YouTube -- Easter Festival Service (April 5, 2026)

Here is the Divine Service for Easter Festival on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

Sermon -- Easter Festival (April 5, 2026)

JESUS IS RISEN.  THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT.

1 CORINTHAINS 15:1-11

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

     Not long ago, there was a Christian theologian who spoke these words from his death bed: “If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  St. Paul said it differently: “I am going to call your attention to the gospel that I preached to you.  … For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1,3-4).  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.

     St. Paul had a lot of issues to address in his letters to the Corinthian congregation.  Among them were divisions in the church and church discipline, sexual ethics and marriage, the office of the holy ministry, and proper decorum in worship.  Much of what Paul had to say are still issues within Christendom; the problems never really go away.  In fact, time seems to add new problems.  How much should the church preach about politicians, immigration, the war in Iran, LGBTQ+ matters, protests, free speech, and the like?  

     First, it should be noted that the Church is not a political action group.  When election season rolls around, we don’t hand out pins or invite candidates to speak (although some have asked).  If the Church is to influence society, it is by changing hearts one person at a time.  That happens through preaching God’s word, not by protests or activism.  It should also be noted that while contemporary issues are not the main thing, they are not meaningless, either.  God’s word has a lot to say about them.  But the Church is not founded upon contemporary issues.  If we devote our time and attention to contemporary issues, we will lose focus on the eternal issue.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.

     St. Paul told the Corinthians what truly matters.  “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  There is nothing more important.  This is not to minimize your trials and your tears.  It is a broken world, and bad things happen.  You can argue that they are not supposed to happen.  You can work hard to improve your little corner of the world.  But nothing you say or do is going to change the fact that this world is flawed and produces frustration. 

     The flaws and frustrations of this broken world have their finality in death.  That is what produces fear in everyone.  Even if you are going through a trial, there is always hope that things are going to get better.  But death puts an end all hope.  If you have a sick child, you hope things will get better.  You hope to avoid the worst-case scenario, that the child dies.  Just the thought of that would make any mother cry.  Death brings finality.  It puts an end to hope.  Many of our fears arise from the threat of death.  When the news reports war or terrorism, the fear is that it will bring death to your home.  If your trials are financial, it is frustrating, but people have survived through greater hardships than that.  But if your life has been reduced to just surviving, the fear is that you may not.  When COVID first hit, we were told that 1/3 of the population would die.  That terrified almost everybody.  People think that the worst thing that can happen to them is death.  But every life ends in death.  There is no escape from it.  We don’t know the “how” or the “when,” but we all know that it is not “if.” 

     You may wring your hands over politics, pandemics, and the price of gas and eggs, but in the hour of death, you won’t care about any of that.  You need something certain which brings comfort and peace.  St. Paul proclaimed it to the Corinthians, and it has been recorded for you: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). 

     Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.  Of course, if we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, that means he died.  St. Paul told us what Jesus’ death was for: “for our sins.”  Jesus absorbed all transgressions into himself.  This man is the substitute for all mankind, absorbing the blows and suffering the hell all mankind deserves.  He was buried, and on the third day, this man rose from the dead, just as the Scriptures foretold.  Psalm 16 states, “My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.  Even my flesh will dwell securely because you will not abandon my life to the grave.  You will not let your favored one see decay” (Psalm 16:9-10).  Jesus did not come back as a zombie with a grotesque appearance.  Jesus arose with a glorious body.  Jesus lives and will never die again.  This man rules over death and now can release all mankind from the grave.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important. 

     That resurrection assures us that the Father has accepted Jesus’ payment for all your sins.  It also shows us that the grave has lost its power to Jesus.  The Lord Jesus will come again to raise up all the dead.  In the end, the grave gets nothing.  All will be gathered before Jesus.  There will be a division among the people, however.  Those who believe in Jesus will receive the benefits of his life, death, and resurrection.  Those to whom Jesus was most important are covered in Jesus’ innocence.  They will receive life everlasting.  This is why there is nothing more important. 

