We really cannot explain how much better Jesus is because we don’t have that capacity and have a limited vocabulary. All we really can say is that He is better than anything we know or have or have seen. The only word left is, Amen.
Greg Harvey
Credit my daughter Kelsey with bringing it to my attention.
It reminded me immediately of the argumentation in Hebrews.
Happy Easter Sunday to all you wonderful folks on SBC Voices.
Jess Alford
Take away the music and add an invitation and we have a perfect sermon.
Christiane
Christ is Risen
Alleluia
Found the following from Trevin Wax’s blog:
“Let no one lament persistent failings, for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free.
The Lord has destroyed death by enduring it.
The Lord vanquished hell when he descended into it.
The Lord put hell in turmoil even as it tasted of his flesh.
Hell was in turmoil having been eclipsed.
Hell was in turmoil having been mocked.
Hell was in turmoil having been destroyed.
Hell was in turmoil having been abolished.
Hell was in turmoil having been made captive.
Hell grasped a corpse, and met God.
Hell seized earth, and encountered Heaven.
Hell took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?
Christ is risen, and you are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead.
— John Chrysostom
An Easter Sermon
A blessed Easter to all at SBCvoices – Rejoice, and give thanks, He is Risen.
Chief Katie
“… and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, where HE IS NO LONGER”.
Jesus is not only better; He is best. Listening to this inspiring and motivating clip reminded me of those particular times in my life, when I encountered Jesus. The first in conversion, seeing Jesus standing before me, facing me, with hand raised like He was knocking. The morning in the seminary apartment, when Jesus was there, invisible, and yet more present than if He had stood before and with me in the flesh, an experience that lasted for about a half-hour. There was the dream of standing in a semi-circle of people with my wife around Jesus, the Jesus of the temple as a young lad, and we were telling Him of our tragedies (I had lost four members of my family in a terrible murder-suicide event). Then He was telling us how He saw those same tragedies, and we were laughing (a happy laughter, not a sick laughter. Like we had heard the only thing that could ever explain such evils. But what He said, I don’t know.). Suddenly, I thought, “This is the Lord! What am I doing standing here talking to Him?” With that I dove at His feet and woke up. Another time I saw the four people standing with arms outreached, looking up, like they were beholding the face of God. There was also the image of Jesus walking in the clouds above a traffic circle, wearing green and white robes, and He had an angry look on His face. I took it to mean that I would be leaving that place, and I did. Another visitation was when He showed me the three men who were building the building that holds my library, and He said, “They are doing this for me.” Finally, there is the silence, the sound of silence, the still small voice of Elijah’s experience, when I have pleaded for an answer to my present situation that has continued unchanged for 16 years. There is also the sound of silence in response to the nearly forty years of prayer for a Third Great Awakening, the one in which every soul shall be won to Christ, and that shall continue for a 1000 generations. At the same time, there has been a resurgence of the theology of the Awakenings and of the Launching of the Great Missionary Effort, the theology of Sovereign Grace, of Calvinism (though I do not like that term). There has also been the resurgence of churches in the large cities where I have prayed for them by name for years…and all around the world it seems. There is also the grief of arrogance of the young Calvinists, and there is the pain of misrepresentation and outright hostility and hatred of those who are so adamantly opposed to the doctrines of grace.
But when I think of the promises of Holy Scripture which Jonathan Edwards recorded with such telling effect as to produce the Second Great Awakening and the Modern Missionary Movement fathered by one who pleaded those promises, William Carey, and when I think of Adoniram Judson’s statement, when his mission cause was at its lowest ebb, “The cause is as bright at the promises of God.” I am also encouraged by the thought of John Paton going to the South Sea Islands, along with others, who won the cannibals to Christ, and when I think of the Veterans of World War II saying that if they were shot down or if their ship sank, they wanted to make it to an island where the missionaries had been, for that would mean they would be the guests for dinner instead of being the dinner.
And then I think of God’s compassionate sense of humor in Rev.7:9, words uttered to cheer those in the depths of persecution, like cheering the special forces in the midst of a terrible operation that is going seemingly badly.
