Jesus Can - Week 7 - Easter Sunday - The CORE - Pastor Mike Novotny

Despite our A.I. and WiFi, we still die. We are, as the Bible says, in “bondage to decay,” on a moving walkway that leads to our final breath. But Jesus can! Jesus, the king who conquered death on Easter, has promised eternal life in his name and the resurrection of our bodies from the grave. 

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The episodes are the weekly sermons from 922 Ministries (St. Peter and The CORE) of Appleton, Wisconsin.

Good morning. Happy Easter, and welcome back to our last week of a sermon series about the miracles, the power, and the love of Jesus called Jesus Can. I will never forget about the time when my mom rose from the dead. That was a couple years ago. There was a big World Cup soccer match.

I was at a local sports bar cheering on my favorite team. There were some local news stations there, and I actually got interviewed by a reporter, and she took me outside the bar and she said, well, what did you think about today's match? I'm not sure if you know me very well, but there's a really big part of my heart that really, really enjoys being absolutely ridiculous in public. So I looked at the camera with my best serious expression. I said, you know, today is actually my mom's funeral.

But I knew I had to be here instead to cheer on our boys. This is the World Cup. Let's go. Now, the reporter apparently does not appreciate people, people being ridiculous in public, because she cut that whole part. It never showed up on the news.

But somehow, and to this day, I really. I don't know how this happened. Somehow, a rumor got around our church that my mom was actually dead. In fact, when I was looking at the communication cards after church, someone, I still don't know which one of you this was, submitted a prayer request. I'll show you what it said.

It said, for Pastor Mike and his family as they transitioned to life without his mom. We both recently lost parents and are grateful to God for the legacy of faith that they left us. And that, kids, is why you shouldn't lie.

But I guess God has a sense of humor, and he likes being a little bit ridiculous, too. Because guess who was serving coffee at our church that very Sunday? My resurrected mother. Yes. She's risen. She is risen indeed.

You know, I'm so happy that you're here today, because today I get to talk to you about a real resurrection. It's not a myth, and it's not a misunderstanding. It's not just religion, and it's not just someone being ridiculous 2000 years ago. Today we get to celebrate maybe the greatest day in human history, where God conquered death and offered people just like me and just like you, eternal life.

Easter is an event. If you grasp it, understand it, believe in it, and don't lose sight of it, is an event that changes us. In fact, if you're taking notes, I'd love for you to write that down in your programs. Easter is, first of all, an event. Second, it's an event that changes.

And finally, I want you to know Easter is an event that changes us.

As you write that down. Here's what I mean. I mean, Easter is not just a story that people told.

It's not some springtime analogy. Me, that just like things died, then they come back to life. Just like you have seasons where you're down in the dumps and you feel dead, then God. No, we're talking about a Jesus who was physically dead. No heartbeat, no brain waves, and he came back.

It was historical and real. People witnessed it with their eyes. That day was as real back then as this day is right now. Easter is an event. It's an event that changes.

The more you think about it, the more it changes and blesses and makes things better. It can make life better, suffering better, marriage is better, faith better, mental health better. Easter is an event that changes, and it changes us. Not just some other people who are better spiritually than you are more moral, haven't made the same decisions. I don't know what your background or what your story.

Easter is a historical event that can change, transform, make better, and bless people like you and me. Easter is an event that changes us.

Now, when I say that simple sentence, I wonder, with so many people here today, with so many people watching at home, if there's part of you that pushes back on at least part of that statement, an event that changes us. Maybe you struggle with the event part. I know every single Easter, there are lots and lots of people who aren't very religious. They're not church going people, but they'll show up on Easter. Maybe you're one of those people.

You're here to make your mom happy or your grandparents happy, your significant other happy. Maybe a friend invited you. Maybe you're not a Christian. Maybe you don't normally go to church, but here you are. But honestly, inside of your heart, that sounds like a little bit much that a guy actually rose from the dead.

You might not say it out loud to be disrespectful in a christian church, but part of you thinks really, that really happened. Like what? Y'all sing and pray to some, like, jewish zombie? Am I getting this right? A guy who died and came back, if you saw it with your own eyes, maybe you'd believe it.

But it just seems like a story that religious people tell. Every religion has its myths and its miracles, and maybe that's what you think this is. It's just what christian people believe, but is it actually true? Maybe it's meaningful for you, but I'm not so sure this actually happened. If you have those doubts and questions, you won't be the first person to think such things.

