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The Great Harvest Begins! An Easter Sermon on1 Corinthians 15:19-26
The Great Harvest Begins!
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
† I.N.R.I †
May the Grace and Peace of God our Father and the Risen Lord Jesus Christ fill your heart, mind and soul, as you realize the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work IN YOU!
I will never get tired of saying this…
Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Congregation He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Deacon: And therefore,
Congregation: We have risen indeed! Alleluia!
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
As I was thinking about this idea of a great harvest, and how to explain it, my memory went on a weird trip. It took me back to my childhood, as we were visiting a church. I don’t remember which one, probably Salem First Baptist, or the Pentecostal church my dad’s friend Pastor Brazil led. I don’t remember much of the service, except one strange hymn.
They sang it with a lot of energy and incredible joy, which is what impressed me, because I had no idea what they were singing about!
I mean, what in the world is a sheave?
They kept using that word, and being that the church was not in a farming community, I am not sure they knew what it meant either, but they were singing about bringing them in, with great joy!
Bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves,
We will come rejoicing,
Bringing in the sheaves!
Did they mean sword-sheaths? Sheets? Sieves? Sleeves? Steves?
What in the world is a sheave?
And why were people so excited about bringing them in?
And what does that have to do with Easter?
How many times is our reaction to the resurrection there, because we hear everyone else’s conviction, because we see the joy and we want to be part of it, but we don’t get that we are part of the harvest?
- Death in Adam
I don’t remember how many times they sung that chorus, but it seemed like for forever! And the first 4 or 5 times through, it was cool to see them all excited and singing loudly. It obviously meant something to a lot of these people!
But after a while it got old…and I disconnected from the singing, and focused on the musicians, then, looked around the church, then started to daydream, and maybe escaped to the restroom.
There was nothing there for me, and I don’t think anyone would have noticed I wasn’t there.
That is what sin is like, the sin that entered the world from Adam. It kills us off, separating us from the Lord, and from others. It’s as if they are speaking another language, and what is enjoyable to them, is empty to us. That frustrates us even more, and we wander off, separated from all that is good…
And that death is a foretaste of eternal death—the empty, hollow life that is hell….
It’s like being out in the low desert in the midst of summer, as wind sweeps blazing hot sand across the land, creating an unquenchable thirst in land and beast and man. For life is not capable of being sustained, never mind gathered and harvested.
There is no hope to escape that emptiness, that loneliness, or so it seems…
2. The New Life
In another lifeless situation, God provided life where it could not have been.
This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Romans 4:17 (NLT2)
And that is what happened the morning of the Resurrection, where there was no life in the crucified, spear pierced body of Jesus, from death came life.
He power of the grave, of death was shattered.
The separation thought to be permanent was made erased with the flash of light, as Jesus defeated death. As Jesus lived, but had already paid for our separation. His life would give a way for us to come to life, to know the joy, to be able to sing with meaning.
Only God can erase all that spiritually kills us, and wiukd end with our physical and eternal death as well. Only God can bring us to life again. Only God can include us in the great harvest of souls that have risen from the dead, both spiritually, and one day physically.
He did this by uniting us to Christ’s death and His resurrection…We are made new, complete, and in God’s eyes are His children, without sin. We become part of those “sheaves”, a part of the people of God, all who trust in Him and depend on His promise.
This is why we come to church, to celebrate this work of God, it is why we sing and pray and read the Bible, It is why we ask questions when we don’t know what a word means, or how a song fits in…. for it all testifies to the work God is doing in us.
And knowing that, that the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is at work in us, we enter into God’s peace, a peace far beyond our Logic and reason, for we dwell in our risen Lord, Jesus the Messiah! Amen!
This is Most Important: An Easter Sermon based on 1 Cor. 15:1-11
THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT
1 Cor. 15:1-11
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ point you out to what is most important in your life!
- The Best Thing in Life – Remain focused on it
In our reading from 1 Corinthians this morning, the Apostle Paul said this:
“3I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me.”
The most important thing.
So for fun, I googled “most important thing” and I came across an article written by Natalya Bannister entitled “What really matters—the 7 most important things in life.”
She has an interesting list.
- Peace!–and she said protect it!
- Health—so much for that one!
- Family and Friendships—not a bad thing to include
- Purpose—so she likes a purpose driven life!
- Time—someone gave me a box of thyme this week… supposed to plant it and wait a while…
- Learning—not education, learning and there is a difference!
- Love!—
About the last one, she said, “I have always said, we were put on this earth simply to love. Love one another, love what we do, love the Earth, and love each moment we are blessed to experience. Love is the most powerful force in the universe.”[1]
That Lady put together a pretty good list.
But I think she’s dead wrong with it.
None of those things is the most important thing in life. What Paul passed on is the most important thing in life.
Let’s read the full thought together:
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said! (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
That fact is the most important thing you have in your life… well, most of it, anyway.
We’ll need to complete the thought in the rest of the sermon!
- The Best Thing in Life—Eyewitnesses of it
St. Paul describes some of the witnesses of the fact the Christ died, was buried and rose again.
It is pretty extensive, and while not complete, includes some events that show up no where else in scripture!
He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.
I really want more information about when Jesus showed up and was seen by 500 people at once. The only time in the scriptures this is mentioned – and there are many theories of when and where. Enough to get side-tracked in a Bible Study for at least 2 hours!
But all these people witnessed the fact that Christ had died, and as importantly, that He had risen!
We need to know both – that He died because we sinned. And that Alleluia! He is risen! (He is Risen Indeed Alleluia!) and therefore… (We are risen indeed! Alleluia!
