Good Morning! Welcome to the Northeast Church of Christ. We are blessed to have you with us this morning. As you enter the auditorium this morning you can expect a few things. Announcements are found within this bulletin as well as some on the screens at the front of the auditorium. Worship will begin at the top of the hour with some songs, prayers, Communion, the reading of scripture, and a sermon from our minister. During the sermon there will be an opportunity for children ages 2 through Kindergarten to participate in Children’s Worship downstairs. We are excited to see you this morning and hope you feel welcomed today!
If you have read this far you know what to expect this Sunday Morning. It is a nice thing to know what is coming up next. Knowing what to expect is a comfort thing for us. Many of us find peace in knowing what to expect and when things deviate away from that we also deviate away from the feeling of peace. In Luke 24, the story opens up with some women who went to the tomb of Jesus with some spices they had prepared. What do you think they expected to see when they arrived at the grave that day?
Likely, they would have expected the stone at the entrance of the tomb to be there and once they opened the tomb, they expected to see the body of Jesus. Luke 24:2-3 tells us what they actually see. They arrive and the tomb is open! Not only that, Jesus is not there. A few verses later it tells us that some men appeared and asked them, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” (Luke 24:5-7)
When they had gone to the tomb they expected it to be sealed, instead they saw the stone rolled away and that our Savior had been raised from the dead. Jesus had told his followers many times that he would rise from the dead (9:22,44; 18:31-34) and that is exactly what Jesus did. This morning as we worship, we encourage you to think about the importance of our risen Savior. Sometimes we take for granted the importance of the open tomb and the risen Savior. What does the open tomb and the risen Savior mean to you? It is important for us to regularly reflect upon the Resurrection of Jesus and what that means to us. Instead of living in a world of uncertainty we can live certain of what to expect not only in this life but the one to come as well.
Be Blessed,
Mark Casella