Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.northharris.freechurch.org/sermons/4961/easter-family-service/.

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[0:00] Good morning. A warm welcome to the service this morning. I'm sorry we are about seven, eight minutes late and starting, but we were trying to get the technology to work, and we're thankful it's now working.

[0:25] It's John McSween. When you walk past that screen... That's what did it. John, walk back again. Well, we'll work around the technology.

[0:36] We'll use the books on this side, and I think we're okay on this side. It's good to see you all. A warm welcome to the service. It's good to see some visiting with us today, and it's good to see some with us for the first time, and we hope it won't be the last.

[0:49] Good to see all the boys and girls here today as well for this special Easter service. You have the information sheets, which you see at the door, and also they've been on the screen, and so you can go through these at your convenience.

[1:09] One thing to note is that I'll be on holiday with the family from tomorrow for two weeks, and when I'm away, Roddy Morrison, who you know well, will be covering if there's any issues that need to be dealt with, so please get in touch with one of the elders or Roddy directly, and he's happy for that.

[1:28] The services next Sunday will be taken by Jodo Davidson, John Murdo Davidson, and the prayer meeting will be taken this Wednesday by E&M McSween for the first time, so you can look forward to that.

[1:41] Other information you can go through at your own convenience, so I'll leave you to do that. I want to start by reading just a few verses from Luke chapter 24.

[1:53] The evening service tonight will be from 6 to 7, and we'll be looking at this chapter alongside the passages from John that we've been studying.

[2:08] But I want to just read the first few verses of Luke chapter 24. Boys and girls, I remember about 5 or 6, most people are saying that when they're coming in, not when they're going out.

[2:27] So that's encouraging. Boys and girls, I think it was about 6 or 7, maybe even 8 years ago, and I was at a service in a place called Torridon, and it was Easter Sunday, and there was a man there called John Maxwell.

[2:44] He's now with the Lord, in glory, and we were reading this passage, and when we came to the book that says, he is not here, he has risen, he burst out with a loud voice, and he shouted, he is risen indeed, and I got the fright of my life, but it was a very good thing for him to have said.

[3:07] He is risen indeed. And so, I think every year since then, when I've read this passage, when we get to the book that says, he is risen, then we all shout out, he is risen indeed.

[3:22] Will you say that for me, when it comes to the book? Boys and girls, and the older ones as well. So let's read this section here, as we remember the Easter story, and the fact that this Sunday morning is the day that we especially remember that Jesus is not dead, but he is alive.

[3:43] Luke chapter 24, verse 1, this is God's word. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

[3:55] They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that green light lightning stood beside them.

[4:10] In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen.

[4:24] He has risen indeed. Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee. The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.

[4:39] Then they remembered his words. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you this morning that we remember especially that you are risen from the dead.

[4:54] Death could not keep hold of you, but you rose from the dead and burst out of that tomb. And we thank you that in doing so, you beat the devil, you took away our sin, and you give us the promise of everlasting life.

[5:11] Help us, Lord, to worship you. Help us to be joyful all of this day as we think about the wonder of all that you have done for us, Lord Jesus.

[5:21] And help us to keep our eyes fixed upon you. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Jesus rose. That's the real thing that we remember at Easter. Is it Kerry at the back there?

[5:36] Eggs. Eggs, yeah. We keep thinking about eggs, don't we? We do. So, there's lots of stuff going on at Easter.

[5:47] Who was on the Easter fun day last Saturday? Not the one on Friday, but the one last weekend. Yeah, there was lots of people at that Easter fun day, and there was Easter egg hunts, and there was an Easter bunny hopping about Tarbert, and there was an Easter chicken, or as Shawnee call it, that big hen.

[6:08] And there was a bouncy castle, and there was games, and then there's chocolate eggs, and there's holidays. Who's going away on a holiday? Who's going on holiday? There's holidays.

[6:18] There's holidays. There's holidays as well. It's a busy time, Easter. But tell me, in fact, earlier that he told me, but tell me again, what is Easter really about, or who is Easter really about?

[6:35] In fact, shout out. Jesus! We hear you? Jesus! Easter is really about Jesus.

[6:47] It's about seeing Jesus. And, boys and girls, I'm not actually going to use the screens very much today, and for that, I'm actually thankful.

[6:58] But, as I was thinking about what you would think about this morning, I was wandering around the church one day this week, and Margarita, there's Margarita, she's been very good at putting some of these pictures, she's been designing stuff and putting it on the wall, and see the one above my head here?

[7:20] That's the one that I saw as I was walking through here this week. And as I was thinking about the verse that Margarita's done there, and thank you, Margarita, for doing that, I thought, that's an excellent way for us to think about Easter.

[7:37] And the first part of this, it's actually from two different texts, and the first part of this is from John chapter 12, and somebody has got John chapter 12, and you're going to come out and read just the two verses on the sheet.

[7:56] And that one. Now, there were some Greeks among those who went to worship at the festival. They came to Philip who was from Bethsaida in Galilee with a request.

[8:12] Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus. Right, Natalie. So there was these men, they were Greek, and they came to Jerusalem, and it was the festival times, there was lots of busyness, there was loads and loads of people in that place, but in the middle of all the busyness, these men, they came to Philip, and they said, we want to see Jesus.

[8:42] And boys and girls, today, in the middle of our busy lives, and especially in the middle of this busy Easter festival time, we want to be able to see who?

[8:58] we want to see Jesus. And so, this text is a reminder of what Easter is all about, and this text on the wall, as you come and you sit here on Sundays, and you look over the top of my balding head, you get this reminder every week that Easter is all about, and every Sunday, every Lord's Day, it's all about Jesus.

[9:27] This is a reminder for me, and for you, that we want to see Jesus. We don't want to see anyone else, we don't want to hear about or from anyone else, but every preacher that stands here, say to them, we want to see Jesus.

[9:51] And today, we want to see Jesus. Jesus, so what we're going to do is we're going to let's have a short word of prayer, let's pray together.

[10:07] Dear Lord, we pray as we have sung that you would open our eyes and that you would help us to see Jesus. We thank you that we have the promise that where two or three of us gather in the name of Jesus, that you are here with us.

[10:23] And we thank you that we have the promise that the Holy Spirit is the one who helps us and who teaches us and who opens our eyes to see Jesus and to see how much we need him.

[10:35] So help us, Lord, we pray, to see Jesus. And we pray for other people across this land and across all the world who are meeting like we do, that they too would see Jesus in the service today.

[10:49] We pray for people who'd love to be here but who are sad or who are sick or who are busy with work that they aren't able to be away from today. And we ask that they too would hear and see Jesus.

[11:03] And we pray for people who have got lots of chances to be here but who don't want to see Jesus. And we ask that you would open their hearts, that they too would see and that they would draw near to Jesus.

[11:15] So help us, Lord, we pray. We know that we need your help. And we ask, Father, that you would enable us to see Jesus, your Son, and all that he has done for us to know this everlasting life that's promised on this day.

[11:31] And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. So boys and girls, can you say with me that the first thing about Easter is seeing Jesus.

[11:44] so let's say we would see Jesus. Can you say that together? We would see Jesus. One more time. We would see Jesus.

[11:57] So Easter is about seeing Jesus. Who was and is and is to come.

[12:09] somebody was reading that the other day and they were saying to me, that doesn't make any sense. What does that mean? Who was and is and is to come?

[12:23] Well, that actually comes from a book in the Bible called Revelation. It's from Revelation chapter 1 and in that book Jesus showed John the most amazing things and he spoke the most amazing things to John and he said to him, I want you to write this stuff down so that my people in all the churches across the world will be able to see and hear what I have for them.

[12:52] And so we're actually going to read a wee bit of this letter that was given to John for all the churches and for us. So Revelation chapter 1 it's either Kyle or Rebecca.

