Sunday service

CLUE FOR SUNDAY SERVICE SERMON

Headlines from the Pulpit Sermons

DATE 19th April, 2020

THEME: PEACE BE WITH YOU

SCRIPTURE READINGS

ACTS 2:22-32

1 PETER 1:3-9

JOHN 20:19-31

PSALTER: Psalm 16:1-11

INTRODUCTION

The very first Easter did not take place in a crowded worship space filled with singing and praising. On the very first Easter the disciples were locked in a house. Because they were friends with Jesus, it was dangerous for them to go out. On top of that, they were filled with fear. They wanted to believe the good news they heard from the women that morning, but it seemed too good to be true. Could Jesus really be alive?

They were living in a time of despair and discouragement. Did a miracle really happen? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Could this time of terror and fear really be coming to an end?

Easter matters because it changes everything. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we’d still be stuck in our past sins, we’d be powerless over our present problems and we’d be filled with fear about the future. But everything changed when Jesus rose from the dead.

BODY

One of the results of the resurrection is we no longer have to live in fear.

1. THE DOORS WERE LOCKED

Jesus did not have to knock. He did not even have to open the door. He simply was there. Which means that today in your life, Jesus can go where no one else can go. There is no place where you are, and no depths of personhood that you are which Jesus can’t penetrate.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead fits him to do what no one else can do. There is no one else like him in all the universe.

 2. EMBRACE HIS PEACE.

The disciples were afraid because their leader had been arrested and crucified as a revolutionary.  They have barricaded themselves in a room.

The word “fear,” or “phobos” in Greek, means to be “alarmed, frightened and in terror.” It carries with it the idea of “flight.” Maybe they were planning how to escape from Jerusalem without being seen.

As we’ve been going through this coronavirus crisis, fear and anxiety are at an all-time high. Some of us are struggling to sleep while others are experiencing panic attacks. 

In the midst of their high anxiety, Jesus suddenly stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

3. HIS GREETINGS OF PEACE

This greeting of peace has a much deeper meaning.

In the Jewish culture, the word SHALOM is a state of wholeness and harmony that is intended to resonate in all relationships. When used as a greeting, shalom was a wish for outward freedom from disturbance as well as an inward sense of well-being. ”

Jesus offers you peace today but it’s different than the peace the world offers. Our culture says peace is the absence of something.

But Jesus provides peace as the presence of Someone. (JESUS THE CHRIST)

4. EXAMINE HIS PROOF

Jesus invites us to examine the proof of His resurrection in verse 20: “When He had said this, he showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”

The word “showed” has the idea of “presenting and exhibiting.”

The way to forsake your fears is to examine the proof that Jesus is alive.

When the disciples examined the proof, they were “glad.” One translation says they were “overjoyed.”

5. ENGAGE IN HIS PURPOSE

Recognizing His followers are still fearful, Jesus once again declares in verse 21: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

His peace is given so that we will engage in His purposes. He saves us in order to send us. The disciples are given a message that cannot be kept in a locked room. Likewise, we can’t get too comfortable within the walls of a church building or our own homes or apartments.

Someone once said: “Christianity doesn’t simply put out its sign and say ‘come.’ Christianity puts on its shoes and goes.”

6. EMBODY HIS PRESENCE.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Me, too. That’s why these next words in John 20:22 are so important, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Jesus not only commissions us, He gives us the Holy Spirit as our companion so we can embody His presence and do the job He has for us to do. We have an assignment and we’ve been empowered to accomplish it.

APPLICATION

Don’t miss this connection – peace comes from the presence of the Prince of Peace.

This peace extends in three dimensions.

▪ I can be at peace with my past. Friend, whatever is lurking in your past can be forgiven if you ask for forgiveness. Allow His peace to bring wholeness as you claim the promise of Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

▪ I can be at peace with my present. What are you worried about right now? The virus? Your health and safety? Your family? Your finances? Your job? Jesus came to “bind up the wounds of the broken” (Isaiah 61:1).

▪ I can be at peace with my future. Many of us are fretting about the future. Ask Jesus to give you His peace so you can stop worrying. Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

I like how Paul Tripp says it: “Peace does not come from your distance from trouble, but rather from the nearness of your Saviour!”

CONCLUSION

Precious One! Do you want this peace or are you content to cower in the corner? Don’t lock yourself behind thick walls. Instead, embrace the perfect peace He offers you.

When in dread, remember Jesus rose from the dead; He will come near when we are quarantined with fear! Stay BLESSED.

PREPARED BY

VERY REV. DR SAMUEL YAW DUA DODD

CALVARY METHODIST CHURCH

ADABRAKA, ACCRA

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