The Resurrection Of Our Lord (Easter Day)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
Resurrection and new life in the risen Christ.
Theme For The Day
Jesus out of the tomb and alive with us.
First Lesson
Acts 10:34-43
Good News For Cornelius
We begin the Easter season today with the Gospel story of the resurrection. The First Readings, instead of the traditional Old Testament scripture, will all be from the New Testament book of Acts which gives us an account of the early church. Today it is a reading which tells us this new covenant church will be for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. It is Peter explaining to Cornelius the gospel and the basics of what and how Jesus did these things we celebrate. This is the meat of the early preaching by the apostles, written down by Luke who must have heard it proclaimed. Just the facts will suffice.
1. The gospel is for all people (1:34 and also found in Romans 2:11).
2. It was a message of peace (v. 36).
3. Jesus' ministry began with John's baptism and a ministry of compassion (v. 38).
4. The apostles were eye witnesses to all Jesus did (v. 39).
5. He was crucified and resurrected (vv. 39b and 40).
6. It was a real resurrection because they ate and drank with him (v. 41).
7. We have forgiveness of our sins through him and what he did (v. 43).
New Testament Lesson
Colossians 3:1-4
New People
In this brief passage Paul reminds the baptized that they are to be changed people when they are "raised" out of the water. Now one must concentrate more on things eternal. We are no longer to live as if this world is all that counts. We view everything against the knowledge of a wider world of eternity. It is as if Paul is calling for a radical Christianity. Our lives have now a new set of values and perspectives. In living we:
Put serving ahead of being served
Put sharing above getting
Put forgiveness over getting even
Put loving over hating
All these may not be public but one day with our Christ they shall be revealed (v. 4).
Gospel
John 20:1-18
The Empty Tomb
It is a breathless account of the empty tomb discovery told by one who may have been there first to look inside. Dear Mary Magdalene, who so loved Jesus, was there just to be close to the place of burial where many of that day believed the spirit of the deceased hovered for three days before departing. Sunday morning sometime between 3 and 6 a.m., she arrived to find the stone which sealed the tomb now rolled aside. Peter, in spite of his behavior in the courtyard of the High Priest, was still considered leader of the group. So Mary ran to him. Peter set out for the grave but younger John (perhaps the author) beat him there.
Mary was the first of many to see the risen Christ (v. 14). She was crying, did not expect to see him, had her back to him as she was concentrating on the empty tomb rather than the again alive Christ, so she did not recognize him until he spoke (vv. 14 and 16).
This may have been a mistranslation in verse 17. Perhaps Jesus really said to her not to spend time touching him but to go tell the disciples of her discovery. Whatever happened in the garden that early morning -- Jesus asks Mary to go tell the disciples the news and she did: "I have seen the Lord!" (v. 18). In our preaching let's tell it with such conviction that our Easter hearers might return to their homes saying with Mary Magdalene, "I have seen the Lord!"
Preaching Possibilities1
Because it is Easter, we must preach on the Resurrection story. The Acts account will support the thought of being witnesses to this event called resurrection. It tells us what Peter preached was the result of Easter's resurrection. The Colossians reading supports the fact that after this first Easter and our Baptism we are new changed people just like Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, and the rest of the disciples.
If you have multiple services and need several messages, you might consider the following:
A. Peter's Easter Sermon -- Acts 10:34-43
1. Easter is for all people (v. 34).
2. Easter brings peace (v. 36).
3. We are Easter witnesses (v. 39).
4. Forgiveness for our sins is ours (v. 43).
B. Paul's Easter Message -- Colossians 3:1-4
1. In our baptism we are raised with Christ (v. 1).
2. Easter brings a new set of priorities (v. 2).
3. We have the privilege of being in Christ (v. 3).
4. There is glory in the after Easter discipleship (v. 4).
C. The favorite disciple's favorite Easter story -- John 20:1-18
1. Mary Magdalene wanted to be near the corpse (v. 1).
2. John won the foot race but hesitated (v. 4).
3. Peter, true to his nature, went on into the tomb (v. 6).
4. Mary Magdalene looked for him in the wrong place (v. 14).
5. The rest of the disciples got the news (v. 18).
If you give all three messages, be sure to summarize all three at the conclusion of the third one. Why not try putting an outline of all three in the worship bulletin so your people can get a bigger picture for the day?
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Let's try to make this Easter sermon as close to the ground and contemporary as possible.
a. Watch and read the news during Holy Week leading up to Easter for a disaster somewhere in the world. Perhaps you'll find an account on the Internet of lives lost in a flood, fire, earthquake, crash, boat sinking, mass murder, and so on.
b. Then take the Easter story we celebrate on this Sunday and tell how it makes a difference to the people killed and the people grieving their loss in this news story.
2. The title could be "Easter for the People of... (wherever the disaster)." Imagine you were the pastor there and must preach a word of comfort to those survivors.
3. An outline of the sermon might go like this:
a. Tell the story of the disaster from the news account.
b. If you have made a phone call there to a pastor in the area, quote him/her here -- it really makes it relevant!