     But there will be many others for whom Jesus was never important.  They were devoted to other matters—perhaps social causes or political activism.  Perhaps their Sundays were devoted to sports or sleep.  Perhaps they cared only about partying or porn.  Most do not think that they are bad people.  Granted, most people are not criminals, but all people are sinners.  All need God’s forgiveness.  To despise Jesus is to forsake the only source of forgiveness there is.  Many will be raised from their graves only to be cast into hellfire.  So, there are things worse than death.

     That’s why there is nothing more important than Jesus.  He proclaimed, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  Repent, and recognize that you have not lived the holy life God demands.  You don’t have to sell yourself to God.  He wouldn’t buy it anyway.  And if you are honest with yourself, neither would you.  But here is the good news: Jesus Christ has redeemed you from your sin.  The proof is that he has conquered death.  Eternal life is God’s gift, won by Jesus, delivered to you.  Jesus is risen.  He delivers the goods to you in word and sacraments.  “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).  There is nothing more important.

     “If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  If Jesus is risen, it will not matter if you die rich or poor; young or old; married, single, or divorced; beloved or despised; healthy of sick.  It will not matter if you die peacefully or tragically.  If Jesus is risen, nothing else matters.  Your place in heaven is secure, and you can live your life in godliness and in joyful anticipation of a glorious resurrection. 

     But the other end of that statement is, “If Jesus is not risen, nothing else matters.”  If Jesus is not risen, you are still in our sins.  The world remains broken.  Life goes on with trials and tears.  In fact, life is just a march of failings and frustrations to the finality of death.  Even St. Paul observed, “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all.  If the dead are not raised, then ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (1 Corinthians 15:19,32). 

     But St. Paul removes the “If” from these things.  Jesus is risen!  There is nothing more important.  In fact, St. Paul says there is nothing more certain!  Listen to the evidence St. Paul presents: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to  Cephas, then to the Twelve.  After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.  Last of all, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). 

     Jesus is risen!  It is not a metaphor or a myth, a fable or a fairy tale.  It is a historical fact attested by multiple witnesses who saw him, spoke with him, touched him, inspected his wounds, and feasted with him.  As St. Paul noted, the claims of Jesus’ resurrection are not private encounters that cannot be investigated.  In one case, he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time.  St. Paul practically dared the Corinthians to verify it since most of them were still alive and could testify what they saw and heard.

     Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important.  You and I are not able to interview those who saw Jesus’ risen body.  We have only their eyewitness accounts recorded for us.  But we also have their testimony confirmed by their blood.  They chose to rather die rather than deny what they had seen.  Compare that to the men who were involved in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal.  Chuck Colson served as White House special counsel.  He was involved in the cover-up and spoke about the failure to keep the lie going.  He said, “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me.  How?  Because 12 men testified that they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it.  Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison.  They would not have endured that if it weren’t true.  Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world—and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks.  You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep lie for 40 years?  Absolutely impossible.” 

     Dear Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins.  He was buried.  He is risen.  The Scriptures prophesied about it.  Jesus himself foretold it.  The apostles witnessed it, proclaimed it, and died for it.  It is the message on which the Church is built.  It is the message on which your life rests and in which you will find comfort in the hour of death.  As sure and certain as death is, just as sure and certain is that Jesus rose from the dead.  Therefore, you can be sure and certain of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.

     You may die having accomplished much, or you may wish you could have done more.  You may die having accumulated much, or you may leave behind precious little.  You may die surrounded by friends and family, or you may die alone.  In the eternal picture, none of that matters.  No matter what, you will die.  But no matter what, Jesus lives.  Jesus will come again and raise you up to a life that will never end, will never know tears, and will never disappoint you.  Jesus is risen.  There is nothing more important. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Holy Week 2026

Holy Week Schedule at Good Shepherd for 2026

THE TRIDUUM (The Three Days)

Maundy Thursday 

April 2, 7:00 PM

Good Friday

April 3, 7:00 PM

Easter Dawn 

April 5, 7:30 AM

Easter Breakfast -- 8:45 - 9:45 AM

Easter Festival Service -- 10:00 AM

YouTube -- Easter Sunday (April 20, 2025)

Here is the Easter Dawn service from April 20, 2025.  Note: This service is joined in progress during the second lesson.

