Introduction

Good morning church, and may I say, Happy Easter. He is risen…He is risen indeed! We are here today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How many of you know that Jesus is not dead, that the tomb is empty, and that Christ is alive? There is excitement in the room today.

We are finishing a series we started a few weeks ago called Passion. Throughout this series, we learned that loving others is tough business. So often, our love is tied to how we feel or how our wants/needs are being met. And when our feelings change or our wants/needs are no longer being met, then our love changes as well. This is called conditional love, and thankfully, this isn’t the kind of love God has for His creation.

God loves even when it’s unreciprocated. God loves when you’re nasty, rude, and mean. God loves even when He’s not getting anything out of the relationship. God’s love is evident in the sacrifice He made by sending His only Son, Jesus, so that through Him all who believe may have eternal life. But Jesus had to willingly come, He humbled himself and became obedient to the will of the Father. This obedience led Jesus to His eventual death on a cross.

And today, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate that the death of Jesus wasn’t the end of the story. I’m here to let you know that not even the grave could hold Him!

I’m here to let you know that not even the grave could hold Him!

Main Teaching

If you have a Bible with you, please turn with me to Luke 24. But first, a little background. All four of the gospel accounts in the Bible include the story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. So today, I want to read for you the words that were spoken just after He had been resurrected. Some of the women, who had followed Jesus when He was alive, went to His tomb on that first Easter morning. They did not find His body. Instead, two men in dazzling robes appeared and said these profound words…

This is good news, amen? Not even the grave, death itself, could stop Jesus. In fact, nothing could stop Him. Unstoppable Love. Think back to all the things that tried to stop Him. The devil tried to stop Him. The religious leaders who turned Him in tried to stop Him. The soldiers who crucified Him tried to stop Him. The crowds tried to stop Him. Even the nails in His hands and feet on the cross tried to stop Him. But, they could not stop Him. Because upon His resurrection, Jesus had overcome death itself!

In the words of the apostle Paul, “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” - 1 Corinthians 15:55 ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium