A. Happy Easter to everyone – I’m so thankful we get to worship the Lord on this Easter Sunday!
B. As we get started, I want to share this cartoon – it really tickled me.
1. The cartoon shows Jesus telling the angel that resurrection morning: “I want you to fold up my burial clothes, wait for Mary, and remember this is serious…no hiding and yelling ‘boo’.”
2. I wonder if angels are playful, practical jokers!
C. As you know, our recent sermon series has been about emotions, and I initially thought that I would have to step away from that sermon series for my Easter Sunday Sermon.
1. But then it dawned on me, that Easter Sunday would be the perfect opportunity to talk about the emotion of hopelessness.
2. I can only imagine how hopeless the disciples of Jesus must have felt after the crucifixion and burial of Jesus.
3. Hopelessness is a powerful emotion characterized by a lack of hope, optimism and passion.
4. Hopelessness happens when you find yourself in a situation where there is no confident expectation for a positive outcome.
5. People experiencing hopelessness may think or say things like: my situation will never get better…I have no future…I will never be happy again…no one can help me…it’s too late now.
D. On December 17, 1927, a US S-4 submarine collided with a ship off the coast of Massachusetts.
1. The submarine sank immediately and sat on the bottom of the ocean at a depth of 110 feet.
2. The entire crew was trapped and waited to be rescued.
3. A number of rescue attempts were made, but nothing was working.
4. Near the end of the ordeal, a deep-sea diver, who was doing everything in his power to rescue the crew, heard a tapping on the steal wall of the sunken sub – the tapping was Morse Code.
5. The messaged being tapped from within was: “Is there any hope?”
E. Have you ever wondered that? Can you recall ever being in a hopeless situation?
1. Maybe you’re in one right now, or maybe you will be in one very soon.
2. Lots of things can bring us to the point of hopelessness; including things like: the death of a spouse or child, a chronic illness, a marriage on the brink of divorce, the potential of financial ruin, addiction, or a prodigal son or daughter.
3. But whether things are going well right now, or going terribly, we all need to know and understand that there is hope for the hopeless.
4. God has given us the ability to feel the emotion of hopelessness, so that we will look for the ultimate source of hope that is outside of ourselves.
F. I believe that the greatest source of hope in the universe is found in the resurrection of Jesus.
1. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead reveals and confirms the ultimate power of God.
2. Since our very creation, we human beings have recognized our own weaknesses and our own vulnerabilities.
3. We long for a God who is all-powerful and all-loving; a God who cares about our struggles, and is able to do something about them.
4. Thankfully, we have a God like that, and we can find the strength and hope we need in our God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
G. Today, on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, I want to remind us that the God who moved the stone, is a God who still moves stones.
1. Every one of us is on a journey from here to eternity.
2. None of us know how long our earthly sojourn will be – for some it will be shorter than they think, for others it will be longer.
3. Nevertheless, short or long, we all need the strength and hope that God offers to face earthly life’s ups and downs and to make preparations for eternity.
4. Embracing the hope of the Resurrection of Jesus and employing the power of the Resurrection are important parts of our ability to survive and to thrive our earthly sojourn.
5. In today’s lesson we will look at three biblical stories that I believe will bolster our faith and hope in the God who moved the stone, who is the God who still moves stones.
H. The first story is - The Story of the Death of a SON. (Luke 7:11-17)
1. Let’s try to put ourselves into the story.
2. Imagine that you have attended a funeral and are on your way to the cemetery.
3. Ahead of you six men are carrying the coffin that carries the body of your son - your only son.
4. You’re numb from the sorrow. Your husband is dead, and now you’ve lost your only son.
5. Can you imagine the hopelessness you would be feeling at that time?
6. Suddenly the procession stops because a man has stepped in front of the casket.
a. You’ve never seen him. He wasn’t at the funeral and you have no idea what he is doing.
b. But before you can object, he steps up to you and says, “Don’t cry.”
c. You prepare to protest: “Don’t cry? Don’t cry! This is a funeral. My son is dead! Who are you to tell me not to cry?”
d. But before you can speak your thoughts, he acts.
