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Welcome to the Saints Church Glastonbury podcast! We are a local church network based in Alberta, Canada. We go to places no one wants to go and do things no one thought possible so that anyone and everyone can discover hope and life in Jesus.
On this Resurrection Sunday, we dive into the significance of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, examining the depth of His sacrifice and the transformative hope it brings to believers' lives.
Verses:
- John 19
- Mark 15
- 1 Peter
- Acts 2
- Acts 1:8
- Hebrews 4
If you need PRAYER, Text or call 587-400-2010
If you would like to GIVE today to build the house of God, click here: www.saintschurch.ca/give
For more information and to stay connected, visit www.saintschurch.ca
★ Support this podcast ★
On this Resurrection Sunday, we dive into the significance of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, examining the depth of His sacrifice and the transformative hope it brings to believers' lives.
Verses:
- John 19
- Mark 15
- 1 Peter
- Acts 2
- Acts 1:8
- Hebrews 4
If you need PRAYER, Text or call 587-400-2010
If you would like to GIVE today to build the house of God, click here: www.saintschurch.ca/give
For more information and to stay connected, visit www.saintschurch.ca
Creators & Guests
What is Saints Church Glastonbury?
A Modern Expression of a Timeless Tradition. A local church in the Glastonbury Neighbourhood of West Edmonton. Sr Pastor Brett Esslinger.
John, chapter 19. Then Pilate this is verse 1 of John, chapter 19. Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tip whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a purple robe on him. Hail, king of the Jews. They mocked as they slapped him across the face. That lead-tipped whip was created to inflict maximum pain. As he was beaten and flogged with that whip, the barbs of the whip would dig into his flesh and pull pieces out of him, pieces of muscle, tendon and flesh.
In Mark, chapter 15, the soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor's headquarters, called the Praetorium, and called out the entire regiment. They dressed him in a purple robe and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. Then they saluted him and they taunted him. Hail, king of the Jews. And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him and dropped to their knees in mock worship. When they were finally tired of mocking Him, they took off the purple robe and put on His clothes again. Then they led Him away to be crucified. As they put the purple robe upon His back, which was ripped from muscle and skin and flesh, open wounds across his gaping back, they put the purple robe on him and began to mock him. All hail, king of the Jew. And when they had had their fun, as the blood had begun to coagulate, they then ripped off the purple robe, reopening every wound on his back.
As a church staff team, we recently took first aid, and so what I have to tell you is that I don't do medical things. I don't like I was. So we did this hybrid thing, you know where, one day I'm watching the course and I'm like in my office gagging over the illustration, pictures, videos, and first I can't. I can't handle it, like I don't. I don't watch the medical, I can't watch the medical show. I can't do it, I can't handle it. I can't handle the blood, I can't handle any of it.
When our youngest son, kingston, was being born he's nine now I made a fatal error, a desperate flaw. I decided that I was going to watch the epidural. I don't do needles, I can't even watch. You know, whatever Like this thing's this long, it's going into her spine, you know there's a 0.01% chance of paralysis. And I decide this is a great idea for me to watch, because I don't do medical things. But this is fine, this is fine. So I'm watching and then the nurse looks at me and she goes sir, sir, sir, sir, I'm going to need you to sit down. You know what, let me get me something. So she runs and she gets me a glass of juice and Des is like ah, could I have some juice? Anyone got anything for me, as I'm over here giving birth? And she's like sir, we're just making sure your husband is taken care of, ma'am, you know, because I can't do it, I just can't, I can't do it, I just I can't do it.
And then a number of years ago there was that movie, passion of the Christ, that came out. Christ, that came out, and it was a picture of all the things that we've been reading around Easter about the brutality of what happened to Jesus Christ as he was beaten and bruised. And sometimes I think we can read it and we can just get so sanitized to it because it's just some words on a page. And the words on the page, you know, they're not dripping with blood and sweat and tears, they're just words on a page. But our Savior Jesus, who came to this earth, who came as a baby, with no pomp and no circumstance, was led to his death. But before he was taken to one of the most gruesome torture devices on the planet, he was beaten and he was mocked and he was spit upon. And we don't think about it in that way. We just think about oh, look, what he has done for me. Have we thought about for a moment what it took him to get to that moment, to do that beautiful thing for you? And so I stand amazed at the wonderful cross. And as I was watching Passion of the Christ, this enactment of the Christ, this enactment, what Jesus has gone through, I couldn't take my eyes away from the screen. And I mean, you know me, I don't do that, I don't do the blood, I don't do the. I could not, I would not avert my attention to Jesus on the cross, beaten and bloodied. For me, the beautiful brutality of the cross. Today is a day for us to celebrate. It is a day for us to be grateful, to be thankful. For us to be grateful, to be thankful.
