Sermon for March 31, 2024

Mark 16:1-8 All Will Be Made Alive

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The film director Woody Allen once said, “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Studies have shown that most people fear death to varying degrees. This fear is so common that there is even a field of psychological study called thanatology. It examines human reactions to death and dying. One of the biggest reasons people fear death is the perception of its permanency. In the normal realm of human existence, dead is dead. Someone dies, and all you have are pictures and memories. That is how people typically think, but it is far from reality. Today, Christ proves to us that death is not final at all! Easter teaches us that Christ is the first fruits of those who have died. Just as Christ rose, “so in Christ, all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). That changes everything: the way we grieve the death of a Christian loved one, the way we feel when our health fails, the way we look at the purpose of life right now. Let us rejoice in this resurrection reality: All will be made alive!

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Worship Folder for March 31, 2024

2024-03-31 Grace

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Sermon for March 24, 2024

Zechariah 9:9-12 Rethinking Real Strength

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Most religions believe in a powerful God. It is assumed that God will use that strength to benefit his followers. That is a reasonable assumption, but it begs the question. What is real strength? It is easy to assume that real strength means exerting your will over another using any necessary means, including force. But this week, we see Jesus Christ demonstrate a different kind of strength. We have come to Holy Week. It begins with Jesus humbly riding a donkey colt straight into the hands of his enemies. As the week progresses, it will appear that Christ’s adversaries are the ones in a position of power, and Jesus is in a position of weakness. Yet what Christ does this holy week—setting his divine strength aside, being passive in the face of death—would change the world. To do what Christ did for us and our salvation took real strength.

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