Power of Cross--Resurrection Everything Drama--Cardboard Testimonies--Resurrection Sunday 4-12-09
Resurrection Sunday ‘09
Power of the Cross—Power of the Resurrection
Everything Drama—Cardboard Testimonies
4-12-09
The Two greatest events in history converged on this weekend that we remember and celebrate
· The power of the cross- the victory of the Resurrection
· It’s why we can be FORGIVEN— we’re here
· Why—there’s a church
· Why we can KNOW God—follow Him
What going to do today is a bit of a mixture of a couple of things
· Message today interspersed with music/drama
· It all tells our story—the testimony of lives transformed by the power of the holy weekend
· Because the power of what happened this weekend of Resurrection didn’t QUIT WORKING 2000 years ago
o Still changes lives today!
The Power of the Cross
· Cross did MANY Things
· The cross—the Most PROFOUND—the most POWERFUL legal act of all time!!
Human race—Death Sentence
· Bankrupt/shattered by sin
· Separated from God—
For One thing: the Most powerful/profound legal act
· Our death penalty PAID (Passover Lamb)
· Remember last week talked about how Crucifixion happened at Passover
· That was NO MISTAKE—on purpose—explain
EVEN MORE than legal act
· Cross Greatest Act of LOVE in all history!
· ‘For God so Loved the World that He GAVE’
· Adoption papers signed—in HIS blood
o Opportunity to become sons/daughters
‘I see the Cross’
Cross does more than just get us CLEAN/Adopted/Saved
· On Journey of Life Cross a POWERFUL thing
· Transformation—changes our very nature—heart—born again
o Crucified with Christ—‘Christ Lives in Me’
o Changes NATURE
o New capacity to LOVE
o Start to LOVE what HE loves
o Hate what HE hates
· Carries grief—Comfort in Sorrow—Healing in Pain
· Our sin forgiven
o ‘As we forgive others’
o Power to forgive—extract poison—
o He who is forgiven much—loves much
Power of the cross to set us free from the thing that was too big for us
· Develop
Power of the Cross Made COMPLETE by:
The Authority of the Empty tomb
Matt 28 28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
The Guards’ Report
[1]
· There is an authority IN THE EMPTY TOMB
o DEATH could NOT keep it’s prey . . . HE tore the bars away!!
· The authority that BREAKS power of enemy
There is an AUTHORITY in the Empty Tomb
· Jewish Leaders—
· Early believers
o SAW Risen Lord—persecuted point of death
o Never denied—WHY
o HE is Risen—HE is risen, INDEED!!
o 2 Peter 1:16
o but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Satan thought
· Cross was his victory
· After all—Disciples fled/betrayed
· Crowds TURNED
· Followers Scattered
· Message discredited publicly
· Jesus dead
But What the enemy THOUGHT was his victory
· Was Actually GOD’S greatest Moment of ALL!!!!
Through the AUTHORITY of the Resurrection
Jesus destroyed the power of the enemy
· Jesus literally broke gates of hell
· Stole keys of death
· Rev 1:17
“Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.*[2]
The authority of the Resurrection
· Jesus DESTORYING power of SIN and DEATH
· Col 2:15 says Jesus
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.d
By the thing that looked like GREATEST FAILURE
· Jesus said, ‘I’ll take GREAT failure—turn into GREATEST VICTORY’
· That’s why hope for US—Trophies of GRACE
He destroyed the ENEMY’S power of Sin
· He Rose Again
·
He rose again—tomb empty—scripture—develop
The AUTHORITY and message of REZ still transforms lives today!
· Sets free
· Find new words
WE ALL NEED A Savior!
· We all have Sinned (verse)
· We all have been trapped
We’re going to do drama
· Shows picture of how powerful the Love of God
· Broke down barriers of sin
· Message of Resurrection—message of a LOVE that reaches PAST barriers to set us free
FOR GOD SO LOVED . . .
· More blocked
· Jesus came—defeated
· Drama picture of the God who created us with love
· A dream
· We got separated—poisoned—dieing
· He reached through the need
· Past the barriers
· BROKE the barriers
· Washed—set us free
Authority of the Resurrection
‘Everything’
That’s our story
· We’re all in that story
o ‘That wasn’t a drama, that was my LIFE!’
