Easter Sunday 2026

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Just put your hands together and give yourself for saving you. Thank you, Lord, for pouring out your love for us. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for all the things that you went through. Like we talked about on Friday for Good Friday communion service. God, you suffered, you bore our sins upon yourself, and you died. Father God, we are here this morning to celebrate because you didn't stay in that tomb. Three days later, you got up. Father, we praise you and thank you for the resurrection. We celebrate you this morning. Thank you, Jesus, for all that you do for us. We give you praise in Jesus' name. And the church said, Amen. You may be seated. Can we give the Lord another hand clock of praise? Amen. Thank you so much for being here today. We are honored that you have chosen to celebrate and to worship today with us here at Family Worship Center. And we can just say it's a good morning because he is risen. Amen. He is alive. And so today it's not about religion, it's not about tradition. Today it's about a real Savior who was really dead and is now really alive. Amen. And because he's alive, can I tell somebody this this morning? You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to live afraid. Because we know the one who defeated sin, death, hell, and the grave. Come on, somebody. I want us to open up in prayer this morning because I'm excited, but I'm also nervous and I'm ready for God to do this thing, and I just don't want to mess it up. So if you would bow your head with me, let's go to the Lord in prayer and just ask him to have his way in this service today. Father, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for your only begotten Son who gave his life for us. And God, on the third day, he rose from the dead. Because he defeated sin, hell, death, and the grave. And now he sits at the right hand of the Father and He intercedes for us. Father, help us receive from your word today. Help me deliver this sermon with passion and anointing. And we ask for your will to be done in Versailles, Missouri, as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray. And the church says, Amen. While preparing for this message, I kept reading the gospels and the accounts of the resurrection, and something kept popping out at me like it was highlighted, or like I just couldn't get away from it. And I couldn't ignore it, and it just kept speaking to me. And so I felt like God was saying, This is it. This is what you talk about on Easter Sunday morning. And so today's message is titled, He is Risen, So Don't Be Afraid. How many of y'all like that today? Amen. We're gonna go to Matthew chapter 28, verse 5 and 6. And once again, I just want to say thank you for being here with us today. We're so honored that you have joined us here at Family Worship Center to celebrate Easter and to just come together and worship the Lord. So Matthew chapter 28, verse 5 and 6, this is what it says. When the angel spoke to the women, don't be afraid, he said. I know you were looking for Jesus who was crucified, but he isn't here. He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come see where his body was lying. He speaks peace over them and shuts down their fear again in John chapter 20, and he does it again in Luke 24. And even in the book of John, we see Jesus who wants to make sure his disciples and followers realize two important things. One, he is alive, and two, there's no reason to fear. And so this morning, God wants to speak it over someone today. It don't matter if maybe this morning when you came to this place, you're far from God. You haven't been living for him, maybe you've never known him or have been in a relationship with him. Or if you've grown up in church your whole life, the message is still powerful and it's still the same. We don't have to be afraid because our Savior is alive. Amen. So God put it in my heart to speak into someone's life. Like I said, maybe this is your first time in church, or maybe this is your 100th time at church. Maybe this is your first Easter service. Maybe this is your first Easter being sick or having some sort of a diagnosis from a doctor, whatever your situation may be. God wants you to know Jesus is alive and there's no reason to fear. And so we're here to celebrate and rejoice today. I know it's why some people call us crazy because we're celebrating and rejoicing over death. Have you ever stopped to think about that for a minute? But I need you to hear this. The resurrection of Jesus replaces fear with faith. Which brings us to our very first point today. And I don't know if you had a chance to pick up today's sermon notes, or you have the Bible app, but you can access today's notes on there or guest information and get those to take home. But today's first point is this the resurrection is not a story, it's a historical event. See, we are not gathered today because of a myth. We are gathered because of a moment in history. The crucifixion is historically verified. Even outside of the Bible. Tacitus, which is a Roman historian, recorded Jesus was executed under Pilate. And then Josephus, who is a Jewish historian, referenced Jesus and his crucifixion and resurrection. A Greek writer named Lucian mocked Christians for worshiping the man who was crucified. And these are just to name a few outside of the Bible who historically acknowledge that Jesus was real, that he was alive, that he was crucified, and that after his death, people claimed to see him walking around and talking to people being fully alive. You see, nobody debates that Jesus lived and died. But the real question is: did he rise? The tomb was empty, the stone was rolled away, the body was missing, the Roman guards were stationed there. And if the body was still there, Christianity would have ended immediately. Think about this. If someone today claimed that a man rose from the dead, what's the first thing we're gonna do? We're gonna go check out that grave. Amen? We're gonna go see what happened, and that's what they did in Scripture. And guess what? It was empty. Scripture tells us they ran to the tomb to check, to see if it was true. Think about this. If it was just gossip or a rumor, nobody here has ever heard a gossip or a rumor before, right? Those things usually don't have a leg to stand on if they're not true. People usually stop talking about it. But here we are. Church, listen to this. Here we are, 2,000 years later. 2,000 years later, we're still talking about it. This morning, churches across the globe are gathering, celebrating that empty tomb. We believe the empty tomb here at Family Worship Center. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We believe he is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through him. If you believe that this morning, can you say amen? I heard this quote from C.S. Lewis that said, the resurrection is either the greatest hoax in history or the greatest truth in history. So that brings us to our next point. Point number two is this there were eyewitnesses, and lots of them. The gospels agree. Four different men, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Different people, different perspectives, same message. Jesus died. Jesus rose. Jesus appeared to people. In fact, one account, there were over 500 witnesses that seen him alive after his death. 1 Corinthians 15, 6 says he was seen by over 500 brethren at once. That's not a rumor. That's a public event. Amen. Non-biblical testimonies. Early writings and historical accounts confirm this. People claim to see Jesus alive after his death. The disciples preached it boldly. They were willing to die for it. I want you to listen to this this morning because it's powerful if you let it soak into your heart and your mind. Jesus' disciples. They all died for the gospel. They all died for the truth and preaching that Jesus was real, that he was alive, that he died, and that he rose again. Listen to this. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. He felt unworthy to die the same way as Jesus. And this is recorded by historians. Andrew was crucified in Greece on an X-shaped cross. And listen to this. It took him two to three days to die on that cross. And guess what he did during that time? He didn't say, hey, it's all a lie. It's all false. We made it up. For the two or three days he stood, he was on that cross. You know what he was doing? He was preaching the gospel to those who were nearby. Until he took his last breath. James was beheaded in Jerusalem. Philip was crucified in the country of Turkey for spreading the gospel across Asia Minor. Bartholomew probably had the most brutal death in India. He was flayed alive and then beheaded. Matthew was stabbed to death in Ethiopia. Thomas took the gospel further east than anyone else, but was speared to death in India. James was thrown from top of the temple and beaten to death. Jude was also beaten to death with clubs and axes. Simon was cut in half. John even thought. And this is recorded in several different places. And it's not found in the scripture, but as I kept researching it, this is kind of like a pretty well-known fact to historians. But John was sentenced to death to be put into a boiling pot to die. And he was. And a few hours later they came back and he was unharmed. And so, because of that, they sentenced him to the island of Patmos where God wasn't done with him and gave him the book of Revelation to write. What's the point? They didn't gain wealth or power or live in comfort. And it comes down to this people may die for a lie that they believe, but they won't die for a lie that they know is false. People will lie to get out of trouble. Nobody lies to be beaten, to be tortured, to be killed. Maybe you can relate with this, but when I was a kid and I knew that I was lying, sometimes my parents would say, Hey, before you get in trouble, do you want to tell us the truth? Has anybody ever been there before? And man, did I come to confess the truth real quick? These men put their entire lives on the line. And until they took that last breath, they claimed Jesus died and resurrected for us. Don't you think if it was a lie, a conspiracy, something they were making up, they would have confessed it before dying or to try to get out of being tortured. In spite of all this, they said, we saw him. He was alive. He rose from the dead. The resurrection is real. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. And even if they take our lives like the thief on the cross today, we will be together with him in paradise. This next quote isn't someone you really hear people use a quote from very often, but Napoleon Bonaparte said this about the disciples. I know men, and I tell you, those men were not liars. Can I let somebody know this morning? In 2025, this past year, there are approximately 5,000 Christian martyrs across the globe. The majority of them being missionaries or believers in Muslim countries. The question remains: why would you give your life for something you didn't believe in or you had doubt that it was real? This leads us to point number three this morning. The church itself is evidence. It's the test of time. Over the last 2,000 plus years, it started with 12 people, and now there's billions. To be exact, 2.64 billion people claim to be followers of Christ on planet Earth. One out of ours, and there's three people. See, Christianity began with 12 disciples, no money, no political power, no influence, and yet today it's the largest movement in human history. Acts chapter 1, verse 8 said, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere. In Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And that's when everything changed. A movement built on a lie doesn't last 2,000 years. A movement built on truth cannot be stopped. The church, Charles Spurgeon said, the church is this anvil that was worn out by many hammers. And every time that the devil or the enemy has tried to silence the church, God just raised up more people to testify, more people to spread the gospel. In Matthew 16, verse 18, it says, Now I say to you, Peter, which means rock. Upon this rock, I will build my church. And here's the part I want you to get this morning, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

