How To Celebrate Easter When You're Living Good Friday

HOW TO CELEBRATE EASTER WHEN YOU’RE LIVING GOOD FRIDAY

I have heard dozens of Easter Sermons over the course of my life, and I have delivered many Easter Sermons myself. Each year the preacher tries to find that clever, unique way of articulating the Easter message. Sometimes they are wonderful...sometimes they are not

The joy of preaching on Easter is that the story is so simple and so clear. The difficulty of preaching on Easter is also that the story is so simple and clear. Like any other story we have heard before, it is possible to slip from a listening mode to one in which the words float by. We say to ourselves in a sub-conscious way, "I’ve heard this story before, and I know what it’s all about." Our minds drift, and before we know it, the sermon is over and we are shaking hands and headed for the parking lot.

Because of that preachers tend to struggle with what they preach on Easter.

· The horror of the cross he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities * How do we know he’s resurrected * The scriptures fulfilled

· * The shroud of Turin

But none of those things made my baby leap if you know what I mean. I didn’t want to preach something because it was traditional I never do that so why should I do that on Easter? At the same time, the balance of that is that I don’t want to ignore the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus

So what’s a preacher to do? When a preacher doesn’t know what to preach what he has got to do every time is seek the Lord and review what the Lord is speaking to him or her about………… a good preacher preaches out of his overflow

I knew what that was. It’s a word about how to hold on when it’s difficult to hold on

A word with three or four very real biblical strategies of what to think on and how to think during those difficult times when you are waiting on the power of God.

Because every single Christian goes through that every single Christian has those kinds of days when its hard to wait on the cavalry, when your doing what your supposed to be doing but your worn out on waiting.

So you know what Iv done? Iv combined the message that God has given me to preach this week with the incredible resurrection story in a sermon im gonna call

“HOW TO CELEBRATE EASTER WHEN YOU’RE LIVING GOOD FRIDAY”

LETS PRAY…………….

ECCLESTATES 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Weather you are godly or ungodly you will go through times of weeping and times of laughing. You will have days that you want to mourn and days that want to dance.

The same bible that says in Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Also says in job 5:7 that your are going to have trouble as sure as sparks fly upwards.

It’s not a contradiction it’s simply a fact of life that God has made us to have incredible victory in spite of our miserable failures.

Our Christian experience no matter how powerful is full of good and bad days

Days when the Power of God is obvious and days when the Power of God is not obvious

That’s kind of the Difference between Good Friday and resurrection Sunday

THE POWER OF GOD IS JUST AS REAL ON BOTH DAYS

Good Friday: a day of

Betrayal, false accusations, standing alone when he should have been surrounded by friends, beating, torture, pain, having to keep your mouth shout when your more than able to defend yourself, the sky grows dark, despair, Shame, Anguish, OVER ALL DEATH.

Resurrection Sunday: is a day of

New beginnings, great Hope great JOY, unexpected surprises, your enemies have fallen out, you get a clear word from the Lord, doors that thought would never be opened again have been blown off of the hinges, When the Power of God shows up and is openly made manifest. Its when your blown away at the Power of God. Death gets slapped in the face

BUT ON YOUR GOOD FRIDAYS YOU HAVE TO HANG ON UNTIL SUNDAY

How do you live like he’s risen when you feel dead yourself?

How do you dance for Joy when you’re knocked down to the floor?

How do you celebrate Easter when you’re living Good Friday?

Living in Christ means living beyond your means. The resurrection power that comes from Christ is a life in spite of death power

Resurrection Power means Life in spite of Death power