WEBVTT 00:00:02.540 --> 00:00:06.940 He is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. 00:00:07.940 --> 00:00:10.539 Alright. Well done. I think you got it down. 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:16.260 Excellent. This is the moment that the entire 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:20.620 story has been pointing toward. All year long. 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:25.780 Every reading. Every hymn. Every reflection. 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:29.780 Everything in the rhythm of the church calendar. 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:36.229 Even Christmas. Every moment has led us here. 00:00:37.829 --> 00:00:40.630 We remember the prophets. We remember the ones 00:00:40.630 --> 00:00:43.070 in the Old Testament who kept saying time and 00:00:43.070 --> 00:00:46.869 time again, God wants you to worship Him, to 00:00:46.869 --> 00:00:49.869 follow Him. And the people just kept going and 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:53.549 doing their own thing time and time again. We 00:00:53.549 --> 00:00:56.909 can't help but wonder, will anything ever change 00:00:56.909 --> 00:01:03.240 as the people constantly fell short? But as we 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.200 kept hearing it, there was a hint. There is something 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:12.680 to come. There is someone to come. And then we 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:16.379 see the Christ. We welcome His birth. We see 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:19.739 His life. We see His ministry. We see Him begin 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:22.640 to change everything as He speaks about the Kingdom 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:27.620 of God. That the Kingdom of God is here. showing 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:31.579 a radical teaching that God is not just hoping 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:35.319 to someday find His way here, but that God is 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:40.239 with us. And that with every moment is to restore 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.359 what was broken, to take the ways in which sin 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.900 has corrupted and shattered our world, and to 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:50.780 go forth in God's name and to make it right. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:56.930 But to realize that in Him, we begin to see that 00:01:56.930 --> 00:01:59.709 we are no longer bound to the old expectations. 00:02:00.129 --> 00:02:03.090 We are no longer held to the old pressures, the 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:06.609 old systems, the ways in which people are always 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:09.210 trying to measure up to something that we were 00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:12.909 never going to fulfill on our own. Jesus did 00:02:12.909 --> 00:02:16.669 not come to add more rules to make us feel that 00:02:16.669 --> 00:02:18.969 we were never going to measure up in a world 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:22.389 where we never did. He came to show that the 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:29.560 old system is no more. But then, those who wanted 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:34.979 to hold on to the old ways, they were done with 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:40.400 Him. And they put Him on a cross to be rid of 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.259 the troublemaker that shook up everything. And 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:48.099 that, looking like it was the end, as Christ 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:52.439 is up there saying, it is finished. Does that 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:57.439 mean the story is done? Complete? ended the death. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:04.719 That death, though, would not, could not hold 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:14.759 Him. This is about Jesus being risen. And everything 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.800 after this, everything that we do as the church, 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.319 everything we hope for, everything we live out, 00:03:20.659 --> 00:03:24.250 everything is about what that means. instead 00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:28.129 of running from God. And I know many of you still 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:33.849 are. Instead of running from Him, we are drawn 00:03:33.849 --> 00:03:37.650 back to Him with forgiveness, with grace, with 00:03:37.650 --> 00:03:44.250 life renewed. And it's all here. But even knowing 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:48.689 this, when we hear it, how many of us still have 00:03:48.689 --> 00:03:53.300 a moment When we realize a resurrection and say, 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:59.280 what? Where did that even come from? He already 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.400 said it was finished when He died. Wasn't the 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.599 sacrifice the whole point? Being willing to give 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:09.680 of Himself. Wasn't that all that there was meant 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:15.280 to be? The resurrection still surprises us. We've 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.319 heard the stories. We've read the prophecies. 00:04:18.569 --> 00:04:23.350 But in the moment, doesn't it still feel so unbelievable? 00:04:24.730 --> 00:04:28.170 Sometimes it feels like the story took a turn 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:31.389 that we didn't expect. And here's the thing, 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:36.110 sometimes stories end in ways that make you think, 00:04:36.209 --> 00:04:39.810 man, that came out of nowhere. Raise your hand 00:04:39.810 --> 00:04:43.730 if you remember happy days. Right? Even if it's 00:04:43.730 --> 00:04:48.980 the reruns. Yes. Fonzie, leather jacket, juke 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.300 machine, his favorite song every time, flirting 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:57.000 with all the girls. And you wonder year after 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.339 year, season after season, where will this story 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:03.120 go until one day you realize that the writers 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:06.980 have no more storylines and put him on water 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:12.220 skis jumping over a shark. And you wonder, where 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:16.540 did that come from? And yes, that's exactly where 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:20.480 the phrase came from. But if we're not careful, 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:24.040 that's what many people think of the resurrection. 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:27.759 It's a last -minute twist for people who want 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.620 to avoid feeling defeated after the religious 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:34.000 leaders got the best of Jesus and managed to 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.660 get rid of Him. It's like adding the extra section 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:40.139 to the end of the Gospel of Mark and wondering, 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:42.920 were they just trying to make a better story? 00:05:43.629 --> 00:05:50.250 But no, that was never how this was. It's not 00:05:50.250 --> 00:05:53.189 about going off the rails. This story is still 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:56.009 going exactly where it was always supposed to 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:59.470 go. It's more like nine seasons of How I Met 00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:03.649 Your Mother. When you realize after nine years, 00:06:04.329 --> 00:06:07.430 that's why the show was always about Robin and 00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:12.430 not really about the mother. As we see the conclusion, 00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:17.889 everything finally makes sense. The resurrection 00:06:17.889 --> 00:06:21.050 is not an improv class. It is the fulfillment 00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:26.149 of God's eternal plan. The angel doesn't say, 00:06:26.149 --> 00:06:29.490 I've got a new story for you. He says remember 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:35.790 how He told you. We see it in the prophets. God 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:39.889 left breadcrumbs for centuries. Psalm 16, you 00:06:39.889 --> 00:06:42.730 will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:46.449 Holy One see corruption. God's Holy One would 00:06:46.449 --> 00:06:50.800 not stay dead long enough to decay. Isaiah 53 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.180 describes the suffering servant. After he has 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:56.959 suffered, he will see the light of life. Death 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.720 is not the final word. Hosea 6 -2. After two 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:03.220 days, he will revive us. On the third day, he 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:07.000 will raise us up. Jonah. Three days in the belly 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.680 of the fish, becoming a sign of Christ's own 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:12.779 time in the tomb. Descent. Confinement. Return 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:16.920 to life. Psalm 22. Beginning with despair, but 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.970 ending with vindication. the story of suffering, 00:07:21.709 --> 00:07:26.149 becoming a story of hope and proclamation. Even 00:07:26.149 --> 00:07:30.050 for those standing at the cross, though, even 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:33.209 with all of those prophets, it was still hard 00:07:33.209 --> 00:07:37.790 to see. But could we blame them? Truly, could 00:07:37.790 --> 00:07:42.029 we blame them? Life is overwhelming. We're standing 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:44.810 over here with the whole book in front of us. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.139 But how often do we struggle to see the forest 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:52.040 for the trees, even the tree upon which He died? 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:56.620 How could they remember every prophecy, every 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.480 word, every sign, every teaching that pointed 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:03.959 to the resurrection? They had just lost someone 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:08.540 they loved. You know what that's like. It's easy 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:12.350 to say, I need to be busy. We need to go to the 00:08:12.350 --> 00:08:14.509 tomb. We need to bring spices. We need to stay 00:08:14.509 --> 00:08:17.370 in hiding since we might be next. Life keeps 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:20.389 moving even when everything feels like it shouldn't. 00:08:20.589 --> 00:08:24.850 And sometimes, we're not willing to face what 00:08:24.850 --> 00:08:27.370 we need to face because we just don't have it 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:31.610 in us. There may be grief. There may be fear. 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:37.250 How often is there stress? People were not careless. 00:08:37.929 --> 00:08:42.379 They were overwhelmed. Haven't we all been? And 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:44.879 sometimes, sometimes you're just too close to 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:48.940 it. They were in the crucifixion. They were in 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:52.580 the event, inside the story. You can't always 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:56.059 see clearly when you're that close. Could we 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:58.220 really blame them for not putting it all together? 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:01.419 For not seeing how every prophecy, every teaching, 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:05.559 every moment was pointing here that He would 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:10.460 suffer, that He would die. that He would rise 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:15.100 on the third day. When we think about it, how 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:19.320 often do we forget, even in the everyday things, 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:23.899 even in the midst of life, our routines, the 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:27.899 things that we forget. Friendships and loved 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:30.720 ones who drift away from our minds because they're 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:34.700 not right in front of us. Forgetting to care 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:37.659 for the life, the body, what we've been given 00:09:37.659 --> 00:09:41.360 by God. how often we're supposed to exercise, 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.580 how those New Year's resolutions pan out for 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:49.039 you, the sleep schedule, the eating better. But 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.899 more than that, we can't even remember to be 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:55.879 patient. What is it about our integrity, our 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:59.679 character, even the moral compass we were raised 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:04.000 with? We are so caught up in other people's anger 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.000 and mortified and completely frustrated. but 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:11.399 also telling these people, telling us which are 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:14.419 supposed to be our enemies instead of our neighbor, 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.960 and that we're supposed to turn on them and constantly 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.980 look for battles to fights that aren't even there. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:24.980 And forgetting the very character of Christ, 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:30.700 not in lights, but on a cross. As believers in 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:35.419 Christ, we still end up forgetting what matters 00:10:35.419 --> 00:10:41.080 the most. Resurrection. New life. The old being 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:44.980 buried, the new coming back again restored. Whether 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:48.200 you were baptized as an adult, and you said, 00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:51.700 hey, this is the beginning of my new life, and 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:56.080 then slowly start to forget as it fades. Or for 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.000 those who were baptized as an infant, and you 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.679 didn't even have that memory in your mind, and 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.100 it doesn't stand out the same way when you stood 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:08.019 up and confirmed your faith. It's not that there's 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:11.360 no sincerity there, but it's not active the same 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:15.179 way. We don't remember what type of people to 00:11:15.179 --> 00:11:19.340 be ourselves when life gets loud, life gets busy, 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:24.279 life gets heavy. Yet even when we forget what 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.980 matters most, when we forget God's will, God 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:34.139 does not forget us. God's plan unfolded exactly 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.600 as He planned. exactly as He promised. Even when 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.360 the people were too close to see it, God had 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:43.340 been writing the plan all along. It wasn't an 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:46.059 afterthought. It wasn't a footnote. The cross 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:48.299 was never the final chapter. The tomb was never 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:55.000 the last page. Jesus didn't pause, though, to 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.659 wait for everyone to get it. He didn't delay 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:02.750 the plan until everyone was ready. He went to 00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:05.470 the cross and fulfilled what was promised to 00:12:05.470 --> 00:12:09.090 be done for us. If this had been about trying 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:12.149 just to prove a point, it could have looked a 00:12:12.149 --> 00:12:15.850 whole lot different. He didn't die just to guilt 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:19.009 us into obedience. He didn't die to show off 00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:22.330 how righteous he was so that we would have to 00:12:22.330 --> 00:12:26.690 then prove ourselves somehow. The Gospel is not... 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.620 Look how righteous Jesus was and He got punished. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.919 Now feel bad and try to live up to Him. It's 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.220 not even Jesus died for you, so the least you 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:38.139 can do is live for Him. And I know how many times 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:41.759 I hear that in a week. That was the old religious 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:46.100 system that Jesus came to challenge. Everything 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:50.340 they tried, the mocking, the shaming, the killing, 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:56.600 could not stop God's plan. Evil could not have 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:00.700 the last word. The Gospel is about life. Life 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:03.840 that triumphs over death. Life that defeats the 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.039 sin that we keep committing. He died to defeat 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:10.899 death, to destroy sin, to bring life, everlasting 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:16.179 life, to all who trust in Him. Because life that 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:19.080 is given to us freely, as God said, I will conquer 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.600 evil with good. I will end death with life everlasting. 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:25.980 I will begin with My Son whom you crucified and 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:29.860 through Him you will have life too. And if death 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:33.559 does not get the last word over Him, it does 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:37.960 not get the last word over you. This is the start 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:42.000 of everything new. Even if it's today, without 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.320 the resurrection, life would be simple, ordinary. 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:49.100 We could just blend in. We could be like all 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:51.779 the other religions of the world. You know, all 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:53.779 the ones that say it's all about just being good 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:57.259 people. You know the ones. Follow the routines. 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:00.000 Do the prayers. Play it safe. Be good people. 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:03.139 Move through the world without thinking that 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:07.100 life is beyond this moment. Focusing on the here 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:10.460 and the now. Man, without a resurrection, we 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:13.960 could be like everyone else. But the resurrection 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:19.000 says no! Our life is more than just this life 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.980 now. We have been given life everlasting. This 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:26.059 is the beginning. Even when we die, it is still 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:29.460 just the beginning. And even for those of us 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:33.539 who have lost loved ones so recently, it is good 00:14:33.539 --> 00:14:36.299 to know that now is the beginning of where their 00:14:36.299 --> 00:14:39.779 new life begins in Christ. Because death is defeated. 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.799 Sin is forgiven. Our hope is not fragile. And 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.370 it changes everything. The sins you've committed, 00:14:48.049 --> 00:14:51.549 the mistakes that you will make, they do not 00:14:51.549 --> 00:14:55.250 define you. God has already loved you enough 00:14:55.250 --> 00:14:57.710 to raise His Son. He has already seen us at our 00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:00.149 worst and loved us so much that when He brought 00:15:00.149 --> 00:15:03.730 His Son back to life, that became the beginning 00:15:03.730 --> 00:15:07.809 of life for us as well. Because if God could 00:15:07.809 --> 00:15:11.889 love us that much, when we were in the midst 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:17.320 of killing His own Son, How much more does He 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:20.879 love us when He has now brought His Son back 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:25.259 to life and death no longer holds the last word 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:30.779 over anyone? You have now heard the truth. Your 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:36.700 life so often distracts us. How often it is that 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:38.500 there are so many things that will try to pull 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:41.139 us down, try to pull us away from that message, 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:45.740 from that reality, from that life. And that's 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:49.700 why we're here today. To bring us back to what 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.740 the Gospel truly is. Because the Gospel is the 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:58.279 resurrection. Any number of reasons why you might 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.679 be here today. And maybe thinking it's a chance 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:06.120 just to enjoy a holiday. Or this is what my family 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:09.779 does. Maybe you saw the butterflies. Or maybe 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:13.240 you're just trying to make your mama happy. But 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:17.629 today... Today is not just to prove that all 00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:21.409 things Jesus said was right. It's not just to 00:16:21.409 --> 00:16:26.009 say, good job, Jesus, you win. It's to bring 00:16:26.009 --> 00:16:30.590 us into that life ourselves. It is to bring us 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:33.210 not just into the memory of what God has done 00:16:33.210 --> 00:16:36.490 or who God is, but to bring us into a story of 00:16:36.490 --> 00:16:41.049 life everlasting. Even when you failed, even 00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:44.990 when you will fail again, even when you're not 00:16:44.990 --> 00:16:48.490 sure that you are ever enough. And doesn't it 00:16:48.490 --> 00:16:50.669 get frustrating when we feel like we're never 00:16:50.669 --> 00:16:57.009 enough? God has always acted in love. He raised 00:16:57.009 --> 00:17:00.190 His Son, proving death does not have the final 00:17:00.190 --> 00:17:02.809 word. And through that same Son, He offers new 00:17:02.809 --> 00:17:06.150 life to you. The cross could have been the end, 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:09.329 but the resurrection is the beginning. Your life 00:17:09.329 --> 00:17:12.109 now carries the promise that everything can be 00:17:12.109 --> 00:17:14.990 new. Every day, every choice, every moment is 00:17:14.990 --> 00:17:17.809 shaped by the reality of Christ's victory. Even 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:23.069 grief, even fear, even our doubts cannot undo 00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:29.309 it. Would you follow Him today? It's so easy 00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:32.630 to forget what really matters. To get caught 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:35.869 up in work and relationships, anger and frustration. 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:39.420 to forget the people who matter, even the ones 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:43.220 right in front of us, even the ones right here 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:48.400 with us. We can forget even to care for our own 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:50.880 selves, for our patients, for our integrity, 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:56.299 for our ethics, and then the resurrection bursts 00:17:56.299 --> 00:18:00.119 in anyway. And it does not wait for us to remember. 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.250 It does not pause for us to catch up. It is a 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:07.329 reality that we step into whether we are ready 00:18:07.329 --> 00:18:12.150 or not. The disciples were just as confused, 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:16.289 frightened, overwhelmed, and yet the resurrection 00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:19.630 came. God's promise is being fulfilled right 00:18:19.630 --> 00:18:23.450 before their eyes. We need reminding just like 00:18:23.450 --> 00:18:28.450 they did. The reminder is that Christ lives and 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:32.519 everything is new. There are so many parts to 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:38.359 this. And I realize how many of you who have 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:41.819 maybe been here for so long, maybe have come 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:45.279 recently, or maybe are here for the first day, 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:48.599 and you're wondering what would this even mean. 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:53.859 And what it means is you have everything today 00:18:53.859 --> 00:18:57.599 in Christ. So even when we don't understand, 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:02.069 even when life seems too loud, Jesus keeps the 00:19:02.069 --> 00:19:06.009 promise. The good news of Easter is not that 00:19:06.009 --> 00:19:09.109 we fully understand it all, but that even when 00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:13.069 we forget, when we struggle, when we are so shouted 00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:17.569 down and confused, when fear feels louder than 00:19:17.569 --> 00:19:23.349 faith, Jesus keeps His Word. He goes to the cross, 00:19:23.809 --> 00:19:26.930 and then He rises again. The tomb is empty, y 00:19:26.930 --> 00:19:30.799 'all. Well, it looked like loss. is a promise 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:35.299 unfolding all along. A resurrection reminds us 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:38.299 of God's promise that you belong to Him. You 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:42.099 are His child, and nothing can take that away. 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:46.880 Sin does not define, and hope is not fragile. 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:52.460 Even grief, even fear, even doubt cannot undo 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:55.859 that, because every day is shaped by resurrection 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:58.819 life. and everything is different because of 00:19:58.819 --> 00:20:01.960 what Christ has done. So wherever you may be 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:06.720 today, my hope and prayer is this. Believe what 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:13.079 I say, but trust in the One who gave it. Follow 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:17.960 Him where life is found. Please don't let today 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:21.500 be a footnote in a life where you have forgotten. 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:29.259 Because He is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:30.740 Thanks be to God.