Easter Hope 2007
Easter Hope
1 Peter 1:3-9
Ill: The master preacher Donald Barnhouse was widowed at a young age. The death of his wife left him and a six-year-old daughter in the home. He had real difficulty working through his own grief, but the hardest part was to comfort and explain the death to his daughter. He later recalled that all of his education and theological training left him at a loss. One day he and the little girl were standing on a busy corner at a downtown intersection waiting for a light to change. Suddenly a very large truck sped by the corner, briefly blocking out the sun and frightening the little girl. To comfort her, Dr. Barnhouse picked her up, and in a moment, the wisdom of God broke through and he was able to explain to his daughter: "When you saw the truck pass it scared you, but let me ask you, had you rather be struck by the truck or the shadow of the truck?" She replied, "Of course, the shadow." He went on to explain that when "your mother died, she was only hit by the shadow of death because Jesus was hit by the truck (death)." The Psalmist reminds us that God is with us even though we walk through the valley of the "shadow" of death. Psalm 23 I Corinthians 15; Submitted by Jon Allen of Ontario, CA. 91761+ PEJul83 THE STING OF DEATH
I. Our Last Worry in Life is Over
A. New birth not death determines our choices
B. Joy overshadows our outlook due to mercy
II. Our Daily Strength Flows from Heaven
A. Our future cannot be destroyed or become meaningless
B. The power of evil finds no place to enter our lives
III. Our Struggles Are Simply Given New Meaning
A. We are moved closer to true faith
B. We live as to bring validity to God’s word
C. We discover love based solely upon love
D. We are receiving the life we have hoped for
The Point ? Jesus’ resurrection has broken every chain that has held us back from living all out for God! It has also opened the heavens to us for power and strength to live His way in the holy attitude of praise, love, and joy.
God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I repent and trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for giving me a new life, and the Holy Spirit to live in me! In Jesus name, Amen!"
THE MESSAGE
3 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, 4 including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! 5 God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole. 6 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. 7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. 8 You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. 9 Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.