SPEAKER_00 0:00

Today's scripture is in John 20, verses 11 through 18. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around, saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Raboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

So, Drax, back us up. Tell us just what you want about your upbringing and some of your younger years.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

I grew up in Pennsylvania. 21, I got here and thought I was running for my problems, but took all of them with me. In and out of jails and out of rehabs. Um, from 18 to 28 years old, I was introduced to the Men's Care Center, went through their program there. And that was just kind of a game changer for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

I remember talking to you way back then that you actually heard the gospel in a way, I don't know if it's the first time, but the first time you understood it while you were in jail. Tell us about that and when you actually received Christ initially.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

I'd gone to jail for it, it was probably the 12th or 13th time. Usually there would be kind of a six-month uh intermittent kind of gap between going to and from, but at this particular time there was only six weeks. And something about going back so quickly uh kind of triggered something within my mind to really start to believe that there was something wrong in my life. There's a gentleman named Bruce, and uh asked him you know about the Bible. And uh he uh told me that from the moment I was born I'd been walking away from God, but at any moment I could turn around and that God would embrace me with a love because I never that statement uh stands out more than anything else in that conversation on the 4th of July. I woke up and everything changed.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

And you met a very special someone here a few years into your being in our church. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

About three years in uh after I left the Men's Care Center. Um I was a uh resident manager at Samaritan. And I was doing some volunteer work with the kids, and um, you know, I needed somebody to help me take them bowling uh one particular night. And um I was introduced to my wife Melissa uh Garner, who is now almost a draxinger, started talking about uh Jesus, started talking about um just our love for God, and we talked about Crazy Love, the Francis Chan book. And just something about that conversation, you know, there just seemed to be a you know a deep spiritual connection there. I've been so blessed to be her husband.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Uh, you have a couple of baby boys that she's given you.

SPEAKER_03 3:15

Yeah, God's blessed us with two boys, Simon and Levi.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

There's a lot we could talk about, John. You had a lot of opportunities at this church and through a Christian character to serve the Lord. But it was is it also true that since you've been a Christian, you've had really no struggles or any challenges of any kind?

SPEAKER_03 3:30

That is absolutely false.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Okay. You might just summarize maybe just what what it's like as a believer to struggle hard.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

I think when I became a believer, there were a lot of things that I think I did not really grab onto as far as maturing. I had all these good things going on, but I could see that there was a slow fade in my consistency, in my connection with God. I think the enemy uh used a lot of my past and a lot of my ego, my pride, and my arrogance to slowly sink me.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Now, this past year, you've just had a real renewal in your marriage and your walk with Christ. Tell us what is contributing to the just a real solid place that God's brought you in more recent months.

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Jesus is the root of everything that is good in my life. Yeah, I think of two verses, John 14, 6, he says, on the way, the truth, and the life, and then I think of John 15, 5, and he says, um, if we abide in him, and he abides in us, we'll bear life fruit, and we can't do anything apart from him. I think I maybe took that secret for granted. I think I thought that I could do things apart from Christ. He's just been so good to me, and I I've grown to know him in a deep, personally, intimate way where I feel like everything good in my life flows through Christ in my pursuit of him. Because Jesus, in his infinite grace and mercy, and love, and how good he is, I deserve death. And that's what's astonishing to me is that knowing that I deserve all those things, he not only has he brought me back to life, but he's he continues to bless me.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Let's go back to 28-year-old Drax and just imagine that you're in the back row of one of our campuses at first Ambassleburgh on Easter Sunday, Easter weekend. What encouragement do you have to someone that felt as trapped as you did back then? What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_03 5:10

Yeah, I would just say that God desires just a deep, intimate relationship with us in spite of our setbacks and failures. I lived a life that was very immoral, and and God drew me out of that life. And you know, his grace is so abundant that even while I was, you know, in a relationship with him, uh, he still chose to continue to pursue me. Um knowing him and not knowing him. And that's been the beautiful thing for me. When I I'm in that guilt, not shame, it's hard to believe that God wants to bring me back and restore me and love me. Um, but he does.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Well, amen. Uh this morning, uh John is uh he's a personal friend of mine, and so I'm inspired by John's story always, but especially on a day like today, because there are thousands of Johns all around us in our community that just need someone to share Jesus with them. And perhaps there's a John or two in this room right now. Well, hey, a uh a somewhat thought-provoking statement to begin our Easter Sunday Bible study. You ready for it? Here it is. Ultimately, your faith is not in the empty tomb. Now, we're not saying the empty tomb is insignificant, we'd never say that, but ultimately, your faith is not in the empty tomb. Let me explain. Seven days ago, on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the triumphal entry. It was indeed triumphant, but it's a bit ironic because what Jesus came to do and what he eventually accomplished was very triumphant, but he didn't ride into Jerusalem like other kings would into a city or a town. They would ride in on a horse. Jesus rode in on a donkey. He was very humble. He spent this past week uh turning over tables in the temple and teaching and ministering in Jerusalem. Three days ago, on Thursday night, Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples. On that same night, he was betrayed and arrested. Two days ago, on Good Friday, Jesus was beaten and hanged on a cross. Jesus died on that cross in your place and in my place. Jesus died a real, historical, literal, and physical death. He really died on that cross for you. Two nights ago on Friday night, Jesus spent all night in the tomb. Yesterday, Saturday, Jesus spent all day in the tomb. Last night, Saturday night, all night in the tomb. On the first Easter Sunday, this morning, they found the tomb to be empty. But the reality is this morning, brothers and sisters, ultimately, your faith is not in the empty tomb. And here's why. The whole world believes the tomb is empty. Everybody 2,000 years ago, the disciples, the Jews, the Romans, everyone believed the tomb was empty. Today, everyone believes the tomb is empty. Christians, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, everyone believes the tomb is empty. What sets you apart as a Christian and what eternally saves you as a Christian is not your belief in the facts about an event that the tomb is empty. Your faith, hear this, church, ultimately, your faith is in the resurrected Jesus. Your faith is in the person of Jesus, the resurrected Jesus. The object of your faith is not a location, it's not a holiday, it's a person. And his name is Jesus. And he rose again from the dead. See, what sets you apart as a Christian is you believe the tomb is empty because Jesus rose again. And he's alive today. And that's significant for us right now on Easter Sunday, 2026, because a tomb in the Middle East that was vacated 2,000 years ago doesn't have a whole lot to do with how you live today. But a risen Savior, a resurrected Jesus who is alive right now as we speak. He has everything to do with how you live today in 2026. And if Jesus is alive today, then you can experience resurrected life right now. Let's talk about it from God's word. If you haven't already, turn with me in your Bibles to the book of John, chapter 20. John chapter 20, and I'll meet you there in just a moment to discuss experiencing resurrected life. This morning, our passage is John chapter 20, verses 11 through 18. Just eight verses of focus today. But the first ten verses in John chapter 20 provide for us a lot of context for our passage. In John chapter 20, verse 1, we learn that Mary Magdalene was the first person on the first Easter Sunday to find the empty tomb. Now you might be wondering why didn't she go on Saturday? Jesus died on Friday. Why did she wait until Sunday to go to the tomb? Well, in the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath was from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. And so Friday night and all day Saturday for religious reasons, Mary couldn't go to the tomb. And then last night, Saturday night, the Sabbath was over, but it was just practically, it didn't make sense. It was very dark out. And so the first Easter Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene went to the empty tomb, it was really the earliest she could get there. She got there as quickly as she could. But she was surprised when she got to the tomb where Jesus lay to find it empty. And she ran and she told Peter and John, hey guys, the tomb is empty. They have taken the body and they have hid it somewhere. I don't know who they are, but she was blaming somebody. Peter and John immediately got up and started running toward the tomb. Now you can read this for yourself later, but whenever I read the first ten verses in John 20, I always laugh because John is also the author of the Gospel of John. And John makes sure to tell us that he's a faster runner than Peter. John makes sure to tell us that he outran Peter and he beat Peter to the tomb, but he's a scaredy cat because John didn't go into the tomb. He waited for Peter to get there and let Peter go in first. So Peter goes in, confirms the tomb is empty. John says, Alright, I guess I'll come in too. John goes in, confirms the tomb is empty. And the verses say they believed what Mary told them, that the tomb was empty, but they did not yet believe, they will one day, but they did not yet believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. So verse 10 is perhaps the most shocking to me. Peter and John, they go home. Now, whether you believe that Jesus rose from the dead or not, or you believe that somebody stole the body, I would think if I were Peter and John, I'd want to get to the bottom of it, but they don't do that. They go home. Mary Magdalene came and found them early in the morning, and they were in the middle of their morning coffee and their Fox News, and Mary interrupted them, and they're trying to get home before the coffee cools off. They just go back home. Brothers and sisters, I hope that we would never be like that. I hope that we would never go from home to church and then back home. Never embedding ourselves in the community around us. If we're going to truly make an impact in this community, if we're going to truly be a light to our community, then we have to be in the community, getting to know the community. We have to have a third place, a fourth place. We can't just go home, church, home. We got to get to know some people in our community. Now, I'll give Peter and John some credit because they do eventually believe in the resurrected Jesus. And of course, we know they go on to do some incredible things in the early church. But in the context of John chapter 20, Mary Magdalene is actually a better example for us and a better model for us of how to experience resurrected life right now. Because she stays behind and tries to figure it out. She stays behind and tries to get to the bottom of things. And so let's learn from Mary this morning about experiencing resurrected life. Church, if you're taking notes today, number one on your notes is this take your brokenness to Jesus. If you want to experience a resurrected life, then you must take your brokenness to Jesus. Look with me in verse 11, 12 and 13 of our passage this morning. In verse 11, it says that Mary stayed behind and she's weeping at the tomb. She's gonna stay behind and she's gonna try to get to the bottom of this. Who took the body? Where is Jesus? Now it's important to clarify here which Mary we're talking about. In the New Testament, there's about half a dozen Marys, okay? It's kind of like at Oxford campus, I think we have seven different men named Bill and six different women named Debbie, okay? And I love all of you. But there's about half a dozen Marys in the New Testament. Which one is this? This is not Mary, the mother of Jesus. This is not Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. This is Mary Magdalene. We see Mary four times in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first time that we meet Mary is in Luke chapter 8. Mary is possessed by seven demons. And Jesus exercises all of those demons, and from that day forward, Mary is a devoted follower of Jesus. We see Mary Magdalene three more times. We see her again at the crucifixion of Christ. We see Mary at the burial of Christ. And then lastly, we see Mary right here on the first Easter Sunday in the history of our universe. Mary Magdalene is the first one to the tomb. In some ways, the fact that Mary Magdalene is the first one to see the empty tomb and ultimately, spoiler alert, the first one to see the risen Jesus, this is evidence that the story is true. Apologists call it a criterion of embarrassment. If you're writing a hero story about Jesus, the last person who you would want to find Jesus first is a woman who was formerly demon-possessed. And so if you're making up this story, Mary Magdalene is not the first person to find Jesus on Easter Sunday. But if you're telling a true story and you're just reporting the facts, then the facts are Mary was there first. It's evidence the story is true. In verse 12, uh Mary stoops down into the tomb to see for herself what Peter and John saw. And when she looks into the tomb, she sees two angels sitting there where Jesus was laying. Now, I don't think she recognizes them as angels. It's still kind of dark outside. Her eyes are clouded with tears. But there's two angels sitting there in the tomb. Now, there's some different theories about the quantity of angels and the placement of angels. Why are there two? Why is there one at the head and one of the one at the foot? It's probably a study for another time, but if you're curious, I would think this is calling our minds back to uh the cherubim sitting on top of the Ark of the Covenant. That's what I think about verse 12. In verse 13, the angels they talk to Mary. They ask her a silly question. Here's the silly question. Mary, why are you weeping? The reason it's silly is because she's in a cemetery. I don't know about you, but when you go to a cemetery to pay your respects to a loved one, you might cry a little bit. You might weep a little bit. That's that's normal, that's natural. So it's kind of a silly question to ask Mary, but the question itself implies there's a more hopeful narrative available. Why are you weeping? Well, I'm in a cemetery. Well, you shouldn't be because Jesus is alive. There's a more hopeful narrative available. Now, also in verse 13, Mary answers the question. She says, I'm trying to take my brokenness to Jesus, but I can't find him. I'm trying to find Jesus and I don't know where he is. Mary's experiencing a lot of brokenness. She's certainly experiencing grief. She seems very confused. She's experiencing a lot of brokenness, but all of it, she's trying to take all of it to Jesus, and she just can't find him. God calls us to do the same thing today. God calls us to take our brokenness to Jesus. In 1 John 1, verse 9, it tells us that when we sin, we should take our sin to Jesus. Confess our sin to Jesus, and he's always going to forgive us. In Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7, Paul tells us that when we're anxious, when we're concerned about something, we should cast our cares on Jesus because he cares for us. Whatever your brokenness is, take it to Jesus. Just like Mary's trying to do in John 20, 11 through 13. The other day I was, uh it was a weekday, it was this past week. I was I was getting ready to come into the office here at Oxford campus, and I uh I threw some clothes in the dryer and I shut the dryer door and hit start. And you know that sound when like you leave some quarters in your pocket, you can tell you left something in your pocket, and it's just jingling around in the dryer? Okay, well, this was not like that, okay? I hit start and I thought my house was under attack, okay? It was like the world's largest rock tumbler. Just do. I'm like, what in the world is in my dryer? And so I opened the dryer door to find uh my two-year-old son had put his full water bottle just in the dryer. You see, Gunner had a job. His job was to fill up his water bottle and then put it on the kitchen counter. And he filled up his water bottle and then decided a better option would be to walk all the way down the hallway and put it in the dryer. Because that's where people put water bottles. Now, I tell you that story because I I wonder this morning, if we have some people in the room, I wonder if you're throwing your brokenness in the dryer. Here's what I mean by that. I wonder if you're taking your brokenness to the wrong place or to the wrong person. I wonder if you're taking your brokenness to a substance trying to numb the pain. I wonder if you're taking your brokenness to an unhealthy relationship with someone who's going to affirm the sin in your life rather than root it out. I wonder if maybe you're taking your brokenness nowhere. You're just suppressing it and keeping it in like a pressure cooker. Would you do something different today? Would you take your brokenness to Jesus? Don't throw your brokenness in the dryer. Take your brokenness to Jesus. He wants to receive you and help restore the brokenness in your heart and in your life. That's what Mary was trying to do, and that's what we should try to do as well. Hey, church, number two on your notes is this. Number two, realize Jesus is right in front of you. If you want to experience resurrected life, then you have to realize Jesus is right in front of you. Look with me in verses 14 through 16 of John chapter 20. In verse 14, Mary had stooped down into the tomb. She talks to the angels, and now she comes back out of the tomb, and she glances over and she sees a man standing there, but she knows that Peter and John they've gone back home. So it's not Peter and John. She doesn't really recognize the man, and so she kind of turns around and continues to weep outside the tomb. She doesn't want to, she doesn't want to talk to anybody right now. She wants to weep privately. She wants to signal to this guy, just, hey, just go away. I'm not interested in the conversation right now. What we're told in John chapter 20, verse 14, is that it was Jesus, and Mary did not recognize that the man was Jesus. There's a few theories as to why she didn't recognize him. I would lean toward the more natural theory. It's kind of the same as why Mary didn't recognize the angels as angels. She probably didn't recognize Jesus as Jesus because it's early in the morning, the lighting's not good, her eyes are very clouded with tears. The last time she saw Jesus, he was beaten and bloody. Now he looks very different. She probably just glanced at him and didn't recognize who it was. So now her back is turned toward Jesus. She's trying to weep privately. She's signaling to this man, I don't want to talk to you, please go away. But Jesus doesn't do that. In verse 15, Jesus initiates a conversation with Mary Magdalene. Jesus says, Woman, why are you weeping? Does that question sound familiar? It's the same question the angels just asked Mary two verses ago. Why are you weeping? It's a silly question to ask someone in a cemetery, but again, it's a question that implies there's a more hopeful narrative. Now it's the object of that narrative, the subject of that