WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:02.520 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:08.560 Well, it is a joy to be together as much as we can be together for this Easter. 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:13.900 I've been very much looking forward to this time and this day in particular, 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.400 and all week I've been thinking about this quote. 00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:21.100 It's a quote from a long time ago. It's attributed to St. Augustine, 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:23.660 and it goes like this, 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:28.120 We are the Easter people, and hallelujah is our song. 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:35.160 And I've been thinking about that because I believe that what the world most needs right now, 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:42.780 and what we need, is for Christians all around the world to remember who we are and why we're here. 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:45.840 And the answer to those questions is in this quote, 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:48.219 We are the Easter people. 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:51.200 Now I know that might be a strange phrase to some of you. 00:00:51.260 --> 00:00:52.980 What does it mean to be Easter people? 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:58.559 I think the distinguishing characteristic of Easter people is our hope, 00:00:59.419 --> 00:01:03.280 because it's a hope unlike any other hope you will find in the world. 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:10.819 And that's why I want to look together at our first reading, 1 Peter 1, verses 3-5. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:16.340 Peter wrote this letter originally to prepare Christians for suffering. 00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:22.320 They were facing suffering, and Peter wanted to equip them to face it faithfully. 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:29.300 And he originally intended this to go to people who were facing persecution, that form of suffering. 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:33.159 But of course it applies equally well to many different kinds of suffering, 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.219 including what we're facing right now, this global pandemic, 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:40.140 where there are people all around the world who are sick or dying. 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:44.540 There are people who are facing financial catastrophe and ruin. 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:49.840 There are people who are looking at plans that they had laid in their lives, 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:51.680 crumble and fall apart. 00:01:51.820 --> 00:01:54.500 And there's an enormous amount of fear and uncertainty. 00:01:54.820 --> 00:01:58.060 And so that is very much a kind of suffering that this would apply to. 00:01:58.580 --> 00:02:00.960 And what is so fascinating about this letter 00:02:00.960 --> 00:02:05.340 is that the very first thing Peter does after greeting these people, 00:02:06.080 --> 00:02:11.659 the very first thing he says is he reminds them what Easter means. 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:15.859 And he reminds them about the hope that they have because of Easter. 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:18.240 And so that's why we're looking. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:20.759 And so our question this morning is, 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:26.039 what is Easter hope and what makes it so valuable and so utterly unique? 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:28.460 So let's pray and then we'll open God's Word together. 00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:36.120 Lord, we thank you on this Easter morning that you overcame death and that you rose. 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:39.840 And it is because of that that we can open your Word with confidence, 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:42.080 knowing that we're not alone, 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:46.900 nor are we merely dependent on words on a page, 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:53.219 but rather we're here to interact with and to hear from a living God through a living Word. 00:02:53.740 --> 00:02:56.580 And so it's in that hope that we open your Word now. 00:02:56.700 --> 00:02:59.099 We pray that you would speak to us, Lord, wherever we are this morning. 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:03.280 And we pray this for our good and your glory in your Son's name. Amen. 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:07.620 So what is Easter hope and what makes it utterly unique? 00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:12.659 There are at least three things in this passage that show us what it is and why it's so unique. 00:03:13.079 --> 00:03:15.340 The first thing that we see is this. 00:03:16.019 --> 00:03:18.599 Easter hope is not wishing. 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:20.439 It's waiting. 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:22.459 It's not about wishing. 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:24.319 It's about waiting. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:27.560 And I say that because I think most people, when you say the word hope, 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.699 they equate hope with a kind of wishful thinking. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:35.680 As though when I'm hoping for something, I'm crossing my fingers 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.739 and I'm wishing as hard as I can that it would happen. 00:03:38.939 --> 00:03:40.539 And then maybe it will happen. 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:41.740 But I have no way of knowing. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.319 And so I'm just going to wish for it as hard as possible. 00:03:44.859 --> 00:03:46.599 And if you think about hope that way, 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:51.799 then maybe you think that some people are just inherently more hopeful than other people 00:03:51.799 --> 00:03:53.539 because they're more optimistic. 00:03:53.539 --> 00:03:56.900 And so hope can be thought of as a kind of personality trait. 00:03:58.019 --> 00:04:00.639 But Easter hope is something altogether different. 00:04:01.519 --> 00:04:03.539 Peter says this in this passage. 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:05.299 He says that because of the resurrection, 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:09.459 Christians have been born again to an inheritance 00:04:09.459 --> 00:04:15.180 that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 00:04:15.299 --> 00:04:17.740 And the key word there is the word inheritance. 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:21.240 Because an inheritance is not something that you wish for. 