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Monday,
April
13,
2020
"The
Ultimate Game
Changer"
Listen
to this
message on your audio player."He is not here; He is risen, just as He said" (Matthew 28:6).
Yesterday Christians around the world celebrated the resurrection Of Jesus Christ. For the first in our lifetime and, perhaps all of history, few gathered in groups with others due to the coronavirus. We watched a service online as did many of you.
The custom of celebrating Resurrection Day is an ancient ritual of the church. However in the New Testament there is no specific reference to it being celebrated annually, apart from the first Resurrection Day. The early Christians continued to celebrate the Passover and of course would have had the additional dimension of the resurrection of Christ in mind. The actual introduction of Easter Sunday appears to have occurred after Emperor Hadrian ruthlessly crushed the Barkokeba revolt (A.D. 132-135). However Christians, beginning on Resurrection Day itself, celebrated the resurrection each week on the Lord’s Day!
A two word phrase we are hearing a lot during this coronavirus pandemic is "game changer". Game changer is an idiom that has been in use since the late 1980s to early 1990s. A game changer may be a new person, idea, event or protocol that upends the established order. Something that is a game changer is radical and disruptive, usually in a positive way.
These are recent headlines from a Google search:
- "As others see it: Is
Hydroxychloroquine a ‘game changer’. We can only
hope."
- "Plasma treatment being tested in New York may be a coronavirus 'game changer'"
- "Coronavirus antibody tests would be a 'game changer,’ Dr. John Torres says."
- "Boston hospitals getting ‘game changer’ machine that sterilizes 80,000 protective masks a day."
Today
let us consider the ultimate game changer.
In using this phrase we are not trivializing the
resurrection or implying that it's some kind of
game. Rather we are considering the Person and
event that upended the established order in the
most dramatic way possible and most certainly in a
positive way summed up in these familiar words,
"Because
He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives"
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives"
The
New Testament uniformly teaches the centrality of
Christ’s resurrection. Most are familiar with the
accounts of the resurrection found in the gospels.
That’s likely the message most preachers preached
on yesterday, including our own pastor. Each of
the four gospels ends with an account of the
resurrection.
Today's text is a simple yet profound message: "He is not here; He is risen, just as He said."
Today's text is a simple yet profound message: "He is not here; He is risen, just as He said."
- "He is not here" The tomb was empty!
- "He is risen" The explanation on why the tomb was empty.
- "Just as He said" He
had prophesied numerous times that this is
what would happen.
This
week we will examine a resurrection truth from the
other four major sections of the New Testament;
Acts, Paul’s epistles, the general epistles and
Revelation. Each affirms the centrality of the
resurrection of Christ, what Paul calls of "first
importance" (I Corinthians 15:3). "First
importance (protos) in this context refers to
first in prominence, most important or foremost.
The truth that follows is among first things. Not
to time, but to importance." (Precept Austin
online commentary)
These essential truths of the gospel are of first importance:
* Christ died for our sins
* He was dead and was buried
* He was raised from the dead
* He appeared to many witnesses
The first verbal witness of the resurrection in Matthew’s Gospel is the angel who testified this simple, yet game changing, life changing truth, "He is not here; He is risen". And that remains the victorious testimony of the faithful church and faithful Christians.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
the announcement made by the angel at the tomb
continues to echo throughout the centuries. Just
as the women told the disciples that Jesus was not
in the tomb, but He is risen, disciples of Christ
have repeated the life-changing Good News to all
who will hear. Though Jesus was dead He lives
again. Though we were spiritually dead in our
trespasses and sins we are set free and made alive
through the saving blood of Jesus Christ. His
resurrected power raises us up out of the dark
tomb of our sinful despair, and promises us a home
in heaven where darkness is banned. No light from
a lamp or rays from the sun will be needed, for
the Lord God is the Light of Heaven. Keep us
looking to Jesus, the Everlasting Light, as we
journey in a land where darkness reigns. In the
name of Jesus we pray Amen.
Easter is mentioned in some versions of the Bible in Acts 12:4, although most versions use the word “Passover” in this passage: “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” (Setting: Herod had killed James and, seeing that it pleased the Jews, he then arrested Peter.)
These essential truths of the gospel are of first importance:
* Christ died for our sins
* He was dead and was buried
* He was raised from the dead
* He appeared to many witnesses
The first verbal witness of the resurrection in Matthew’s Gospel is the angel who testified this simple, yet game changing, life changing truth, "He is not here; He is risen". And that remains the victorious testimony of the faithful church and faithful Christians.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
the announcement made by the angel at the tomb
continues to echo throughout the centuries. Just
as the women told the disciples that Jesus was not
in the tomb, but He is risen, disciples of Christ
have repeated the life-changing Good News to all
who will hear. Though Jesus was dead He lives
again. Though we were spiritually dead in our
trespasses and sins we are set free and made alive
through the saving blood of Jesus Christ. His
resurrected power raises us up out of the dark
tomb of our sinful despair, and promises us a home
in heaven where darkness is banned. No light from
a lamp or rays from the sun will be needed, for
the Lord God is the Light of Heaven. Keep us
looking to Jesus, the Everlasting Light, as we
journey in a land where darkness reigns. In the
name of Jesus we pray Amen.Easter is mentioned in some versions of the Bible in Acts 12:4, although most versions use the word “Passover” in this passage: “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” (Setting: Herod had killed James and, seeing that it pleased the Jews, he then arrested Peter.)
Here
are some more "game changer" headlines:
"The coronavirus pandemic is a game
changer for the future of health care.'
"Coronavirus is a game changer for
society not just the economy."
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Because
He Lives" Video Guy Penrod
"Because
He Lives (Amen)" Video West Coast Choir
"Way
Maker" Video Sinach Like
many we have been so blessed by this song!
Finally
today:
We
remain essentially home bound although we ventured out
Saturday afternoon to buy some flowers from our Amish
neighbors at the Creekside Greenhouse with Brooksyne
turning cloth dinner napkins into makeshift masks.
Thankfully, we have some beautiful scenery along our
walking trails as seen below:
Donegal Springs, a quiet stream,
just below the Presbyterian Church. Many weddings
take place at this site and walkers enjoy walking
alongside the stream and nearby paths taking in many
beautiful flowers including these bleeding hearts.
Donegal Springs is home to many
ducks, ducklings, and fish.
In recent years our neighbors have
purchased golf carts and Easter Sunday was a perfect
day to drive them on the mile long trail right
across the street from us.
Enjoying our coffee on the front
porch while visiting over the phone with Stephen's
brother in San Francisco. This was actually a photo
we sent to him in an email.
Women can put just about anything
in their purses except fresh flowers. How about a
purse full of living flowers? This purse is hanging
just below our front yard porch light seen in above
photo.
Send a message to
Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA