Easter 2023 (Chantilly)

A Reasonable Hope

John 20:1-4 CSB – On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”

³ At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb.

 ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first.

John 20:6-7 CSB – Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself.

John 20:8-9 CSB – The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. ⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.

Chronological Snobbery: “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.” – C.S. Lewis

“Christian faith is obviously more than reasoning, but it is not less.” – Tim Keller

“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always easy to penetrate. The real labor is to remember to attend. In fact to come awake. Still more to remain awake.” – C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm

Consider Mary Magdalene

1 Corinthians 15:3b-6 CSB – Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

Consider Peter and John

John 20:28 CSB – Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!”

A Merciful Hope

John 20:11 CSB – But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb.

Luke 9:22 CSB – “It is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.”

John 20:14 CSB – Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. ¹⁵ “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?”

Jesus Pursues Mary

Psalm 23:6 CSB – 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;

Romans 5:8 CSB – But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus entrusts Mary with His mission

John 20:16-18 CSB – Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”—which means “Teacher.”

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.

2 Corinthians 4:1 CSB – Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up

A Confident Hope

Friday, reach out to Godly friends

Matthew 26:36-38 CSB – Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” ³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed,

Galatians 6:2 CSB – Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Saturday, pray & hold God’s promises

Psalm 27:14 CSB – Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.

Matthew 26:41 CSB – Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

God’s Promises

• Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He WILL direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
• The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…. He leads me down paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23
• I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
• be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58,
• And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Sunday, celebrate!

Philippians 3:10 CSB – I want to know the power of the resurrection.

Ephesians 1:18-20 CSB – Paul says that he prays that we will know the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power…He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens…

A Transformative Hope

1 John 4:7-9 CSB – Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 CSB – Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, ⁵ is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. ⁶ Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.