Or maybe your struggle with that statement isn't the event part, it's the, the word changes. Let's assume that you are a Christian today, that you do believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead. That kind of sounds like one of those pastor promises, though, right? Easter today is going to change everything. There's something, I should admit this to you out loud.

There's something that we pastors do all the time. I call it pastorizing. It's where at the very start of like a book or a sermon or a service to try to keep your attention. We say, this is going to change everything. Don't miss this.

Don't fall asleep. You got to be here next week. You know, it's hard to hold people's attention, so sometimes we exaggerate a little bit the impact of a thing. So when I say it changes life and marriage and death and suffering and finances and parenting, maybe you're a Christian long enough that you kind of skeptically say, does it really, though?

Ten Tuesdays from now, are you going to be thinking about Easter as you work through disagreements in your family, as you go to the doctor, as you balance the checkbook, as you fall asleep at night? Or to put it another way, last Tuesday, did you even think about Easter?

I mean, maybe someday you believe that because Jesus lived, died and rose for you, you have the hope of heaven and God will accept you. But is it a bit much for a pastor like me to say, no, no, no, you don't have to wait for the blessing of Easter. Easter could change today. If you really understand it. Maybe that's just pasteurizing at its best.

Or perhaps for you, the struggle isn't the event part or the changes part. It's the last little word, us. You kind of look around an Easter morning. You see some of these beautiful, put together families. You see the husband with his arm around his wife.

You see people that look like they're fairly well put together. And maybe that's not you. Maybe you have some serious baggage in your past, trauma that you went through as a kid or a relationship, a marriage that just didn't make it. You said you'd never get divorced, but here you are. Maybe it's an addiction that you struggled with that burned so many bridges, or maybe even worse than that.

What if it's not something that happened back then, but something that's still happening right now?

It's one thing to walk into church if five years ago or ten years ago, this happened. But what if it was last week or last night? What if there's a part of the way that you are or react to situations in stress that everyone in your family wishes they could just push a button and change your relationship to alcohol? The way that you use screens, the anger that comes up so quickly, the defensiveness that you're never wrong. Everything is more intense than it needs to be.

Matt. Maybe if you're honest enough to just look yourself in the mirror and not sugarcoat it, you might wonder, is Easter and is God and is heaven? And are all these blessings, the peace and the joy and the happiness? Is that for a person like you or like me or like us?

And so it's a pretty simple statement, Easter is an event that changes us. But I couldn't blame you if you didn't believe all of it, at least not yet.

But today I honestly am so happy that you're here because Matthew, who was an eyewitness of that first Easter, wants to try to convince you of all three things. Today I want to dig in with you to one of the accounts of Easter morning written by Matthew. He used to be a tax collector and still he started following Jesus. And as you're going to see, Matthew is going to check all three of these boxes. First, he's going to convince us that Easter actually is for us.

Even if your life is messy, even if there's baggage and brokenness, it's for us. And then he's going to convince us this is an event. And if you're not a Christian or not a church goer, not a religious person, if you're skeptical about all this, he's going to try to persuade you to change your mind. And finally, if you are a Christian and you just wondered, is there any immediate benefit? Will this change today or tomorrow?

He's going to convince us that it's not just an event for us, it's an event that changes us. I'm excited to share all of that with you and more as we dig into Matthew, chapter 28, which begins like this.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Quick tangent. Do you think she was ever annoyed that they called her in the Bible, the other Mary?

Pastor Michael was up here and said, hey, I'm Pastor Michael from the core. And there's the other mike, like, come on, man, we'll have to ask her in heaven. So this Mary and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Here's what happened next. Verse two.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Now, I'm not sure when you were a kid what you thought angels were like, but this passage proves that they are not chubby babies with chunky thighs and delicate white wings. You see this? It's not an army of angels. It's an angel. A singular angel, all by himself, comes down from heaven, and the massive stone is rolled away from Jesus tomb.

I'm gonna show you some pictures. Last time I was in Israel, right by my hotel, was this park that contained a first century tomb, not the tomb of Jesus, but from about the same time. And it was a really special tomb because it still had that massive stone that you could roll in front of the entrance. I stepped on top of the stone, by the way, I'm about six two and I wear a size twelve shoe. But you can see that the length of my size twelve shoe was not as wide as this massive stone.