7. The Bible says: Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” (Luke 7:14-15)
a. What did the Bible say happened? Jesus touched the coffin and what happened?
b. Read it slowly, “The dead man sat up and began to talk.”
c. Wait just a minute. What’s wrong with this picture?
d. Dead people don’t sit up! Dead people don’t talk! Dead people don’t leave their coffins!
e. That’s true, unless God shows up.
8. Because when God shows up, you never know what might happen! Amen?
I. The second story is - The Story of the Death of a BROTHER. (John 11:1-44)
1. There were two sisters, Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus, and who had hoped that Jesus would show up and heal their brother Lazarus. But he didn’t.
2. Then they’d hoped he’d show up for the funeral. But he didn’t.
3. By the time Jesus made it to Bethany, Lazarus had been buried in the tomb for four days, and Martha was wondering what kind of friend Jesus was.
4. In verse 20, Martha heard that Jesus was at the edge of town, so she stormed out to meet him, and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:21)
a. There was hurt in those words. Hurt and disappointment.
b. The one man who could have made a difference, hadn’t.
5. After Martha had made her complaint, she then stated her conviction, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (Vs 22)
6. When Martha’s sister, Mary, entered the scene, she delivered the same line her sister had: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Vs 32)
7. Then comes one of the most moving verses in all the Bible. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. (vs 33-35)
8. When they came to the tomb, which was a cave with a large stone laid across the entrance, Jesus was once again deeply moved.
a. “Take away the stone,” he said.
b. “But why?” they said, “He is dead! It will smell!”
c. But Jesus was insistent, and they followed His orders.
9. Jesus looked to heaven and prayed, and then He said in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
a. No one stirred as Jesus stood face to face with the rock hewn tomb and demanded that it release his friend.
b. No one stirred, that is, except for Lazarus. Deep within the tomb, he moved.
c. His stilled heart began to beat again. His wrapped eyes popped open. His wooden fingers moved. And a mummied man in a tomb sat up.
10. And do you want to know what happened next? Verse 44 says, “The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.”
a. Read those five words again: “The dead man came out.”
b. There it is again - What is wrong with this picture?
c. Answer: Dead men don’t come back to life and walk out of tombs.
d. Unless, of course, God shows up and commands them to!
11. Because when God shows up, you never know what might happen! Amen?
J. The third story is - The Story of the Death of the SAVIOR. (Matthew 27:57-28:10)
1. What a week it had been!
a. I can only imagine how hope-full the disciple had been the week before the crucifixion.
b. They triumphantly paraded with Jesus into Jerusalem, with crowds cheering for him.
c. They joined Jesus as He entered the temple and cleared out those people and things that didn’t belong there.
d. They enjoyed the Passover meal with Jesus as He washed their feet and taught them many things.
2. But then came the confusion.
a. Jesus predicted His betrayal and denial, His arrest and crucifixion.
b. They didn’t understand any of these things.
c. They went across the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus expressed his overwhelming sorrow ,then prayed by Himself while the disciples fell asleep.
d. A armed mob arrived and after the kiss of betrayal, Jesus was taken away, and they all fled.
e. By the time morning arrived, Jesus had been tried in front of several officials and condemned to death.
f. He was crucified at 9 that morning and was dead by 3 that afternoon and placed in a tomb before nightfall.
3. None of the disciples could believe what was taking place – the One they had followed for three years, the One they had put their hope in, was now dead and buried.
a. That Saturday Sabbath must have been the longest and dreariest of their lives.
b. Can you imagine how hopeless they must have felt?
c. Even though Jesus had repeatedly predicted His death, burial and resurrection, none of them were expecting and anticipating a resurrection on Sunday.
4. A celebration was the last thing that the two Marys expected as they approached the tomb of Jesus on that Sunday morning.
a. But early that Sunday morning, the women arose, taking their spices and aloes, they left their homes and headed for the tomb, anticipating a somber task.
b. Somewhere along the way they wondered how they would move the stone, but little did they know that that would not be a problem.
5. The Bible records what happened that morning with these words: “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” (28:2-3)
a. “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” (vs 4)
b. But then the angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.’ ” (vs. 5-7)
6. There it is once again - What is wrong with this picture?
a. Angels don’t come down from heaven and move large stones and sit on them.
b. Angels don’t speak to you.
c. People who have been dead for three days don’t come back to life and appear to you.
