Sermon: Pascha Nostrum
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Quotes for Reflection
N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Easter
The church, the followers of Jesus Christ, live in the bright interval between Easter and the final great consummation. Let's make no mistake either way. The reason the early Christians were so joyful was because they knew themselves to be living not so much in the last days (that that was true too) as in the first days - the opening days of God's new creation. What Jesus did was not a mere example of something else, not a mere manifestation of some larger truth; it was itself the climatic event and fact of cosmic history.
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Ultimately the only way that I can be myself is to become identified with Him in Whom is hidden the reason and fulfillment of my existence. Therefore there is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace and my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find Him.
Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor
Christians should be aware of this revolutionary understanding of the purpose of their work in the world. We are not to choose jobs and conduct our work to fulfill ourselves and accrue power, for being called by God to do something is empowering enough. We are to see work as a way of service to God and our neighbor, and so we should both choose and conduct our work in accordance with that purpose. The question regarding our choice of work is no longer “What will make me the most money and give me the most status?” The question must now be “How, with my existing abilities and opportunities, can I be of greatest service to other people, knowing what I do of God’s will and of human need?
Application Questions
1. What has Easter meant to you in the past and how might that change after today?
2. What is one area in your life where you need to consider yourself dead to sin and what would it look like to be alive in Christ?
3. What flag can you plant in the soil of your vocation that signals there’s a different way to be human, a gospel way?