Sermons for Easter
Courage, “Kia kaha!”
Bible Readings: Luke 24:36-49 Romans 8:9-21
It would be the world’s wildest understatement to say that the disciples were having a big day. From the encounters at the tomb to wild reports, through their grief, despair and terror, impossible hope, you name it, they went through it all that day, that first Easter day.
And then, suddenly, as they are all there together, all those who knew and loved Jesus, all those who had followed him, whose lives had been turned upside down by him, they were all squashed together into a Jerusalem house as the sun set and lamps were lit and a meal was served but no one felt much like eating it … into that room full of totally confused people, Jesus suddenly was there right in the midst of them.
Bible Readings: Luke 24:36-49 Romans 8:9-21
It would be the world’s wildest understatement to say that the disciples were having a big day. From the encounters at the tomb to wild reports, through their grief, despair and terror, impossible hope, you name it, they went through it all that day, that first Easter day.
And then, suddenly, as they are all there together, all those who knew and loved Jesus, all those who had followed him, whose lives had been turned upside down by him, they were all squashed together into a Jerusalem house as the sun set and lamps were lit and a meal was served but no one felt much like eating it … into that room full of totally confused people, Jesus suddenly was there right in the midst of them.
Do you know the story, the real Easter story?
A short summary for children
A short summary for children
“As it was written” - prophecies of Easter
Was the crucifixion and resurrection prophesied in the Old Testament?
I would like to invite you into one of the great puzzles of the Christian faith … did the Hebrew scriptures predict that the Messiah would rise from the dead? Answering this question is not obvious to us … though it was to Jesus!
Was the crucifixion and resurrection prophesied in the Old Testament?
I would like to invite you into one of the great puzzles of the Christian faith … did the Hebrew scriptures predict that the Messiah would rise from the dead? Answering this question is not obvious to us … though it was to Jesus!
Sermon: The Fact of Resurrection - 'Fake News'??
This Easter Sunday sermon explores the possibility that Jesus' body vanished 'into thin air' in an instantaneous dramatic event ... that may have left a photographic imprint on the linen cloth he was wrapped in.
Comes with photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and the Shroud of Turin.
This morning we celebrate an event which happened on Easter Day, which we in the Christian church honour as the day that something extraordinary happen to the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth. Does it matter to you what happened to Jesus’ body?
If someone asked you what you think about that, how would you answer?
This Easter Sunday sermon explores the possibility that Jesus' body vanished 'into thin air' in an instantaneous dramatic event ... that may have left a photographic imprint on the linen cloth he was wrapped in.
Comes with photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and the Shroud of Turin.
This morning we celebrate an event which happened on Easter Day, which we in the Christian church honour as the day that something extraordinary happen to the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth. Does it matter to you what happened to Jesus’ body?
If someone asked you what you think about that, how would you answer?
Resurrection Morning ... why 4 different versions of what happened??
Why do we have 4 Gospels? The early church could have easily (or not so easily!) combined them into one standard book with all the problems sorted out.
‘What really happened?’
‘Which version is the right one?’
Comparing the 4 Gospel accounts in an interactive discussion
And another sermon on a similar topic:
Encountering the risen Jesus
Exploring and comparing the four Gospels, and a bit of Acts for good measure!
Acts 9:1-9, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 21:1-14, Matthew 26
One of the greatest questions in human history is this: What happened after Jesus died?
Obviously something happened, or we would not have the Christian religion, and the world would have been very different. But what happened, exactly?
I wonder if you could follow me on a bit of a journey that this question demands.
Why do we have 4 Gospels? The early church could have easily (or not so easily!) combined them into one standard book with all the problems sorted out.
‘What really happened?’
‘Which version is the right one?’
Comparing the 4 Gospel accounts in an interactive discussion
And another sermon on a similar topic:
Encountering the risen Jesus
Exploring and comparing the four Gospels, and a bit of Acts for good measure!
Acts 9:1-9, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 21:1-14, Matthew 26
One of the greatest questions in human history is this: What happened after Jesus died?
Obviously something happened, or we would not have the Christian religion, and the world would have been very different. But what happened, exactly?
I wonder if you could follow me on a bit of a journey that this question demands.
'Alive in Christ'!
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12
Easter Sunday ... on the power of the resurrection, our relationship with God and transformed identity.
Paul’s claim here is that the resurrection of Jesus was not so much a historical event, not just something that happened back then on Easter Sunday in the year 33. Paul’s revolutionary theology, based on the experience of the early church, is that the resurrection of Jesus is something that keeps on happening over and over again in my life and in your life.
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12
Easter Sunday ... on the power of the resurrection, our relationship with God and transformed identity.
