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Easter Sunday Sermons:
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What
if Christ had not risen? Mark 16:1-8
(see excerpt below)
by Frank Schaefer
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Brief Easter
Sunrise Sermon, John 20:1-18
(see excerpt below)
by lutherfetch
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Complete Easter Sunrise Service
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I will
Rise, Again and Again!
John 20: 1-18 and
Luke 24:45-47
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
Looking for
the Wrong Thing in the Wrong Place,
John 20:1-18,
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn
Pulling all
the Stops For Jesus,
Acts 10:34-43 and John 20:1-18
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
He
is Risen Indeed,
Matthew 28:1-10,
by Rev. Thomas N. Hall
Why Are You Weeping?
John 20:1-18
by Rev. Thomas Hall
God's Has No Witness Protection Plan,
Acts 10:34-43,
by Rev. R. Quinn
Don’t Fence Me Out,
Acts 10:34-43 by Rev. Thomas Hall
Skits/Readings:
Sermons from the DPS Archive:
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Easter
Rules, Mark 16:1-8,
by Brad Hall
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God Does Not
Play Favorites, Acts 10: 34-43, by the Iowa Star
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He Is
Risen--Now what? John 20:1-8,
by HW in HI
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Easter Street, John 20:1-18,
by Jeffrey K. London
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Irrational Exuberance, John
20:1-18, by Neill Morgan
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Resurrection Power, John
20:1-18, by John
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Running in the Dark, John
20:1-18, by Ed in WA
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Readers Theater: Resurrection,
John 20:1-18, Anne in Providence
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Is It Easter Already?, by
Gary Roth, John 20: 19-31
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Children's Sermons:
1)
Rise and Shine
2) God's Witness
Protection Program,
Acts 10:34-43
3) God of Happy Endings
4) Inside of an Egg
5)
It's All in the Eggs
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Sermon Excerpts:
What if
Christ had not risen?
Mark 16:1-8
by Frank Schaefer
Just imagine we only had the original Gospel of Mark
in our NT bible. That’d be a pretty frill--less Easter celebration,
don’t you think?
Now, even in the original version of Mark though you still
have the empty tomb and the promise that the disciples will meet up with Jesus
again.
But, this whole thing made me ponder an interesting question:
what if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead? Would it still be possible to believe
in him as our Savior? What would it be like to talk about a Savior who died and
didn’t rise from the dead in a physical sense?
Well, I suppose there are religions whose founders did die and
didn’t rise from the grave, like Mohamed and Moses, and these religions still
live on.
I guess, a belief in the physical resurrection of Jesus is not
absolutely necessary for the theology of salvation through the cross—Christ
could have still died an atoning death for your and my sins--forgiveness of sins
and reconciliation with God would still be in place even without a belief in the
resurrection.
But would the Christian message still be the same?
No, I’m sure there’d be something missing. Had Jesus not been
raised from the dead, he would have been defeated by the evil powers of this
world. The victory would be on the side of Evil, on the side of the corrupt
Sanhedrin, and on the side of the gruesome Roman oppressors.
How could we sing “Victory in Jesus,” had he not been raised
from the dead? Clearly, a messiah that was condemned by the highest court, a
messiah executed by the state -- crucified in shame and agony, does not a
victory story make.
Even the original gospel of Mark is clear on this: the tomb
was empty, no body to be found. And though there are no reports of appearances
by Jesus in the original version, the angel does tell the disciples: He is going
ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
. . .click
here to access this sermon and all resources for Easter
Brief Easter Sunrise Sermon
John 20:1-18
by lutherfetch
Advertising Network: a campaign has been developed to
attract people to church during the season of Easter.
In this public relations campaign, it is suggested that the cross
removed from the alter. According to the author, a survey has revealed that the
cross is one of those symbols that the new generation of church goers considered
too "churchy "
One pastor interviewed for the campaign gave his whole hearted
endorsement. "We are going to attempt to concentrate on the resurrection, and
not the death of Jesus.
Easter without the cross. Rather an interesting thought. Kind of like
the sun without light, The oceans without water, Or forests without trees. It
just doesn’t seem to work. The road to the empty tomb will forever pass by a
cross.
As the sun begins to rise this morning, Perhaps we might celebrate not
only the resurrection, But the lengths to which our God was willing to go in
order that We, the lost, might be redeemed. Our God was willing to go to the
cross for us.
Without the risk of losing one’s life, The willingness to suffer, The
humility to carry a cross, The resurrection loses its meaning.
Many people have different theories and beliefs about the cross.
However, there is one thing that does remain consistent about it… It is
impossible to ignore, And wherever it is lifted up, people do respond.
...click
here to access this sermon and all resources for Easter
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