Modern family #3 Forgiveness 8/29/21 Carroll FUMC Pastor Terry Plocher

 Modern family #3

Forgiveness

8/29/21 Carroll FUMC Pastor Terry Plocher

 

My little brother and I were in our back yard in Lakewood, Colorado. We were playing with a baseball bat and a ball, just the two of us. I don’t remember why I was close to him. But next thing I know my eyebrow was on the business end of a baseball bat.

5 or 6 stitches later and I was not as good as new. That was OK because I had this scar: a badge of honor to hold over Orrin’s guilty little head.

I forgave my brother Long ago, as if an accident really requires forgiveness.

Most of the time when one family member hurts another it doesn’t involve stitches or blood. Usually, it is words which can leave bigger scars than any baseball bat. Often a person is let down by our action or failure to act. Sometimes it has to do with a parent’s favoritism or sibling rivalry.

Whatever the source, being hurt by family members can leave a bad emotional scar. Logically, it seems like those to whom we are closest should receive forgiveness the quickest. It does not work that way. sometimes it is those who are closest to us, who haver the role of protecting us, in whom we placed the most trust, with whom we've been most vulnerable, whose affection we treasure the most, and whom we love the most that we have the hardest time forgiving.

We need to recognize that sometimes the harm done is intentional, and even criminal. I can't imagine the pain of being betrayed by an abusive family member. Unfortunately, through the years, I have known many people who have been emotionally crippled by the damage of abuse. The loss of trust, the struggle for intimacy, and the difficulty trusting again make it particularly hard to forgive. Relationships become complicated by elapsed time, by blocked memories, by a strong denial that does not want to admit that someone we love could hurt us so badly. I just want to say, if you are struggling with the scars of abuse, I am so sorry. And please know that I understand that your struggle with forgiveness may be quite different, but at least is more complicated than most cases of forgiveness. I don’t intend anything I am saying to minimize you or your struggle.

Whatever the cause of the injury, forgiveness in the family is a major issue for many people. If you listen carefully, you'll find several people in this congregation and in our community who have a real struggle with forgiving a family member.

The need for forgiveness in the family is nothing new. Remember two weeks ago I was talking about Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was the youngest and dad's favorite. One day the older brothers were tending the sheep in the pasture and Joseph was coming toward them. As the older boys saw him approaching, they cooked up a scheme to teach him a lesson. Stripping him and throwing him into a pit seems like a fitting punishment for the smart aleck little brother. They might have quit there if greed didn’t consume them. Some Midianite traders were willing to buy Joseph and the brothers sold Joseph Into slavery.

The years that followed had their ups and downs for Joseph. Being sold to the household of the Pharaoh of Egypt was good. Spending time in his jail was bad. Being promoted in Pharoah’s household was good. Being wrongly accused of sexual assault by Potiphar’s wife was bad. Being named second in charge of the county was good. You see just a roller coaster.

You can only imagine how, especially in the difficult times, Joseph might seethe with anger toward his brothers, how he might resent them, how he could have plotted to get even with them. You might think that, but you would be wrong. I’m sure there were moments of resentment, but Joseph rose high above that.

22 years after being sold into slavery there was a great famine in the land, but Joseph had been shrewd enough to make sure Egypt was prepared and even had enough grain to share with others. That is when Josephs brothers appeared before him asking for grain to feed their family including Joseph’s own father Jacob

They didn’t recognize Joseph. He recognized them, and played a few ticks on them, but not in a way that hurt any if them, and to be truly mean.

In today’s scripture Joseph couldn’t stand it any longer. He sends everyone else from the room and calls his brothers forward to reveal who he is. Do you think his brothers were a little scared? They should have been. Joseph had the power to do whatever he wanted to them… maybe 100-fold more than they had done to him.

But no. Joseph Weeps and says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

 

I’ll be the first to admit that Joseph is a bigger person than I might have been. Even if we forgive, we tend to hold back on the trust, just a little. Can you blame me for not standing by Orrin when he has a bat? 

Joseph went one step further. He not only forgave, but he also invited them to live in Gaza and promised he would take care of them. That is forgiveness in action. The only explanation offered, and perhaps the only one necessary, is spoken by Joseph in chapter 50” You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

That is the last we hear of the brother’s mistreatment of Joseph. It never comes up again I the Bible. Joseph manages to completely forgive them and start over.