Many archaeologists estimate that the stones that stood in front of tomb entrances weighed about the same as a small suv, thousands and thousands of pounds. But when this angel shows up, he didn't need to call his buddy with a Ford f 150. He just showed up. This massive stone that it would take an army of humans to move it rolled away and then don't miss this detail. The guards think for a second what's packed into that were guards, plural.

One angel guards. Two, three, four, maybe more guards, roman guards, professional soldiers wielding weapons. They didn't step up to confront this angel. They didn't take a step back when they saw this angel. Did you catch what they did?

They shook in fear. They practically died from the trauma of seeing one angel. Picture that in our day. Can you picture some barrel chested black ops, like, special forces soldiers with tactical weapons strapped across their chest? If you walked into the room and six of them were shaking on the ground, sucking their thumbs, begging for their mothers, what would you assume just happened?

One angel.

Now, what does that mean for me and you? It means something profound. In the Bible, whenever a human got even close to holiness, they fell apart.

Sometimes when you think about God, or am I going to go to heaven, are the promises of, like, eternal life really for me? Sometimes we make the mistake of comparing ourselves to other unholy people. You might look around at your family. You might stand next to me and you might feel like a pretty worthy or deserving or relatively good person. Not perfect, but you hope that you would have the hope of going to heaven.

But what happens when you open the Bible is that whenever anyone gets close to perfection to the purity that exists where the angels are, they don't stand up and feel great about themselves. Instead, they collapse in. In absolute trauma and fear.

Now, this means that it is not an unreasonable assumption to wonder if you and I have any chance to be in the presence of God himself.

This is what happens with one angel. What happens with God. Angels are holy, but God is the most holy one. Angels might have seen some things that you have done, but God is the all knowing God who knows what you said and what goes through your head. I mean, how could you and I possibly stand in his presence without melting in fear?

I have a friend who's in prison right now, and I visited him a couple weeks ago, and he needed to tell me the story. He said, Pastor Mike, I had this crazy dream the other day, and in my dream I died. And I was, like, taken right up to the gates of heaven and there was God. And God looked at me and he just asked, why?

Why would I let you in to be with me?

My friend woke up and he's on the other side of the table in the prison visitation room. And he says, pastor, I have not stop thinking about that question since God asked it.

It's a good question. I wonder how you would answer it. Why would the God who is absolutely pure, perfect and holy, the God who knows everything about your story, why would he let you into the home of angels, the dwelling of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? If there are people who would judge us, and sometimes rightly, for our impatience or our rashness or our selfishness or our defensiveness, if we've damaged relationships with siblings or family members or neighbors or coworkers or classmates, if there's something about me and you that can push other humans away, how can we have any confidence that we wouldn't be pushed away from God himself?

That's the biggest question out of all the questions. But in this account for Matthew, we find a tremendous answer ready for it.

Mary.

On the first day of the week, Mary went to the tomb. Now, if you don't know much about the Bible, that might not be meaningful. But here's what you need to know about this Mary. That her past was so scary. Before Mary met Jesus, she was in a very dark, even demonic place.

You would not have let Mary babysit your little sister or your son or your daughter. You could have looked her up online and seen a long history of just dark and twisted behavior. And yet, here she is, the first name in the Easter story. Pretty interesting. If you read the Gospel of Mark, the first name in the Easter story is the same Mary.

If you read the Gospel of Luke, the first name of the eyewitnesses mentioned is Mary. If you read the Gospel of John before the angel shows up and before Jesus shows up, Mary Magdalene shows up.

And she's not the only flawed, very human, sinful person in the story. Matthew is the guy who writes the Gospel of Matthew. Remember his past? He's a money hungry, betray his own people tax collector. Then Peter shows up.

Peter's sin wasn't way way in the past ten years before he met Jesus, his greatest recorded sin had happened the Thursday before Easter. Easter is filled with doubters like Thomas, deniers like Peter, formerly demon possessed women like Mary, and greedy men like Matthew. It's not just a tale of holy angels and the most holy Jesus. It's about people like you and like me. Instead of ending up in traumatic puddles of fear, they stand up and they rejoice.

And the angel tells us why. Verse five. The angel said to the women, including Mary, do not be afraid. Why? For I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here. He has risen. The angel says, don't be afraid. And then he explains why. Because I know who you're looking for.

I know who your faith is in. It's in the Jesus who died on the cross and then was raised and left the tomb empty. The angel is simply saying what Jesus said and what the whole Bible says, that if you look in a mirror, you will never be good enough for God. But if you look at the cross, God will give his goodness to you. If you look to Jesus to answer the question, why would God let me in?