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:27.480 An inheritance is not something that you cross your fingers and you hope might one day happen. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.480 An inheritance, by definition, is already yours. 00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:32.600 It's already yours. 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:34.759 You just haven't received it yet. 00:04:35.400 --> 00:04:38.500 It's a promise that will be fulfilled in the future. 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:39.699 But it's already yours. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:41.160 You just have to wait. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:47.980 And that's what God says about people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:52.540 The Bible says that God adopts people who put their faith in Jesus. 00:04:52.760 --> 00:04:55.600 He makes them, He makes you, His child. 00:04:55.960 --> 00:04:58.920 He writes you into the will, so to speak. 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:03.240 You receive the promise of an inheritance. 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:05.120 And that promise is secure. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:10.560 And it's just a matter of time before you receive what is already yours. 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:12.199 That's the way the Bible talks about it. 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:15.639 And you say, well, how can I trust God to keep His promise? 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:17.240 And that's the thing about God. 00:05:17.340 --> 00:05:20.420 God always keeps His promises. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:24.040 If you were to take a rock and to drop that rock off a cliff, 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:29.280 you wouldn't wish and hope that that rock would fall in the way that we normally think of the word. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.439 You would simply know that the rock was going to fall because of gravity, 00:05:32.539 --> 00:05:34.159 because gravity is a constant. 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.219 Well, God is also a constant. 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:41.419 And in fact, God is more of a constant even than gravity. 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:47.319 And so when God makes a promise, He keeps it because He is God. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.659 And so the resurrection, and the way the early apostles saw the resurrection, 00:05:54.119 --> 00:05:56.139 the resurrection was seen as proof. 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:59.279 If God can keep a promise like this, 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:05.279 then certainly that means God can keep all of His other promises to people like us. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.019 And so the first thing we see about Easter people is this, 00:06:09.099 --> 00:06:14.079 that Easter people are not wishing hard that things might turn out okay. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.579 Easter people, no matter what we face in the present, we are waiting. 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:24.279 We are waiting for a future that we know is secure. 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:28.339 We are waiting for an inheritance that we know is ours. 00:06:28.479 --> 00:06:32.339 And we know that all of this is hard and as overwhelming as it might seem. 00:06:32.619 --> 00:06:34.299 All of this will one day pass. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:36.899 And God will fulfill His promise. 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:39.039 So that's the first thing. 00:06:39.119 --> 00:06:40.959 It's about waiting, not wishing. 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:43.879 The second thing that we see that makes Easter hope so utterly unique 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.779 is that Easter hope is not a feeling. 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:49.559 It's a fact. 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.300 It's not a feeling. 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:52.620 It's a fact. 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:57.839 I think this is very important because I know from talking to some of you 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.759 that many of us feel hopeless right now. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:03.519 You feel completely overwhelmed. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:09.259 Every day the news brings more tragedy into our lives, 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.519 makes us more aware of the suffering. 00:07:11.979 --> 00:07:17.079 And it can be very, very overwhelming to try to make sense of and process all of that. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:20.899 Not to mention whatever we're all facing in our own lives right now. 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.599 And if you're a Christian and you read passages like this about hope, 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:26.839 I think it can be very easy, if you're anything like me, 00:07:27.099 --> 00:07:30.500 it can be very easy to read this as a command. 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:34.339 If you're a Christian, if you're really a Christian, you must feel hopeful. 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:37.839 And if you don't feel hopeful, that says something about your faithfulness. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.160 It says something about your level of commitment. 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.860 And so the sense of needing to have hope or wanting to force ourselves 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:48.279 or will ourselves to feel hope, that that can be, I think, 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.220 the way we respond to some of these passages. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.879 And so I want you to listen to me very carefully. 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.519 If you're thinking that way, you need to hear this. 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:59.879 It is okay if you don't feel hopeful. 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:01.939 It's okay. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.699 Do you think that any of the people that Peter was writing to felt hopeful? 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:10.319 I can almost guarantee you that none of these people felt hope. 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:15.079 What they probably felt was exhaustion and despair and terror. 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:18.120 They probably felt many of the things that we're feeling right now. 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:20.259 And the thing is, that's the whole point. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:22.759 Easter hope is not a feeling. 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.459 It's a fact. 