Here is the Easter Festival Service from Sunday, April 20, 2025.

Sermon -- Easter Day (April 20, 2025)

Some of the ideas in this sermon were taken from an Easter sermon by Rev. David H. Petersen who serves at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church (LC-MS) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The particular sermon was printed in a book entitled, "Thy Kingdom Come," a devotional book for Lent and Easter seasons.

You can (and should) order it here.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-57

DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.

In the name + of Jesus.

M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

     St. Paul asks a question which sounds pretty dumb.  “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  We all have answers for that.  Death is the fate of all of us.  No one gets out of this world alive.  Death rules on the battlefield, in the cancer ward, at the nursing home, and on the highway.  As resilient as the human body is, it is also incredibly fragile.  An infection, a virus, or a blood clot is all it takes to end a life.  Death is cruel, cold, and uncaring; and it takes what it wants.

     But St. Paul’s question is not a curiosity; it is a taunt.  “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  That is because today, death has been swallowed up in victory.  Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.  This man did not merely avoid death.  He did not reveal some mystical secret about how to evade the grave.  If Jesus had avoided death, what good would that do you?  Even if Jesus had avoided death, you and I will not.  We are mortal because sin has produced death in us.  We are perishable because sin has corrupted our bodies.  Long before we get to the grave, our bodies are subject to wrinkles, aching joints, loss of balance, loss of memory, and failing senses.  Medicine can only do so much.  The mortician gets the last word.

     But no more.  Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Jesus did not avoid death.  He went right into it.  Jesus was executed by crucifixion.  He laid down his life and gave up his spirit.  His lifeless body was wrapped in cloths and placed in a grave.  But the grave did not keep him.  It could not keep him.  Death holds no victory over him.  Jesus conquered death.  Now, Jesus has authority over it.  And not just authority to conquer death for himself, but Jesus has authority over the graves of all people. 

     So, “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  Death, who have you really conquered?  When Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead, you, O grave, will be emptied.  Jesus will give the command.  Death, you will submit.  You, O grave, will give back what you have taken.  In the end, O grave, you get no one.  For death has been swallowed up in victory.  The victory belongs to Jesus Christ.  And all who believe in him will live and reign over death with him.

     When St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he devoted the entire 15^th chapter of his letter to the resurrection of the body.  He explained that Jesus Christ is the firstfruits from the dead.  He also explained that the full harvest, the resurrection of all flesh, will come when Jesus returns on the Last Day.  Jesus told us what will take place.  He said, “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out.  Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29).  If these words cause alarm, it is because we know that we have failed to do all the good that God demands.  We are guilty of evil that he forbids.  When we stand before God in judgment, we want to be found among those who have done what is good.  After all, no one wants to suffer everlasting torment in hell.  But what can we say in our defense?

     We get to trust in this: “A righteousness from God has been made known. … This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22).  You and I cannot boast of a righteousness of our own.  Our impending death is proof that we are sinners; for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  But there is a righteousness which comes from God.  It comes through Jesus Christ who lived a perfect, innocent life.  He has avoided all evil, and he performed only what is good.  Now, if Jesus had done it only for himself, that does you no good.  But what does the Bible say?  “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22).  Do not waste your time insisting that you are good enough and should be rewarded accordingly.  If you are going to die, then you are a sinner.  If you are a sinner, then you are not good enough.  Instead, trust in Jesus for your righteousness.  Then you will be judged according to his merits and not your own.  The Bible says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ” (Galatians 3:27).  If you are baptized into Christ, you are covered in Jesus’ righteousness.  So, that is your status before God.  That is your hope in the final judgment.  Eternal life is yours. 