narrative who's telling Mary, I'm alive. Why are you weeping? Now Mary still doesn't recognize that it's Jesus. And so Mary obliges. She's got her back turned to this man. She talks to him over her shoulder. She says, Sir, if you if you work here, if you're the gardener in this cemetery, just if you move the body, just tell me where you moved it so I can go, so I can go pay my respects to Jesus. I don't really want to talk right now, just just tell me where you put the body. I'm kind of tired of this. Jesus in verse 16 answers Mary. When she asks, Where is the body? in verse 16, Jesus answers Mary. Jesus does not give Mary a logical answer. He doesn't say, I don't work here. He doesn't say, Don't you remember the scriptures that I'm going to rise from the dead? He doesn't do any of those things. Jesus responds by simply saying, Mary. And it's in that moment that it clicks for Mary. It's just like John chapter 10, verse 27 says, Jesus says, I am the shepherd, and my sheep know my voice. When Jesus said Mary, she immediately knew who it was. She turned around and she said, Rabboni. Mary didn't respond to Jesus by saying Lord in Greek. Mary responded to Jesus by saying teacher in Aramaic. Back then the common language was Greek, but Greek was Mary's second language. Aramaic was Mary's first language. It was the language of her childhood. It was her heart language. And so when Jesus calls out to Mary in a very personal way, Mary responds in a very personal way. And she turns around and she sees Jesus standing right in front of her. It all clicked for her in that moment. You know, just a few weeks ago, at the beginning of March, I was up in Atlanta at a church planting conference with a few hundred church planters, and on day one, this guy walks up to me and he puts his hand on my shoulder, and his opening line is this Bro, remember me? You ever had this situation before? I didn't remember him, okay? No, I can't see too good, so that probably didn't help, but I did not I did not remember this guy. And some of us in this situation, we're often tempted to be like, hey man, how are things? Okay, but you can you can call me a lot of things, but you can't call me dishonest. So I looked at him and I said, I don't, I don't remember you. I'm sorry. And he's like, dude, it's Zach from seminary, Dr. Copan's Greek class. And I was like, Oh, I know that voice. Of course I remember you, Zach. How's your family? How's your ministry? It was in that moment when Zach mentioned his personal name and reminded me of our personal connection that I saw I saw Zach standing right in front of me. And the same was true for Mary. Jesus called out to Mary in a very personal way. Mary responded in a very personal way, and she saw Jesus standing right in front of her. She'd been looking all over for him, but he was hiding in plain sight. He was right in front of her. I wonder for some people in the room this morning, I wonder if you're struggling to see Jesus right in front of you. You want to know how you can see him better? You want to know how you can see him right in front of you? I want to draw your attention back to a very subtle but important detail in verse 16. In verse 16, Jesus calls out to Mary. Mary turns around and responds to Jesus. Brothers and sisters, can I tell you this morning? Perhaps the reason you're struggling to see Jesus right in front of you is because there's a sin in your life that you're refusing to turn from. Maybe that's why. You're like, whoa, Pastor Gary, I came to Easter at Oxford campus. I wanted to feel good. I get that. It's a holiday. We're all dressed up. I get it. But I tell you what'll make you feel real good if you turn from your sin. That's the best way to feel good if you turn from your sin. That's the best way to see Jesus right in front of you if you turn from your sin. That's what Mary did, and that's what we should do too. If you want to experience resurrected life right now, today, then in the name of Jesus, turn from your sin and look at Jesus standing right in front of you. Hey, church, number three on your notes is this. Number three, understand Christ won't abandon you. If you want to experience resurrected life, then understand Christ won't abandon you. Look with me in verse 17 of today's passage. Somewhere between verses 16 and 17, Mary runs to Jesus and perhaps she gives him a big hug and she's clinging to his neck. Maybe she gives him a hug and she's clinging to his arm. Maybe she falls at his feet and she's grabbing his cloak. We don't know exactly what happens, but we do know that in verse 17, Jesus says, Mary, don't cling to me. Loosen your grip. I'm not going anywhere. I won't abandon you. But then Jesus goes on and says, Mary, in fact, I need you to stop clinging to me and I need you to start doing something else. I need you to stop clinging and I need you to go do something for me. Mary, I need you to go tell my brothers that I'm about to return to their Father in heaven. This is a big moment in the progression of Jesus and his ministry. Early on in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus would refer to people like Mary and Peter and John. He would refer to them as followers. Later on in the Gospels, Jesus would refer to these same people as disciples. Now for the first time, catch this