Opening:

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Welcome to Easter worship with Crossroads. We’re so glad to have you on this day we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. A day where death was unable to keep love in the tomb.

If this is your first time. It’s important to know that Crossroads is a partnership of churches in the Omaha area and we worship at different locations almost every week.

Next week, we have a new partner hosting worship. First Presbyterian Church of Plattsmouth. It will be an adventure for us all.

We also offer free bibles… and have scholarships.

Today, since this is a big day of the Christian faith, Easter Sunday. The day death was forever defeated when Jesus ruse from the grave.

We’re going to read part of a document called the Brief Statement of Faith, it’s a summary of what Christians believe.

Let’s now read the first section about Jesus. It’s on the back of your bulletin, we’ll read that together and if you’d like to read the whole thing you can find it on Page 37 of the purple hymnals

In life and in death we belong to God.

Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the One triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ, Fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:

preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed and blessing the children,
healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.

Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.

God raised this Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.

We will pause there and read more later.

Now let’s call ourselves to worship using the last verses of Psalm 22, The very Psalm Jesus cried out from the cross.

It begins, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”, but ends foretelling the beautiful outcome of a horrific event. Proving that God can work good through whatever evil the corrupt mind of man is capable of.

The Message:

So, if you were here last week, you’ll know my sermon focused on the book of Leviticus.

And, as I prepared for today, I read about the holy days mentioned in Leviticus.

Many of you are probably familiar with Passover. It’s a feast meant to remember the time when God saved the Israelites from death.

Maybe, like me, you’ve seen the film The Ten Commandments.

In it, we hear the story of God using Moses to free the Israelites from slavery. God uses a series of plagues to prompt Pharaoh to let the people go. The final plague is death of all the firstborn.

But the people of God are provided a way to be saved. Any household who marked their doors with the blood of a slain lamb was “passed over” by the angel of death.

Thus, in the Passover, the Israelites are commanded to remember how God saved them each year by celebrating with a reenactment meal.

Leviticus explains other feasts like Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost.

I learned how all these feasts point to Jesus.

In fact, the Lord’s Supper is tied to Passover – it’s our regular reminder of the way God saves us through Jesus giving His life as an atoning sacrifice. PAUSE

A lesser known holiday, is The Feast of Firstfruits. It’s not something I knew much about until this past week.

But, I was amazed by all the symbolism connected to Easter.

For instance, during Passover, a fresh bundle of grain was marked and placed symbolically in the field. Then, the next day, it was cut down and prepared for the offering.

On the third day the priest raised it before the people and waved it as a sign of new life.

Firstfruits is a picture of Jesus’s resurrection. That He rose on the third day of the Passover season.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says that Jesus is the first fruits of those who have died. That His resurrection was the beginning of a new season of everlasting life, and that all believers will be similarly raised to new life in the final resurrection.

Before we read our scripture, let’s pray.

Lord of all wisdom, we come to you tonight looking for hope. That hope has been provided through an unusual means. Help us believe. Lead us to understanding. Lead us into Your eternal life.
In the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Our reading is 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 it’s page 935 in your pew hymnal if you want to follow along.

1 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!

I have a confession. Christ also appeared to me. If not, there is no way I’d be up here exclaiming that:

“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures”.

That takes faith. And while I can tell you about it, it’s much better to experience it yourself. That’s what it took for me.

And on my journey, I’ve come to learn, it’s THE thing which sets Christianity apart from every other world view.

Other systems teach kindness and goodness. But, only Christian faith is based in the death and resurrection of our central figure.

Here in Corinthians, Paul is reminding everyone about that very central belief which is so essential to everything else we believe.

Our kindness, our love, our goodness, it is all built from this foundation.

A foundation which people are often trying to prove false, or replace with some other foundational truth.

While I was studying this passage, I read that Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was meant to correct some false teachings and help the new Christian community stay rooted in the truth.

And I can understand why. When I was a new believer, there were parts of the faith that I struggled with.

The resurrection is one of them. And, it’s a topic much of the world takes issue with.

In fact, it's a point where the Muslim faith diverges. Before I became Christian, I read the Quran and studied with some Muslim friends, and I know firsthand that the resurrection is genuinely a hard thing to accept and is even considered offensive by many.

In fact, in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul states just how foolish it sounds.

He says, “The message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to the lost”

And I was one of them.

My faith was formed slowly as I got to know God. I didn’t come to the altar one day and suddenly believe it all. It took time.

That takes us back to last week where we learned about the way God forms us. How sometimes God gets us alone and uses difficult things for our formation.

At times that formation can feel painful, but it’s through our challenges and difficulties where we grow the most.

This week, we’re learning that this formation isn’t just so to help us endure the challenges of this life…

Today, we’re being shown that it also prepares us for the life to come.

Our faith forms a love that endures. A love that spans even death.

Later in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talks about an even greater transformation, not just a character transformation but a transformation of being.

It’s a passage that became important to me about 11 years ago, right at the start of my faith in Christ.

You see, my dad nearly died. It was a tough and painful experience for me.

He was going in for a difficult surgery and there was a strong chance that it wouldn’t save him.

With a Bible in my hand, I asked dad which verses he would want read at his funeral. He said the words, “what is sown in corruption is raised in incorruption.”

Thankfully, Google quickly revealed 1 Corinthians 15 as the location.

It’s a passage I wrestled with, because at the time, I didn’t believe in resurrection and eternal life. I considered it nonsense.

I mean, I thought Jesus was a good guy with some sage wisdom, similar to the Buddha, and I thought the Bible had some beautiful stuff in it.

But the whole eternal life stuff. It didn’t really connect with me.

In fact, I even thought the dream of an afterlife was a bit silly. When Paul was chastising the philosophers in 1 Corinthians 1, he could have been talking to me.

At that time, I believed we should be focused on this life and the wisdom of this world.

But as I read this chapter again and again, wondering why my dad had called out those words. Something happened. I slowly saw the beauty of it. And now, it’s a dear belief to me.

Mabe some of you are where I was.
And I get it. Paul got it. That’s why he wrote.

He wanted to persuade people so they could choose. And, like Paul, I'm here telling you, you’re in good company and that the door is still open.

So let’s read what Paul says about that greater transformation in verses 42-44. He says:

42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

PAUSE

Sown in weakness but raised in power. HalleluYah! Thanks be to God.

As I grow older and this perishable body of mine gets weak, flabby and wrinkled.

As I start to decay and experience more and more sickness.

As more of the important people in my life go to the grave.

I find great beauty in this vision of being raised imperishable, incorruptible, with glory and power.

So, today, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, I lean deep into that promise that we too will be raised. Just as the first fruit was raised.

But that raising didn't come easy. Jesus paid an enormous price. He endured great hardship.

He was pressed on every side and experienced abandonment.
All to fulfill God’s great redemption plan.

A plan that all of us can celebrate together simply by placing our trust in the finished work of Jesus.

Which again takes us back to Leviticus and the sacrificial system.

All that sacrifice… it all pointed to Jesus.

To understand what Jesus achieved on the Cross, we have to turn back to another Feast spoken of in Leviticus, The Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 16:30-31 reads

30 For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble yourselves; it is a statute forever.

Loved ones, Jesus has made atonement for us. Through His work on our behalf, we can rest assured that we are restored to good favor with God.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest. He cleanses us of our sin and brings us into new life where we will be free from corruption.

And that brings me to the end of our lesson.

The title of this message is Beyond Corruption, and I bet many of you know corruption well.

You've experienced corruption in your own life. Possibly had encounters with corrupt cops. Heard of corrupt judges. Faced corrupt systems that were supposed to help you but didn't.

But what Paul is telling us, is that in light of that, we can take great joy because of what Jesus accomplished for us, that we will be raised incorruptible… beyond the reach of every corrupt thing that has ever brought pain into this life.

And, if you haven’t made the leap from foolishness to trust, if you you’re still not sure what you believe, I invite you to you rest in the thought of the great rest that is found in Jesus as we rise and sing the Hymn, There is a Place of Quiet Rest.

To be read after the Hymn:

We trust in God,

whom Jesus called Abba, Father.

In sovereign love God created the world good

and makes everyone equally in God’s image

male and female, of every race and people,

to live as one community.

But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.

Ignoring God’s commandments,

we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,

accept lies as truth,

exploit neighbor and nature,

and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.

We deserve God’s condemnation.

Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.

In everlasting love,

the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people

to bless all families of the earth.

Hearing their cry,

God delivered the children of Israel

from the house of bondage.

Loving us still,

God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.

Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,

like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,

God is faithful still.

First fruits intro:

"In Leviticus, God commanded the people not to harvest the edges of their fields — to leave the gleanings for the poor and the stranger. Today you are invited to come and glean. Take a scoop, move it to the bowl, eat a few if you want, take a grape. This is your First Fruits offering — a sign that what is sown will be raised."

There is also an offering plate if you would like to leave some of your first fruit.

Come forward when you’re are ready. You are welcome here.

Benediction

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,

everywhere the giver and renewer of life.

The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,

sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,

and binds us together with all believers

in the one body of Christ, the Church.

The same Spirit

who inspired the prophets and apostles

rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,

engages us through the Word proclaimed,

claims us in the waters of baptism,

feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,

and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.

In a broken and fearful world

the Spirit gives us courage

to pray without ceasing,

to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,

to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,

to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,

and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.

In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,

we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks

and to live holy and joyful lives,

even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,

praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Now, my beloved Family:

With believers in every time and place,

Go, rejoicing that nothing in life or in death

can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.