See, it's ten past, so we'd better get going, I guess.
Great to have you here, and especially a warm welcome if you've come as part of the Council's Christianity Awareness Week.
Particularly good to have you. If you're not here for that reason, it's still good to have you.
What we're doing this week, because Easter is coming up, and because our Christian friends and the Council have put this week on,
we're looking particularly at Easter, because Easter is the heart of what Christianity is about.
And so today's message is, at last, some good news. That's where we're going.
Because we all need good news, don't we? We all need good news.
And at the heart of the Christian message is good news. In fact, the Christian message itself is called the Gospel, which is literally good news.
So what I'm going to do, if you've got a Bible, you can turn to it.
Or if you've got one of the little booklets I put out in the chairs, I'm going to turn to this.
This has a little bit, or two chapters from the Bible. Two chapters from Luke's Gospel, Luke's account of Jesus' life.
And so what I'm going to do is read part of the account of the whole Easter story, and then we'll pray, and then we'll look at what that means for us.
I should say before I start that the guy who wrote this, Luke, was a doctor.
And he says at the very start of his book, you don't have the start, you don't have the end, but it's worth reading the start as well.
At the start, he says he's gone to eyewitnesses to get a reliable account so that people can be sure of what they believe.
So as we read this, you might want to bear in mind it is an eyewitness account.
And you might also want to bear in mind the context of what has happened.
So we're going to be reading on page 21 in these little booklets.
If you've got a whole Bible there, then it's Luke chapter 24.
We're starting to read at verse 35.
But the context here is that the people we're about to read about had just lost a close friend, Jesus.
Not only a close friend, but someone who was their leader, someone who had touched their lives in profound ways and given them hope.
On a Friday, he had been crucified, a terrible, awful, hideous, humiliating death.
And we pick up the story on a Sunday.
So let me read, then I'll pray, then I'll talk.
And there will be time at the end for questions and hopefully answers.
So if you've got any questions that come to mind while I'm speaking, do write them down.
I'll do my best to deal with them in a Q&A session at the end.
Anyway, here we go.
So this is Luke chapter 24, verse 35, page 21 in these booklets.
Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road.
And how they had recognised him as he was breaking the bread.
And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself, remember he died two days earlier.
Jesus himself stood among them, was suddenly standing there among them.
Peace be with you, he said.
But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost.
Why are you frightened, he asked.
Why are your hearts filled with doubt?
Look at my hands.
Look at my feet.
You can see there that it's really me.
Touch me.
And make sure that I'm not a ghost.
Because ghosts don't have bodies as you see that I do.
As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.
Then he asked them, do you have anything here to eat?
They gave him a piece of boiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.
Then he said, when I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me and the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
And he said, yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.
The Messiah was God's promised king.
One he promised would come to rescue his people.
So Jesus carries on, verse 47.
It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.
You are witnesses of these things.
Well, as Christians, we don't believe the Bible is any ordinary book, but it's God's book, it's God's word.
And so it's right to pray for him to speak to us as we study it together.
So let's pray for a moment now.
Almighty God, we thank you for this reliable eyewitness account of these events.
We pray that now as I speak, as we listen to it, that your word would come to us as it is, not merely as the words of a man, but as the word of God, with power and with conviction and with the Holy Spirit.
May we leave here knowing we've heard your voice.
For we ask it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, we could all do a good year, couldn't we?
I don't know about you but wherever I look on
websites, on news websites
I'm always tempted to having seen
the sort of dismal headlines to then go
and find a kind of humorous article
or story about the lost dog that's just been found
or whatever it is to kind of take my mind
off the bad stuff and
I found this morning I'm not the only person who does that
so as I checked the BBC news
website this morning with all the news
of atrocities in Syria
and war in Ukraine
impending debates about elections in this country
do you know what the top three most
read news stories on the BBC website
were?
number one, Angelina Jolie
has had her ovaries removed
number two
why nine hours sleep may be bad
for you
number three
deadly dog disease cause
unclear, so typical
British we're concerned about dead dogs from
Crufts or whatever it was, I didn't even look
at the article
so you're so desperate for some good news we'll do anything
to avoid reality sometimes, won't we
we'll do anything to avoid facing how bad things are
I don't know if you remember
but last summer
the comedian and actor Robin Williams
tragically took his own life
having been dealing with mental health problems for a long time
and at the time
his fellow comedian
or at least alleged comedian
Russell Brand
wrote in the Guardian
describing Williams as
a hilarious stranger
that we could rely on
to anarchically interrupt
the all-encompassing
sadness
of the world
we looked to Robin Williams
to anarchically interrupt
the all-encompassing
sadness
of the world
goes on
today
Robin Williams
is part of the sad narrative
that we used to turn to him
to disrupt
in other words
we wanted entertainment
we looked to this man for entertainment
and tragically
he's gone as well
he added
is it melancholy
to think
that a world
that Robin Williams
can't live in
must be broken
is it just melancholy
to think
that a world
that Robin Williams
can't live in
must be broken
this man
who brought
so much entertainment
to so many people
if he can't
hack it
in the real world
then doesn't that mean
the world is broken
I wonder how you feel
about that statement
as we look out
at a world
surely it is broken
isn't it
the wars
the famines
the diseases
as we look at our own lives
we see brokenness
don't we
sudden health problems
sudden relationship
difficulties
suddenly work goes
I know in the council
you've been dealing
with lots of uncertainty
so there is a
death
is if you like
the ultimate manifestation
of the brokenness
and sadness
that we feel
in this world
and so we need
some good news
we're desperate
for some good news
and that's where
the story of Easter
kicks in
because this is good news
if we understand it
if we really grasp
what this is about
then it is the best news
ever
and I want to look at
as we look through
this story I just read
I want us to look at
first of all
the emotions
of the people involved
and how those emotions
changed
and secondly
Jesus' explanation
of what had happened
and finally
Jesus' invitation
to all of us
so if you've got
that little booklet there
you might like to turn
to page 21 again
and we'll follow it
through with me
as we speak about it
now remember
this is Sunday
on the Friday
Jesus had died
Jesus who was
their hero
their lifesaver
who changed their lives
they'd followed him
for years
and to begin with
they just knew grief
so as Jesus was
hanging on the cross
all his disciples
left
shattered
in fact when he was
arrested they all
ran away terrified
they hid themselves
in a room
but as Sunday morning
hit the third day
Friday, Saturday
Sunday, the third day
strange things
started to happen
so first of all
some women
went to Jesus' tomb
to embalm his body
as was the custom
and they found
the tomb empty
and they ran back
they found the tomb
empty and they found
angels telling them
why are you looking
for the living
among the dead
he's alive
so they ran back
to tell all the rest
of Jesus' followers
that this
if you turn back
over the page
to chapter 18
for a moment
almost at the top
of the page
you'll see the response
of the men
who heard that story
verse 11
at the top of page 18
but the story
sounded like nonsense
to the men
so they didn't
believe it
they were cynical
they didn't believe
this coming back
to life stuff
even though
it was their friends
telling them
they just thought
the women were
talking nonsense
even though
they'd heard Jesus
say many times
he would rise again
they thought it was
nonsense
and immediately
before this excerpt
we're looking at
page 21
two people
had just come back in
having walked
to a village
called Ames
having met Jesus
there
they then came back
to Jerusalem
straight away
to tell all these
followers of Jesus
who were now hiding away
that they'd seen Jesus
but despite all this
evidence that something
amazing was happening
look at their reaction
look at their emotions
when Jesus turns up
verse 36
just as they
the two people
from Ames
were telling
about it
Jesus himself
was suddenly
standing there
among them
peace be with you
he said
but the whole group
was startled
and frightened
thinking they were
seeing a ghost
startled and frightened
that's how they felt
literally terrified
and frightened
why?
why do they feel
like that
when actually
they'd already heard
that Jesus was alive
or they'd heard
Jesus say
he'd come back to life
well surely
the answer is simple
isn't it
we know
dead people don't rise
that is not the way
it happens
I was at a funeral
a few weeks ago
of a young woman
I call her young
because she was
two years younger
than me
she was 40
and tragically
similar to Robin Williams
she'd committed suicide
and everyone in that room
would love to have
had her back again
but she was dead
dead people don't rise
do they?
that's why the disciples
first reaction
as they see
what looks like
Jesus standing there
is it's a ghost
not only were they terrified
but they were also doubting
look down to verse 38
when Jesus speaks to them
why are you frightened?