Paul’s claim here is that the resurrection of Jesus was not so much a historical event, not just something that happened back then on Easter Sunday in the year 33. Paul’s revolutionary theology, based on the experience of the early church, is that the resurrection of Jesus is something that keeps on happening over and over again in my life and in your life.
Jesus and Joshua and the Walls ... a provocative sermon for Palm Sunday
Luke 19:28-44
Jesus had double vision that day. As he looked up at the walls of Jerusalem suddenly he could see them in ruins. He could hear the shouts of praise around him but he could also hear wails of grief. And so he enters Jerusalem not puffed up with glory and praise but in sharp sorrow. He weeps. and all through that Passover week he keeps seeing the Temple in ruins, broken stones lying everywhere
And he lives into this vision of his, until his own sense of himself becomes blurred with the coming destruction of the Temple … and he prophesies over Jerusalem, he weeps over it, he says “I will tear it down and in 3 days rebuild it”. He feels his own imminent death in the very stones he walks on that week of Passover. 7 days. like the 7 days that Joshua and his people walked around and around the city of Jericho. I wonder if Jesus remembered Joshua.
Luke 19:28-44
Jesus had double vision that day. As he looked up at the walls of Jerusalem suddenly he could see them in ruins. He could hear the shouts of praise around him but he could also hear wails of grief. And so he enters Jerusalem not puffed up with glory and praise but in sharp sorrow. He weeps. and all through that Passover week he keeps seeing the Temple in ruins, broken stones lying everywhere
And he lives into this vision of his, until his own sense of himself becomes blurred with the coming destruction of the Temple … and he prophesies over Jerusalem, he weeps over it, he says “I will tear it down and in 3 days rebuild it”. He feels his own imminent death in the very stones he walks on that week of Passover. 7 days. like the 7 days that Joshua and his people walked around and around the city of Jericho. I wonder if Jesus remembered Joshua.
Recognising Jesus - an Easter Day sermon on 'the road to Emmaus'
includes the story formatted as a Drama
This is such an odd story that it must be true – I mean, who would make up a story about disciples not even recognising their master? Why didn’t they recognise him? … the sound of his voice, the look of his face, the content of his teaching – they who knew him intimately over months even years. If they couldn’t spot Jesus when they saw him, what hope is there for the rest of us??
But I love that. I love this story. I love that we don’t need to know what his face or beard looked like. I love that we don’t need to know his human voice, or even be able to understand the language he spoke. Jesus risen from the grave rises above all tangible things. Jesus who bust open the tomb breaks through all barriers of space and time. He has become Spirit and Truth, universal and glorious.
But the risen Jesus is not amorphous. He enters into any space and any time still with his personality, his character. The Spirit of the risen glorified Jesus is a particular spirit with particular characteristics. And we who seek his face and his voice, we who seek to follow him, we learn more and more how to recognise him.
So how do we recognise the risen Christ? Let’s learn from this story. If you like to count things, you can count with me to 8 … a 8 point sermon today for no particular reason.
includes the story formatted as a Drama
This is such an odd story that it must be true – I mean, who would make up a story about disciples not even recognising their master? Why didn’t they recognise him? … the sound of his voice, the look of his face, the content of his teaching – they who knew him intimately over months even years. If they couldn’t spot Jesus when they saw him, what hope is there for the rest of us??
But I love that. I love this story. I love that we don’t need to know what his face or beard looked like. I love that we don’t need to know his human voice, or even be able to understand the language he spoke. Jesus risen from the grave rises above all tangible things. Jesus who bust open the tomb breaks through all barriers of space and time. He has become Spirit and Truth, universal and glorious.
But the risen Jesus is not amorphous. He enters into any space and any time still with his personality, his character. The Spirit of the risen glorified Jesus is a particular spirit with particular characteristics. And we who seek his face and his voice, we who seek to follow him, we learn more and more how to recognise him.
So how do we recognise the risen Christ? Let’s learn from this story. If you like to count things, you can count with me to 8 … a 8 point sermon today for no particular reason.
The small verbs with big meaning: a sermon for Easter Day
John 20
It's the only time in the gospels when anyone ran! Easter Sunday is a time for urgency. It quickens the pulse rate, it shocks us into action. Jesus is gone! Jesus is raised, exploded from the tomb. News of great fear, great joy, great wonder, all mixed together.
... also 'turn', 'see', and 'tell'
John 20
It's the only time in the gospels when anyone ran! Easter Sunday is a time for urgency. It quickens the pulse rate, it shocks us into action. Jesus is gone! Jesus is raised, exploded from the tomb. News of great fear, great joy, great wonder, all mixed together.
... also 'turn', 'see', and 'tell'