We are glad you have joined us today and we welcome you to our online Easter celebration. On Friday we celebrated the death of Jesus on a cross. But Jesus was no ordinary man. While being fully man, Jesus was also fully God. And the power of death could not hold him.
Click on the video below and listen to the choir sing about our risen Lord. If an ad covers the screen, you can always click the X at the top right of the ad to close it.
Now it’s your turn to sing! Click on the video below and sing. The words will be on the video.
Let us pray:
God, we thank you for the wonderful gift of your son, Jesus, the Christ, from Nazareth. We thank you for sending him down to earth to be our saviour. Jesus, we thank you that you came to live among us. We thank you for your obedience to die on a cross, one of the most horrific deaths that one could die. We praise you Jesus that you did not stay dead, that you came back to life. We celebrate your resurrection this morning. We celebrate the life, the healing, and the freedom that you freely give to all of us because of your death and resurrection. To you be all the glory, and all the honour, and all the power, forever. Amen.
Let’s sing again by clicking on the video below.
Jesus died on a Friday, and we celebrate Good Friday to mark his death. He was buried just before Friday evening, when Passover would have begun at sundown. Passover was a Sabbath. The Bible tells us in Luke 24:
1 Very early on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices that they had prepared. 2 When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, 3 they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus, 4 and they did not know what to think.
These women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James (the other Mary), and a few others, didn’t wait. They knew they couldn’t touch a dead body on Passover, or they would be considered unclean. So as soon as Passover was finished (Saturday evening), they went to bed and got up early on Sunday morning. They were going to tend to the Lord’s body, a man whom they loved. What they found was unexpected. The big stone that had been put in to place so that no one would steal Jesus’ body and claim he had risen from the dead, had been rolled away. Confusion and troubling thoughts must have started to cloud their minds.
Luke continues the story:
4 Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? 6 Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from death.”
Can you imagine these ladies’ surprise at finding angels standing next to them! The Bible tells us they bowed to the ground. Even more amazing was the angels told them that Jesus ha been raised from the dead!
Throughout history, there have been many great men and women who have done some great things. But no one has ever come back to life. Okay, Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he didn’t do it on his own. He was merely showing us the power of God. But Jesus, who was God, raised himself back to life.
You know this story in Luke 24 reminds me of another story in Luke. Luke 2:
8 That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. 9 Suddenly an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. 10 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. 11 This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.”
The first time, it was shepherd’s who were shocked by angels bringing news that Jesus Christ was born … that he was live and well. Now we have ladies being shocked by angels bringing news that Jesus Christ was not dead … that he was live and well.
Jesus. The one who came, the one who lived, the one who died, the one who lives again, died so that we might have life forever more.
Click on the video below and sing again.
This morning, we bring you the testimony of a girl who was ready to give up on life until God brought her new life. Click and watch the video of her story. Then click the next video and listen to her sing about God’s mercy.
And now, Pastor Jon has another message for us. Click the play button, found beside the picture of Pastor Jon.
(If the player does not appear, try clicking on this link: https://www.parkviewchurchhamilton.ca/podcast_files/20200412-Sermon.mp3, or right click on the link, save the file to your computer and play the file in an audio/music player app)
Let’s sing together again by singing with the kids. Click on the video below and sing along. You can even do the actions with the kids if you like.
Read John 3:16
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.
This is the message of Easter: that God loved you so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die on a cross to take the punishment for your sin. But Jesus didn’t stay dead, he came back to life and lives eternally. By putting our faith in Jesus, you can have a relationship with him.
Do you have this hope? You can have real, lasting peace today through a relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more, go to FindingMyHope.org.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
Please don’t forget that you can continue to give your offering by making an online donation or by dropping off your offering with Jim Buss. We want to be able to continue paying Pastor Jon and the church still has bills to pay.
Also, don’t forget to give us your email address using the Contact form, if you did not get an email from us inviting you to today’s worship service.