unknown 17:00

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

They cannot be conquered because the victory has already been won. When Jesus said it is finished, he meant it was done. And so that leads us to the next point. Point number four is this. The Bible itself is evidence because it's supernatural. Maybe you think it's just a book this morning. Maybe you have your doubts. Let's just push back on some of those things for a minute. I know these areas of doubt. I've heard them and talked about them. I know the questions about translations and what it means or what something was changed from the original Greek or Hebrew and all these things. I've heard it my whole life. But let's really break it down this morning because this is going to set someone free. Maybe you've been playing games with God. You don't really understand if you truly believe this stuff that we talk about. If you can believe a book like this, if you can believe that a man would do these things, let's break this down this morning. There are 40 inspired authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who put together the books of the Bible. It spans over a time of 1,500 years. From beginning to end. Over three continents and three languages, and yet there is one unified message. From Genesis to Revelation, God redeeming humanity through a man named Jesus Christ. Listen to this. And I want us to show this graphic. I didn't do this, so I'm not taking credit for it, but someone who was very wise and took the time to figure it out did. From Genesis to Revelation, like I mentioned, 40 different authors, 66 books. Over 1,500 years. There are 63,779 cross-references from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation. The Bible is interconnected in ways no human could orchestrate. Many scholars and believers argue that the odds are effectively impossible. Listen to this. Without divine intervention. I don't want to go too far down this rabbit hole, but I want you to listen to me because we need to zoom in on one particular thing, the prophecies of the Messiah. There are over 300 prophecies that the Messiah was coming. And one thing is a study by Peter Stoner calculated. Listen to this. Just the chance of eight of these 300 prophecies coming true. The odds would be like one in 100 quadrillion. Someone getting that this morning. That's a one with 17 zeros behind it. How many of y'all would like to see that on a check? Listen, if we had time this morning, we could do the old illustration. Where you take 10 people in a room and you tell one person a secret, and then you ask that person to share the secret with the person next to them. And as they go through from one person to the next to the next, by the time it gets to that 10th person, guess what? That secret and that story is gonna change. Can I tell you all of these stats, all of these figures, all of these numbers that I told you, his word has not changed? It's still the same, amen. God used 40 people, 66 books across centuries, and it all fits perfectly. How does this happen? 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us all scripture is God breed. A.W. Tozer said this the Bible is not an ordinary book, it is alive, powerful, and divine. All of these things are a testimony to how great our God is. All these things show us how complex he is. All these things are based on historical accounts and facts and numbers and evidence. There's something this morning has above all of that. We're just connected. What can I tell you? It's the greatest evidence of all. Point number five is this the personal experience with Christ. Over the last 2,000 years, billions of believers have claimed to have an experience with the God of the universe. This is Jesus that we are talking about today, maybe through prayer, maybe through worship like we had this morning, maybe through a daily encounter, maybe through a miracle, maybe even through a near-death experience. Did you know that in the last several years, you can look this up because I made sure I did my research before I got up here to talk to you about something. There have been 750 accounts in the Middle East with Muslims who shared a testimony of a personal encounter with a person named Jesus. Let me share one particular encounter with you. A Muslim