In His Service

                                                    “I Have Seen The Lord” John 20:18-29, Luke 24:18-35 Imagine, the adrenaline rush, the pep-to-your-step, the “Breaking News", when Jesus suddenly appears and you finally recognize him, the One who was sent from God the Father to bring salvation to all who will believe. These are the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection testimonies. Let’s begin with the first portion of our text from Luke’s gospel. “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?”...

       He Is Risen! John 20:1-18 The resurrection of Jesus was still not ascertainable to those who had heard and seen Jesus. The grief of Jesus’ death was still weighing on them all. Understanding and discernment of the Lord’s words were pushed aside by the trauma of his death, suppressing their memories of Jesus’ words of rising back to life on the third day, “ We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” (Matt. 20:18-19) Let’s look at the first portion of the text, “ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord ou...

           Three Days In Hades! John 19:31-42, 20:1-9 Death, something many have feared, and the enemy of God had propagated and encouraged was about to be defeated in ways only God could do. The religious leaders wanted to rid themselves of this Jesus dilemma once and for all. For Jesus had been killed on Passover and the Preparation day for Unleavened Bread feast. Let’s begin with the first portion of the text, “ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudd...