get involved in things like life groups. A new semester is coming up in just a few weeks. Be intentional, get in a group, grow in your relationship with God that you would connect and grow and serve the Lord, amen.
Speaker 1:Well, he is risen church and we're celebrating that today. And I'll tell you this the reason that we're celebrating his risen he has risen over death and hell and the grave is because we know that we were separated from the love of God From the very beginning of the narrative of the story of God with mankind we have in our Bible. We can find in Genesis the story of creation and how he created us in his own image and he spoke into us and breathed into his life, and in doing so, we walked in communication, in relationship with the living God. But in our own mistake, we broke that covenant and we sinned against him. It means that we erred against him and in doing so that sin becomes something that it blocked us from that relationship with God. It was a separation from us and a holy God, and we realize this because none of us, none of us is holy, only he is holy. And so there was no way back other than through sacrifice to make us clean. Something had to die to wash away that sin. And so we lived in this place of having sacrifices to try to bridge the gap of relationship.
Speaker 1:Jesus, in his own words, we pick up here in John, chapter three If you have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, encourage you to move there today, highlight this and go back to it this week. Let it speak to you. Jesus answered him and says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now Jesus is speaking to a scholar in his day, someone who knows the Old Testament for rote. He teaches others about the law of God, and he is listening to Jesus talking about listen. It's not just following the word of God, the rules, it's about being alive in your spirit with God. And so he's talking to him about something that he needs to take that step he needs to be active in his relationship with God. It means to live in the kingdom of God, and that means in unity with him, forever, for eternity, for everlasting life. And when we say yes to God and we become alive in him by accepting his work on the cross for us, his forgiveness for us, it makes us come alive. It's called being born again in our spirit, and what it does is activates us to participate in what he is already at work doing in the kingdom, and so that's what we're called to do. It even challenges us a little bit later.
Speaker 1:We know this famous piece of scripture. It's John 3, 16 and 17. It says it like this for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. See, friends, jesus' motivating factor, the reason that he abandoned all of glory and all of heaven, the reason that he stepped down into the very form of the creation that he made In the beginning. It says that he created.
Speaker 1:In John 1, it says in the beginning was the word he and was with God and was God, and nothing was created without Jesus. And he himself steps out of all his power and authority and comes down into creation. Because he loves you that much, he came to be the sacrifice so that you could be in relationship with him, to walk where there's nothing separating you from the love of God, so that you can be walking in that relationship. He did it because he loves you so much. He would have done it if it was just for you, but I'm so thankful that he did it for all of us and that all of us, by faith, can say Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are, and, lord, that I ask you into my heart and life. I wanna live this eternal life with you. I don't wanna be separated from your plan and purpose. I wanna live this eternal life with you forever.
Speaker 1:A little bit later, in chapter 14 of John, he says it like this. He says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, the way. That's what he calls himself. He calls himself the way. And you think about this, and I have many friends who believe lots of different things, and though we love each other, we live life together. We've had adventures together. We can disagree on this, because I can tell them. Listen, as for me, the way I read this Bible.
Speaker 1:The words of Jesus himself says I am the only way. It's only through Jesus Christ you can't earn your way into it. You can't do enough good things. I'm thankful for those that do good work. I'm thankful for those who have good families. I'm thankful for those that look out for their neighbor. All of that's a reflection of the goodness of God inside of us. But guess what? None of that will earn you the righteousness of God. Because how can it? How can you offer to God something that's righteous whenever we aren't righteous? How can you offer a holy God, a holy sacrifice, whenever we are not holy? See, that's why Jesus came is so he could become that holy sacrifice. He could become the way for us all.
Speaker 1:That's why the early believers before Antioch, before they were called Christians or little Christs or Christ followers, that's why they were called followers of the way, because that's what they were doing is they were aligning themselves, saying Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are, and so, lord, I put my faith and trust in you. So that's why, whenever we see the symbols of Jesus on the cross, it's so profound, it's so important, because for us, we see where he took our mistake and our sin upon the cross, and he paid for it with his very life. He died for you, he died for me, and I love that. Even in his last moments there, hung on the cross between two thieves that he even considered those on his right and left, and even in that last moment, the repentant thief, he said you will be with me today in paradise. Friends, that's what it means to have. The redemption of a loving God is to be connected with him forever. Friends, whenever we declare that he is risen, it's a declarative statement, it's that he is not dead, he is alive, and that's what we celebrate today.
