A Fresh Wind Sermons

The final prayer that Jesus prays is not just for the disciples, it is for anyone who would believe in Him. His prayer is for people like you and me. Resurrection hope comes from knowing that in the midst of a divided world, we can trust that the love of Jesus knows no bounds.

Even when I think it is the end, it may just be the beginning. When Jesus' friend, Lazarus, died it all looked like one big mistake. If Jesus would have been there, Lazarus would still be alive. Standing in front of the tomb where Lazarus was buried, it seemed like all hope was lost. Yet, this tomb was fertile ground for a miracle -- and a foreshadowing of what would happen to Jesus and all who put their hope in Him. Allow yourself to hope -- again -- that God is still working and there is purpose in the pain.

We all know the pain of discouragement that comes from things outside our control, as well as discouragement that comes by our own foolish choices. The story of the resurrection shows that there is no disappointment that the resurrected Jesus cannot overcome.

Death is the thing that defeats everyone. It does not, however, defeat Jesus. He overcomes to give the world hope. Easter proves there is nothing that our God cannot do. Choose to embrace the hope that is offered to you in Jesus this Easter.

Good Friday proves God's grace. God did something for us we couldn’t do for ourselves. He gave us Jesus who we didn’t deserve, to die our death and reconcile us to Himself. Because of the cross, you can have peace. And not just peace for now, but for all eternity.

The same people shouting “Save us” on Palm Sunday, are the ones shouting “Crucify Him” on Good Friday. They wanted Jesus to save them from their Roman oppression. Jesus knew they needed saving from something much deeper and more sinister. The saving the people needed, wouldn’t come through a sword or military conquest. It came through sacrifice. The Lamb of God, in our place.

The early church considered the Incarnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because Jesus is God, He is all-powerful and He cannot be defeated. Because He is man, He can come to our aid as our sympathetic High Priest when we reach the limits of our human weaknesses. The miracle is that this eternal God became man through the incarnation approximately 2,000 years ago. That’s what the Incarnation was: God the Son becoming man.

So many of us are holding on to things, refusing to let them die. Yet, until Jesus is first -- at the center -- whatever else we are pursuing must be put to death. The good news for followers of Jesus is that death isn't the end -- it's just the beginning. That's the power of the resurrection.

Jesus sustains all things. God did not wind things up at creation and then walk away, but he is intimately involved in all of creation. And here in Colossians, God’s providential care of the universe is revealed as the sustaining power of Jesus, the firstborn over all creation.