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:30.639 Peter says that God has caused us to be born again to a living hope 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.059 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:37.659 And by definition, a living hope is a hope that is alive, 00:08:37.819 --> 00:08:41.779 which means it exists independently of our feelings. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.539 It is a hope that exists independently of our feelings. 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:49.699 So what that means is you can feel hopeless 00:08:49.699 --> 00:08:53.439 and simultaneously have Easter hope. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:58.259 Because Easter hope is a living, breathing reality. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:02.980 He is with you and for you and in you, 00:09:03.099 --> 00:09:06.019 even now as I say these words. 00:09:06.219 --> 00:09:09.439 And those things are true regardless of how you feel. 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:11.879 That's what makes Easter hope so unique. 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.340 So we're going to feel all kinds of things 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:19.460 over the next few weeks and months and years. 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:21.580 We're going to feel all kinds of things. 00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:23.179 And that's okay. 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:27.159 Here's the thing that I want you to think about, 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:28.820 and this might even be worth writing down 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:31.720 and spending some more time thinking about later this week. 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:36.500 How you feel does not change who God is. 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:42.440 How you feel does not change who God is. 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:46.460 And so Easter people are not governed by our feelings. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:48.680 We give ourselves permission. 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:52.240 We allow ourselves to feel whatever we need to feel. 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:53.800 We know that as human beings, 00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:55.680 we're going to feel all kinds of things. 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:58.379 And some of those feelings are going to seem rational 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:00.720 and some of them are going to seem very irrational. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.920 We allow ourselves to feel all of these things, 00:10:03.040 --> 00:10:05.840 but we don't allow those feelings to govern us. 00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:10.279 We don't allow those feelings to determine our outlook. 00:10:11.040 --> 00:10:14.180 We base our outlook, we base our perspective 00:10:14.180 --> 00:10:17.000 on a hope that is outside of our feelings, 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:18.899 that doesn't depend on our feelings, 00:10:19.060 --> 00:10:21.580 on a hope that is living and breathing 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:24.120 and with us all the time. 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:26.980 Easter hope is a man who went into a tomb 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:28.240 and came out again. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.759 And that's what makes it different. 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:35.419 So here are two things that make Easter hope unique. 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:38.700 It's about waiting, not about wishing. 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:40.299 It's a fact. 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:42.060 It's not just a feeling. 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:45.340 And the third thing that we see here 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:48.560 is that Easter hope is not just a coping strategy. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:50.580 It's a call to action. 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:55.240 Now, by that, I mean the point of Easter hope 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.879 is not simply to help us get through the day. 00:10:58.420 --> 00:10:59.600 Now, there's nothing wrong with that. 00:10:59.660 --> 00:11:01.500 And we all need help getting through the day. 00:11:01.560 --> 00:11:02.759 I'm not saying that's not important. 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:05.560 But Easter hope is much more than that. 00:11:05.900 --> 00:11:07.879 Easter hope is actually a call to action. 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.340 You know, most Christians, I know, 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:15.460 think that things like justice and ending poverty 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:17.160 and protecting the environment, 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.580 that those are important things. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:19.660 But what's interesting is, 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.160 most non-Christians I know think the same things. 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:24.200 They care about justice. 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:25.700 They care about the poor. 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:27.300 They care about protecting the environment. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:29.879 And yet what's interesting about the non-Christians I know 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:31.560 who care about these things 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:32.840 is that if you were to ask them, 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.340 many of them don't really believe in God 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.360 or they don't believe in a kind of God 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.759 who would care about the world that we live in. 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:43.820 Many of them believe that this world 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:46.820 is just an accident of physics and biology. 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:49.019 Many of them believe that we're here 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:50.480 not only as an accident, 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:52.680 but that we're only here for a finite amount of time 00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:53.660 and that sooner or later, 00:11:53.780 --> 00:11:55.180 all of this is either going to burn up 00:11:55.180 --> 00:11:56.879 or it's going to freeze solid. 00:11:57.300 --> 00:11:58.580 And I always think it's interesting. 00:11:59.160 --> 00:12:01.340 Why would you care about justice? 00:12:01.580 --> 00:12:03.360 Why would you care about poverty? 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:05.080 Why would you care about the environment? 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:07.840 If all of this is just a great cosmic accident 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:09.940 and one day it's either going to burn up 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:10.759 or freeze solid. 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:12.840 And what's interesting is 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:14.240 as we look at the debate 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.700 around how to handle coronavirus, 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:17.500 there are many out there arguing 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:19.620 that the best response to coronavirus 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:21.660 is not to socially distance ourselves, 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:23.200 but the opposite. 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:26.160 It's to expose as many people as possible 00:12:26.160 --> 00:12:27.980 as quickly as possible to the virus. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:31.420 And the argument goes that if we do that, 00:12:31.700 --> 00:12:34.120 we can more quickly develop a herd immunity. 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.539 And this is frankly how we as human beings 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.580 have survived in a pre-technological world 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:40.700 for thousands of years 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:43.200 with lots of viruses that are trying to kill us. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:45.399 The only problem with this theory is 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:47.460 if you don't have a vaccine, 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:49.519 this approach is going to mean 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.179 that many more people have to die. 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:53.480 And so the question is, 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:55.240 if all of this is just an accident 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:57.259 and the only point of life 00:12:57.259 --> 00:12:59.139 is really the propagation of the species, 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.379 then why would that matter so much? 00:13:01.379 --> 00:13:03.379 Why would that present such an ethical dilemma? 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:06.679 And the problem with all of that is this. 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:10.240 To paraphrase the scholar N.T. Wright, 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.100 the message of Easter is that this world matters, 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:17.120 that life matters. 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:21.759 Even though this world is full of suffering and death, 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.019 what Easter means is that God 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:27.519 is not going to continue tolerating suffering and death. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.279 That in fact, God is going to do something about it. 00:13:30.319 --> 00:13:33.079 That in fact, God has done something about it. 00:13:33.319 --> 00:13:35.059 Because at the resurrection of Easter, 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.659 things were set in motion that cannot be undone. 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:40.860 At the resurrection of Easter, 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:43.500 God loosed an arrow of redemption 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:46.000 that even now is arcing through history 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:46.960 toward its mark. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.560 And its mark is nothing less 00:13:50.560 --> 00:13:53.320 than the renewal of all things. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:55.620 That's the point of salvation history. 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:58.060 A resurrected Jesus 00:13:58.060 --> 00:14:01.040 means a resurrected world. 00:14:01.900 --> 00:14:03.620 It's just a matter of time. 00:14:04.660 --> 00:14:07.460 This pandemic is not about God 00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:09.080 teaching us a lesson, 00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:10.740 as some people have said. 00:14:11.060 --> 00:14:13.460 It is evidence that the world is broken. 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:17.240 It is evidence that when human beings 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:19.600 thought we could live in a world that God made, 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:22.000 while ignoring that God 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.560 and cutting ourselves off from Him, 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:26.120 we thought that that was a good strategy 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:27.220 and we're now realizing 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:28.759 that that was a terrible mistake. 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:31.660 So it is evidence that the world is broken. 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:33.600 But Easter means 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.379 that we have the kind of God 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:37.540 who not only weeps with us 00:14:37.540 --> 00:14:40.420 and laments our suffering with us, 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:43.019 who not only suffers for us 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.620 to bring an end to all suffering, 00:14:45.959 --> 00:14:48.099 but we have the kind of God 00:14:48.099 --> 00:14:50.000 who is actually able to do something 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:51.679 to one day put the world right. 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.379 And Easter is a preview of that. 00:14:55.939 --> 00:14:57.059 And so Easter people 00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:59.779 are called to work alongside God. 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:01.979 This is why it's a call to action. 00:15:02.219 --> 00:15:04.339 We're called to work alongside God 00:15:04.339 --> 00:15:06.360 with all the spiritual power 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:07.399 that He gives us 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:10.379 to bring the hope and the victory of Easter 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:12.399 to every corner of this world, 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:15.139 to the most hopeless people and places. 00:15:15.319 --> 00:15:16.579 And so this is why 00:15:16.579 --> 00:15:19.620 we fight injustice as Christians, 00:15:19.699 --> 00:15:21.939 because we believe that Easter shows us 00:15:21.939 --> 00:15:24.240 that one day there will be no injustice, 00:15:24.459 --> 00:15:26.139 that justice will reign. 00:15:26.819 --> 00:15:28.360 We care for the sick 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:30.000 because Easter means 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.159 that one day sickness will be no more. 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.159 We care for this world 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:36.719 because Easter means 00:15:36.719 --> 00:15:38.500 that this world is meant to last 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:39.299 into eternity, 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:40.600 that it matters. 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:43.519 So Easter people are people 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:44.759 who do all we can 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:46.879 to bring the hope of Easter 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.959 to every corner of the world. 00:15:49.459 --> 00:15:51.139 Because we know 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:52.439 that the resurrection of Christ 00:15:52.439 --> 00:15:54.959 is not just about life after death, 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.819 it's just as much about life before death. 00:15:59.199 --> 00:16:00.699 In other words, this life. 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.320 It's a promise of abundant life 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:05.540 and hope and healing 00:16:05.540 --> 00:16:07.840 and victory and love 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:11.620 that we are invited into. 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:14.420 Because we know 00:16:14.420 --> 00:16:15.660 that the resurrection of Christ 00:16:15.660 --> 00:16:16.980 happened, 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.420 because we know what it means, 00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:21.800 we are called to go out into the world 00:16:21.800 --> 00:16:23.259 to alleviate suffering 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:25.160 and to bring hope wherever we can, 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:27.140 because every time we do that, 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:29.000 we are announcing the victory 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.700 of the resurrection to the world 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:31.960 in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.279 So what does all of this mean for us 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:38.399 here and now on this Easter in 2020? 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:40.399 Well, all of the projections 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.220 and all of the models 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:43.559 continue to change. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:44.840 And some of the numbers 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:46.720 are looking a little more hopeful 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:49.139 than they were even a week ago. 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.019 But that doesn't change the fact 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:52.360 that there is a lot of suffering 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:53.220 in the world right now. 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:54.879 A lot of people in our community 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.600 are suffering and struggling 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:58.480 as a result of this whole pandemic, 00:16:58.600 --> 00:16:59.879 and that could last for years. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:04.440 And you and I cannot take 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:05.380 all of the suffering 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:06.480 in the world on ourselves. 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:08.720 We can't do it. 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:10.579 It will crush us. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:11.120 And some of you, 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:12.360 if you're reading the news 00:17:12.360 --> 00:17:13.180 and if you're taking in 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:13.900 all of these stories, 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:16.200 you know it sort of desensitizes you. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:17.640 It begins to shut your heart down 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:18.680 because you can't handle it. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.539 And that's because you're a human being 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:21.140 and you're finite. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:22.339 The only one who can do that 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:23.539 is Jesus Christ. 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:26.180 But what we can do 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:28.059 is to be Easter people 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:30.680 wherever God has planted us. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:32.180 We can be Easter people. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.159 We can be people who are 00:17:34.159 --> 00:17:36.420 bringing the hope of Easter 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:37.899 in a Good Friday world 00:17:37.899 --> 00:17:39.259 because that's what we are. 00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:40.220 We are Easter people 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:41.859 living in a Good Friday world. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.960 It feels like Good Friday right now. 00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:45.460 It feels like a time of death 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:46.980 and mourning and hopelessness. 00:17:47.379 --> 00:17:50.099 And we're called to be Easter people 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:51.500 in the midst of all of that, 00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:53.000 which means, as we've already said, 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.039 that we can have 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:56.660 and proclaim 00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.500 a hope that is not just 00:17:58.500 --> 00:17:59.240 wishful thinking, 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:00.839 but it's waiting for something 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:01.519 that is certain. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:03.660 We can have a kind of hope 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:05.519 that is not just a feeling. 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:07.079 It's not just sentimentality. 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:08.740 It's a fact that exists 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:09.920 outside of us. 