 

I have seen siblings unable forgive what seems like trivial offenses, compared to Joseph’s story. I have seen parents and children separated by a huge gulf of grudge over something almost too insignificant to mention. I have seen families who have been feuding for so long, like the Hatfield and McCoys, no one remembers why they are feuding or who started it.

What is different? Why is Joseph’s story different?

Let me suggest a couple of things.

 

FIRST, JOSEPH SEEMMS TO UNDERSTAND BETTER THAN MOST THAT FORGIVENESS IS A HUGE PART OF GOD’S PLAN.

Geneses 1 and 2 set the stage. From the beginning, God wants to be in relationship. God wants more than anything else, to have people voluntarily love God. Sin, of course was not part of the original plan, but God was not about to let sin, or human weakness, or human pride stand between God and God’s people. Forgiveness was invented out of necessity along with clothes, and farming and after Adam and Eve had their illicit breakfast.

God’s only alternative was to wipe the whiteboard of creation clean including destroying humanity and go back to the drawing board. In fact, In the later parts of Genesis, God was so sorry he created humanity that is exactly what Noah and the flood was all about. A Clean start. Before it was over, God promised never to do that again, and sealed the promise with a rainbow.  Sin was still real with Noah and his children, so God was in the forgiving business again

Jesus came as God’s forgiveness in skin to make God’s love and forgiveness real in a way we had never seen it before. So, you see FORGIVENESS IS A HUGE PART GOD AND A HUGE PART OF THE STORY OF GOD AND HUMANITY

 

SECOND, BEING CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF THE GOD OF FORGIVENESS, FORGIVENESS IS A BIG PART OF BEING HUMAN. We are created with the heart of love we are seeking loving relationship just like God. And we pay the price in broken hearts and disappointments Just like God.  Forgiveness is part of who we are created to be. It is not natural for us to hold grudges. I have said before that a grudge is like drinking rat poison and expecting someone else to die.

Jesus goes so far as to say, “If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.” (MSG) Whether we are the forgiver or the forgive-ee, Jesus is clear that unforgiveness is not only bad for us, and our human relationships. It is bad for our relationship with God.  

The Lord’s prayer says it boldly “Forgive us our trespasses… as we forgive those who trespass against us.” See? What is at stake?

We need forgiveness from God and others whom we harm.  Our forgiveness, however, is dependent on us being forgivers. And that includes those who are closest to us, like our family. TO BE HUMAN IS TO NEED FORGIVENESS.  BUT IT EQUALLY TRUE THAT TO BE HUMAN MEANS TO FORGIVE OTHERS.

 

Finally, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO FORGIVE. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS NEVER TOO EARLY.

22 years is a long time for Joseph to forgive. Broken hearts and relationships can go unforgiven and unhealed for a long time

22 years, in this case, has given Joseph some perspective. When he reveals his identity to his brothers he said, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…It was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:5, 8). After this, Joseph reassures his brothers, offering them forgiveness saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph had the advantage of years of perspective as he forgave his brothers. Sometimes forgiveness takes years.

On the other hand, Ephesians 4:26 says famously “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Don’t let it grow. Don’t let it fester. Don’t let your anger go for 22 years.

Bottom line the time to forgive is as soon as you can. 22 years is ok, 2 years would be better. 2 days or 2 hours would even be better. Regardless of when the injury occurred, now is the time to let go and free yourself from the prison of unforgiveness by forgiving.

Remember forgiveness is not dependent on the other person being sorry or asking for forgiveness. It is not even dependent on them acknowledging or understanding that they did anything wrong. If you forgive, will be the one who will get their life back.  And you may set someone you love free to live as well. FORGIVE NOW BECAUSE IT IS NEVER TOO EARLY OR TOO LATE TO FORGIVE.

 

Maybe you don’t have to get hit upside the head with a baseball bat to understand this. Good for you. Some of us do. We all struggle with forgiveness at some point in our lives, but holding on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge only cause more suffering.

In giving us the power of forgiveness, God has made us both jailer and prisoner.

·       Forgiving is for our own growth and happiness.

·       Forgiving helps us to remove pain from our hearts.

·       Forgiving allows us to keep living.

·       Forgiving the people closest to us allows us to keep living and loving as family.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

Let us pray:

Holy Father, we have made mistakes in our relationships.