· The MESSAGE of a God who loves us so much to rescue us
· We ALL have found ourse4lves places where sin blocked God’s love
o Message of cross/rez God’s Love REACHING PAST
o Breaking through the barrier—For God So loved . .
As I was praying about today—
· So many amazing things happened at cross and resurrection
· “Lord, How do YOU want us to share today”
· Testimonies—DEFINE
· Testimonies of POWER of REZ ringing thru history
o Can’t shut them up—though they’ve tried—EVERY NATION
Some of the GREATEST evidence of the RISEN Savior
· Is found in the testimonies
· The account
· The stories
· From our OWN lives
· We all Carry a STORY on our lives—Good or bad
Cardboard Testimonies
o See them on the street
o ‘Out of Work’—need help
o Kind of a vulnerable—baring of the soul
In a VERY REAL WAY—Sin/PAIN has a way of WRITING A MESSAGE on our Lives
We wear the message on our LIVES—we may look like together
· Never good enough
· Addicted and rejected
· Those of us who found Power of the Resurrection all have one
o We have a story—where we are without—we each carry a part of the story
o But there’s a story on the other side of that cardboard testimony
o Story of forgiveness
o Second Chances
Power of Resurrection
· The Chance for EACH OF us to have a new Beginning
· It looked like the ultimate defeat
· Jesus’ message seemed to have failed
· His disciples failed miserably—publicly
· And yet even IN what looked like the absolute worst possible defeat
· Becomes God’s PLATFORM for the ULTIMATE victory
The power of the Cross
· The AUTHORITY of the resurrection
· Is a loving God
· Reaching through the fray and the chaos of destruction
· In love (reference skit)
And even more than forgiving our sin
· Power of Cross/resurrection—help us on our journey
·
Sure we wear this
‘Oh How He Loves Us So’
—Cardboard testimonies
Question:
· What’s on your cardboard?
· One side—and the other?
Maybe you are wearing a message
· Develop
· Maybe we don’t wear on cardboard
o But on our face
o On our hearts
· We all wear the message of sin
· In fact, more than a message—we’re sentenced to die
· Because of the cross and resurrection—we can have life
He who has the son has life . . . .
Surrender to Him (develop)
Jesus—I need you to write on the other side of my cardboard testimony
· Give life to HIM
If you want to make this journey … . .
**
Eph 4:8 This is why ita says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”b
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regionsc? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
[3]
8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”*
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.* 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
[4]
Col 2:9
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,a not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,b God made youc alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.d
[5]
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.[6]
**
Ps 68:18 18 You have aascended on high, You have bled captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that 1the Lord God may dwell there.
[7]
Message of Cross/Resurrection
· God who rescues from Sin
· New Beginning
Destroying power of sin once and for all
New Beginnings
· Transformation of a life
Greatest testimony of cross—changed lives
Build up
· The power of the cross
· Intersects history
· God so loved—that He gave
· Sin taken on Him
Happened AT Passover
· Blood on Doorpost
· We’re all deserving death
· God so Loved that He Gave
· Sacrificed Lamb
Mike—Felt Unworthy of God’s Love—Now can receive
Aimee--- Controlled by others/fear—Free to be me!
Kaylee—Alcohol
Kyle—Running Away from God—Running After God
Charisa—Sexual Abuse/Bulimia—healed
Bill—Addicted to Pot—Free
Mandy—Mom Died—Healed
Jake—Lust—Freedom
Jason—Insecutiry/Anger—Love freedom
Sarah—Worthless—worth so much more
Rita—Broken Marriage—Miracle Healing
Lance No purpose—Purpose
Bob—Suicidal—New life
Lori—Abused—Abandoned—Treasure
Myriah—Not Good Enough—Loved Accepted and Free
Rick—Live My Way—God’s grace
Arielle—Healed Ear
----
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mt 28:1-11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
* Greek and Hades.
[2]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Re 1:17-18). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
d Or them in him
a Or God
b Psalm 68:18
c Or the depths of the earth
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Eph 4:8-10). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
* Ps 68:18.
* Or to the lowest parts of the earth.
[4]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Eph 4:8-10). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
a Or the flesh
b Or your flesh
c Some manuscripts us
d Or them in him
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Col 2:9-15). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6]Peterson, E. H. (2002). The Message : The Bible in contemporary language (Col 2:13-15). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.
a Ps 7:7; 47:5; Eph 4:8
b Judg 5:12
1 Heb Yah
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ps 68:18). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.