Welcome to The Journey Church. I'm Pastor Paris Pasch.

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If we’ve not met yet, my name is Pastor Paris of The Journey Church in Hastings Minnesota.  

  

Offering: I want to say thank you for remembering your church with your generosity.  We place baskets in the room so you can sow seed into good soil.  I pray that God will reward your faithfulness with His enormous blessings even during trials.  

  

Prayer for the family, health, finances and the lonely who need to be reached.   

 

Our recent snowfall and church cancelation has caused us to reschedule Pastor Brannen and the Gospel of John for in two weeks.  I’ve had my message prepared for weeks as a way to celebrate the grand finale of the Four Gospels.  We will also celebrate the series the same way Jesus did with His disciples by taking communion.  Today we will purpose to understand why millions of people celebrate this day and why we gather every week to acknowledge the value of this reality we call Easter.  Happy Easter. 

 

Over two thousand years ago a historical fact took place.  A woodworking man who lived at that time, named Jesus, was noted to be a very godly and caring man.  It was reported that he was profoundly wise and even did miraculous things like healing sick people and liberating people under the influence of evil.  These facts are historical in nature and not speculation.  They have been witnessed and reported by numerous historians in the same way that wars, leaders, kings, plagues and storms have been reported for millennia.  The difference between those issues and the life of Jesus, is that the supportive data for Jesus’ life is overwhelming.   

 

I’m going to read a bit from the Gospels in the Bible, and I’ll highlight the most important words of the day.  One of my favorite reads is from “The Story” because it encapsulates all 4 gospels into one narrative, cool.

 

Mark 6:2–3 When the Sabbath came, he (Jesus) began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.  

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 

 

History reveals that His personal connection to Almighty God was being established by everything He said and did.  It was documented by numerous authors for all time and we read it today.  This Jesus was proven sent by the creator God to rescue humanity, but so many didn’t acknowledge Him.  He told the true story of who God really was and later some would come to learn that He was God Himself with flesh on like a man.  He was demonstrating the He and God were one. 

   

You see, history doesn’t deny the existence and reality of the man Jesus.  What it struggles with, is the claim that He was sent by God to rescue people from their own sin and the sin of Adam.  Would you agree that mankind needed, and needs, to be rescued from sin and evil?  Look at our broken world.  It seeks to live under its own rules, and it rejects God’s authority.  Look at our world that thinks it is self-derived and self-maintained.  Humans believe they oversee their own destiny.  Look at our world, that believes that to have NO constraints is the model of freedom.   What greater arrogance could we walk in? 

 

So, Jesus came to earth in a miraculous fashion and lived among humanity.  He showed the love and power of God who cares about all people.  And at 33 years old, the world He lived in, decided he had to go, because he was upsetting the human applecart, even upsetting the religious applecart.  So, the church leaders of Jesus day set out to kill this innocent man.  Not merely punish him, or reject Him, but kill him.  Let’s read what history records.

 

Matthew 26:3–4 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 

 

The truth is that these church leaders should have known of the numerous prophetic words that had been written about how God would deliver His people through a Messiah, but they missed it all together because they didn’t accept what God had written down for them.  They rejected the reality of God’s desire to save humanity, just like many people do today when they read God’s word. 

 

The people of Jesus day used a horrific method called crucifixion.  It wasn’t private or secret, it was big news in the Jewish and Roman grapevine of the time.  This kind, generous and healing man; Jesus, was brutalized and then hung on a tree for everyone to see Him die.  They then buried him in a tomb and sealed it so that the rumor of his potential resurrection would be discredited.   

 

Matthew 27:59–60 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 

 

Matthew 27:62–64 (NIV)The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day…

 

But nothing could stop the love of God from prevailing.  No religious leaders, no government and no Devil.  In just three days after He was laid in the tomb, something amazing happened that also made public notice, the stone was moved and His grave was empty.  And even though He had predicted this reality among a sea of doubters, it had now become history recorded. 

 

Mark 16:4–6 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.  6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

 

The resurrection of Jesus is not a secret to the world.  It was documented and we read about it today.  For 40 days, after His death, Jesus was publicly seen alive again and again. He met with his followers and told them He was going on ahead to make a new home prepared for them and anyone else who would follow.  None of this was done in secret, but rather in the open, where everyone could witness it.  The bible says well over 500 people saw Him alive.  These were eyewitnesses, which in today’s justice system, one eyewitness can exonerate an accused person completely. Listen to the Apostle Paul.

 

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,  and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 

 

Acts 1:1–3 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 

 

After His resurrection, Jesus Himself had to explain to his closest followers that they should have believed, but they didn’t.  They should have understood because of their long history of the scripture, but they didn’t.

 

Luke 24:26–27 (NIV) Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

 

Can you see why we celebrate this day on the calendar?  A great portion of the globe capitalizes on this day of the resurrection of a dead man.  It’s because we serve a living God who sees our everyday life.  Millions of people have been transformed because of this resurrected God/man.  We who gather every week to learn how to become more like our rescuer must see value in spreading His words to the four corners of our town and our world.  We choose to give our lives to the one who rescued us from our own sin and the sin of Adam.  Remember that the sin of Adam severed our relationship as human beings from God, and my personal sin makes it impossible for me to fellowship with a Holy and righteous God.  But the resurrected, loving savior has made a way for all of us back into the Father’s presence.  The resurrected Jesus is the only way, and we need simply give our whole life to Him. 

 

As we were preparing for today, we concluded that it would be so appropriate to serve you communion so that we all might be close to Jesus.  I’ll ask the team to distribute the elements to all who choose.  Remember Jesus is alive today.  He is the one you are choosing to remember in the bread.  The bread is broken so we can distribute pieces to each and every one of you.  It’s His blood represented by the cup that you will drink from acknowledging that you recognize He gave everything to rescue the likes of you.  He did these things to obey the heart of the Father God and to rescue you from Adam’s sin and your sins.  As we listen to this last song pleas feel encouraged to take the elements as you remember these historical facts today and let’s have the best Easter ever.

 

So let me conclude with this instruction.  Kow the historical truth about the savior of the world.  Don’t let another Easter go by without opening your heart to God.  Don’t miss your moment for salvation, you may not get another.  Don’t miss your invitation from God, like so many of Jesus’ contemporaries did.  Don’t excuse yourself from the heavenly Father’s banquet.  Time is of the essence.  Our nation and our world will lose many loved ones over the next months, and we have a chance to live past death, to life with God.  Invite Christ to be your savior and your Lord and then tell somebody what you know. 

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Next week Pastor Brannen brings God’s anointed word.

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Thanks For Joining Us

Connect with us at www.thejourneyhastings.church

 

Message Questions

1.     Why is there a shift from Jesus keeping his identity somewhat hidden during His ministry, to being publicly proclaimed after His resurrection?

2.     How does the worldly view of freedom (life without constraint) compare with a biblical view of freedom? (Consult 1 Peter 2:13-17)

3.     The Scribes and Pharisees possessed the scriptures but could not recognize Jesus. Why was this and how might modern readers be in danger of making a similar mistake? (Consult John 5:39-47)

4.     How does the historical crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus relate to my life today? (Consult Romans 6:3-11)

5.     What does it look like to live with Christ’s resurrection power today? (Consult Romans 8:9-11)