Sermon Central
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The Happiest Of Endings Series
Contributed by David Owens on Dec 4, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: Mark concludes his Gospel in chapter 16 with the angel's announcement at the empty tomb, and then the appearances to Mary, the two disciples, and then the eleven apostles. Finally, he declares Jesus return to heaven and His work in and through the apostles as they carried out His mission.
1. People once thought that life had a purpose, that there was something to live for, and that there was hope for a resolution to the sufferings of the world.
2. Now, many people say that none of those things are true.
C. However, Mark has given us the story of Jesus and has declared that this is actually the world’s true story as well.
1. Jesus, the King, created all things in love.
2. Jesus has the power and the beauty to see His vision for the world through to its glorious end, to undo everything we have been able to do to harm and undo it.
3. To accomplish that, Jesus the King had to come and die for us.
4. Three days later, He rose again; and one day He will come back again to usher in a new heaven and earth.
D. We have spent the last 9 months immersed in the wonderful story of Jesus and it’s a little sad that we’ve come to the end of the story today.
1. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ultimate tragic story with the happiest of endings.
2. It’s the story of victory coming out of defeat, strength coming out of weakness, and life coming out of death.
3. And because it is a true story, it gives us hope because we know life is really like that.
4. Jesus’ story can be our story as well.
a. Jesus made us to love Him supremely, but He lost us to the love of sin and the world.
b. Jesus returned to get us back, but it took the cross to do it.
c. Jesus absorbed our darkness so that one day we can finally and dazzlingly be transformed into His resurrected likeness and take our seat at His eternal feast where we will live happily ever after.
5. Don’t you want your story to have the happiest of endings?
a. For that to be the case, then you have to believe the good news story of Jesus and be born again into that story through baptism into Jesus.
b. And then once our story has been united into Jesus’ story, then we must continue to embrace Him and His story and live a live faithfully connected to Jesus; carrying out His commands and mission.
c. There is no greater joy and peace and purpose than living in God’s good news story.
d. And the church said, “Amen!”
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• The Tomb is Still Empty, Sermon by David Owens
• Mark, The Communicator’s Commentary, David McKenna
• Jesus the King, by Timothy Keller, Riverhead Books, 2011