In 1 Peter it describes the scenario like this he never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross, so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away, but now you have turned to your shepherd, the guardian of your soul, of your soul.
Pilate was the governmental leader in charge of the area, Pontius Pilate, and he was so concerned that, after Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus' body and Joseph and Nicodemus, these two famous people who loved Jesus but were afraid of the cultural backlash, they took his body and they prepared it for burial. Pilate was so nervous, he was so worried that somebody was going to come and steal this body. He was so worried about grave robbers that he sent in the secret service. He sent in the best of the best. He said nobody, nobody is going to mess with this body, nobody's going to take this, nobody's going to touch it. They rolled the giant stone in front of the tomb.
They were so concerned about what was happening on the outside that, as Louis Galio says, they did not think that heaven and hell were colliding on the inside, that on the inside of that tomb, when all seemed quiet and dark on the outside, that hope was stirring. You know, to quote Jurassic Park, life finds a way. The life of Jesus finds a way, not because it's a force in the universe that we can tap into, but because he is the creator of the universe, who set it into motion, who, by his very voice, the sun and the stars, they appear the very king of this universe, laid in a tomb, and while the principalities and powers of darkness rejoice and celebrated, thinking that they had won, hope begins to stir. Heaven and hell collide. As Jesus Christ takes a breath. Hope is alive. Hope is alive. He takes back the keys to death, hell and the grave, as if to say you won't be needing these anymore. And as Mary and the ladies make their way to the tomb on that Easter Sunday morning, that resurrection Sunday morning, they fear the worst. As the guards are passed out, stones moved, somebody's took him and then light from heaven shines, so bright he says what are you afraid of? He's not here, he's risen. And in that moment the hope for all humanity is realized, because the tomb is empty and Jesus, who was brutally and beautifully beaten to carry our sins on the cross, now lives. He is alive. His death was a physical necessity which pales in contrast to the spiritual reality.
In Acts, chapter 2, peter was describing this to a crowd that was gathered around because Peter and the disciples, the followers of Jesus that were waiting. They had met him, they had seen him. After he was resurrected, he would do amazing things, like show up in rooms where they were and walk with people down the street. He would walk through walls just to get their attention. He made brunch on the beach, which is awesome. Which is awesome. And then the power in the present, the wonder-working power of God, known as the Holy Spirit, is poured out on humanity, and all these people are gathered in the streets and they hear people telling about Jesus in every language.
Every person in the audience could hear about the resurrection power, the wonder-working power of Jesus, that Jesus is not dead, he is alive, that he died for you and he died for me. Peter describes it like this but God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grips. King David said this about him I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. What is an incredible, beautiful promise is that, as Jesus was sharing with his disciples one of his last messages that he left the great commission, he says these words for I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. To think that Jesus, who would personally take our sin, our shame, our condemnation onto himself, be brutally, brutally crucified. For me that I could live now expresses that there is no greater joy that he would have than walk with you through every season and moment of life, and he will be with you even until the end of the age.
He continues in Acts 2, verse 26. No wonder my heart is glad and my tongue shouts his praises. My body rests in hope. Now. David wrote this centuries before this occurred and this thought struck me my body can rest in hope because his body rested in brokenness, and that promise is still true today, that my body can rest in hope. See, we have underestimated the power of Jesus in our everyday lives. We have underestimated the sacrifice that he has made for each and every one of us. We have underestimated him and relegated him to a mascot that we celebrate at a certain time of the year when it feels good and when the moment is right and it gives us an excuse to have turkey. We have relegated King Jesus to a sideshow, but he is reclaiming his place as the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. He is calling out to you and to me and saying listen, your society is riddled with worry and doubt and anxiety, and I am the antidote. Your body may rest in brokenness and restlessness and anxiety, but with Jesus my body can rest in hope.
Verse 27. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life and you will fill me with the joy of your presence. Jesus famously said these words. He says I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. Truth not in the life. There is no other way for us to go than the way of Jesus. When you walk in the way of Jesus, you find hope, you find life. It is not without difficulty, it is not without challenge, but here's what sets it apart when I live in the way of Jesus and I walk in the truth of his word, I find life Because even in my darkest moment, even in my most trying season, the moment where I feel most alone which maybe might shock you to discover that your greatest moment of your success and your greatest feeling of failure feels the same on many levels.
You feel alone. On one hand you say, look what I've done. And on the other hand you say, look what I've done. And on the other hand you say, look what I have done. And there's nobody else in the room but you. Jesus says you don't have to live alone. You can find purpose Beyond your wildest dreams, beyond what your hand can create and beyond the pain that has been inflicted, because I am the way, the truth and the life. When you don't know where to go, I will show you where to go. When you don't know what to think, I can tell you how to think and I can show you what is true. When you can't make sense of it all, I will show you the truth. And when you trust me with your whole heart, you will discover life, and life more abundantly, more abundantly.