church. Now for the first time, on the very first Easter Sunday, Jesus is referring to his followers and his disciples as his brothers. And he is saying, you are joint heirs to the kingdom of God with me. I have a Father in heaven, and now you do too. And it's this family language that's being used by Jesus in verse 17 that signals to us Christ will never abandon you. You see, when you become a Christian, you don't have a heavenly supervisor that signs an employment contract. And if you keep up your end of the bargain, he'll keep up his. Now, when you become a Christian, you have a heavenly father who signs adoption papers. You're part of the family, and that's an unbreakable bond. Christ will never abandon you. I know for some of us, when you hear that word father, some of us have or had really good relationships with our fathers. And if that's the case for you, then your father in heaven is everything you love about your dad and so much more. But I know for some of us in the room, you have or had a bad relationship or a non-existent relationship with your earthly father. And if that's you, I'm sorry. But if that's the case, your heavenly father is everything you wish your earthly father would have been, and so much more. That's who your father in heaven is. And Jesus is using this family language here to communicate to us that he will never abandon us. Your father in heaven has called you his child, and he will never abandon you. Think about it this way. I have, Hannah and I, we have three kids. Their ages are four and three and two. Which basically means that at my house, my bare feet never stop hurting from stepping on toys, okay? So you name it, I've stepped on it, alright? So matchbox cars, magnet tiles, blocks, strawberries, I've stepped on all of it. Now here's the thing: there is no threshold for me where I walk through my living room and step on a toy and I say, enough! Kids, pack your bags, find somewhere else to live. I'll never do that. They're not tenants renting a room in my house, they're my kids. And the same is true of you and your relationship with your heavenly father. He's never gonna kick you out, he's never going to abandon you. In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 17, Ephesians 3, 17, Paul tells us that when you become a Christian, Jesus takes up residence in your heart. When you become a Christian, Jesus comes to live in your heart. What that means is when Jesus goes walking through the living room of your heart, stepping on sin, there's no threshold for Jesus. He's not gonna go walking through the living room of your heart, step on some sin and say, All right, I've had enough. I'm packing my bags, I'm out of here. Find yourself another savior. Jesus will never abandon you. He's taken up residence in your heart. You are joint heirs to the kingdom of God with Jesus Christ. You are a child of your Father in heaven. That family language signals to us that Christ will never abandon us. And so I wonder about you this morning. I wonder if the enemy has been feeding you a lie and you've believed it recently. That you've gone too far. You've messed up too much. And Jesus is on the verge of leaving you. One more mistake, and he's gone. That's not true. Would you replace that lie from the enemy this morning with truth from God's word? That Christ will never abandon you. If you want to experience resurrected life, then you have to make your personal faith public. Look with me in verse 18 of our passage today, the last verse in John chapter 20. In John chapter 20, verse 17, Jesus gave Mary some instructions. Go tell the disciples that I have risen from the dead. In verse 18, Mary immediately obeys. All the way, right away, she obeys. In verse 18, it says that Mary went and announced. Mary had a go and tell attitude. And that's an attitude, brothers and sisters, that we should imitate. We should have a go and tell attitude. You see, here's the thing, church. The church is here for the community. The community is not here for the church. We cannot have a sit and wait attitude, sitting and waiting for people to come to our stuff. We've got to have a go and tell attitude, just like Mary. We've got to be on the lookout for real opportunities to make a real impact in the community if we're actually gonna be a light to this community here at Oxford, Florida. Now, what's more important than Mary's attitude in verse 18 is the content of her announcement. Notice what Mary does not say in verse 18 to the disciples. She does not say, I've seen the empty tomb. Again, the empty tomb is very significant. But watch what Mary says in verse 18 to the disciples, I've seen the resurrected Jesus. That's what she told them. That's what she announced. Ultimately, your faith is not in a location or a holiday. Your faith is in a person, and his name is Jesus. And on the first Easter Sunday, he rose from the dead and he's alive today. Mary went and she made her personal faith public. And we should too. You know, here at Oxford Campus of First Baptist Church Leesburg, Easter Sunday is a special day. Primarily because we are giving some extra special attention to the resurrection of Jesus, but also because uh today's our first birthday. Today's our first anniversary as a campus. On Easter Sunday, 2025, there was a partnership that formed between Emmanuel Baptist Church and First Baptist Church Leesburg to launch the Oxford campus of First Baptist Leesburg. It's the campus that you're enjoying right now. And there are so many things that I could report on when it comes to all that God has done in our first year as a campus. But the main thing I want to tell you about are the 11 people who got baptized at Oxford campus over the past 12 months. I think we've got a picture of all of our baptisms we can throw up on the screen. Maybe we've got a picture here. One second on the picture. We had 11 people get baptized at Oxford campus over the past year. And I'm telling you what, that is just uh that's just an appetizer. That's just a taste of what God is getting ready to do. And let me tell you about these people. Fred and Kara got baptized, and Chris and his middle school son, there you go. Chris and his middle school son Jackson got baptized, and Aaron Pattinger got baptized, and and Brenda and Richard got baptized, and Sue and Amy and John and Dana. We had 11 people get baptized at Oxford Campus over the past year. All the way from a 13-year-old middle schooler up to none of your business years old, okay? We had all these people get baptized at Oxford Campus, and we're just getting started. Now, maybe you're here today, and the way that you need to make your personal faith public is follow in the example of these 11 people. Maybe you need to get in the waters of baptism. I'd love to talk to you about how to do that. But maybe you're here today and you're a baptized believer, and you just need to reignite your passion for personal evangelism, for personally sharing your faith with your family and your friends and your neighbors. You see, brothers and sisters, the best things in life are meant to be shared. And the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest news this world has ever heard, so why wouldn't we share it? Make your personal faith public. You see, as Christians, our faith ultimately is in the resurrected Jesus. The object of our faith is a person. His name is Jesus. And on the first Easter Sunday, 2,000 years ago, he bodily rose from the grave and he's alive today. And because he's alive today, we can experience resurrected life right now. If we're willing to take our brokenness to Jesus, see him right in front of us, understand that he'll never abandon us, but then go and make our personal faith public. But hey, maybe you're here today and you're not a Christian. Can I tell you something? We're really glad that you're here. God has you here for a reason today. But maybe you're listening in on this Bible study for Christians and you'd say, you know what, I don't need to like recalibrate my resurrected life with some principles from Mary. I don't need to do that. I've never experienced anything close to resurrected life. I know the tomb is empty, but I don't believe that Jesus is alive. Would you change your mind today? Would you place your faith in Jesus Christ today? It's the best decision you'll ever make in your life. Hey, if that's you today, we're gonna give you an opportunity to do that right now. Hey, as uh as we're about to close, we've got some uh some people, some prayer counselors that are coming right now. Uh these couples are gonna stand all across the front of the room. They're gonna kind of spread themselves out. And as our prayer counselors are coming, let me tell you what's about to happen. In just a moment, I'm going to pray to close our time of Bible study. And when I say amen, we're gonna sing one more song of response. And as we sing, a lot of our members will reflect and respond from their seats, but many of our members will come to the altar and pray for things at the altar or pray for things with our prayer counselors. But maybe you're here today and you're not a Christian, but you want to make today the day of your salvation. Today, the day when you experience resurrected life for the very first time, that I would encourage you as we sing to walk forward and grab one of these prayer counselors and say, I want to trust Christ for the first time. I want to experience resurrected life for the first time. Help me become a Christian. There's no better decision you'll ever make in your entire life. Let's pray. Father in heaven, God, we love you and we praise you. We're always grateful for the resurrection of Jesus, but especially on Easter Sunday, 2026. God, we're grateful for your word in the Bible that is clear and applicable to our lives. God, I pray for my brothers and sisters in the room that you would help John 20, 11 through 18 take root in our hearts this week and for the rest of our lives. But God, I pray for that person here today who's not a Christian. Holy Spirit, would you continue to convict them of their sin and give them clarity about the decision they need to make to trust Christ? God, as we sing, would you compel that person to come forward and grab one of our counselors and trust Christ for the first time and walk out of here? A new person, a new man, a new woman. God, we give this time over to you. We pray that everything we've thought and said and done has been glorifying and honoring to your name and your name alone. Hear us as we pray to you now. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.