On a Cold April Morning  

Because he lives  

Roll the Stone  

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Christ Arose

Because He Lives

He Lives

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder

Mark 16:1-8 The Best Part About Being Resurrected "And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted:  Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified:  he is risen:  he is not here:  behold the place where they laid him."  - Mark 16:6     The best part about being resurrected is the opportunity to love.    1. Lay aside our fears  2. Look for Jesus  3. He is alive   Through this passage of scripture, we are invited to embrace the opportunities to love inherit within each new day, forever.  This is what I'm preaching to myself about:   We are so easily paralyzed by fears of what the future may bring.  We look to Jesus in our thoughts, feelings, activities, and relationships because He offers forgiveness, confidence, strength, and eternal life.   We affirm the Resurrection as a central concept in our belief systems, but what we need even more is to experience the Resurrection as a central perception in our daily attitude.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to permeate every aspect of our lives and bring our whole being to life.    To the extent we allow the Resurrection power to influence our decisions, the eternal life we seek in Christ becomes a daily experience.

John 20:1-9 or 1-18  Rolled Away "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre."  - John 20:1 The stone was already rolled away. 1.  The tomb had been sealed with a stone. 2.  Jesus' friends went to the tomb expecting painful difficulties. 3.  God had already made other arrangements to roll the stone away. We celebrate the Resurrection with wonder and amazement.  He is alive!

Quotes & Notes 

• But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.   - St. Paul, Epistle to the Romans 8:11
• Nothing is more explicit in the New Testament than the resurrection of Christ which, with resurrection in general, is mentioned almost 150 times.  - Herbert Lockyer, All the Miracles of the Bible
• His friends could not have stolen it [his body] and His foes would not have done so.   - C.E. Graham Swift, New Bible Commentary, p.246
• The [post resurrection appearances] were - and are - problematic because, unlike the earthly life, the appearances were not public, verifiable events but were confined to a few.  This is the only "evidence" we have for the resurrection.  No one else can see the risen Christ as the original witnesses saw him.  Subsequent visions there have certainly been, but they are different in function, if no in character, as subjective experiences. 

- Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching the Lectionary, p.250 
• The discovery of the empty tomb is made by the women who were the crucifixion witnesses. 

- Lindsey P. Pherigo, Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary, p.670

Selected Writings 
 

Resource Collections 
 

Commentary Texts 

Gospel Reading (Mark 16:1-8, Common and Episcopal) 
• Calvin, John
• Darby, John N. 
• Geneva Study Bible, 1599 
• Gill, John
• Henry, Matthew 
• Jamieson-Fausset-Brown 
• Wesley, John

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