We have disobeyed you and broken the trust you had in me.

We have shut family members out and have not shown them the love and kindness all your children deserve.

 I know that they have made mistakes too. Help me to forgive them completely as you would want me to do.

No matter the mistakes, negative feelings, mistrust, or harm; At the end of the day, we are still family

Please continue to guide me during this time. Amen.

 

 We repent and ask forgiveness from you and from those who we have hurt

 

 

Finding god in unexpected places : in you!!! 5/23/21

 Surprise

Pentecost is kind of like a surprise party. No one expected it. Even people who heard Jesus himself promise the coming of the Holy Spirit did not understand what that meant.

The disciples were gathered in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Booths. 

I imagine that the doors were locked, barred, and maybe barricaded. It doesn’t say what the disciples were doing. Were they eating? Were the comparing notes? Were they just catching up on family news?

Or they may have still been hiding in fear of the Jewish authorities. It was, after all, just 7 weeks ago that Jesus slipped through their fingers on that first Easter. The leaders of the Jews were still fuming. And the disciples didn't know if they were still wanted, men

Rush of wind

The doors may have been locked, bared, and barricaded. But who needs doors, this is the Holy Spirit. I imagine that the windows are all closed and locked… but then again who needs windows this is the Holy Spirit. The apostles were not expecting anything… but one last time… who needs an invitation. This is the Holy Spirit.

It doesn’t say that the wind blew. The Holy Spirit is not just wind. Notice that it says that the sound was like the rush of the wind. I don’t know who to describe it. I don’t imagine a big 40 mph gust of wind. I was out at Swan Lake this week and the wind was blowing. I was just feeling it blow through my hair. I was listening to the sound. If I listened and watched very carefully I could see Leaves faintly rustling on one side. Then a ripple in the water as it moves almost silently across the water. Then it whispered past my ears and rippled the water on the other side of me going away. And then into the leaves again. 

Examples of Spirit moving?

In Genesis, the Spirit of God is described as hovering over the waters. Was this Spirit- wind?

In 1 Kings the lord did not speak to Elijah in the tornado, but in a still small voice that washed past the cave entrance. Was this Spirit- wind?

In the Exodus the Lord caused a strong wind to blow to push back the waves of the red sea so Israel could walk through on dry land. Was this Spirit- wind?

Was it Spirit- wind that made the bones rattle When Ezekiel looked over the valley of dry bones? I’m not entirely sure, but it says that God would put breath in them (wind, breath, and spirit is the same Hebrew word). Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the wind and “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” Again, Was this Spirit- wind?

Maybe. Most importantly I think it tells us the Spirit is active and moving in our world and our lives in powerful ways. If you doubt the power of the wind, drive through the Cedar Rapids area since the Derecho last year. There are still piles and piles of trees (not just branches) TREES cut up and laying along the street. And hundreds still laying on the ground waiting for someone to come clean up the very visible aftermath of a powerful wind. The Spirit is active and powerful all around us. 

Fire.

Then comes the fire. Well, not really fire. The scripture says, ” Divided tongues, AS OF FIRE. Like fire, not fire but it looked similar to it. 

Again, notice that it doesn’t say that it just rested on each one, but that it “ appeared among them,” That Spirit among us real and powerful. Then a tongue rested on each of them.” Or what looked like a tongue rested on each of them. What was it… my only answer is that it was certainly the Holy Spirit. Since the Greek word for the tongue is the same word used for the tongue in your mouth I am sure it represented the gift of speaking in foreign languages, but there is one other thing. 

Describing these manifestations as fire, got me thinking. In addition to  creating heat and light, fire does one more thing. It causes chemical changes. When light and heat energy are taken out of something, wood, for instance, it is no longer wood, but charcoal or ash. If the explosive energy is taken out of gasoline in the form of heat and light it leaves carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen dioxide (water), and several other gases. 

After it is burned there is no way to return to the original wood or gasoline. A chemical change has taken place it will never be the same.  Similarly, when the Holy Spirit ignites our hearts there is an irreversible change. The byproducts are faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc… and we will never be the same again. We can never go back to being who we were. An encounter with the Holy Spirit turns a fisherman into a disciple, or a disciple into a prophet, or a lawyer, or banker, or farmer into a servant.

The Spirit is real and powerful as the wind, and an encounter with the Holy Spirit changes a person forever. 

Some of the most amazing stories of faith are about the power and transformation of the Holy Spirit. Take for instance the story in Chapter 9 of Acts. Saul, who, remember was going from house to house arresting Christians,  both men and women, and throwing them in jail… It says Saul was “breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples.”  Remember I said last week that the church was spreading out? Saul was afraid some might get away. So he went to the High Priest to ask for what amounted to an all-points bulletin for the Damascus synagogues. That if they found a Christian, or a person of the WAY as Paul called them, they must be arrested and brought to Jerusalem immediately. 

Before he delivered the letter, Saul, nearing Damascus, saw a light from heaven. It startled him so that he fell off his horse. Once he had his attention a voice came “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Can you imagine his sheer terror? Who are you, he asked, I’ am guessing his terror only deepened when the answer came, “I am Jesus whom you persecute.” Oh, man. He knew he was in trouble. But the Spirit was not done with Paul yet… he got up and found that he had been struck blind. 

After his encounter with the real and powerful, transformative power of God (which we describe as the Holy Spirit) was the end of his persecuting and the beginning of his preaching. He was renamed Paul and became the greatest advocate for the gospel in all of history. We’ll read more about him I the coming weeks. 

Whatever the Holy Spirit does in our lives is always amazing,… but Some of the most dramatic stories of the work of the Holy Spirit today come out of the persecuted church. I have read stories of Muslims who are breathing threats of murdering Infidels one day. They fall to their knees when Jesus appears to them in a dream. It is amazing that after seeing Jesus in a dream once or twice, feeling the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives once or twice, some of them find the nearest Christian and ask how they can serve Jesus.

After I left the church in 1995 I was not persecuting Jesus, but I wasn’t serving either. The Spirit tricked me into saying yes to a mission trip and  started to work on me. In the end, the youth were asking if I would be their next leader when Brenda retired. I said, absolutely not. I would never go back to work for the church. 

The Holy Spirit worked quietly moving in my life for the next 6 months and I applied for the youth pastor Job in January. Asbury and Community of Joy youth was one of the best ministries I have ever experienced. I have never been the same… changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Finally. In brief the last movement in this story I want to cover today. There were Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. They heard the disciples talking … and each one of them understood what they were saying. I think this is a better way to understand what happened than the disciple spoke all their languages. 

Think about it. There are 15 regions specified. How many disciples? 12. How did 12 disciples speak in 15 different languages? They SPOKE by the power of the Holy Spirit alright, but it seems even more amazing to me that, by the power of that same Holy Spirit, each one HEARD IN THEIR LANGUAGE. In their own language… do you see what I am saying? I preach every week, but sometimes people tell me how the sermon helped them… I realize I did not say what they heard.  It was the Holy Spirit working in them to hear in their own language the message they need to hear. The Spirit was not just for the disciples. Not just or the church people. Not just for the faithful, or the insiders. The Holy Spirit is given to all. And I believe it is the Holy Spirit that draws people from all over the world to kneel at the foot of the cross. 

Acts says, “6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?” How indeed, by the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on each one personally. 

Peter begins to preach, citing Joel,

‘In the last days, God says,
  I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
  your young men will see visions,
  your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men, and women,
  I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
  and they will prophesy.
21 And everyone who calls
  on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Hear that? on all people. Sons and daughters, regardless of gender.

Young men and old men. Regardless of Age.

Even on my servants- both slave and free.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, the Holy Spirit is active and powerfully transformative in your life… in your personal life… repeat after me in my life. Lounder like you mean it. In my life… the Holy Spirit is working in my life.

Turn to the person next to you or behind or in front and say in your life. say, … in your life. …The Holy Spirit works in your life. The Holy Spirit is really present, really powerful in all people. Thanks be to God. AMEN

Easter Sunday 4/4/21 Missing easter Fumc

 Easter Sunday 4/4/21

Missing easter 

1. Last  Easter was very lonely here. I planned and prepared and was all excited and ready to celebrate  Easter with the congregation and then everything came to a screeching halt. Last year’s  Easter attendance was a total of 4. Me sitting here and my family in the tech booth. 