[13:02] I'm not sure which one. Rebecca. Revelation 1 verses 4 to 8 John to seven churches in the province of Asia grace and peace speak to you from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father to him to be glory and power forever and ever Amen Luke he is coming with clay and every eye will see him even those who even those who hear him and all the people of the earth will mourn because of him so shall it be Amen I am the Alpha and Omega says the Lord says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come the Almighty So Easter is all about seeing

[14:04] Jesus who was Jesus who was Boys and girls who was what what can we say about Jesus who was what Emma I can't hear you say one more time he was the son of God that's right what else can we say about Jesus Jesus who was really well he was born wasn't he we remember that Christmas time and Jesus was living in this world and he was a wee boy at one stage like some of you are and then he got a bit bigger and he was a bit of a bigger boy and then he became a teenager have you ever think about the fact that Jesus was a teenager and he was living in a home and he had brothers and he had friends and then he was working as a man he was working as a carpenter as a joiner some of you have done that as well and then he was working as a minister and then what happened

[15:26] Jesus was did he live until he was 70 no so Jesus was what what he was what was that he was the king yes Emma he was he was crucified Jesus who was born and he lived perfect sinless life and then before he got old he was killed he was crucified and that's the thing about Easter that makes us sad we remember in the days before Sunday that Jesus was crucified and he did it for who who did he do it for

[16:29] Emma he did it for us and why was he crucified why did he do all this for us to take our sin away because he loved us and he knew that our sin had to be taken away when Rebecca was reading there was one bit in that verse that she read and it said to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood so Easter is all about Jesus who was living and then he was crucified who died for us because he loved us and he wanted us to be forgiven keep looking above Easter is all about seeing Jesus who was alive and he was living and who was without sin and yet who was crucified for our sin is that where the story ends because usually in stories when it comes to someone's death that's where it ends so you might expect it to say we would see

[17:52] Jesus who was who stopped but that's not what it says is it what does it say next what do you see next on the screen on the text here was he was and he help us out everybody he what he what they're even quieter this end and that end no chocolate eggs going over that way so Jesus who was but who is so who is what what do we read about at the beginning of the service he is he is he is risen he's alive see when anyone else dies we just talk about them as as was so we might say well he was my my close friend he was a good man but with

[18:53] Jesus we don't talk about him as he was we talk about him as he is he is my friend he is the one who listens to my prayers he's he is the one who's with me he is my savior he is my lord he is my king one of you said not he was but he is so Easter is all about Jesus who was crucified and that makes us sad when we think about what our sin did but he is alive he is risen death was not the end for Jesus but he rose from the dead he is alive and Kyle is going to come out and read from Matthew chapter 28 from verses 1 to verse 8 so so now after the

[20:03] Sabbath as the first day of the week began to dawn Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb and behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it his countenance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow and the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men but the angel answered and said to the woman do not be afraid for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified he is not here for he is risen and as he said come to the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and indeed he is going before you into Galilee there you will see him behold I have told you so they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word thank you Kyle so let's make sure we've got this in our minds

[21:09] Easter is all about seeing who was crucified for us but who is he's alive he is risen he is risen from the dead now boys and girls for lots of us and even for yourselves some of you know this when somebody dies that we love it changes everything it really hurts us it changes everything in a family it changes everything and it changes everyone except Jesus because even though he was dead death couldn't hold him Lois come out here a wee second please you're not getting around don't worry see if I take hold of Lois and then I say to Lois right escape

[22:15] Lois escape get away try and get away try and get away could she escape nor she could I could hold her because I'm still a wee bit stronger than her if I ask murder fire her to the mouth and we do the same exercise it's not it's not going to go it's not going to go so well for me Jesus died on the cross and then he went in a cave that's right Michael and tonight we're going to be thinking more about that Jesus died on a cross and his body went into the tomb but is that where it ended Michael yeah and then he burst out the door yeah like a shiny knife because he is alive and you can have an egg now for speaking and now for being quiet here we go there's actually two there boys and girls there's more there's more where that comes from so I can take hold of Lewis and I can hang on to her she can't escape but if I try to take hold of

[23:44] Murdo Farrakhar or Gordon or Stuart or various people Taffy I wouldn't have a hope because they're stronger than me and Jesus is stronger than death death makes us sad and we can think about people that we loved and we wish they were here today and they're not here that makes us sad but the good news the happy news is Jesus is stronger than death he is stronger than the devil he is stronger than our sin and the resurrection which is the long word for talking about Jesus coming alive again shows us how strong he is he is alive and he does not change not even death changes Jesus because he goes on and on forever with that forever life and the boys and girls are going to come out now and they're going to sing two songs for us the first one is

[24:54] I am the Lord and I do not change and the second one is God's not dead no he is alive I am the Lord I am the Lord and I do not change I am the Lord and I do not change I am my ownadows over here when the church não looks at me I am a great teacher Thank you.