- The Best Things in Life – Evidence – we all preach the message!
I said earlier that the first quote we started with contained the most important thing in life.. well almost. It read,
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said! (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
The rest of the thought St. Paul gets to in verse 10.
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.
St Paul makes the connection between the death and resurrection of Jesus and his own life, and then to our lives.
It is his version of the “and therefore”
God pours out His love and forgiveness as the blood of Christ is spilled upon the ground, as it is sacrificed for us on the cross. He dies and He rises from the dead.
And with Jesus, all who believe are raised from the dead, holy and righteous, for in His death He has separated us from all sin.
This is the greatest, most important, most glorious thing in your life…for it shows you have been given a new life, in Christ, and Christ in you!
Which brings us back to the list….that we saw in the beginning. She was on to something – if you include Jesus
- Peace!—we have it as we are raised in Christ
- Health—we have eternal life in Christ
- Family and Friendships—we have a family of all believers in Christ
- Purpose—we exist to be in communion with God
- Time—eternity in Christ
- Learning—we know God for we are in Christ
- Love!—not that we love… but that He loves us!
So trust in this – Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again! AMEN!
[1] https://homemagazinegainesville.com/what-really-matters-the-7-most-important-things-in-life/
They Stood There, in Disbelief and… (Our Easter Service with guest Bob Bennett)
(a special thanks to Bob Bennett, who did a couple of special pieces and played with our praise band. And to all the people who came and celebrated this blessed day with us
They Stood There in Disbelief
… Filled with Joy and Wonder
Luke 24: 36-49
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ fill you with awe, with wonder, and suspend your disbelief!
The Disbelief
You have to love these crazy, hard-headed apostles.
No matter how many times they heard Jesus say he was going to rise on the third day, they just didn’t get it. Over and over Jesus told them, He pointed out all the teachings about the Messiah in the Old Testament, about His death and resurrection.
And the first word we see describing their reaction to Jesus showing up was terror.
And the second was, oddly enough… disbelief.
Or better translated – they didn’t have faith, they couldn’t trust their own eyes…or their ears, or their sense of touch.
Here it is, three days after Jesus died on the cross after a spear pierced His heart, and He’s standing before them asking for a few fish sticks.
The can’t believe it.
I am not sure I blame them. It is hard to process, hard to wrap your mind around this thing called resurrection. Dead – Alive? Tortured and Beaten – Healthy? (well except for the holes in his hands, feet, and that gaping wound in his side…)
We’ll hear Jesus tell Thomas at some point – “hey, you see me and believe, blessed are those who believe me and don’t see.” In response to which I must quote another man in the gospels.
“Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief”
Realizing that they struggled with the resurrection, there in the upper room helps a lot. It enables me to deal with the times where despair brings doubt with it. And when we forget or doubt that He is risen… (He is risen indeed, therefore, we are risen indeed!)
When we struggle with believing in the resurrection, when we struggle with depending on Christ’s resurrection, our resurrection with Him becomes in doubt as well. For our resurrection, our life is intimately connected to Jesus’s death and resurrection.
Remember Colossians 2
12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:12 (NLT2)
It shouldn’t be surprising that Satan would try to get us and get the apostles to be caught up in disbelief. He had done a pretty good job…but you can’t last in Jesus presence long before things change.
Even while they are struggling with disbelief in the presence of God, they are finding themselves no longer empty, no longer hopeless, but filled with joy and wonder.
Something I think we could all use, right about now.
So let’s get past our struggles believing. and move on to the good stuff!
The Joy
They were filled with joy and wonder!
I love how Jesus reminded them of what He had taught them, and as He does, He opens their minds to help them understand the scriptures. To see what the scriptures really focus on, this love of God, so immense, that is revealed throughout the scriptures.
Twenty-five years ago, Kay was in Siberia for 5 weeks, on a mission trip. It was so amazing when she got off the plane and I was at the boarding gate. There is something amazing to being reunited to someone you care a lot about, whom you know cares about you.
And yet this man they all cared about, who invested himself in their lives, whom they gave up everything to follow, and who was brutally killed before their eyes…
He’s back…
Jesus then opens their eyes to the most amazing thing, that the Old Testament was all about this moment – about His death and resurrection. And therefore, our resurrection.
HE’s back, the last three years of their lives weren’t wasted, their hopes, they if anything just got an incredible boost. Their sorrow disappeared faster than cockroaches when you turn the light on.
And yet this isn’t just their moment. We need to realize it is ours as well.
The Wonder
And then the wonder sets in, an amazing thing as we realize what the resurrection means, and how it changes everything.
Jesus even explains it, again.
47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,* beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’
There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent. No matter how many hundreds of thousands of sins you have committed. No matter how dark those sins are. Everything is made new in our lives, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus, we have a new life!
Remember, Alleluia He is Risen… and therefore!
Every sin you have committed and will commit, has been nailed to the cross.
Each and every one, dismissed because they were nailed to the cross with Jesus,
And while Jesus is risen, and you are risen, the sins are still there….dead, separated from you.
This is the work of the same Holy Spirit, the One who will empower His church. Not just these apostles and the disciples hanging out with them, but all the church.
You see, you have been entrusted with sharing that message with all people, every language, every ethnicity! Sharing with them that their sins are forgiven because of Jesus, as the Holy Spirit changes their lives, as He grants to them repentance. What is awesome, get this, the world is coming to us, and we can share it with them!
That is how much God has changed us, that is why we are filled with joy and wonder.
Because Alleluia He is Risen!
And therefore… you are risen indeed! AMEN!