1. I feel like I missed  Easter 2020. Don’t get me wrong… there was  Easter… Christ is Risen… but it didn’t feel like it here. (church) or Here (heart). I think you know what I mean. Hopefully, we have grown to appreciate digital worship, but in those days most of us were so inexperienced that I am sure, despite my best efforts, it didn’t feel like  Easter to a lot of people. 

2. We aren’t the first people to miss  Easter. There was even someone who missed seeing Jesus on that first  Easter Sunday, and it followed him for 2100 years by giving him the unpleasant nickname… “doubting Thomas.” 

3. I always like to stick up for Thomas and say, if you insist on calling him doubting, you need to go back and read the rest of the story. In the end, he believed, just like the other disciples. I think “Believing Thomas” would be a better moniker. 

2. So Believing Thomas missed the first  Easter. At least he missed Jesus’ appearance to the disciples. The events of that first Day of Resurrection can be a little confusing because we have 4 gospel writers telling the same story from 4 different perspectives. 

1. We see the same thing when reporting a news story, where the reporter’s location and their personal beliefs make a big difference in how they tell the story. 

2. We see it in traffic accidents. The passengers of the cars each have their own memory which is sometimes quite different from the witness on the sidewalk. 

3.  Obviously, none of the Gospel writers has ALL the information, each has some. 

2. Therefore, People have tried to make a reasonable timeline using all 4 gospels. I am not so sure about some of the assumptions they make when they do that, but it seems like this appearance when Thomas was not there was the fourth or fifth time Jesus appeared after the resurrection.

1. To Mary in the garden

2. To the Women who are sent with a message to the apostles Mtt 28:9

3. appearance  on Emmaus road Lk 24:13-30

4. Appearance to Peter Lk 24:34

5. Appearance to the disciples without Thomas.

3. I don’t know what Thomas was doing. He may have just stepped out for a short time.  There is no way to know.

1. What we do know is what he missed.

1. He missed an encounter with the risen Lord. This is no normal neighborly Sunday afternoon visit. Verses 19-23 describe what happened the Sunday evening of the resurrection. His disciples (except for Thomas??)were scared and confused. They locked themselves in a room out of  fear that those who had murdered Jesus would soon be looking for them. 

2. Suddenly, Jesus appears to His disciples. The Bible says that ”Jesus came and stood in their midst…” Notice this, 

1. Jesus was dead, yet he but he came to them. 

2. They were scared and hiding, but Jesus came to them. 

3. The doors were locked, but Jesus came to them. That is a home run as far as miracles go!

3. But the miracle doesn’t stop there. The disciples go to see proof of the resurrection standing in front of them, nail holes and all. 

4. If Thomas had just missed seeing Jesus, it might have been ok. But he missed that opportunity to experience the living Christ. And he missed the gifts Jesus brought. They are gifts that feed faith. 

1. The gift of peace.  Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 

1. Oh for a dose of peace in our lives,  right?  

2. The signs read, “No Justice, No Peace.” 

3. The people cry, “No equality no peace”

4. People on the southern border cry, “No entry, no peace.”

5. The politicians cry, “Do it my way, or no peace” 

6. Our community needs peace, our homes need peace, and our hearts need peace. And Thomas missed Jesus’ gift of peace. 

2. Second, Thomas missed the proof. The disciples did not pull faith out of the thin air. 

1. Jesus showed them his hands and side. He held up his hand and they could see his face through the hole.  

2. When they hugged, they could still the dusty musty cave in his hair.

3. Who upon seeing that, could NOT believe?

3.  The wound in his side was big enough to fit your whole hand. 

1. Who upon seeing that could NOT believe?

4. Thomas missed the peace, he missed the proof, he also missed the purpose. 

1. Jesus gave the disciples a purpose for the rest of their lives, and the purpose of the church. He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Now, that is a whole sermon in itself for another time, 

2. but it reminds me of the passage about 6 chapters earlier, “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Jesus asks the disciples to continue the work he has started. And that is why we are here. 

3. Salvation is won, but the work of feeding, clothing, justice, and peace are still here for us to do. As Matthew West sings “We gotta do somethi’

5. Finally, Thomas missed Jesus’ sharing holy power with the disciples. Jesus gave peace, proof, purpose, and finally power to the disciples. He “breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” 

1. One of the most remarkable things here is he breathed. Really? Remember this guy was dead as a doornail Friday afternoon. And now he breathes. His body was lifeless and now he talks, bears scars, and his heart beats. This is no ghost. This is no illusion. Frankly, that is no way for a polite dead person to act. But Jesus is not a zombie, or the undead or anything like that.