[26:22] Thank you.

[26:52] Thank you.

[27:22] Thank you.

[27:52] Thank you.

[28:22] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, boys and girls.

[28:35] That was excellent. So, let's make sure this is in our heads properly.

[28:52] Easter is all about seeing who was crucified but who is alive.

[29:05] Is that what it finishes? What else does it say? Who is to come. He is to come.

[29:18] I wonder what that could mean. He is still to come. See, this is the book where actually the Easter story becomes not just about Jesus but also about you and me.

[29:36] Because God is a God who likes us to speak to him and to listen to him and to trust him. And he was here in this world Jesus, God the Son.

[29:51] And he lived for us and he died for us. And then he is alive. He rose from the dead. But he has told us he is to come.

[30:05] And that's good news for us if we are trusting Jesus. You know, boys and girls, I could tell you I have a whole box of chocolate eggs and chews.

[30:20] Is that good news? Is that good news? Mm-hmm. But then I could say and I'm closing the lid and I'm locking the box and I'm putting that away in the cupboard.

[30:34] Is that good news? No. So what if I say I have a box full of chocolate eggs and sweets and I want to share them with you.

[30:44] Is that good news? Yes. It's good news for you, isn't it? And the Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified for us.

[30:55] And the Bible tells us that Jesus is alive. And the Bible tells us that Jesus is to come.

[31:08] David. Yes. Yes. Well, do you know what?

[31:37] I can tell you about an even bigger prize than that. An even bigger prize than that. Jesus is coming back to this world. That's what he's told us.

[31:48] And Jesus has told us that those who believe in him, those who trust him, that have their sins all forgiven, all their sins wiped clean, and he's promised that when he comes back, he's coming back to share with us the everlasting life that he has shown us in the resurrection.

[32:09] Just like I'm saying, I want to share all this good stuff with you, Jesus has promised in the Bible that when he comes back, he's going to share his forever life with us.

[32:25] And we're going to sing about that just now. from Psalm 16. Psalm 16. The words will be on the screen in just a minute, hopefully.

[32:37] Psalm 16, and verses 10 and 11. And we're singing this in Gala. And it says there, This is complicated, boys and girls, but I'll explain it in just one second, okay?

[33:03] You will show me the path of life, of joys to this full store, before thy face at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.

[33:14] So, we'll remain seated to sing these two verses in Gala. You don't usually hear this bit of the service, boys and girls, so listen to this and we'll think about the words in just a second before we finish.

[33:27] Adhan schonmui ang-haqla yers man am hithume amahini. Adhancha Amo'ai Uh systems a a a te c o JENNA pero están del dios Tokenshola.

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[35:00] A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

[36:00] A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

[37:01] A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

[38:01] A A A and when he comes back he is going to bring that everlasting life that he has shown us and those that we have loved and who have died will rise back up and we'll see them and we'll be together with them and with the Lord forever if we're trusting in him we're going to hear that read by Anna I think 1 Thessalonians 4 just a couple of verses to finish for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first after that we were still alive and our last will be caught up together with them in the cross to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever therefore encourage each other with these words so boys and girls

[39:11] Easter is all about seeing we hear you Easter is all about seeing who was and who is and who is to come back and he will give everlasting life to everyone who is trusting in him he will share his forever life with us if we believe in him so let's pray and ask that we will be believing in him heavenly father we thank you again for the message of the gospel the good news the fact that Jesus your son came into this world and he lived for us and he died for us and he rose we thank you that Jesus was in this world he was crucified but he is alive and he is coming back and we pray Lord that we would be ready for that day when Jesus comes back we pray that we would be believing in him and Lord that we would be those who share with him in that everlasting life that we see in him and we thank him for on this Easter day so give us faith whether we are very young or whether we are old to trust in Jesus to turn away from our sin and to know that he is our Lord and our Saviour and we pray this in Jesus name

[40:53]  Amen a box of chocolate eggs and distribute these with some equality and fairness and please if you are able to stay behind there is tea and there is coffee just through in the hall and it would be great to see as many as possible and now let's close with the denomination and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all both now and forevermore Amen Amen Amen You You You You You