     But people crave an eternal life here and now.  In some cases, people hope to come back to this life and live it over and over again in cycles.  But understand this: The world is not going to get any better.  There will always be wars and rumors of wars, kingdom against kingdom, famines, earthquakes, and so forth.  The world has been corrupted by sin.  Living in it forever or repeatedly means that you will endure endless rounds of difficulties and devastation.  What’s more, your own body will not escape its problems.  Sin affects every life and corrupts every body.  Plants, animals, people, even the planet—are all subject to disease, disorders, decline, death, and decay.  Is this the life you want to live forever and ever, or over and over?

     Our Lord Jesus Christ has provided deliverance not only from the curse of sin, but also its effects.  St. Paul wrote, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what is perishable is not going to inherit what is imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50).  That’s why these bodies will finally give out.  What has been corrupted by sin cannot live in a holy place.  And what is mortal will not live forever.

     But now, death has been swallowed up in victory.  That victory not only means that the grave must give you up, but also that your body will be transformed.  Death will give way to life.  The perishable will be converted to imperishable.  The mortal will become immortal.  In delivering you from sin and death, Jesus also delivers you to a life of glory and perfection in body, in mind, and in heart.  The righteousness that he has credited to you by faith will be confirmed in you in reality.

     And it is more than being raised with an incorruptible body only to return to a corrupted place.  Our Lord Jesus has opened the way to a new heaven and a new earth.  St. John caught a glimpse of it in his Revelation: “‘(Our God) will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.’  The one who was seated on the throne said to me, ‘Look, I am making everything new’” (Revelation 21:4-5).  It will not just be our bodies that will be restored and renewed, but all creation will be restored and renewed, too.  This is why we confess: “We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come” (Nicene Creed).  We have a living Savior who guarantees it.  Death has been swallowed up in victory.

     We rightly give our attention to the resurrection of the body on Easter Sunday.  Jesus’ resurrection from the dead guarantees our resurrection.  We cling to this even in face of death.  In those bitter moments when we bury those who have died in the faith, our hope remains.  Our fellow Christians depart from our sight, but they do not depart from the kingdom of God.  We bid farewell to them, knowing we will get them back.  That is why we can repeat the taunt of St Paul, “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  It is no victory, grave, if you get nothing in the end.  There is no sting, death, if God’s people go on to live in glory.  Death, you are done.  We have a Savior who lives and who gives eternal life to all who believe in him.  Death has been swallowed up in victory. 

     When Jesus returns on the Last Day, he will come to judge the dead and the living.  That means not all will have to be raised up from their graves.  Some will be alive and will see Jesus descend from the clouds in glory with all the angels accompanying him.  St. Paul refers to the living ones in particular in this section from 1 Corinthians.  He says, “Look, I tell you a mystery.  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  

     The day of resurrection will be unmistakable.  Jesus will appear in glory.  The grave will give up all the dead, believers and unbelievers alike.  Those who are still alive will not experience a resurrection, but they will be changed.  “For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  But once this perishable body has put on imperishability, and this mortal body has put on immortality, then what is written will be fulfilled:  Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)? 

     These mortal, corruptible bodies will suddenly, like a flash, be renewed and restored to purity and perfection.  The living Savior will convert our bodies to be like his resurrected body—designed to live forever and be forever free from any and all flaws.  And we will live forever in a world that is forever free from any and all flaws.  This is the Christian hope that endures through every moment of life.  Death may bring tears to our eyes, break our hearts, and hit us with unpredictable bouts of grief and sadness.  But death does not destroy our hope.  For, Jesus Christ has overcome death.  Those who belong to Jesus are not lost.  They dwell forever with the Lord.  And when death comes for you, you need not fear.  Rather, you get to taunt the grave: “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  For, you have a living Savior.  You have eternal life.  Death and the grave get nothing.

     Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Its threat is as empty as Jesus’ tomb.  Jesus lives.  And all who believe and are baptized will live with him—resurrected, restored, renewed, and rejoicing forevermore.  “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57)!

M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Holy Week -- 2025

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

Palm Sunday
April 13 – 10:00 AM



Private Confession & Absolution
April 14 – 7:00-9:00 PM

Maundy Thursday
April 17 – 7:00 PM



Good Friday
April 18 – 7:00 PM

Easter Dawn

April 20 – 7:30 AM

Easter Breakfast (8:45 - 9:45 AM) 

The Festival of the
Resurrection of our Lord

April 20 – 10:00 AM

YouTube -- Easter Festival Service (March 31, 2024)

Here is the Divine Service from Easter Sunday, Festival Service, on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Sermon -- Easter Day (March 31, 2024)

JOB 19:23-27

MY REDEEMER LIVES!

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

     Modern Bible scholars claim that Christian doctrine progressed over time.  One doctrine which is claimed to be a later addition is the resurrection of the body.  It is argued that the concept of the resurrection does not appear until perhaps the time of King David, about 1,000 BC, and its frequency increases after that.  It is suggested that the resurrection was not known by the likes of Abraham or Noah or Adam. 

     The patriarch Job would have lived about the time of Abraham, perhaps even a bit before.  That puts him a good 1,000 years before King David.  Job made a very clear confession about the resurrection of the body.  From this we can draw one of two conclusions.  Option 1: The resurrection had been believed and taught by people who came before Job.  If Job was taught about the resurrection, it is a very old doctrine, believed by people long before Job.  Option 2?  Job was just making this up on the spot.  If that were the case, Job’s friends would have responded, “What are you talking about?!” 

     When a person is facing death, he needs to grasp onto something sure in order to find comfort.  It is not the time to start making up beliefs unless you have no beliefs at all.  But Job made it clear that he was not facing death with wishful thinking.  His confidence was firm.  “Oh that my words were written!  Oh that they were inscribed in a book!  Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever” (Job 19:23-24)!  Job wanted his confession permanently inscribed, chiseled in stone so that future generations would know it.  This was a firm faith based on promises of old.  It is a confession that we still make today: “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” (Nicene Creed).  The resurrection of the dead is not a teaching invented by the Church.  The resurrection has been believed, confessed, and taught by God’s people based on the very first promise God made.

     Job’s confession was made when he thought that his death was imminent.  You may recall Job’s history.  Job went from being a very rich, influential man to poverty-stricken in a day.  Job lost his wealth, his servants, his status, and his children.  To make matters worse, Job was then afflicted with debilitating ailments.  The Bible says that Job was struck “with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7).  With his body shriveled, his friends did not even recognize him.  Job looked like the living dead, and he was sure that death was close at hand. 

     Despite this misery, despite staring the grave in the face, Job continued to have hope.  He declared, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (John 19:25-27). 

     My Redeemer lives!  This is to say much more than “God lives.”  Job believed in a Redeemer.  If there is a Redeemer, that means that someone comes to pay a ransom.  The ransom price is paid to deliver us from death.  Death is the sentence that has fallen on everyone on earth.  No matter what anyone thinks about the Bible or Jesus or the Church, all people know they are going to die.  When someone dies might be a surprise.  How someone dies may come as a shock.  When those road workers on the Francis Scott Key Bridge went to work that night, no one thought that they would meet their death by a cargo ship hitting the bridge and causing it to collapse.  But none of those workers expected that they would live forever, either.  We all have an expiration date.  This comes because sin has entered the world and has corrupted all of us.  That was the penalty that fell upon Adam and Eve when they sinned against God, and it falls upon all of us.  We are sinners.  Therefore, we are marked for death.

     But God promised to deliver mankind from sin and all its consequences.  He promised a Savior.  If we are to be saved from sin, then we are also to be delivered from death.  Where there is no sin, there is no death either. 

     God does not ignore or dismiss sins.  They are wicked.  You know that.  If someone sins against you, you know it is wicked.  If your spouse cheats on you, if your neighbor swindles you, if your coworker tells lies about you, do you ignore it or pretend it doesn’t mean anything?  No.  You call it what it is: Wrong.  Wicked.  Unacceptable.  Perhaps even unforgivable.  Therefore, God cannot ignore our sins against him, either.