Greg Harvey
Yes. But understatement is just as impactful as overstatement. And in Jesus’s case I suspect he understands which one we mean.
Christiane
We don’t have the capacity to ‘over-state’ in this case.
Greg Harvey
Sure we can. We can overstate our belief in the effort to convince others how righteous we are. It happens all the time.
Christiane
perhaps we are speaking about different things . . .
Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? Easter was not a bright and shining time for me, though actually I celebrate Easter every Sunday and have reasons to give thanks for even that worldly holiday that at least brings a good crowd to church on one Lord’s Day. Many years ago my wife handed me a paper and said, “I think you had better read this.” It was a drawing with a written comment by our then eight year old son on the subject, “What Easter Means me.” I still have the item with copies of it. It stated that he likef the Easter Bunny and the eggs and candy, but, he wrote, “Easter means to me ‘Christ dying on the Cross for my sins.'” (this is from memory) When I asked the young man, what he meant by that statement, he replied, “That is what I was trying to tell you about back in that revival (one I had preached in a sister church in the association some 2.5 years prviously), when I said the Lord touched my heart.” The result of that Eastern School assignment led to a converts class for our son and our daughter (she spoke up at that time and said she to had received the Lord..she was 9 years older than our son) and to their being baptized. I would have missed all of that had I taken my own life back in ’68, and, today, though my Easter was not the best, I am comforted to know our son will baptize his 12 year old daughter who made a profession of faith at a State Convention Youth meeting. He plans to baptize her on April 14th, the 14th anniversary of his call to the church he has served ever since April of ’99, one month before his graduation from SEBTS..
I am humbled by the thought of what God can do and does. I am even more humbled by the fact that He does it when, if, and where and how He sees fit. Like the folks of Caesarea, we must say, “The will of the Lord be done.”(Acts21:14). And Praises to His Holy Name and His blessings on you Christiane, David M., Adam, Bruce, Greg, David R., and Chief Katie.
Amen.
We really cannot explain how much better Jesus is because we don’t have that capacity and have a limited vocabulary. All we really can say is that He is better than anything we know or have or have seen. The only word left is, Amen.
Credit my daughter Kelsey with bringing it to my attention.
It reminded me immediately of the argumentation in Hebrews.
And strangely, some of these concepts found their way into my sermon this morning, Greg.
Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!
That whole video is finding its way into my sermon next week when I start that “Follow” series…
Good stuff. Thank you.
Happy Easter Sunday to all you wonderful folks on SBC Voices.
Take away the music and add an invitation and we have a perfect sermon.
Christ is Risen
Alleluia
Found the following from Trevin Wax’s blog:
“Let no one lament persistent failings, for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free.
The Lord has destroyed death by enduring it.
The Lord vanquished hell when he descended into it.
The Lord put hell in turmoil even as it tasted of his flesh.
Hell was in turmoil having been eclipsed.
Hell was in turmoil having been mocked.
Hell was in turmoil having been destroyed.
Hell was in turmoil having been abolished.
Hell was in turmoil having been made captive.
Hell grasped a corpse, and met God.
Hell seized earth, and encountered Heaven.
Hell took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?
Christ is risen, and you are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead.
— John Chrysostom
An Easter Sermon
A blessed Easter to all at SBCvoices – Rejoice, and give thanks, He is Risen.
“… and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, where HE IS NO LONGER”.
