The Day Grace Came

Luke 24:1-12
 

 “There’s a story of a little boy who was not happy about going to church on Easter Sunday. His shoes were too tight, his tie pinched his neck, and the weather was way too nice to be cooped up inside a church…. As he sulked in the back seat, his parents heard him mutter; “I don’t know why we have to go to church on Easter anyway, they keep telling the same old story and it always comes out the same in the end.”

Prayer:

Please watch this video by Skit Guys.

-       Mike is a recovering alcoholic and would often go into the worship space to pray and ask    
    God to forgive him. He once told me that he wonders if God could ever forgive him of all the
    bad things he's done.

-       Joann struggled at believing she was worth anything as a person… she was abused by her
     father as a child and as I listened to her she contemplates suicide. She wonders how God
     could love someone like her.

-       Chuck has a degenerative eye disease and has become blind. He struggles to find   
     self-worth. He says, “How can I live and work when I can’t see? One day he ran into another
     person and fell. The other person noticing he was blind and yelled at him saying, “you’re a
     worthless ________ and you shouldn’t be out by your-self.

-       A woman is angry that her young husband dies and leaves her alone. She is angry with
     doctors for not doing more and accused them of making mistakes. She asks God why he let
     this happen. God why would you do this to me? Why do you hate me?

-       Peter was standing by a fire pit and people were coming up to him asking if he belonged
     this guy named Jesus. Peter denied it over and over. Peter believed he didn’t deserve 
     forgiveness because what he did was unforgivable.

In all these stories we hear of struggle and doubt. Peter, Thomas… in fact all of Jesus’ friends struggled with the resurrection… We struggle with how God dispenses his forgiveness and grace. All of us have had regrettable experiences… all of us are broken and yet in our life stories it’s really not about us or them… But about Jesus’ love for us.

In all of these stories these people experienced God’s love and forgiveness and with God’s help are walking a path of redemption and resurrection. You see… It’s what Jesus did on Friday that TAKES the unforgivable and MAKES it forgivable. On Friday grace came and today Easter Sunday we celebrate that Grace and love are possible…. Forgiveness is possible.

Today is Easter and “You Are Loved”

 This is the story of Easter and Forgiveness and Grace…that God has come and love is made possible. Today is Easter and love is present. It is Easter and you are loved in an inconceivable, irrevocable, and uncanny way by a God who created you for His purpose. It is Easter and we are infected with the possibility to love… we are capable of love… we have the capacity to love… a pervasive desire to love. It might not be at the forefront of our psyche… It may not appear to be a driving force in our lives… But I’m here to tell you… IT IS THERE!!!

Love and Forgiveness is here!

It is Easter and you are forgiven and made to love… and my friends… You are good at it!

This is the message today… Easter Sunday… It’s Easter and you are loved and you are forgiven because today is the day that GRACE came.

See You Out On The Road