     Because God does not delight in the death of anyone, he sent a Redeemer to pay the price for our sins.  Our Redeemer is the Lord himself.  It has to be.  This is what the Lord says, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit (Psalm 49:7-9).  But when God steps in and gives himself as the ransom payment, it is enough to cover everyone.  The almighty God died in exchange for all mankind.  The Son of God is your Redeemer. 

     But Job’s confession is not, “My Redeemer dies for me.”  No, he declared, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25).  Jesus, who was buried in the grave with our sins, is risen from the dead.  He lives, and he cannot die again.  He has mastered death. 

     Your Redeemer lives!  And you are his redeemed!  That means he has purchased and won you from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent sufferings and death.  If your sin has been taken away from you, that means that death does not own you.  For, where there is no sin, there is no death.  At the end of time, our Redeemer will stand upon the earth and raise up all the dead from their graves.  On the Last Day, the grave will get nothing.  On the Last Day, he will raise up me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Jesus Christ.  This is most certainly true.

     This was Job’s confidence and confession.  “After my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  My heart faints within me” (Job 19:26-27)!  Job knew that he would die.  His body was corrupted by sin, and sin cannot dwell with God.  But after he died, after his body suffered decay, he would be raised up anew.  And Job knew that he would remain himself.  He would not be morphed into someone else.  He would not be converted to an angel.  The same Job whom God created and whom Jesus redeemed would be resurrected in glory.  “In my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:26-27).  My Redeemer lives, and I myself shall see him!

     Very few people have experienced the misery that Job knew.  But you don’t need to experience that level of suffering to know what suffering in a sinful world is like.  How many have financial hardship—whether from low income, loss of a job, or being hammered with car repairs?  How many have known the pain of having a miscarriage or burying a child?  How many have had their reputation destroyed?  Or perhaps you know the hardship of failing health.  It could be little things like weak eyesight or sore joints.  It could be big things like an illness that requires a hospital stay or an injury that requires surgery.  Maybe it is a terminal disease.  And if it is not you who have experienced these, you know someone who has.  This is the reality of having sin-corrupted bodies in a sin-corrupted world.  These bodies were created by God, but corrupted by sin.  Therefore, they are mortal; for sin brings death.

     But you have a Redeemer, and your Redeemer lives!  He has paid the ransom to deliver you from sin and death.  But it is more than just providing eternal life.  Can you imagine having eternal life in this world?  How many tragedies would you have to endure if you just kept on living in this world?  How many wars would you have to witness?  How many injuries?  How many bed-ridden days?  And how often would you have to experience people sinning against you—lying to you, stealing from you, and insulting you with snobbish arrogance?  Is this the life that anyone wants?

     But you have a Redeemer, and your Redeemer lives!  He will rescue you from everything that has been corrupted by sin.  So, your body will one day wear out.  As Job testified, you will die and your skin will be destroyed.  But then!  But then!  “After my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:26-27).  Your living Redeemer will raise you up from the grave and make you alive again.  Delivered from sin, you will also be delivered from death.  You will be forever free from everything that corrupts and decays and destroys and hurts and saddens and scares.  You will have the body that God had intended you to have from his first creation.  You will have the mind that delights only in what is pure and honorable.  You will have a spirit that loves God and his word, and it will be your greatest joy to live according to it.  And you will be gathered together with redeemed saints who will share in your joy and rejoice in God’s love with you.

     My Redeemer lives!  That is what matters.  Job knew what it was to be rich and influential.  He knew what it was to have a loving family and robust health.  And he knew what it was to have all of it taken away.  No matter what his earthly status was, his status in the kingdom of God remained unchanged.  He was redeemed and assured of a glorious resurrection.  When life was good, he rejoiced in it.  When death felt imminent, it meant even more. 

     Finally, this is all that matters for any of us.  Time on earth is short.  Blessings can be marred or lost.  But our Redeemer lives!  His grace endures forever.  Life in his kingdom is everlasting.  So, your confidence, even in the face of death, can remain firm.  My Redeemer lives!  In the end, he will stand upon the earth.  In the end, we will stand with him.  How our hearts yearn in such a hope and for such a blessing!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

YouTube -- The Resurrection of our Lord: Easter Festival Service (April 9, 2023)

Here is the Easter Festival Service from Sunday, April 9, 2023.  (Jump ahead to the 3:30 mark for the beginning of the service.)

Sermon -- Easter Festival (April 9, 2023)

Some of the ideas of this sermon were taken from Rev. David Petersen's Easter sermon from the devotional book, Thy Kingdom Come.

JONAH 1:17 – 2:10

OUT OF THE GRAVE I CRIED, AND YOU HEARD MY VOICE.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

Cong:  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the name + of Jesus.

     Jonah was a prophet of the Lord, but not a very good one.  The Lord had called Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh.  Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, an enemy nation of Israel.  It would be like a pastor in the USA being sent to preach to the Taliban.  Instead of going east to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship to sail west to Tarshish, which was probably Spain.  The Lord was not pleased and commanded a storm to throttle the ship.  Jonah told the crew that their only deliverance from God’s wrath was to throw him into the Mediterranean Sea.   Reluctantly, they did so.  The storm immediately ceased, and the sea grew calm.  Jonah, on the other hand, plunged into the depths of the sea.  “The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains” (Jonah 2:5-6). 

     The Lord chose to be merciful to Jonah.  “The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17).  Rather than let Jonah die in his stubbornness, the Lord preserved Jonah inside a giant fish.  From there, Jonah repented of his rebellion, and his prayer was heard.  “Out of the belly of Sheol—that is, the grave—I cried, and you heard my voice” (Jonah 2:2).  Jonah was neither consumed by the sea nor consumed by the fish.  The Lord delivered him from the belly of the grave.  “The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10). 

     There are many today who deny this story.  We admit that it sounds unbelievable.  And we do not need to find ways to make it believable.  We confess that this was a miracle, and miracles defy logical explanations.  But another reason we believe that Jonah’s account is historical is because Jesus thought so.  Jesus did not treat this as a parable or a myth.  He confessed Jonah to be real and his deliverance to be real.  He even said that Jonah is a type of himself. 

     When the religious leaders of Jesus’ day demanded to see a miraculous sign from him to prove that he is the Messiah, Jesus could have referred to any number of miraculous healings.  But he did not.  This is what he said: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40).  If Jonah was a mythical figure, are we to conclude that Jesus’ death and resurrection are mythical, too?  God forbid!

     If Jesus’ resurrection is mythical, the consequences are terrible.  Jesus offered up his life as an atoning sacrifice for your sins.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his payment for your sins was insufficient.  Then death still reigns.  Then your future is the grave, which is the best you can hope for.  Hell would be the worst, and with our sins still clinging to us, there is no chance that we could escape it. 

     A faith based on myths is useless.  After all, sins are real.  You know what it is to have people hurt you with insensitive remarks or self-centered behavior.  Some hurt you unwittingly.  Others hurt you intentionally.  You have hurt others in the same way.  If Jesus did not take away our sins, then our guilt remains, and the grave is the future.  And death is real.  It takes without permission and without mercy.  After death comes God’s judgment where we all must answer to God for our sins.  And you can be sure that God’s judgment is real.  Your conscience tells you that. 

     Our guilt is real, our regrets are painful, our shame is humiliating, and our fear of death is haunting.  And we have done this to ourselves.  Sin produces suffering, pain, and death.  God cannot overlook our sins or suspend his judgment, not if he is a righteous God.  If you think that God should let sins slide, ask yourself if you feel the same way about the sins of rapists, murderers, and human traffickers.  Not just them, but we even want to see snobs get their comeuppance.  Without a Savior, we have no answer at the judgment.  Without a Savior, we will discover just how real hell is and how unbearable the wrath of God is. 

     Jonah was a prophet of God, but he was not a very good one.  You and I are the people of God, but we are not very good at it.  We have not overcome our sins.  We have not escaped guilt, shame, and regret.  We will not elude death.  Out of the grave we cry, and God has heard our voice.  Jesus addressed all of it.  Jesus removed our sins from us by taking them into himself and being condemned on our behalf.  That is why he died and was placed in a grave. 