4. Now talk about the fact of Easter's celebration which happened 2,000 years ago, half way around the world.
5. Now move to how what happened in Jerusalem long ago on the first Easter relates to what happened in __________ (place) last week (or a few weeks ago).
a. Because Jesus came out of the grave, so may those killed in (the Chicago train wreck).
b. Because Jesus overcame torture and death, so might our loved ones who recently died.
c. Because Jesus cared about Mary Magdalene's grieving, he will also comfort us with his risen presence.
d. Because those disciples were witnesses to the good news from the graveyard, so are we witnesses and disciples today.
e. Because they saw the Lord, so may we.
6. Now return to your news story about the disaster and frame your sermon with a final detail of the story you have saved for now.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to celebrate today your going to the cross and coming out of the grave in Jerusalem that we might have in (your town) forgiveness and the life beyond the grave. And bless the people of (the disaster) today as they mourn their dead and try to pull their own lives back together. This is your victorious day today, O God; make it ours as well. In the resurrected Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Possible Stories
Missionary Ted Zimmerman, now of Hong Kong, tells how during the repressive Communist cultural revolution in China, "secret Christians" on Easter would walk by their old church building which had been taken away from them. They said that even though they could not gather for worship, they still could worship in their hearts by being near the church building and looking at it... and remembering. So we walk in the garden of the empty tomb today and remember.
ABC World News Tonight reported that 24 hours after a horrible train crash in Chicago, you could hear cell phones ringing inside the mangled and burned cars. Friends and family were trying to locate their loved ones. It took a long time for the rescuers to get to them. I wonder how long it will be before we hear of someone being buried with a cell phone in his casket! But we know where, and how, they are since Easter, don't we?
On CBS News with Connie Chung, she called it the Lenin problem: "What to do with a God who failed." They have Lenin on display. I saw him. Now what do you do with him? Bury him? Traditionalists say no. Our God is one who won in the Easter victory. Not on display in a glass tomb, embalmed and preserved. No need to display a dead preserved body. Ours is alive through us and the church. We are the Easter People.
There is a story told of a White House employee calling Woodrow Wilson in the middle of the night to say that an IRS employee had died and asked if he could take his place. Wilson said, "It's all right with me if it's okay with the undertaker." Jesus took our place on Good Friday and Easter through resurrection.
____________
1. A Special Note: It is the author's suggestion to have a summary of the next seven Sundays' messages and preacher's sermons as close to "Our Lord's Half Year" and the Season of Easter on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Be alert to this possibility as you prepare your sermon.
Resurrection and new life in the risen Christ.
Theme For The Day
Jesus out of the tomb and alive with us.
First Lesson
Acts 10:34-43
Good News For Cornelius
We begin the Easter season today with the Gospel story of the resurrection. The First Readings, instead of the traditional Old Testament scripture, will all be from the New Testament book of Acts which gives us an account of the early church. Today it is a reading which tells us this new covenant church will be for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. It is Peter explaining to Cornelius the gospel and the basics of what and how Jesus did these things we celebrate. This is the meat of the early preaching by the apostles, written down by Luke who must have heard it proclaimed. Just the facts will suffice.
1. The gospel is for all people (1:34 and also found in Romans 2:11).
2. It was a message of peace (v. 36).
3. Jesus' ministry began with John's baptism and a ministry of compassion (v. 38).
4. The apostles were eye witnesses to all Jesus did (v. 39).
5. He was crucified and resurrected (vv. 39b and 40).
6. It was a real resurrection because they ate and drank with him (v. 41).
7. We have forgiveness of our sins through him and what he did (v. 43).
New Testament Lesson
Colossians 3:1-4
New People
In this brief passage Paul reminds the baptized that they are to be changed people when they are "raised" out of the water. Now one must concentrate more on things eternal. We are no longer to live as if this world is all that counts. We view everything against the knowledge of a wider world of eternity. It is as if Paul is calling for a radical Christianity. Our lives have now a new set of values and perspectives. In living we:
Put serving ahead of being served
Put sharing above getting
Put forgiveness over getting even
Put loving over hating
All these may not be public but one day with our Christ they shall be revealed (v. 4).
Gospel
John 20:1-18
The Empty Tomb
It is a breathless account of the empty tomb discovery told by one who may have been there first to look inside. Dear Mary Magdalene, who so loved Jesus, was there just to be close to the place of burial where many of that day believed the spirit of the deceased hovered for three days before departing. Sunday morning sometime between 3 and 6 a.m., she arrived to find the stone which sealed the tomb now rolled aside. Peter, in spite of his behavior in the courtyard of the High Priest, was still considered leader of the group. So Mary ran to him. Peter set out for the grave but younger John (perhaps the author) beat him there.
Mary was the first of many to see the risen Christ (v. 14). She was crying, did not expect to see him, had her back to him as she was concentrating on the empty tomb rather than the again alive Christ, so she did not recognize him until he spoke (vv. 14 and 16).