7. That is - unless God makes it happen - God moved the stone; God brought his Son back to life.
K. The resurrection really happened and that’s why there is hope for the hopeless!
1. Look at Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”(Eph. 1:18-20)
a. I pray that all of us will know the hope to which we have been called.
b. And I pray that we will depend on the incomparably great power that God offers to us who believe – that power is the same resurrection power God exerted in Christ.
c. The resurrection power of God should enable us to have all the hope we could ever need.
2. Thirty years after witnessing the death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostle Peter sat down and penned his first letter, which he began with these words: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9)
a. What wonderful truths are found in these verses.
b. We have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
c. We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
d. In the meantime, we may face suffering, but our suffering has purpose and power.
e. And all this results in an inexpressible and glorious joy.
L. Max Lucado wrote: “Someone has said that God is at His best when life is at its worst. Sometimes we find God appearing at the strangest of places, and doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing a twinkle where there were only tears.”
1. Even calling names in a cemetery, like the three events we have witnessed today.
M. But please remember, the goal of these stories is not to help us look back with amazement, but to look forward with faith and hope.
1. All I know, is there used to be a coffin for a boy, and tombs closed by stones for Lazarus and Jesus.
2. But the coffin was discarded and the stones were moved.
3. For you see, our God is the God of the impossible! Our God is a God of surprises.
a. An angel declared: “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
b. Jesus declared: “With God all things are possible.” (Mt. 19:26)
4. Just when we think we have God figured out.
a. Just when we think we know exactly what God does, and how he does it.
b. He does the surprising. He does the impossible.
N. I know that at times there are stones in your path and in mine.
1. There are stones that trip, stones that trouble, and stones that trap.
2. Many of these stones seem unmovable and are far too big for you and for me.
3. What is that stone that stands implanted in your life, that seems too heavy to move?
a. Is it a heart broken by an inattentive or unfaithful spouse?
b. Does it have the word cancer written all over it?
c. Is it the challenge of a rebellious child?
d. Does it have to do with money and careers?
e. Is it your battle with addiction?
f. Does it have to do with controlling anger or other emotions, like fear and depression?
g. Is it some sin you committed years ago, but you can’t seem to shake the guilt?
h. Or is it something else. I don’t know, you fill in the blank.
O. But please hear me today - whatever stone it is - it is no match for God - not then and not now.
1. The God who spoke, still speaks.
2. The God who forgave, still forgives.
3. The God who came, still comes.
a. He comes into my world and your world.
b. He comes to do what we can’t do for ourselves.
4. He comes to move the stones we can’t budge.
a. Sometimes he completely removes those stones, but at other times he simply moves them out of the way, or helps us get around or over them.
5. But whatever way, our God is the God who still moves stones.
a. Our God is the God who still calms storms.
b. Our God is the God who still defeats giants and breaks down walls.
c. Our God is the God who still heals the sick and gives sight to the blind.
d. Our God is the God who still turns water into wine and makes a way through the sea.
6. And because that is who our God is, there is hope for the hopeless.
P. And that is why the resurrection message should mean so much to us.
1. That is why it should fill us with faith, and hope, and joy.
2. Paul wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Co 2:9)
3. Our God is so good, and so able to bless us both in this life and in the life to come.
4. If you have never given Him a chance to work in your life, don’t you think it is time.
5. Don’t you think it is time to turn your life over to the God who made you and loves you?
a. John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
b. Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mk. 16:16)
c. Jesus also said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk. 9:23)
d. We would love to help you become a follower of Jesus.
6. If you are someone who has already given yourself to the Lord, then I want to encourage you to stick with Him, through the thick and the thin.
a. When the storms and stones of life seem so big and so scary, turn to Jesus for help and trust in Him.
b. When it all feels so hopeless and you feel so helpless, it is so good to know that our God has resurrection power available for us and that nothing is impossible with God.
7. Let me end with the hope-filled words of this song:
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know Who holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.”
Resources:
• Based on a chapter from Max Lucado’s book He Still Moves Stones.
• Hope for the Hopeless, Sermon by David Owens
• He Still Moves Stones, Sermon by David Owens
• Hopelessness – www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/hopelessness