man and his family claimed in the middle of the night, a man wearing all white knocked on their door, asking for a drink of water. His face shined so bright they couldn't look directly at him. They led him in and at their table he began to tell them about Jesus, the Son of God. And their whole family had this crazy awesome encounter with Christ and converted to Christianity. There are 750 reports from missionaries and people serving in the Middle Eastern Christian ministry that these things are happening because God is spreading his word and the gospel across all nations, every tribe, and every tongue before he comes back again. And the point is this every believer, every follower believes and lives for Christ because they've had their own personal experience with him. Romans 8.11 says this, the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8.16 says the Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. And this is where it gets real today. You can argue history, you can debate evidence, but you cannot deny a life that has been changed. I can't prove to you what I feel when God speaks to me, but I know it's real. Like you can't see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind. You can see the wind moving. That's the Holy Spirit. I want you to stop for a second, and I want you to look around the room. And I want you to listen to me this morning. If you are here at Family Worship Center this morning and you claim to be a believer, if you've had a life-changing experience with God, if you know that you know that He is real and He is alive, would you testify by standing up this morning and showing others that you've had a personal encounter with a real and living God? It's the greatest evidence that this thing is real. The greatest evidence is you and me. You may be seated. This brings us to our title, it brings us to our final point. Listen to this. Because he is risen, you don't have to be afraid. This is where it all comes together. If you're here today and you're a non-believer and you're thinking about following Christ, for those of you who have been serving God most of your life for several years, you might be thinking, well, why are we talking about this? Why does this message even matter? You've had some good points, but what are we really talking about here? This is where it all comes together. So listen, you have to look at someone next to you and shush him, shush him, listen. If God is real, if Jesus was real, if he was Christ the Messiah, if all of this is true, if he lived, if he died, if he rose again, you don't have to be afraid of anything that life broke. You don't have to be, listen, this is for somebody this morning. You don't have to be afraid of death or life. You don't have to be afraid of sickness or cancer. Come on, somebody. You don't have to be afraid of the future or your past. You don't have to be afraid when you feel persecuted. If that's on Facebook, or if it's like a missionary and they're threatening your life. Either way, you don't have to be afraid. What did Jesus say? Do not be afraid. Why are you in trouble? Because when he said it, because he already prepared everything. The grave has no victory. Somebody better give him some praise today. Oh grave, where is your victory? Listen to me this morning, because he is risen. Even in the strongest storm. Listen to me, this is for somebody. Some of you need this. You're barely holding on today. Listen to this. Even in the strongest storm, even when the doctor's report doesn't go your way. Even when you've tried all your options and you don't know what to do. He's got the whole world in his hands. You know that song? He's got the world. In his hands, he's got the world. In his hands, he's got the whole world. In his hands, he's got the whole key. He's got you and me. See it out. Come on. He's got you and me. In his hands, he's got you and me. In his hands, he's got you and me. In his hands, he's got the world in his hands. He is risen and we don't have to be afraid. He is for us and not against us. He is Almighty God. He is the everlasting father. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Lord of angel armies. He's the stormcomer. He's the water walker. He's the life breather. He's the King of Kings. He is Jehovah Jirah, our provider.