     Jonah and Jesus are just as real as sin, death, and the grave.  Jesus’ death is undeniable.  The Romans were excellent at crucifying people.  Even Jesus’ enemies acknowledged his death.  While death by crucifixion is torturous and terrible, Jesus did not go into death in terror.  Jesus offered up prayers as he faced death.  He trusted God’s word.  He could pray Psalm 16: “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol—that is, the grave—or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).  Jesus died for our guilt, but his innocence enabled him to conquer death.  Therefore, when Jesus died, he went confidently with this prayer: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)!  Out of the grave I cried, and you heard my voice.

     If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he did not pay for sins.  But Jesus Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.  His death and resurrection are historical facts.  While the Bible records real history about real people in real places, the main point of the Bible—all of the Bible—is this: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).  Everything in the Bible focuses on Jesus Christ and the salvation he brings.  Jesus rose from the grave to deliver us from death.  This is the sign of the prophet Jonah.  Just as the giant fish spewed Jonah out, so the grave vomited up Jesus.  On the third day, the grave burst, because death could not hold him.  Jesus lives, and death no longer has mastery over him.

     This is not written simply to pass along historical knowledge.  It is written for you.  It is written so that you can live without the fear of death or the final judgment.  If Jesus has taken away your sins, God cannot do anything but exonerate you.  Rather than his curse, you have his blessing.  Rather than his wrath, you have his favor.

     You do not even need to fear the grave.  Jonah had good reason to fear his watery grave.  He went there in rebellion against God.  But God was merciful and delivered him.  Jonah was delivered back from death when the giant fish was commanded by God to spit him out.  But your deliverance from death will be more amazing, and it will be permanent.  The Lord Jesus, who is master over death, will give the command.  Everyone will come out of the grave—whether a burial at sea or in a cemetery, whether reduced to dust by decay or reduced to ashes by cremation, whether entombed in a lavish monument or placed in an unmarked grave.  The grave will give everyone back. 

     So, if you find yourself lying on your death bed or fear that your life could be taken suddenly and violently, you can die in peace.  For, the grave is but a temporary bed.  No matter when or how death takes you, it has to give you back.  Jesus will raise you up refreshed, renewed, and restored to perfection.  You can confess with Jonah: “Out of (the grave) I cried, and you heard my voice….  Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9)!  And you can pray with Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)! 

     Hear the word of the Lord Jesus: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40).  Do not concern yourself with the time, as if Jesus failed to keep it.  First century Jews were not slaves to the clock like we are.  Jesus was in the tomb on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  On the third day, he rose again.  Now Jesus lives and reigns forever. 

     Out of the depths we cry, and Jesus hears our voices.  Jesus hears our voices when we grieve over our sins.  Jesus hears our voices when we mourn the loss of our loved ones.  Jesus hears our voices when death points its icy finger at us.  And Jesus responds with words of victory.  Your sin?  It has been done away with.  It cannot condemn you.  Your grave?  It has lost its power. 

     Where, O death, is your sting?  That you drag us and our loved ones away?  Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades.  So, you, O death, do not own us.  Jesus will raise us back to life.  He will reunite us with all who have died in Christ.  Where, O grave, is your victory?  The bodies that you take, O grave, you will have to vomit out.  Dust and decay will turn to goodness and glory.  In the end, O grave, you get nothing.  And in the end, O death, you will be destroyed.  For, God’s people do not perish but have everlasting life.

     This is why Jonah says, “You brought up my life from the pit,  O Lord my God.  When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.  Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.  But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.  Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:6-9)!  Just as we do not face a mythical death, we do not have a mythical God.  All other gods are lies.  They do not give life.  They are not merciful.  And they certainly do not save.  Whoever does not believe in Jesus forfeits steadfast love, salvation, and a resurrection to glory.  But Jesus lives, victorious over the grave.  Therefore, he gives us a real victory over sin and death.  Salvation belongs to the Lord.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

Cong:  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.