All Jesus, not you and Jesus together, not Jesus grabs one end of the salvation couch and you huff your half of it. No. If it's just Jesus, if you're looking for Jesus, looking to Jesus, trusting in and believing in Jesus, who was crucified and raised, you do not need to be afraid.

That's what I love about the Bible. There's only one good person in the Bible, and it's God. And all the rest of the people, from Moses to David to Peter and Paul to Mary, whose past was incredibly scary, found a love that they didn't deserve. But God freely gave.

Remember my friend in prison? He asked me with big eyes, why would God let me in? I can't stop thinking about that question. And I smiled back and I said, I know the answer. Do you want the zero word answer or the one word answer?

He said, zero word. How can you answer that question with zero words? I rolled up my pastor's sleeves and I went and I pointed at the cross tattoo here on my arm, and I gave him one word answer. Jesus, period. It doesn't matter how broken, how much you need to improve the things that God wants to fix.

That's very real, and that's very true. But salvation is a gift that God gives. Heaven isn't something you earn or deserve. It's something that you can know is yours if you've turned from your sin and turned towards Jesus, the one who was crucified and then rose, there's some of you today who've never known that. You've always thought you got to be a good person to get there.

You got to learn from your mistakes. You've got to balance the scales. And the angel is proving. The Easter message is declaring in its very first verse that if Mary can make it through faith in Jesus, you can, too. If Matthew is waiting for us in heaven through faith in Jesus, you can, too.

If Paul, who used to murder christians, is seeing the face of Jesus right now, then you can make it, too. Confess your sin to Jesus today. Look to his cross and his empty tomb, and you can believe that Easter is an event that changes us, that its good news is for you, for me, and for all who believe, because this really happened. That's the second thing I want to share with you today. If everything I just told you was just some story I read.

Once upon a time, there were three bears and a woman named Mary. And they said, don't be afraid, you'll go to heaven. What good would that do if it was a fable or a fictional story? But it's not. In fact, in this very same account, Matthew is trying to remind us in multiple ways that he's not making this up.

This isn't some invention of religious people trying to cope with death and have the hope of eternal life. This is just some story so we don't feel terrible when our buddy or grandpa dies. Now, let me take you back to the words of the angel. Look, what he said, he said about Jesus. He's not here.

He has risen, just as he said. So come and see the place where he lay, just as he said. They weren't like making up something on the spot to make these grieving women feel better. This was exactly what Jesus said would happen. In fact, if you would read the whole gospel of Matthew and not just start in its final chapter, you'd find out that in Matthew 16, Jesus said that he would rise from the dead.

In Matthew 17, Jesus said that he would rise from the dead. In Matthew 20, Jesus said that he would rise from the dead. And then in Matthew 28, Jesus rose from the dead. Just like he. Just like you said.

This was the plan the whole time. And in fact, if you would read the whole Bible, including the Old Testament, there were ancient prophecies hundreds of years before jesus was even born that said that the Messiah would rise from the dead. He would be pierced for our transgressions, he would suffer for our iniquities, but then he would see the light of life, and the third day, he would conquer death. This is exactly what the Bible said.

If that wasn't enough proof for the women, there was this invitation. So come and see.

The angel didn't say, just trust me, ladies. He didn't put a piece of yellow police tape in front of the empty tomb and say, no, he's not in there. Just believe me, I know things instead. This is pretty amazing. He gave the invitation to come and see the evidence.

These women were there when he was buried. This is the same tomb. Come and see. You saw the strips of cloth that were wrapped around his body. Here they are folded up.

Come and see. There's powerful evidence and proof. It's amazing some of you have never heard this. In some religions, like the whole religion and the whole holy book is based off of someone who just had a vision or a dream, and you just have to trust them. Did they really hear from God?

Did they not? You believe it or you don't. Christianity from its very beginning was never like that. What the angel said is what the apostles said, too. They never said, well, just trust us.

They appealed to the evidence that Jesus was actually alive. They would say to skeptics like, hey, you're witnesses. You all know someone who saw Jesus after it was over. Hey, you were there on the cross. You shouted for his death.

These things weren't done in a corner. They appealed to the persuasive evidence. They didn't ask people to shut off their brains so they could finally believe in Jesus, but to turn them on and honestly examine the evidence.

That's why if you're not a Christian here today, or you didn't have any plans of coming back to church next Sunday. I want to give you that same invitation.