unknown 30:03

And we can jump you.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Maybe you're about to fall down this morning in your faith, or maybe physically you're about to fall down. You can lean on him today. You can talk to him today. You can be secure in your heart and your soul because he is real. He is risen. And we don't have to be afraid. The band is going to come to the stage and begin to play something softly. And I don't want you to get distracted because we made sure that we're early enough that we don't have the excuse that, oh, well, we have to get out of here because the crock pot is on. I've got a crock pot on this morning as well. Anybody else testify? Listen, we're early this morning, so you don't have to start opening up the doors and trying to run out of here. Okay? That's just the devil trying to distract you to not hear the full word of God. Can I get an amen? The band's going to start playing softly. I want to bring all this together for you. You've heard the evidence. History says that he lived. The cross says that he died. The empty tomb says he's risen. Witnesses says that he appeared. The church says he's still alive and moving. The word says that it's true. And the spirit says it's real. Here's the question today, though. What do you say? What do you say? What is your decision today? Are you going to continue to ignore the facts? Are you going to continue to ignore how God is chasing you down and following you with his goodness and his mercy, and he's trying to reach you, he's trying to talk to you. He's trying to ask you to live for him. What do you say? Because this isn't just about believing facts. This is about surrendering your life. John 11, 25 says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Jesus told. In John 14, 6, he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. With every head bowed and every eye closed. And I'm just going to ask you with all my heart to please help us keep everything to a minimum distraction. We don't need to open doors. We don't need to jump up and run in the bathroom. We can try to keep children kind of quiet and not being a distraction because this is the most important thing we're doing all weekend. I know lunch is great. I know having family over is great. But this is the most important thing because this is going to impact someone's eternity. So with every head bowed, every eye closed, no distractions. If you're here today and you've been living in doubt, you've been living in fear. You've been unsure. You've been trying to figure out your faith. You've been distant from God. Maybe you've never truly surrendered your life to Jesus. This is your moment. Every head bowed and every eye closed. I'm going to count to three this morning, and I want to do that to encourage you and give you an opportunity to accept Christ as your Savior. To make a decision. What do you say? That you're going to proclaim that he was the Messiah and that you need him and that you're asking him into your heart and life. And you're asking him to forgive you of your sins. And you're going to live for him. And so I'm going to count to three. When I say three, if you're going to accept Christ today as your personal Savior, I just want you to shoot up your hand and show Jesus. No one's looking at him. It's between you and God. I want you to show him that you're accepting him. You're asking him into your life. So we're going to start. One, can I tell somebody? Jesus loves you. He died for you. He rose again for you. Because he is risen, you don't have to be afraid. Two, this is your moment. A moment to change. To become a new person in Jesus. To have a fresh start. If you are ready, if you want to ask Him into your heart and life, nobody looking around. It's between you and God. You're ready to be forgiven. You're ready to give that sin to God. You're ready to start fresh today. Nobody looking around. Raise your hand right now. Thank you for those hands all over the place today. Thank you for those hands. I want to give you one more opportunity before we move on. Thank you for those hands. Young and old and people in between. Thank you, Jesus. You can put those hands down. Church, I want to, before we move on, I want to say a salvation prayer real quick. And if you don't mind joining these 20 or 30 people that raised their hand, accept Christ as their safety. Just repeat this after me so they can know that they're not alone this morning. Jesus, I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again. Forgive me of my sin. Come into my life. Fill me with your spirit. I choose faith over fear. Because you are risen. I don't have to be afraid. In Jesus' name. Amen. Can we give God glory? Listen, it's just 11:30. Normally we're closer to 12, so give me five more minutes, okay? Listen. This sermon wasn't just for salvation. It's for those who also need reassurance. They need affirmation. Listen to me. That God's got you right in the middle of the storm that you're in. So if you're needing prayer, I'm going to ask our staff. I'm going to ask our pastors. I'm going to ask our leaders. If you teach us Sunday school, if you're a part of our prayer group, to begin to line up across the front of the stage, all the way across it, so people from every section can get to somebody for prayer. Listen to me as they're moving around. I need you to continue to listen, okay? Don't be a distraction. Listen, if you're needing prayer, if you're needing a miracle, if you're needing a healing, if you are discouraged or depressed, if you're needing a breakthrough, listen to me. Maybe you're having a breakdown. If you're dealing with a hang-up or a breakup, if you just need fellow believers to encourage you with prayer, these altars are open. And this church will never be a church that doesn't have altars to pray at. Can I get a witness to that? Amen. So listen. If you're accepting Christ or you just need prayer, these altars are open. These prayer partners are available for you. And we're going to sing and we're going to worship. And like I said, if you can just give me five more minutes, we'll let you out early enough that you might be able to beat the Baptist churches in town a bunch. Okay? But listen. We're going to sing, we're going to worship. And I want you to step out in faith. I want you to answer that question. What do I say? What do you say? Trust in God for a miracle this morning. Trust in God for a breakthrough. Trust in God that he can save you or save your family or save your kids. Trust in him today. Whatever you're needing prayer for, go ahead and begin to stand to your feet and we're going to sing and we're going to worship. And in about five minutes, we'll come back for prayer and dismiss you.

unknown 38:46

Let's just worship him. The words will be on the screen.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

If you're not coming up for prayer, worship with us for the next five minutes.