Risen Indeed!

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St.

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Mark, Chapter 16, verses 1 through 8. When the

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Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome, brought spices so that they might go and anoint

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Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?

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But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed.

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Do not be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He is risen.

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He's not here. See the place where they laid him. Go and tell his disciples and Peter, he is going ahead of you into Galilee.

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There you will see him just as he told you. Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.

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They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Christ is risen.

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In the name of Jesus. So this is an interesting day in the church year and the reason

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I say it's interesting is because you're either going to hear Christ crucified and risen for your sins if you go to church or you're going to hear something completely different.

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Now I note this fact that there are many pastors today who don't believe that Jesus rose bodily from the grave and they hide their unbelief in strange

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Easter sermons. Strange Easter sermons that kind of go something like this. And so we've read in the gospel text today that Jesus has risen from the grave.

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But what does that mean? What does that mean exactly? Well it means that Jesus has the power to resurrect the dead dreams in your life.

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Or if you do have a dead relationship, are things going terribly with the missus, well there's resurrection power for your marriage.

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How about your dead finances? Are you up to your eyeballs in debt? Well that's death, you know.

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And clearly your finances are buried in a tomb. But Jesus has come to open up the tomb of your finances and make you healthy, wealthy and wise.

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Clearly pastors who preach like this have become so earthly minded that they're of no heavenly good.

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So let me ask you a question this morning. Is there anyone here who has figured out how to cheat death?

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Show of hands. No? Okay. Now I don't mean to sound, well, depressing.

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But if you noticed here at Kongsvinger, over on that side of the church, there's more people over there than there are right here.

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Right? Yeah. The graveyard is only getting more inhabitants, if you would.

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So none of us has figured out how to cheat death, but see that's the thing. Jesus did cheat death.

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Now I would point you this morning to our epistle text in 1 Corinthians 15, and we're going to fill out a little bit of this.

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And let's take a look at what the text says. Paul writing to the church in Corinth says, now brothers, and by the way,

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I know we live in a time when political correctness says that whenever somebody says the word brothers, they have to also mean sisters.

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If anyone says mankind, they really mean humanity because somehow these words that were used in the past somehow try to exclude women.

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When it talks like this, it includes all of us. So brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel, which

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I preached to you. Gospel. What a great word. We've all heard it, and we've heard it used in kind of strange contexts.

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We all know about gospel music, right? What's gospel music? Well, it's a particular genre of music, but that's not how

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Paul's using this term. The term euangelion, it means good news, and it's really, really good news.

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And so here's the idea. I want to remind you of the good news that I preached to you, which you received on in which you have taken your stand.

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Now we're in a Lutheran church, and in the Lutheran church, we oftentimes talk about Martin Luther at the time of the reformation, when he was called on the carpet regarding him basically repudiating and denying all the things that he was saying in his books at the

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Diet of Worms, spelled W -O -R -M -S, which is a weird way to think about things in English, but it's pronounced

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Worms because otherwise it's the Diet of Worms, and that does not sound like a good diet, okay? But he was told to recant all the things that he had written, and he basically said, it is not safe to go against conscience.

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Here I stand, I can do no other. And Luther, you know, they'll see statues of Luther or pictures of Luther standing there with a, here

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I stand, you know, it's a big moment, right? But see, Luther is so uncreative.

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He got this from Paul. Here's what Paul says, remind you of the gospel that I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

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You are standing, if you believe this gospel, on some very important promises.

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So here is what Paul says, by this gospel, you are saved. Saved. Saved from what?

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A bad hair day? Bad finances? Poor relationships? What exactly are you being saved from?

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Well, Paul's not talking about something as trivial as that. He's talking about being saved from the soon -to -be -revealed wrath of God when

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Jesus returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. We all know that we're all going to die someday, and we all know that we're going to stand before Jesus someday.

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And trust me when I tell you this, the last thing you want when standing before Jesus is have to give an accounting of the things that you've done in your life.

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I know I don't want to have to give an accounting, because when I look at the math, it doesn't stack up very well for me.

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But this is why it's good news. By this gospel, you are saved.

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If you hold firmly to the word that I preached to you, otherwise you have believed in vain. For what

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I received, I pass on to you as of first importance. Are you ready? Remember those commercials that they had a few years back?

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The guy who had E .F. Hutton as his financial advisor. Remember those commercials? Two people would be talking and say, yeah,

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I was talking to my financial advisor, E .F. Hutton, and all of a sudden, they're in this restaurant, and everyone just stops and goes.

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Right? They have to listen. E .F. Hutton is giving advice. Well, think of it this way, which

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I've passed on to you as of first importance. What I received, listen carefully,

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Christ died for our sins. That's right.

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Every single one of them. From the sin that you were, well, credited with, the sin of Adam and Eve that was given to you, reckoned to you, and you were born dead in trespasses and sins, to the last sin that you commit as you draw your final breath here on earth.

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Christ has died for every single one of them. So Christ died for our sins.

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He was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

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And then he appeared to Peter, and to the twelve, and after that, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

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And see, that's the good news. We are truly saved by what Christ has done for us.

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He's done it all. And one of the ways in which we know that this is absolutely true is because Jesus did something that nobody else has ever done.

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He actually conquered death. He was graveyard dead on Friday afternoon when he cried out, it is finished.

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Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit and then gave up his spirit and he died. The Roman soldiers were kind of a little bit surprised at how quickly he died, but just to make sure, one of the

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Roman soldiers took his lance and shoved it up into Jesus' cavity right here under his heart, and out came blood and water.

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He was graveyard dead. But on the third day, he rose, and I mean rose bodily from the grave, rose in such a way that he was able to eat fish and food with other people, rose in such a way that when he appeared to the disciples, they said, ah, it's a ghost.

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And he said, no, a ghost, a spirit doesn't have flesh and blood as you see that I have.

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He rose from the grave. And he sat there and go, but nobody has ever done that.

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Right. That's kind of the point. But he did. You know, if you know the story of Harry Houdini, I'll remember the escape artist,

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Harry Houdini. Once a year, there is a seance held. I think it's held every year on the anniversary of Harry Houdini's death.

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And Harry Houdini basically asked his family and friends to hold the seance and to see if he can actually conquer death because he says, if I can,

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I'm going to appear on that day, you know, on that one of those anniversary days, you know, during the seance.

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And well, Harry Houdini continues to not be able to escape the jaws of death.

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The one trap Harry Houdini has never been able to escape from. Christ did.

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He conquered it. And he did it for you. And he did it for me. Now, Paul continues verse 12.

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But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?

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Oh, you think this is a problem that exists just today? There's plenty of pastors and preachers and Christians who say,

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I don't know if you really are finally from the dead. Right? Well, this is what Paul says. How can some of you?

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But if it's preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there's no resurrection of the dead, then not even

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Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless.

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Bupkis amounts to nothing. It's a hill of beans. You might as well be sleeping in this morning.

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If Christ has not been raised from the dead, you've got better things to do on a Sunday because he's, well, just like everybody else.

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If Christ hasn't been raised from the dead, he really didn't die for your sins. And that's kind of Paul's point. More than that, we're found to be false witnesses about God, for we've testified about God that he raised

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Christ from the dead. But God did not raise him if, in fact, the dead are not raised.

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For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.

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It's doo -doo, and you are still in your sins. And those also who have fallen asleep in Christ, they are lost.

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Does the apostle Paul sound like it's possible for you to believe that Jesus didn't really rise bodily from the grave, but somehow there's some kind of moral lesson that we can apply to our lives if we don't believe that Jesus rose?

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No! The Bible's clear. If Jesus didn't actually conquer death, he isn't who he claimed to be, you're still dead in your sins, and you might as well party like it's 1999 because you're going to die soon anyway.

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Cold hard reality. But Paul says this, if only for this life we have hope in Christ, well, then we are to be pitied more than all men.

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You see, Jesus came to solve a very specific problem. And the problem he came to solve was not your bad hair days, or how poorly your relationships are going, or how much debt you're in, or any such nonsense.

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Instead, Jesus came to actually solve the one problem that really matters, and the one that we all face. That is that we are all dying.

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I've been around death long enough to know just how depressing it is. Last year,

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I lost my best friend. Put me into mourning for the better part of a month.

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I did my best not to let it show when I was preaching from the pulpit, but get me home after church, and I was in a funk.

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Death stinks. It takes our loved ones from us. And oftentimes we try to comfort ourselves by saying things like, well, at least that person's no longer suffering.

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But I think that's just all some talk that we talk to ourself, to somehow find a way to take all of this pain and suffering that we're going through, because death really stinks.

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Put it into a box and try to find a way that we can stop thinking about it. Because when you're in the middle of your pain and suffering and mourning, it hurts like you wouldn't believe.