This may have been a mistranslation in verse 17. Perhaps Jesus really said to her not to spend time touching him but to go tell the disciples of her discovery. Whatever happened in the garden that early morning -- Jesus asks Mary to go tell the disciples the news and she did: "I have seen the Lord!" (v. 18). In our preaching let's tell it with such conviction that our Easter hearers might return to their homes saying with Mary Magdalene, "I have seen the Lord!"
Preaching Possibilities1
Because it is Easter, we must preach on the Resurrection story. The Acts account will support the thought of being witnesses to this event called resurrection. It tells us what Peter preached was the result of Easter's resurrection. The Colossians reading supports the fact that after this first Easter and our Baptism we are new changed people just like Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, and the rest of the disciples.
If you have multiple services and need several messages, you might consider the following:
A. Peter's Easter Sermon -- Acts 10:34-43
1. Easter is for all people (v. 34).
2. Easter brings peace (v. 36).
3. We are Easter witnesses (v. 39).
4. Forgiveness for our sins is ours (v. 43).
B. Paul's Easter Message -- Colossians 3:1-4
1. In our baptism we are raised with Christ (v. 1).
2. Easter brings a new set of priorities (v. 2).
3. We have the privilege of being in Christ (v. 3).
4. There is glory in the after Easter discipleship (v. 4).
C. The favorite disciple's favorite Easter story -- John 20:1-18
1. Mary Magdalene wanted to be near the corpse (v. 1).
2. John won the foot race but hesitated (v. 4).
3. Peter, true to his nature, went on into the tomb (v. 6).
4. Mary Magdalene looked for him in the wrong place (v. 14).
5. The rest of the disciples got the news (v. 18).
If you give all three messages, be sure to summarize all three at the conclusion of the third one. Why not try putting an outline of all three in the worship bulletin so your people can get a bigger picture for the day?
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. Let's try to make this Easter sermon as close to the ground and contemporary as possible.
a. Watch and read the news during Holy Week leading up to Easter for a disaster somewhere in the world. Perhaps you'll find an account on the Internet of lives lost in a flood, fire, earthquake, crash, boat sinking, mass murder, and so on.
b. Then take the Easter story we celebrate on this Sunday and tell how it makes a difference to the people killed and the people grieving their loss in this news story.
2. The title could be "Easter for the People of... (wherever the disaster)." Imagine you were the pastor there and must preach a word of comfort to those survivors.
3. An outline of the sermon might go like this:
a. Tell the story of the disaster from the news account.
b. If you have made a phone call there to a pastor in the area, quote him/her here -- it really makes it relevant!
4. Now talk about the fact of Easter's celebration which happened 2,000 years ago, half way around the world.
5. Now move to how what happened in Jerusalem long ago on the first Easter relates to what happened in __________ (place) last week (or a few weeks ago).
a. Because Jesus came out of the grave, so may those killed in (the Chicago train wreck).
b. Because Jesus overcame torture and death, so might our loved ones who recently died.
c. Because Jesus cared about Mary Magdalene's grieving, he will also comfort us with his risen presence.
d. Because those disciples were witnesses to the good news from the graveyard, so are we witnesses and disciples today.
e. Because they saw the Lord, so may we.
6. Now return to your news story about the disaster and frame your sermon with a final detail of the story you have saved for now.
Prayer Of The Day
Help us to celebrate today your going to the cross and coming out of the grave in Jerusalem that we might have in (your town) forgiveness and the life beyond the grave. And bless the people of (the disaster) today as they mourn their dead and try to pull their own lives back together. This is your victorious day today, O God; make it ours as well. In the resurrected Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Possible Stories
Missionary Ted Zimmerman, now of Hong Kong, tells how during the repressive Communist cultural revolution in China, "secret Christians" on Easter would walk by their old church building which had been taken away from them. They said that even though they could not gather for worship, they still could worship in their hearts by being near the church building and looking at it... and remembering. So we walk in the garden of the empty tomb today and remember.
ABC World News Tonight reported that 24 hours after a horrible train crash in Chicago, you could hear cell phones ringing inside the mangled and burned cars. Friends and family were trying to locate their loved ones. It took a long time for the rescuers to get to them. I wonder how long it will be before we hear of someone being buried with a cell phone in his casket! But we know where, and how, they are since Easter, don't we?
On CBS News with Connie Chung, she called it the Lenin problem: "What to do with a God who failed." They have Lenin on display. I saw him. Now what do you do with him? Bury him? Traditionalists say no. Our God is one who won in the Easter victory. Not on display in a glass tomb, embalmed and preserved. No need to display a dead preserved body. Ours is alive through us and the church. We are the Easter People.
There is a story told of a White House employee calling Woodrow Wilson in the middle of the night to say that an IRS employee had died and asked if he could take his place. Wilson said, "It's all right with me if it's okay with the undertaker." Jesus took our place on Good Friday and Easter through resurrection.
____________
1. A Special Note: It is the author's suggestion to have a summary of the next seven Sundays' messages and preacher's sermons as close to "Our Lord's Half Year" and the Season of Easter on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Be alert to this possibility as you prepare your sermon.