I wouldn't blame you if you thought this was a bit much to believe. A guy rises from the dead, erases everything I've done wrong, and I get to be with God. That's a lot. But I'll tell you this. There are people who are just as intelligent as you are, who've had the exact same questions and objections that you do, who have examined the evidence and become christians, and I can't force you to believe that.

But I would just ask you, are you humble enough to give us the chance to just sit down and examine what has persuaded christian minds for so many years? I'll give the same invitation if you're a teenager here today who's been coming to church because mom and dad have made you for all these years, but honestly, you've had some questions and doubts. What about the other faiths and religions? Is this actually true?

Maybe you're thinking of a family member today who isn't here because it's not their thing. They think Christianity is just one of many options. It's just not their thing. They don't believe that it's true. If that's you, or if that's someone you love in your program, and I'll put it up on the screen, I want to put a big QR code that's going to take you to something that I find incredibly persuasive.

It's the eight most compelling reasons, logical, persuasive reasons to believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead. Now, I don't want you to scan that code and to spend the rest of the sermon reading what's there. But I'm hoping that after this service is done, maybe after you wake up from your Easter post brunch napkin, that you scan that code and think, wow, I never knew that. I never knew that. Like, why would Peter and James and John make up a story if it led to their torture and death?

If you made up a story, would you die for it? Huh? And why would you make up a story in the first century where the primary witnesses of this great day are women who couldn't testify in jewish courts? Why would you put that in there if you were trying to persuade people, unless. Unless it actually happened just that way?

And from the witness of the first century witnesses to the martyrdom of the apostles, to the women in this story, to the prophecies of the Old Testament, there are compelling reasons to be a Christian today. And so if you're not, and if religion isn't your thing, and you were here just to be nice to a friend or a family member, I would just ask you, in the quietness and privacy of your own home, would you click the link, scan the code, and study to see if this is more than a story, if we are no fools to believe that Easter is an event that changes us, because it does.

No, I'm not gonna try not to pasteurize too much for the last part of the sermon, but I've been thinking. If you're a Christian here today, there's something about the Easter story you might have missed. And if you don't miss it, if you keep your eyes fixed on it, I think it really does have the potential to make today better and to bless tomorrow. I think it does have an impact when you're freaking out and your thoughts are looping in your head at night or trying to work through something difficult with a family member or a friend. There's something in the last verses of what Matthew tells us that's really easy to miss, but it's profound, and it can change everything.

Let's see if you see it. The angel had said, come and see the place where he lay. He continued, verse seven. Then, ladies, go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.

Now I've told you so. The woman hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. Don't you wish you could see his face?

How did he say that word? Sup, Mary.

Sup, other Mary. I don't know how he said it. Greetings, he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. And Jesus said to them, do not be afraid.

You always got to say that when you come in the presence of holiness. Don't be afraid. Now go and tell my brothers, not those sinners who abandoned me. My brothers, my family. Tell them to go to Galilee.

There they will see me. Did you catch it? Here's what I caught. Jesus showed up early.

Now, the angel said, tell the guys to go up to Galilee, which was a couple marathons to the north. Go up to Galilee. There they will see Jesus. And that was absolutely true. They would go to Galilee one day, and they would see Jesus on a mountain.

The women must have assumed, hey, if we can finally get up to Galilee, we will see Jesus. But then do you notice what happened? Jesus showed up early. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said.

And they worshiped him. The disciples wouldn't have to wait to Galilee to see Jesus. He showed up early on that very Easter, and then he did it again and again and again and again and again. Now, here's why I think that's amazing. And here's something I quickly forget.

If you're a Christian, if you believe that not because of your own goodness but because of the cross and the empty tomb, you're going to see Jesus one day in heaven. You are right. You don't have to doubt that everyone who believes will be saved. But here's the cool thing about our Jesus. He shows up early.

No, he's not in a grave in the past, and he's not waiting for your grave in the future. He shows up early, in fact, about ten verses after this text. Matthew, 2020. Jesus made this promise. Surely I will be with you.

Remember the word always, always to the very end of the age. Think of what that means. It means that when you go home today, whether it's the crazy, chaotic Easter brunch with your crazy, chaotic, wild family or a really quiet home because you don't have anyone to spend Easter with, guess who will be there?

Come on, please don't get used to this. Who will be in the room?

Jesus will.