Jesus asked
why are your hearts
filled with doubt?
these guys
were not likely
to believe
that Jesus
was risen from the dead
they were doubting
that this could possibly
be what was in front of them
they needed evidence
didn't they?
they needed something
to convince them
and I wonder
is that how you feel
as you read this story?
you say
ok
it's all very well
this is something
written
apparently 2000 years ago
I need evidence
well I can understand that
you're right
to want evidence
I'm a scientist
by training
I did a chemistry degree
almost killed me
but I did it
and I'm someone
who needs evidence
to believe things
and actually
that's what the Bible does
and look what Jesus does
saying why are you doubting
what does he say to them
then?
verse 39
does he just say
have faith
trust me?
look what he says
verse 39
look at my hands
look at my feet
you can see
it is really me
he doesn't say
have faith
he says
have a look
look at the evidence
it's in front of you
look at my hands
you can still see
the nail marks
where two days ago
I was nailed to a cross
look at my feet
you can still see
the marks there
where I was nailed
to the cross
have a look
but was it just a ghost?
was it just a ghost?
did it just look like Jesus?
well Jesus goes on
he gives them more evidence
doesn't he?
verse 41
still they stood there
in disbelief
filled with joy
and wonder
then he asked them
do you have anything
here to eat?
they gave him a piece
of broiled fish
and he ate it
as they watched
now I don't know
if you like the films
the Pirates of the Caribbean
films
the first one's good
they'll get worse
after that
but in the first film
of the Pirates of the Caribbean
excuse me if you're not
into this
but in the first film
we discover
some way through the movie
that actually
Captain Barbosa
is the captain
of a whole crew
of ghosts
on the Black Pearl
and so as
Captain Barbosa
played by Geoffrey Rush
turns to the glamorous
heroine
Miss Elizabeth Swan
played by Keira Knightley
he says
you better believe
in ghost stories
my dear
you're in one
at which point
he takes a flagon
of rum
and starts to drink it
he pours it in
of course the special effects
are great
so it always pours out
on the floor
going down his skeleton
point being of course
ghosts can't eat and drink
and it wasn't just
the Pirates of the Caribbean
that told us that
the disciples knew that
as well
2,000 years before
that's why Jesus
says give me some fish
and he eats it
for these doubting people
he wants them to know
that he is solid
he is real
he is not a figment
of their imagination
they are all seeing him
there is a lot of
other evidence
that convinces me
that Jesus has risen
from the dead
that this is real history
not just fantasy
not just myth
you might want to ask
about that later
I won't go into it now
but there should be time
for Q&A a bit later on
but I hope you'll see
that contrary to popular belief
contrary to what
Richard Dawkins
would tell you
the Christian faith
is not about
believing in the absence
of evidence
or even in the teeth
of evidence
the Christian faith
is about believing
someone
trusting someone
who has shown himself
to be trustworthy
trusting someone
who has shown himself
to be trustworthy
not just believing
wishful thinking
I suppose at this point
another question
might come into our heads
well it's alright
for then
it's alright
for these people
in Jerusalem
2000 years ago
but what's that
got to do
with my life today
what's that got to do
with me
when I live in
what Russell Brown
described as
a broken world
well to understand
why this is good news
we need to look now
at Jesus' explanation
of what had happened
and then the invitation
he makes
off the back
of that explanation
so let's look at the explanation
in verses 44 to 46
then Jesus said
when I was with you
before
that is before he died
I told you
that everything
written about me
in the law of Moses
and the prophets
and the Psalms
must be fulfilled
then he opened their minds
to understand the scriptures
and he said
yes it was written
long ago
that the Messiah
would suffer
and die
and rise from the dead
on the third day
now what's that
what in the world
is that about
what's the law
of Moses
and the prophets
and the Psalms
Jesus is talking about
what we call
the Old Testament