1. Jesus is the power of God over death, 

2. Jesus is the power of God over sin, 

3. Jesus is the power of God over hate and fear. 

5. And Thomas missed all of that. He missed the presence, the proof, the purpose, and the power. Thomas missed all of that. How can we call him “doubting Thomas” and blame him for wanting the same opportunity as the other disciples? In a way, Believing Thomas” missed  Easter.

4. You may be in that same place. 

1. There are more ways to miss  Easter than not being present that first night 

2. There are more ways to miss  Easter than being kept from the church during a pandemic. 

3. In fact, one can sit right here in your pew and still miss  Easter. You can sing the songs, pray the prayers, be moved by the music, and still miss the presence, the peace, the proof, and the power of  Easter. 

4. Might you be missing Easter? Look around you!

 We’ll start easy… look at the church coming alive by the power of the resurrection. Last year’s attendance at  Easter was “4.” Just 4. And look around you today.

1. But look a little deeper. 

2. It helps to look at the big picture. Look at how we have spent much of the last year locked in our homes afraid of each other. Rightly so, but is that any different from the disciples in that upper room? And today here we are! There is a Hymn that as far as I know might only be sung at Annual Conference. It is a Charles Wesley Hymn The first verse is “And are we yet alive, and see each other’s face? Glory and thanks to Jesus give for his almighty grace.” That is a resurrection. Look around WE ARE  yet alive… WE ARE the body of Christ, It has been a long year, and even though we mourn the loss of friends and family we come here alive in Christ and ready to be the church like never before. 

5. Look for the truth behind the mask,  and you will likely find death and brokenness in the lives of people around you and your own life.  

1. Matthew West has a song that is currently popular, called “Truth Be Told.” It starts

 

1. the chorus is Truth be told
   The truth is rarely told, now

2. I say I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine but I'm not
   I'm broken
   And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not
   And you know it
   I don't know why it's so hard to admit it
   When being honest is the only way to fix it
   There's no failure, no fall
   There's no sin you don't already know
   So let the truth be told

 

2. Let the truth be told …right behind the masks that we all wear. There are broken hearts, broken relationships, broken promises, broken families, broken dreams, broken spirits, broken bodies. Just behind the masks we wear, people are feeling of control, out of sorts, like they are outsiders, out of energy, out of options, out of ideas, out of luck, and out of hope.

1. Probably every one of us is in some way broken and out of options. But look… we are here because CHRIST IS RISEN

2. Inside we have died of shame a thousand times, but we still live because CHRIST IS RISEN

3. We ran out of hope in ourselves a long time ago…Jesus is hope …our hope incarnate. Because out of the hopelessness of the grave came the hope of  Easter because CHRIST IS RISEN

4. We may be sick in body, or mind, or sick with sin but by his stripes, we were healed. He can make us whole because CHRIST IS RISEN. 

5. We may feel like our lives are spinning out of control, but God proved on
   Easter morning once and for all who is really in control. Let me give you a hint it isn’t you, because CHRIST IS RISEN.

6.  You may be teetering on the edge of disaster because of your addiction… but you can trust Jesus to take your hand because CHRIST IS RISEN.

7.  You may think you have wrecked your relationship with your child or sibling or friend so bad that there is no going back. But Jesus specializes in forgiveness and the hope for reconciliation because CHRIST IS RISEN.

8. You may be carrying an unbearable weight of guilt and shame for things long past. But there is forgiveness and grace because CHRIST IS RISEN. 

9. You may be living with dark secrets that no one else knows. What a terrible weight to bear. But there is help to bear the awful burden. Because CHRIST IS RISEN. 

10. I beg you to open your eyes so you don’t miss the glory of the empty tomb that says CHRIST IS RISEN.

11. Please open your ears to hear the shouts of Hallelujah because CHRIST IS RISEN.

12. Open your hearts so you don’t miss the hope of  Easter. Because as we have said, again and again, CHRIST IS RISEN.

13.  Open your lives to the power of the living and loving Christ because the power of sin and the grave could not hold him, and we shout with all creation CHRIST IS RISEN

14. CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED, HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, AMEN