As I think about what Jesus has done, I can't think about. I can't help but think about some of the words that he left with his disciples at the very end. Acts 1, verse 8, says but you will receive power when the spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, telling people about me everywhere. See, when I look across this room, I see the wonder-working power of Jesus, because I see life after life after life after life after life that has been changed and transformed by the wonder-working power of Jesus. When I look across this room, I see people who are forgiven. When I look across this room, I look at people who are chosen. When I look across this room, I look at people who have walked through immense pain and brokenness and who have come out on the other side alive and full of hope. When I look across this room, I look across the room and I'm surrounded by a 360 cloud of witnesses who says you know what? I've put my hope and my faith in my life in Jesus. He's changed me forever. He's changed me forever. You don't know what miracle is sitting beside you today In Hebrews, chapter 4, the tone changes and an invitation is extended.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. Throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy. We will find grace to help us when we need it most. At the end of our services, we generally pray a prayer, and one of the lines that we say in a prayer is that, jesus, we need you now more than ever. We need Jesus now more than ever. And I don't know where you are at in your journey, and I don't know where you are at in your journey, but I can tell you that Jesus loves you now more than ever. And though we might have wandered and drifted off the path and gone our own way and done our own thing, when he looks at you, he looks at you with eyes of love and he says why don't you come on home? You can find hope, love, peace, joy.
For those of us who have experienced the wonder working of power of Jesus at moments in our lives and then we have just left it in the past, have you ever wondered why, when you look back at that period in our lives and then we have just left it in the past, have you ever wondered why, when you look back at that period in your life, you go man, that was so good. Could it be that it's more than nostalgia? Could it be that you have tasted of the hope in life that's found in Jesus and didn't even know it? For those of us in the room who are followers of Jesus, who say we follow him with our whole heart. We're gonna follow him with everything that we have. Today is a day to celebrate. Today is a day to rejoice. Today is a day to put our hope and our trust in Jesus. But we do that every day. We pick up our cross, we lay down our life and we follow that every day. We pick up our cross, we lay down our life and we follow Jesus every day. But could I encourage you today Would you spend a little bit of time not just today, maybe every day thinking about the wonderful, brutally beautiful cross, what Jesus has done, the price that was paid so that you can be free.
Today, if you're in the room and somebody made you come, or you just felt like it was the right thing to do, today, if you're in the room and somebody made you come, or you just felt like it was the right thing to do, or maybe, more than you would like to admit, you're wrestling with the questions of life. You're wrestling with trying to figure this out. Maybe you look at your kids and you go. I think I need to maybe give them something that I've had, but I don't know what to give. I don't know what to give, I don't know what to pass on, because I never had anything in my hands. Can I tell you you've come to the right place, not simply because I said so, but because Jesus is here right now, in this moment. He wants to meet you exactly where you are.
See, I think there is this misconception that when we come into a room like this, we have to be all cleaned up and prettied and perfect. The reality is, when we come to Jesus, we come to him as we are in our broken state and we say, jesus, can you put these broken pieces back together? When I build Ikea furniture, there is nothing but a pile of broken pieces. When I build Ikea furniture, there is nothing but a pile of broken pieces. And I go to my wife, I courageously admit. I go to my wife and I say can you put these broken pieces back together? Because I don't know where this one goes or this one goes, and I don't. Could you call somebody? Can you call my dad? Because I don't know how to put this back together.
The truth is, we have tried time and time again to take the pieces and put it back together. We've used our best efforts and our best endeavors and all of our energy and all of our passion and all of our purpose, all of our gifts, our talents and abilities, and we've said, maybe I can take this and I can put this here, and I can take this and I can put this here. Maybe it will all fit together. And time after time after time, we find it falls apart. At Thanksgiving, we had a family gathering, we had friends over and the chair that I was sitting on just collapsed. Here's the thing it didn't break. The company sent the wrong pieces and the wrong parts and it was an incomplete chair, and so I just, slow motion, went to the ground. Every piece remains intact.
The truth is, when we try and live our lives without Jesus, we're living without a missing piece, and everything that we try and everything that we attempt, while it looks perfect and put together on the outside perfect and put together on the outside it all just begins to slowly collapse at one time or another, because we've put our hope in ourselves. We've put our hope in a job or a career. We've put our hope in a house or a car or a dream or a number. We've put our hope in a relationship or a person, and the truth is, the hopes and dreams of our lives were not created to be carried by inanimate objects. Our hearts and our hopes can only be carried by the one who gave them life.