the Hebrew scriptures
the Old Testament
the first part
of the Bible
now I don't know
what you think
about the Bible
many people think
the Bible
is just a whole bunch
of myths
put together
or maybe it's
a rule book
for life
or maybe it's
a nice
religious teaching
to give us
a philosophy
the Bible
isn't really
any of those things
primarily
the Bible
is God's word
to us
and it's a story
it's a great
rescue story
it's a great
rescue story
or a great
love story
which is about
rescue if you like
and like any
classic heroic
rescue story
it starts with
everything being
good
God made a
perfect world
where everyone
was happy
and then
disaster strikes
and everything
goes wrong
in the Bible
that's
the disaster
is people
turning away
from God
people no longer
treating God
as ruler
in his world
but the story
doesn't end there
because it's a
rescue story
because God
loves his world
he loves what
he's made
and he's committed
to it
and so the
Old Testament
is full of
promises
of God
coming to
fix what
was broken
that one day
God would
mend what
we had
corrupted
that one day
the creator
would come
and put back
everything
we'd unraveled
and Jesus
says
that is
fulfilled
in him
in what
he had
done
now there
are two
things I want
to say briefly
about that
why does it
matter that
Jesus was
fulfilling
everything that
happened in
the Old Testament
well it tells
us two things
at least
first of all
it tells us
we cannot say
that God
doesn't care
about us
we cannot say
God doesn't
care about
his world
because there
in the Bible
we read this
record of promises
that he'd come
and deal
with the pain
deal with death
deal with the
brokenness
deal with the
dysfunction
and the disease
and the sadness
we cannot say
God doesn't
care
if he's fulfilled
those promises
and we also
cannot say
that God
isn't powerful
some people say
there's suffering
in the world
because God
doesn't care
or because God
isn't powerful
not true
he's powerful
enough to keep
his promises
we all know
how hard that is
don't we
and if we're
in any doubt
I had two
election manifesto
things on my
table this morning
as I was having
my lunch
promises from
the Tories
promises from
labour
tick when we've
kept our
pledges
oh yeah
right
because it's
very
we're the best
will in the
world
it's very hard
to keep promises
isn't it
but God is
powerful enough
we cannot say
he doesn't care
we cannot say
he's not powerful
he has done
everything he said
and that leads
us on to
Jesus' invitation
that's his
explanation of
what's happened
look at his
invitation
verse 46
he says
yes it was
written long ago
that the Messiah
God's king
would suffer
and die
and rise
from the dead
on the third
day
it was also
written that
this message
here comes the
invitation
would be
proclaimed in
the authority
of his name
to all the
nations
beginning in
Jerusalem
there is
forgiveness
of sins
for all
who repent
you are
witnesses
of all these
things
do you hear
the invitation
it's an invitation
for everyone
for the whole
world
it's an invitation
to receive
forgiveness
of sins
in the
authority
of Jesus
who died
and rose
again
now at this
point you
might be
thinking well
sins so
what
we've got two
completely wrong
ideas about
sins haven't we
sometimes in
popular culture
at least
sin is a little
bit of naughty
indulgence
so sin this
Easter will be
eating too
much chocolate
but that's not
what the Bible
describes as sin
on the other
hand we can
go to the
other extreme
can't we
so you know
sin is
Jimmy Savile
and all that
terrible child
abuse
sin is
what IS
are doing
to people
in Iraq
and Syria
and even
Libya
sin is
those terrible
things
I'm not like
that
but the Bible
says that
that's not how
the Bible
talks about sin
it's not some
little thing
that doesn't
matter
it's not just
horrible
horrendous
things
that other
people do
the Bible
describes sin
as the
cause of all
the problems
in the world
and it describes
it essentially
as ignoring
God in the
world he made
or not
treating God
as ruler
in the world
he made
some people
do that
by using
God
we all hate
being used
don't we
some use
God to
try and
control others
some use
God to try
and boost
their own
self esteem
or their own
identity
through their
religious behaviour
so some use
God
they don't
treat him
as ruler
that way
many other
