EMPTY: Living a Life of True Abundance

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:14)

This past Sunday was Easter. For those who may not know, Easter Sunday to a pastor is like Super Bowl Sunday to an NFL quarterback. (...not that I am the Peyton Manning of preachers or anything! I digress...) Simply put, this is the biggest day of the year for churches. Big attendance. Lots of new faces. Pastel-colored dresses. White shoes making their springtime debut. Pictures in bluebonnets after church. Lunch with Grandma. It's quite the celebration...

And along with the excitement comes the annual question of what to preach. The basics are obvious: the Messiah riding through Jerusalem on a donkey. The last supper. The betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane. The ridiculous trial. The mockery, beating, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus. All hope is lost. End of story. Right?

(Insert Carman's 80's classic here, "It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday's on the way!")

So then what? On the morning of third day, some of Jesus' followers go to anoint his body with spices, but make an inbelievable discovery: his tomb is EMPTY! An angel is standing there, instead, and tells them that Jesus is risen. In amazement, they run to tell the others. Over the next 40 days, Jesus makes multiple appearances in both public and private settings. He talks with some. He eats with others. He even lets them touch his hands and side. He does all of this for one very specific purpose: to prove He was ALIVE!

So, back to the pastor's challenge. How do you tell this timeless story in a "fresh" way? How can you hope to "out-do" last year's Easter celebration? You may only get some of these listeners once a year, so you'd better make it a good one! Right? Wrong. This year, I just didn't want to "hype" the Resurrection.

Not because I don't think it's important. Quite the contrary. In fact, I am convinced that the Resurrection is the most significant event in human history. But I just wanted to keep it simple this year: Jesus' birth was unique. His life was extraordinary. His death was necessary. But it's his Resurrection that closed the deal. He is ALIVE! He is risen! His tomb is EMPTY!

And because of this truth, the enemy is defeated, my sin is forgiven, my hope is secure, and my life has meaning. I guess you could put it this way:

Because the tomb is EMPTY, my life is FULL. (John 10:10)

Thank you Jesus!