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There's sorrow. There's sadness. It's difficult to think. Time slows down, and then you get angry.

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You get angry at the situation, and you even get angry at God. This is what happens. Any of us who've been around death know exactly what

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I'm talking about. We've all been there. We've all done that. And the reality is that if this hasn't affected you, just give it time.

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Because death is no respecter of persons. Death visits the old and the young.

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It doesn't matter. In fact, each and every one of us are just a heartbeat away from our appointment with death.

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And the reality is that once we draw our last, Scripture says it is appointed once for man to live and die, and then face the judgment.

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So Jesus came to solve the real problem that we have. And that's the core problem.

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The problem of our sin and our rebellion against God. And if God gave us all what we deserve, then each and every one of us are ungodly and truly deserve a devil's hell.

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There's none of us, not one of us, that can say, oh, well, I'm a good person. Well, I've got news for you, friend.

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Jesus didn't die for good people. He died for sinners. This is why

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Paul says, if only for this life we have hope in Christ, well, then we are to be pitied more than all men.

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In other words, the problem that Jesus came to solve is not a temporal one. It's an eternal one. Then he says this, but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

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He has. He actually conquered it. This is not a myth. This is not legend.

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This is history, and this is fact. And Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

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Notice what he says. First fruits. Jesus is the down payment and guaranteeing the inheritance.

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He's the first of the new creation, and the new creation is coming in total.

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For since death came through a man, that would be our parents, Adam and Eve, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

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For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

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But each in his own turn. Christ is the first fruits. Then when he comes, those who belong to him, then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God, the father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.

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For he, Christ, must reign until he has put all of his enemies under his feet.

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And notice what the text says. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

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Death is not our friend. Death is our mortal enemy, and that's not a play on words.

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At the very end, Christ will take death itself, that last enemy, and he will destroy it.

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And those who are in Christ, you baptized believers in Jesus, who've had your sins washed away, who have been made, had your filthy garments made white in the blood of the lamb.

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You will never face God's wrath. You will live eternally with him because he lives.

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He, and when he returns, he's going to destroy death. And for us, it is life everlasting.

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Jesus in John chapter 11 says this. I am the resurrection and the life.

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Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

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Do you believe this? Do you believe it?

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Jesus never lies. He conquered death. John chapter 3, Jesus says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

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You don't have to earn it. Not a thing that you can do to pay for it. It's all done for you and given to you as a gift by the gracious mercy and love and kindness of our heavenly father.

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If you tried to earn it, then you really insult God because he gives it away as a gift.

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Do you believe? For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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Whoever believes in him is not condemned. Whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.

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And this is the judgment. Light has come into the world and Jesus is the light and people.

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Well, they love darkness rather than light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

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But whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

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Verse 36 of the same chapter, whoever believes in the son has eternal life.

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Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. So it's a matter of life and death.

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It's a matter of your life and your death at this point. Christ has bled and died for your sins, and he is raised again from the grave, proving that he is who he claimed to be, the very son of God in human flesh, and that his sacrifice for our sins was accepted by God, the father.

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So believe, trust in this Jesus, repent of your sins and your wickedness.

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Believe that he bled and died for you. And you have now, presently, eternal life.

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And so we come to our text again from the gospel. It says this, that Mary, Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Salome, bought spices so that they might go to anoint

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Jesus's body very early on the first day of the week. It was a Sunday. Just after the sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and asked each other who will roll away the stone from the entrance.

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They looked and they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. They entered the tomb.

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They saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. Don't be alarmed, he said.

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You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who was crucified. Notice, even the angel here makes it clear that Jesus is the one now who was crucified.

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He is forever your crucified savior. Forever he is the crucified, and he's crucified for you.

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But he is risen. He is not here. Why? Because he rose bodily, just as he said.

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See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter he's going ahead of you into Galilee.

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Now you, after you leave here, you go, you tell Oslo, you tell Alvarado, you tell

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Warren, you tell Grand Forks. Tell them all that Christ is risen. That he's bled and died and rose again from the grave and conquered death and the devil, and he's done it for you and for your sins.

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Let them know the good news that there is life in Jesus Christ and that the grave doesn't have the final say.

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Even that mortal enemy of ours, the grave, he will take that thing and destroy it on the last day.

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And the day is coming when there will be no death. And those of us in Christ will live eternally face to face with the glorified risen son of God who bled and died for you and me and conquered death for you and for me.

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Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. And again, that address is

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