Introduction

He is Risen! (He Is Risen indeed) Happy Easter everyone. Today we join with churches from all across the world, and throughout the centuries, in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It WAS the love of God that caused Jesus to come to earth and to offer himself as a sacrifice on the cross to forgive the world of its sins. It IS the love of God that continually offers us new life through this risen Savior. So, today we celebrate.

Today we worship the risen Jesus!

Not only is today Easter Sunday, but it is also the beginning of a powerful sermon series called Love Reigns. Together, for four weeks, we will be discovering all the ways that God’s amazing love transforms our past, present, and future.

Many people underestimate the power of love. I would argue, however, that it is the most powerful force on earth. Many men in the room may be able to relate to the kind of things that love drove them to do in order to win the hearts of their girlfriends or wives. I remember when I first met my wife, I was unsure how to start a conversation with her in the restaurant she worked at. When I finally worked up the guts to speak to her, the only thing I could think to say was, “Look at my spider bite”, pointing at a recent wound on my arm. Needless to say, she was not very impressed. But I broke the ice and the rest is history. I have heard harrowing stories of men risking total embarrassment to try and impress the ones they love. (Consider telling a story about the great lengths you have gone for the love of a spouse, parent, friend or child.)

Love is the driving force behind our sacrificial actions toward our family and friends. We will gladly pay any price in order to demonstrate how much we care. Love is powerful, and it moves us to do amazing things. Before there was ever an Easter Sunday, there was a Good Friday. Before there ever was a resurrection, there first had to be a death.

Love is the driving force behind our sacrificial actions toward our family and friends.

Main Teaching

For 33 years, Jesus Christ walked the earth while serving the hungry, healing the broken, and delivering the oppressed. He announced the coming Kingdom of God and the restoration of all things. He claimed to be the Son of God, and many believed him to be the true King of all things. This kind of thinking and teaching caused a lot of conflict in the area that Jesus served in. You see, at that time, the ruler of the Ancient Near East was Rome. Rome had installed a vassal king named Herod the Great to keep things in Israel under control. Herod was a tyrant and was constantly afraid that his authority would be undermined. Another potential king would be a threat to Roman rule and therefore, had to be eradicated. Both Herod and Jesus could not reign over Israel.

So, the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman centurions worked together to have Jesus arrested. He was brought to trial for his claims to be God. He was convicted and beaten, nearly to death. He then was forced to carry a rugged, wooden cross all the way to the hill that he would be killed upon.

The crucifixion of Jesus is marked by ridicule and disbelief. The soldiers mocked Jesus by placing a sign over his head calling him the King of the Jews, even though they did not believe it. Those who passed by mocked Jesus by telling him to save himself if he really was the Son of God. The priests and the teachers mocked Jesus by telling him to get off the cross if he really was the King of Israel.

None of them understood that the true test of Jesus’ power and authority was not in his ability to save himself from crucifixion, but in his ability to overcome the death that the crucifixion would result in. Sometimes we miss the proof of Jesus’ lordship because we are expecting him to prove himself in certain ways, and he does something different.

Many individuals have decided in their hearts that they will never trust in Jesus unless he meets their expectations ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium

When we submit to the love of Jesus in our lives, we are compelled to live life like him and to invite others to join us.

This Easter, may you see the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the proof of his love, and may you let that love reign in your life.