Easter Sunday, April 1st, 2018

Below please find both the sermon transcript and the video of the sermon.  We had a wonderful day of worship at Woodlawn and I do want to once again thank all of our talented performers.  Nathan & Katie Burley played the piano for us and Eric Holm blessed us with a solo during the service.  Eric and his mother Kathy also sang a duet as part of the sermon and you'll hear them singing in the video below.

We also had the great, great blessing of baptizing three members of the Kuhlers family on Sunday morning.  Jared, Stephanie, and William all took the plunge and died to sin to be reborn in Christ.  Praise God!  It was a great witness to the rest of us especially seeing Jared getting baptized as an adult.  I've included at the very end of this blog post the transcript from their Baptism Ceremony.  Congratulations to you all Jared, Stephanie, and William!  God bless you all!

I posted the transcript to the 'Sunrise Service' yesterday, there was no video taken during the service.  Thank you to all who helped so very much during all the 'going ons' during 'Holy Week'.  A special thank you to Kim Anderson our Worship Chair, Kim does so much for the Church and we all appreciate it greatly!  Thank you, Kim!

I hope that all that wander through this little corner of the internet had a blessed Easter Sunday yesterday, and I hope you all realize just how much your God loves you... God bless you all.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

Easter Sunday Sermon, April 1, 2018
"The Tomb of Remembrance"

Mark 16:1-8  (NRSV)
1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Just as we did a year ago, this year as part of our Easter celebration, we have performed several baptisms.  We just baptized Jared, Stephanie, and William and we are all very excited to count them now among our numbers.  Each of them has symbolically 'died to sin', entered the tomb, and risen again, resurrected just as our Savior was resurrected on that Easter morning so very long ago.

Last year I preached about how baptism is not a finish line, but a starting line. It isn't the point where you conclude your Christian education, your Christian participation, or your relationship with Christ. It's the beginning of something new, a deeper, a more involved relationship.  And just like last year, I want to again compare baptism to marriage. Marriage isn't the end of a relationship... well, at least hopefully not... NO, it's the beginning of a new depth to the relationship between a man and a woman, it is the same thing with baptism, you are committing to a new deeper relationship... between you and Christ.  Sad to say, however, far too often... baptism has become nothing more than a 'rite of passage', something we're expected to do around a certain age and so our parents or grandparents pressure us into going through with the ceremony. But truly, truly, truly... baptism is a NEW beginning, just as the open tomb was a new beginning, a new deeper relationship between God and His creation.

Let's stop for a moment and go back for just a bit, I mentioned the tomb, let's talk a little more about the tomb; the word for tomb in Greek is Mnémeion, it is derived from the Greek word Mousikós which means to remember, or to keep in memory, a tomb is basically a reservoir of memories. Which to be honest, is a very apt description of a tomb or grave; when we go to visit the final resting place of a friend or loved one, we can't help but stand there and reminisce about that person and our lost relationship with them. All of those memories, all those experiences, that entire relationship is in the past... the tomb at least as a metaphor... is a reservoir for those memories. There are no new experiences and thus no new memories, it is all in the past... all those memories though not forgotten are entombed in the past.

Let's also talk a little bit about what the women found when they showed up at the tomb, the tomb was of course already opened, but there was also someone sitting inside... this mysterious 'young man'. He is sitting there alone in the tomb, now you may not realize... or perhaps you may have forgotten... but this young man has shown up before in Mark's Gospel, in the 14th Chapter of Mark, verses 50-52 we read concerning the story of the arrest of Jesus in the garden:

Mark 14:50-52
50 All of them deserted him and fled. 51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

We could be a bit put off by this imagery of nakedness, we could be I suppose... a bit prudish and thus we would miss the message hidden in the metaphor, or we can consider what Mark is trying to convey to us... through this mysterious young man and his nakedness.

This 'young man' just like all of those following Christ has run away when Jesus is arrested, just as foretold in the 13th Chapter of Zechariah, the Shepherd has been struck and the sheep have scattered.  This young man just like all the rest, just like all of us, has run away from Christ. He has fled, naked... and exposed... all of his sin, all of his human failings, all of his human frailties, all of his shortcomings... exposed for all the world to see. His relationship to Christ has been severed, his relationship is now one of betrayal. But here, on this first Easter morning, we find the young man, alone in the tomb, waiting for the women. He is now clothed in finer garments than he had been in the garden, he has returned to Christ and been reconciled even before any of the others. Just as all of the disciples will eventually return to Christ and be reconciled unto Christ... and just like the 'mysterious young man', we too can return and be welcomed home in the fashion of the Prodigal Son.

We all whether we want to admit it or not, have an internal and eternal, longing to be reconciled with our Creator.  I have preached before about the importance of finding and staying in relationship with a congregation of believers. Quite simply, none of us is meant to be an island... we accept an obligation to not only our own relationship with God but to that of our fellow believers. That prayer we all stated in unison after the baptism today... was our commitment to these newly baptized Christians among us. We have an obligation to not only keep the spark and fire of Christ alive within ourselves but also to keep that fire alive within others. Recently, I saw a great short story on Facebook, I believe it was posted by Leon.  Now it's not a new story, in fact, it's one that I first saw many years ago.  But, it is a modern parable if you will, and please allow me to share it with you now;

The Lonely Ember
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.
After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.
Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.
After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.
As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.
Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

Quite frankly, we need each other, we have an obligation to each other... to love, to support, to even push at times... it was an obligation that we accepted when we professed our faith and took that plunge under those waters of baptism.  That baptistery which we associate with the tomb and the rising out of the water, Christ's escape from the tomb.

So we're back to the tomb...

The thing about the tomb is that it's not only empty... it's OPEN.  Remember that a tomb is a reservoir of memories... well, a closed tomb signifies the end of the making of memories... it's all about the past.  This tomb, this tomb is open... He LIVES, new memories are being formed each and every day.

We've been blessed this morning with some truly beautiful special music, and right now we're about to be blessed a little bit more by the sound of Kathy and Eric's voices.  And they both have such wonderful voices, but please listen to the words as they sing them... pay close attention to the message of this magnificent Hymn.

(Duet of "He Lives")

He lives!  Now certainly, we through the teachings of the Holy Scripture have 'memories' of Christ, but each of us also has memories of Christ through our own encounters with Him, and each of us shall forge many more memories of Christ.  For the tomb is open... and remember the words of the 'mysterious young man' 
But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.

Our Lord lies not in a cold grave... but is alive... and well... and at work in this world.  He lives... he lives... you ask me how I know he lives... he lives within my heart.  He lives within my heart, he lives within your heart, he lives within the heart of every Christian, every man, woman, and child that has professed faith in Him and who has taken up the cross to do His bidding in this world.

You and I build new memories, and have new encounters with Christ through our interactions and cooperation with one another... as I look across this sanctuary today I see the face of Christ looking back at me and I can't help but have a smile deep within my soul... for HE LIVES!

And all His people cried out... AMEN!

Photo by Christian Begeman

Service of Holy Baptism:

Matthew 3:13-17  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Baptism is one of the two sacraments given by Christ to his followers.  In baptism, through faith, we are made one with Christ.   We are buried with Christ and with him raised from the dead to walk in new life.  The washing of our bodies with water is the outward and visible sign of the cleansing of our inner being through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ.  We are baptized not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit, and by this same Spirit we are baptized into Christ's body, the church, and made members of the whole people of God.

In obedience to Christ's command let us baptize these who have professed their faith in Him.

William, do you before God and this congregation affirm through this act of baptism your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you promise to follow Christ in word and deed throughout your Life?

(William – I do)

Upon the declaration of your faith and in obedience to Christ's command, on behalf of this congregation I baptize you, William Thomas Schmit, in the name of God; Father, Son & Holy Spirit. (dunk)

Loving God, may your Spirit fall upon William and remain with him all the days of his life.  And may the joy of this moment be his forever.  Amen.

Stephanie, do you before God and this congregation affirm through this act of baptism your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you promise to follow Christ in word and deed throughout your Life?

(Stephanie – I do)

Upon the declaration of your faith and in obedience to Christ's command, on behalf of this congregation I baptize you, Stephanie Nichole Kuhlers, in the name of God; Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  (dunk)

Loving God, may your Spirit fall upon Stephanie and remain with her all the days of her life.  And may the joy of this moment be hers forever.  Amen.

Jared, do you before God and this congregation affirm through this act of baptism your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you promise to follow Christ in word and deed throughout your Life?

(Jared – I do)

Upon the declaration of your faith and in obedience to Christ's command, on behalf of this congregation I baptize you, Jared Benjamin Kuhlers, in the name of God; Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  (dunk)

Loving God, may your Spirit fall upon Jared and remain with him all the days of his life.  And may the joy of this moment be his forever.  Amen.

We have done as Christ has commanded.  As those who have been baptized have confessed their faith and committed themselves to discipleship, let us all renew our baptismal vows as we pray together:

Gracious God, baptize us afresh with your Spirit.  May we know once again the newness of life so abundantly shown to these who have been baptized.  Open our hearts to receive them into our midst, that they may know among us the same spirit of love that was in Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.  Amen.