people ignore
God
and don't
treat him
as ruler
in his world
no I hate
being used
and ignored
don't you
a few years ago
I was cycling
home from work
one day
and cycling
through Hampton
Hill
if you know
Hampton Hill
and I came to
some traffic
lights in the
middle of
Hampton Hill
High Street
and as I
cycled towards
them I noticed
three things
first
there were red
traffic going
in my direction
second
the pedestrian
crossing going
in my direction
was green
that meant
it was safe
to go over
the red lights
on my bike
because I knew
no traffic was
going to come
third
I noticed a policeman
standing on the
opposite side
of the junction
but the thought
went through my mind
it's safe
it's not going to
harm anyone
the policeman
will understand
so I ignored
the policeman
there
I ignored the
red light
and went straight
through it
as soon as I
done
and he stepped
out
waved me down
with his hand
I said
oh no
so I said
yes officer
did you see
the red light
there sir
yes officer
do you have
a driving
licence sir
yes officer
so you know
what a red
light means
then sir
yes officer
did you see
me standing
here sir
yes officer
what's the
world coming
to
you saw
me standing
here
a police
officer
and you
still went
through the
red light
of course
he's absolutely
right isn't
it
what is the
world coming
to
if everyone
sees the
rightful
authority
standing there
on the street
corner
and still
disobeys traffic
laws
it'd be
carnage
on the road
it'd be
gridlock
out there
on Broadway
but yet
that's a
picture of
our world
where does
the carnage
come from
where does
death and
disease and
breakdown
and envy
and hatred
where does it
all come from
it comes to
the fact we
ignore God
the rightful
ruler in
the world
he made
and like me
going through
that traffic
lights
we can
rationalise it
for ourselves
I'm alright
I'm not that
bad
I'm not
hurting anyone
God will
understand
he knows
I'm a nice
person
so we try
and rationalise
it but
actually
we're ignoring
God like I
was ignoring
that police
officer
he is there
for our good
and we
ignore him
he is the
rightful ruler
and that's
why the
world is
in a mess
that is
why we
live in a
broken world
to use
Russell Brand's
line again
and we're
all in that
boat
naturally
we all
use or
ignore God
in different
ways
that's why
we all need
what Jesus
invites us to
here in
verse 47
there is
forgiveness
of sins
for all who
repent
Jesus paid
for sin
by dying
on the cross
the one
innocent person
who'd ever
lived
died in
place of
others
so if we
will repent
trust in
him
then we
can be
forgiven
too
now that
word repent
means to
turn around
to go the
other way
instead of
living for
ourselves
to say
no Jesus
is king
I'm going to
live under
his rule
instead
Jesus died
so we
didn't have
to
Jesus rose
to life
again
to show
that one
day the
brokenness
can be
fully
mended
there can be
wholeness
again
because God's
rescue is
complete
this is his
invitation
this is why
it's good
news
to all of us
who are in
trouble
to all of us
who face
God's right
judgment
for our
rebellion
for our
ignoring
and using
him
Jesus says
I have
paid the
price
come
believe in
me
turn around
and you can
have life
and forgiveness
and the hope
of the brokenness
being mended
and you see
again
how these
disciples
attitudes
emotions
were changed
during this
whole encounter
they started
off fearful
they started
off grieving
when Jesus
was dead
they then
moved to
cynicism
he can't
really be
alive
to doubting
is this
real
and if you
turn over
to the very
last page
well not the
very last page
of the gospel
account
page 22
those last
lines
what happened
after Jesus
had gone back
to heaven
verse 52
so they
worshipped him
and returned
to Jerusalem
filled with
great joy
hopelessness
despair
grief
fear
turned to
joy
why
because Jesus
is alive
that's the
invitation he
makes to us
I'm going to
pray for us
we've got a few
minutes for
questions before
everyone has to
run off and leave
let's pray
heavenly father
we thank you
that you love
a broken world
so much
you came in
the person of
your son
god the son
came to put it
right
thank you that
Jesus is alive
thank you for the
hope that gives
to those of us
who know him
we pray you'll
help us now
as we
perhaps ask
some questions
give me wisdom
to be able to
answer faithfully
in Jesus name
Amen