Jesus is not only better; He is best. Listening to this inspiring and motivating clip reminded me of those particular times in my life, when I encountered Jesus. The first in conversion, seeing Jesus standing before me, facing me, with hand raised like He was knocking. The morning in the seminary apartment, when Jesus was there, invisible, and yet more present than if He had stood before and with me in the flesh, an experience that lasted for about a half-hour. There was the dream of standing in a semi-circle of people with my wife around Jesus, the Jesus of the temple as a young lad, and we were telling Him of our tragedies (I had lost four members of my family in a terrible murder-suicide event). Then He was telling us how He saw those same tragedies, and we were laughing (a happy laughter, not a sick laughter. Like we had heard the only thing that could ever explain such evils. But what He said, I don’t know.). Suddenly, I thought, “This is the Lord! What am I doing standing here talking to Him?” With that I dove at His feet and woke up. Another time I saw the four people standing with arms outreached, looking up, like they were beholding the face of God. There was also the image of Jesus walking in the clouds above a traffic circle, wearing green and white robes, and He had an angry look on His face. I took it to mean that I would be leaving that place, and I did. Another visitation was when He showed me the three men who were building the building that holds my library, and He said, “They are doing this for me.” Finally, there is the silence, the sound of silence, the still small voice of Elijah’s experience, when I have pleaded for an answer to my present situation that has continued unchanged for 16 years. There is also the sound of silence in response to the nearly forty years of prayer for a Third Great Awakening, the one in which every soul shall be won to Christ, and that shall continue for a 1000 generations. At the same time, there has been a resurgence of the theology of the Awakenings and of the Launching of the Great Missionary Effort, the theology of Sovereign Grace, of Calvinism (though I do not like that term). There has also been the resurgence of churches in the large cities where I have prayed for them by name for years…and all around the world it seems. There is also the grief of arrogance of the young Calvinists, and there is the pain of misrepresentation and outright hostility and hatred of those who are so adamantly opposed to the doctrines of grace.
But when I think of the promises of Holy Scripture which Jonathan Edwards recorded with such telling effect as to produce the Second Great Awakening and the Modern Missionary Movement fathered by one who pleaded those promises, William Carey, and when I think of Adoniram Judson’s statement, when his mission cause was at its lowest ebb, “The cause is as bright at the promises of God.” I am also encouraged by the thought of John Paton going to the South Sea Islands, along with others, who won the cannibals to Christ, and when I think of the Veterans of World War II saying that if they were shot down or if their ship sank, they wanted to make it to an island where the missionaries had been, for that would mean they would be the guests for dinner instead of being the dinner.
And then I think of God’s compassionate sense of humor in Rev.7:9, words uttered to cheer those in the depths of persecution, like cheering the special forces in the midst of a terrible operation that is going seemingly badly.
Yes. But understatement is just as impactful as overstatement. And in Jesus’s case I suspect he understands which one we mean.
We don’t have the capacity to ‘over-state’ in this case.
Sure we can. We can overstate our belief in the effort to convince others how righteous we are. It happens all the time.
perhaps we are speaking about different things . . .
No disagreement on my part, Greg, but behold Christiane who one-ups the whole show.
Excellent understatement, Christiane.
thank you, Dr. Willingham
I hope you had a lovely Easter Sunday. 🙂
God Bless.
Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? Easter was not a bright and shining time for me, though actually I celebrate Easter every Sunday and have reasons to give thanks for even that worldly holiday that at least brings a good crowd to church on one Lord’s Day. Many years ago my wife handed me a paper and said, “I think you had better read this.” It was a drawing with a written comment by our then eight year old son on the subject, “What Easter Means me.” I still have the item with copies of it. It stated that he likef the Easter Bunny and the eggs and candy, but, he wrote, “Easter means to me ‘Christ dying on the Cross for my sins.'” (this is from memory) When I asked the young man, what he meant by that statement, he replied, “That is what I was trying to tell you about back in that revival (one I had preached in a sister church in the association some 2.5 years prviously), when I said the Lord touched my heart.” The result of that Eastern School assignment led to a converts class for our son and our daughter (she spoke up at that time and said she to had received the Lord..she was 9 years older than our son) and to their being baptized. I would have missed all of that had I taken my own life back in ’68, and, today, though my Easter was not the best, I am comforted to know our son will baptize his 12 year old daughter who made a profession of faith at a State Convention Youth meeting. He plans to baptize her on April 14th, the 14th anniversary of his call to the church he has served ever since April of ’99, one month before his graduation from SEBTS..
I am humbled by the thought of what God can do and does. I am even more humbled by the fact that He does it when, if, and where and how He sees fit. Like the folks of Caesarea, we must say, “The will of the Lord be done.”(Acts21:14). And Praises to His Holy Name and His blessings on you Christiane, David M., Adam, Bruce, Greg, David R., and Chief Katie.
Happy Easter everyone!
yep.