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:11.480 And we can have a kind of hope 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:13.259 that's not just a coping strategy 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:14.660 to get us through the day, 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:15.920 but it's a call to action. 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:17.740 It's a call to do all we can 00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:19.480 to love and serve the neighbors 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.119 right around us, 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.139 the people whom God has placed 00:18:23.139 --> 00:18:23.819 in our lives 00:18:23.819 --> 00:18:25.299 to bring hope to the hopeless. 00:18:26.939 --> 00:18:28.439 You know, one of my mentors, 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:29.119 Doc Wilson, 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:30.359 said earlier this week 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:31.099 when we were talking, 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:33.299 he said that they were praying 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:33.859 as a church. 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:34.559 He's a pastor. 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.159 And that a woman, 00:18:36.419 --> 00:18:37.319 an older woman 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:38.819 in the prayer group said this. 00:18:38.919 --> 00:18:39.359 She said, 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.079 it is our privilege 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:42.159 to be here right now. 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:43.459 She said, 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:45.639 God chose to put us 00:18:45.639 --> 00:18:47.299 in this time and place 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:48.919 for such a time as this. 00:18:49.179 --> 00:18:50.459 So it is our privilege 00:18:50.459 --> 00:18:51.559 and our glory 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:52.699 and our honor 00:18:52.699 --> 00:18:53.819 that God chose 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:54.799 to put us here 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.000 for this crisis. 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:58.679 And that has so inspired me. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:00.000 You're not here by accident. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:01.019 I'm not here by accident. 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:02.740 God chose to put us here 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:03.599 for this time 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.639 and this place 00:19:04.639 --> 00:19:05.759 for the sake of the people 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:06.819 right around you 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:08.279 who desperately need hope. 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.559 So that is who we are 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:12.279 and that is why we're here. 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:13.119 And my prayer is that 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:14.940 Christians all around the world 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:15.720 on this day 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:17.000 are awakened to, 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:18.799 reminded of, 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:19.980 that truth. 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:22.680 That we are the Easter people 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:23.319 of the world. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:24.920 And hallelujah 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:26.160 is our song. 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:28.339 Let's pray. 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:31.779 Lord, we thank you 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:32.700 for your word 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:33.539 and we thank you 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:34.240 for your resurrection 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:35.279 and we thank you 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:35.799 for the hope 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:36.539 that it gives us 00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:38.259 this unique Easter. 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:38.779 hope. 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:40.379 And I pray that 00:19:40.379 --> 00:19:41.119 this hope 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:42.139 would define 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:43.259 our outlook, 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.059 that it would inspire us, 00:19:46.460 --> 00:19:47.980 that it would fill us 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:48.599 this day. 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:49.740 And I pray that your spirit 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:51.119 would now take these truths 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:52.039 that we have spoken 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:53.660 from your word 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:55.079 and plant them deep 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:56.119 in our hearts, Lord. 00:19:56.220 --> 00:19:56.740 Plant them 00:19:56.740 --> 00:19:58.079 so that they could begin 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.740 to sprout 00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.819 and put down roots 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:01.440 and grow outward 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.160 and fill us 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:04.399 and flow out of us 00:20:04.399 --> 00:20:05.279 into the lives 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.480 of people around us, Lord. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.720 And I, in particular, 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:08.680 pray for those people 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:09.500 who are suffering 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:10.759 and feel hopeless right now. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:11.660 Lord, that you would 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:12.299 comfort them 00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:13.000 with your presence 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:14.339 in ways that only you can. 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:15.519 We pray this 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:16.700 in your son's holy name. 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:17.599 Amen. 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:19.700 Now let's sing together.