Or when you're trying to be patient with that one person in your life, when I say that sentence, is there a person that pops into your head? You know, kid, you're trying to be patient with a coworker, someone from church or pastor. Like, we just, like, I don't know if I can do it today. Who is there with power and strength to help you to love people?

I mean, if I showed up to play basketball one on one against someone, I'm not a very good basketball player, and I got a torn ACL right now. I might feel rather insecure, but if it was me and Giannis versus that person, I'd be like, oh, yeah, this is happening right now. But it's not you and Giannis. It's you and Jesus. Like, what, Bill, could you look at on your table if Jesus was sitting next to you and really freak out about it?

What situation could you go through with your family? Like, how could it overwhelm you? If you believe that Jesus isn't just some promise in the future, he is an ever present help in trouble? What if you and I would not just think of Jesus as the guy who was there 2000 years ago and is somewhere in the future in heaven, but he is here right now among his people? I will be with you always, man, as you sit there and you try not to take another drink, as you try not to give him the temptation to click, as you try to bite your tongue and be nice, even when he doesn't deserve it, as you try to keep your vow, even though it is not the best year of your marriage, if you believe that Jesus, full of glory and power and love, was not far away, but he shows up early, smiles at you like he did, and says, greetings, let's do this.

Tell me that one changed things. That's not a, that's not a pastor promise. That's just logic. If the almighty son of God is in the room, what couldn't you and he do?

I heard the story of this old christian man who used to just go to church and sit there in the pews for a long, long time. And the priest at the church noticed this guy just sitting there by himself, just curious what he was doing. So one day he gently interrupted and said, excuse me, sir, I see you here all the time. What are you doing? And the old man smiled and said, I look at Jesus.

Jesus looks at me and we are happy.

I kind of think that's a good summary of the christian life. I'm fixing my eyes on Jesus. He's looking at me and he's not mad because I'm forgiven. He's not ashamed because I'm saved. He's not disappointed because I've been redeemed.

I don't look at the face that's happy with me. And how can that not increase the joy in my heart?

Friends, Easter is an event that changes us. I wonder what God's been saying to you right now.

Are you that person who's not into church, not a Bible believer? Did God maybe put a pebble in your shoe that you're going to click the link, you're going to take a step, you're going to write your question down. You're going to express your doubts, not to a friend who doesn't believe, but to a pastor who's thought about these things. Is that your next step? Are you the person who's always kind of felt insecure and wondered if God's mad, if you're really going to make it to heaven?

Was that God's word for you today? Don't be afraid. You're looking for Jesus who's crucified and risen. He loves you. He accepts you because of the blood.

Read that person who's just thought of Jesus in the future tense and is going to move back to the present, to today and tomorrow. So you feel less overwhelmed, less anxious, more confident, more at peace. I don't know what God has been doing in your heart, but I do know this Easter is an event that changes us. It's my prayer for you, my prayer for myself today is that we don't forget Easter reminds me of my pastor friend who once took his four year old son Caleb to see the movie the lion, the Witch, and the wardrobe. Anyone remember that?

It was a packed movie theater. Caleb and his dad and their family, they're sitting way back in the last row. And if you don't know the lion, the witch in the wardrobe is like a beautiful analogy of basically Christianity. There's a mighty lion in the story. His name is Aslan, and he's supposed to represent Jesus.

And he's powerful and he's loving and he's kind. He opposes evil. But he's betrayed by a boy that he has deeply loved. And it turns out in the story, spoiler alert, that the only way for the boy to be saved from his wickedness and sin is if Aslan sacrifices his very life. And because the lion represents Jesus, that's exactly what he does.

He lays aside his mighty power, lays down on a sacrificial stone, and this wicked, evil witch plunges the knife and murders Aslan the lion. In the movie, there's his body, limp and lifeless on the stone. And in the theater, it was as sad and as silent as the grave.

Until four year old Caleb.

If you've ever met a four year old boy, you know what's about to happen. Four year old Caleb decides to shout at the top of his lungs, but he's coming back. Oh, yeah.

This is most certainly true. There are times in life where everything feels lost, where we feel stuck. But if you believe that Jesus came back, that the tomb is empty, if you believe that he's coming back to make all things new, and if you believe that in between the resurrection of Jesus and the return of Jesus is the presence of Jesus man, you have a source of hope and joy that few people have, but everyone needs. My brothers and sisters, today on this Easter morning, I pray that you believe Easter is an event. An event that changes things.

Easter is the event that changes us. And I pray that today, this Easter will change you, too.