Speaker 1:On this Resurrection Sunday, we think about those who were in Jerusalem that day and just as we see it here, the city of Jerusalem. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That it would rest on those today. And the same way, we think about those who were coming. They were shocked. They'd seen Jesus do the miraculous. They'd seen him calm the seas and they'd seen him heal the sick and restore sight to the blind. They'd see him heal and do miracles and cast out demons and feed the 5,000. They'd seen so many things and then they saw him go to his death and they were confused or perplexed. They didn't know what to think.
Speaker 1:And so we pick up in this narrative in Luke 24, verse one, and it says but on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb taking the spices that they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. It says. While they were perplexed about this, behold two men stood by them in dazzling apparel, and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Friends, he is risen. We see what happens. They go and they tell the others, they tell the disciples. And it picks right here with Peter. It says in verse 12,. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen clothes by themselves and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Speaker 1:Friends like Peter today, that's our challenge, that we would run to him that he is the very thing we've been looking for. He is the source of all that we need, and so we run to him. We run to him when we're in distress. We run to him as the source and the provision for wisdom, for all the open doors that we need. We run to him In our darkest days. We run to him In our best days. We run to him and we worship him because he is risen.
Speaker 1:Friends, this is our challenge that we would live this life of intentionality towards God, that we wouldn't hold back, but instead that we would run to him. Let me pray over us today. Lord, we run to you, but we ask, lord, that you would impart to us your spirit. Lord, as we draw near to you, lord, and we follow after you. Lord, that we walk in step where you're leading us to go, lord, like the prodigal coming home to his father. Lord, we run to you and, lord, you're there for us in meeting us, lord, and you wipe off the dirt and the shame and the sin and you forgive us when we ask and by faith, lord, we step into your family. You call us children of the most high God, lord, and you wrap us in the finest clothes and put a ring on our finger, because we are those who are walking with you. We belong to you, lord. We worship you today with all that we have, because you are risen. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:Friends, what he's called us is a new creation. He has made us something new. It talks about in 2 Corinthians 5,. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come, and so that means that you are a new creation whenever you have embraced Jesus. It doesn't mean that you're a better version of an old, dusty, crusty version of you. It means he has made you something brand new altogether, and so you're a new creation in Jesus.
Speaker 1:It continues here and it says that, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, god making his appeal through us, and we implore you, on behalf of Christ be reconciled, be brought back into relationship, be reconciled to God. Friends, that's my mission today is that I would be one that tells you to be reconciled to God. Friends, that's my mission today is that I would be one that tells you to be reconciled to God. Don't stand at a far off, but instead run to him in relationship that you would draw near to him and he will draw near to you. It says this last thing here in the scripture for our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Speaker 1:Friends, the Holy One, the King of Kings, the one who created us, he poured out his rich grace upon us so that we could be brought back into relationship with Him. It says, by faith, that as we accept what he's done for us, we are forgiven of all of our trespasses, of all of our transgression, of all of our sin, of all of our mistakes, of all of our brokenness. We are forgiven. And so today we take this opportunity to worship Him, because our worship is a weapon against the darkness. It's a weapon against brokenness, it's a weapon against the curse that we put on our life. We say no more. I come against the curse of darkness in Jesus' name. I have a future in Jesus because he is risen. Friends, that's what the good news is. The good news is that Jesus has come and that he loves you very much and wants to have a relationship with you. The gospel, the Lord be glorified, because the good news is for you and the good news is for me.
Speaker 1:Today, friends, as we revel in his victory over death and hell and sin, as we celebrate and worship him in his resurrection, there still are those who have yet to say yes to Jesus. Today is your opportunity to say yes to him. It's your opportunity to invite him into your heart and life, to start a new relationship with the living God. Each one of us has to answer that question have you embraced Jesus? See, for us, the symbol of the cross is one of transformation, it's one of freedom, it's one of sacrifice, where Jesus took all of my sin, all of my mistakes, and he paid for it upon the cross. He did the same for you that you could be in a relationship with him. He came and took all of our sin and all of our brokenness and he paid for it once and for all.
Speaker 1:The apostle Paul. He writes to the church at Rome. He says it like this because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified. With the mouth, one confesses and is saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your day. It's your opportunity to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and life.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna ask everyone here in the room if you would just stand to your feet right where you're at, here on the floor up in the balcony, bow your head, prepare your heart for what God wants to do, as Christians are praying for those to make a decision after Jesus. Friends, online, wherever you are under the sound of my voice, at work, at home, across the world, god wants to do something in your life. Maybe you're here and you've never made a decision to follow Jesus. Today is your opportunity to make that decision, to say Jesus, forgive me of my sin, invite you into my heart and life. Or maybe you're here and you have made that decision in the past, but you haven't been living it. You need to make a recommitment to the Lord. Today is your opportunity. So, as heads are bowed here in the room, if that's you, you just want to say yes to Jesus. Maybe just raise your hand right where you're at. We already see hands that are going up, hands that are here.
Speaker 1:Say pastor, include me in that prayer today. You raise your hand right where you're at. See hands that are here, hands that are there, people making decisions to follow Jesus, people reinforcing the decision. See hands in the balcony. Thank you, jesus. Thank you Jesus. Friends, it's not too late. If that's you. Thank you, lord.
Speaker 1:I'm going to ask everyone if they would pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you In Christ's name. I pray Amen, amen. Friends, we rejoice with you making a decision to follow Jesus today.
Speaker 1:So many people raising their hand and say yes to Jesus today. Praise the Lord. Friends, we want to connect with you. If you're here in the room, connect with us before you go. We have team in the back or at the cafe. We want to connect with you. If you're here in the room, connect with us before you go. We have team in the back or at the cafe. Want to connect with you. If you're online, message us. We don't want you to live this life alone. We want you to live in life after Jesus, in community.
Speaker 1:Friends, as we come to this last song today, before we do the blessing, we do so with an opportunity to respond to the love of God, to draw near to him.
Speaker 1:And maybe you're here and you need just a little bit more of the outpouring of God, more of his presence, more of his wisdom, more of his provision, more of his spirit. If that's you, today, as we sing this song, open this altar to you, that you would come forward so others can agree with you and see God move in your circumstances. Lord, we thank you so much. Lord, we pray over this Lord, saying thank you, lord, for those that made a decision to follow you today and, lord, at the same time, we who are already Christ followers, lord, we need more of you, lord. We celebrate your resurrection today, lord, and we come, lord, seeking your face, lord, and seeking your power and seeking your presence, to live this thing out, so that we can share the gospel, the hope that is for all mankind, with others. Lord, as we come to this altar, we do so with intentionality, lord, that you would pour yourself out upon us. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2:Well, easter is not over yet. We are going to have an Easter egg hunt for our kids. So if you have children, we encourage you at this point. When we leave, if you go grab your kids, there will be a bag. If they did not bring one, get one of those. And then if you go to the south side of the building, so if you grab your children and come along the east area, there's going to be a line. There are a lot of eggs, and so it's going to be fun. It's going to be controlled chaos, I guarantee you that but it's going to be a lot of fun and so you'll get to be involved and watch them and you're not going to miss anything. But come and join us and then you also can partake in all the candy. It will be fun. Parent tax.
Speaker 1:You guys know what I'm talking about. Hey, lots of great stuff coming up. If you haven't been baptized, get baptized. It's coming up this next month. We're excited for that. Also, this next week, invite a friend to come back. We're starting a new series called Everyday Carry, about what it means to carry your cross after Jesus. Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over us the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord will make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. We'll lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord. I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and happy resurrection day.