Hope Found Here- Easter 2021- Modern Worship- Brad Cusson by St Matthew Rocklin

Hope Found Here- Easter 2021-Nathan Hausch by St Matthew Rocklin

In the Chaos of Brokenness...His Presence by St Matthew Rocklin

I worked in a grocery store in Newport Beach, CA during college. One day John Wayne comes sauntering in bigger than life. He was quite a presence as He gestured to all of our rafts and boomed, “I’ll take them all, my grandkids are here!” Another time, hot and sweaty with three young children and being the very next ones in line, we were held up at LAX while they ushered ahead of us Magic Johnson, bigger than life. What was even better was that after we boarded the plane, He came back to us – he stepped into our world from first class - and apologized to me and my family. What a class act. Today Jesus saunters into our world, intersecting with us especially in the hard places. Amazing.

All four Gospels – the eyewitness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – there are short lists of the followers of Jesus who were there at the cross. These were the faithful. One who is mentioned by name in every list of the women who were there both at the cross and the tomb is Mary Magdalene. Why? What made her faithful? How did she know this flesh and blood Savior? What are we to see here? And how does this empower us to know Him in such a way to be faithful as well?

No child fantasizes about being on the losing team in the Super Bowl. We all want to “win!” To “amount to something.” To “make our lives count.” To “live for something greater than ourselves.” To “be great.”

It is as if someone made us this way – and He did! But have you ever noticed?...as we get older we tend to lose hope for greatness, especially in the hard places? Today the love of God intersects with our hearts desire to be great, even if we have given up hope.

There is a rule of thumb when dealing with addiction. That which is left in the darkness continues to have power over you. But that which is brought out into the light can begin to be dealt with and overcome. Jesus is the light of the world. His light would intersect with every darkness that holds sway in our lives. It is what we focus on today.

Questions. We all have them, especially in the broken places – the hard places – of our lives. A famous Christian who lived about 500 years ago (His name was Martin Luther) wrote about the “deus abscondicus” - the hidden will of God, the questions. He cautioned trying to look into it because, after all, it was hidden and was meant to be hidden. Instead he said to look where the love of God intersected into the questions. It is what we look at today.

Have you ever been “on the outside looking in,” knowing that there was no way you could “get in?” When Jesus died, amidst all the haters there was one who against all hope desperately wanted into His kingdom. Tonight is about him and the open arms of Jesus. But it is also about us…and all those who are on the “outside looking in,” yet dare to hope for more.

Have you ever noticed? Peace – real peace – transcends the circumstances; it doesn’t come from them. I have seen it again and again. The woman who lost both legs and an arm to diabetes and lived in a very dirty and smelly nursing home – yet dwelled in an aura of peace. The man who….and I could go on and on. This is what we focus on today. Peace that transcends/intersects every hard place in our lives.