Sermon Deuteronomy 5:18 “You Shall Not Commit Adultery”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Deuteronomy 5:18 “You Shall Not Commit Adultery”
New Covenant Church
April 15, 2018

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I am continuing today with our look at the Ten Commandments.   The commandments were written on two stone tablets and placed in the Ark of the Covenant, a box kept in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle.  This was God’s copy of the covenant that God had entered into with his people.   A covenant is an agreement.   One side promises something and the other side promises something else and both parties benefit.    Each party would have a copy of the covenant written usually on a clay tablet or possibly parchment.  God’s copy of this covenant was written on stone tablets, for permanence, and placed in a box inside the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle.   So we know where God’s copy is.   Where is the copy for the people?   Let’s listen as Moses tells the people where their copy is to be kept.

Deuteronomy 27:1  Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands that I give you today. 2 When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. 3 Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. 5 Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them. 6 Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. 8 And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up.”

So the copy of the covenant for the people to use was to be written on plaster-covered stones and placed in a worship center on Mount Ebal.    Did they do it?  When the Hebrews entered the promised land did they put their copy of the covenant on Mount Ebal?   Well, we read this:

Joshua 8:30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.

The copy of God law was written on stones and Mt.  Ebal.  And thankfully the terms of the covenant have been preserved in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy for us.  Let’s pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Deuteronomy 5:1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:  Hear, Israel, the decrees, and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.
18 “You shall not commit adultery.”

In the seventh commandment, God is addressing married folks.   This can be a difficult subject in churches.   Some of us are single and wish we could find a partner.   Some of us have lost partners through death.  Some of us have experienced divorce.  Some of us have been married more than once.   Some of us regret that we married at all.  Some of us act like we are married but have never legally tied the knot.  And our culture is struggling with the idea of same-sex marriages.  The seventh command is for married people and by implication, any couple that has made a long-term commitment.
The seventh commandment prohibits adultery.   Adultery happens whenever a married person has consensual sex with someone other than his or her spouse.  The biblical punishment for adultery was death.

  Deuteronomy 22:22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

The seventh commandment also applies when a couple is betrothed but not yet married.

Deuteronomy 22:23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.

An exception to the seventh commandment was rape.

Deuteronomy 22:25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death.

Why is adultery punished by death?  That seems a little harsh for some out of wedlock sex.  Doesn’t it?   Well, the reason is that adultery is an offense not just to a spouse but also to God.   That makes adultery a sin.    The reason for this is that God’s very first command to his people, long before God gave the 10 Commandment to Moses, was that people should be fruitful and multiply.

Genesis 1:27  So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

So from the very beginning, God has brought a man and a woman together to form one flesh, a new human life.   God blessed his people with sons and daughters that would carry on the work of the family.  And all God required was faithfulness to him and to each other.   The covenant of marriage was modeled on the covenant between God and his people.   Just as God blesses his people and receives faithfulness so to do married couples bless each other and must remain faithful to each other.   Adultery is a breach of the marital covenant God established and therefore an offense against God.

Culture tends to push the limits of the seventh commandment.   In Old Testament times many of the patriarchs and later the kings of Israel and Judah engaged in polygamy, a man with many wives.   But one king, David, went too far.   David used his power to seduce a young woman, Bathsheba, and then murdered her husband to cover up what he had done.  He was confronted with his sin by the prophet Nathan.   And then, filled with remorse, David prayed to God.

Psalm 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.  5 Surely I was sinful at birth and sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.  10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.


David suffered for he had done.   But there is no record of any punishment for Bathsheba.   David had used his power to force her to have sex.   Today Bathsheba would be on TV representing the #metoo movement as a victim of sexual harassment by a powerful man.
 
So adultery is a sin, a crime against God.   Let’s turn now to what Jesus taught us about the seventh commandment.

Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

As we saw last week, Jesus’s concern is with preventing adultery before it gets started.   He is speaking primarily to men.   Jesus wants us to be careful looking at beautiful women.   This is the first step toward an adulterous relationship.  Then comes the second step, touch.   Then you begin falling, tumbling into an offense against God.   Don’t put yourself in situations where this can happen.    Don’t be alone with a woman.   Don’t desire her or try to touch her.   But go home to your wife and enjoy her.

Some of us experience great guilt for the adultery we have done.   Maybe it came to light and we suffered for it.  Maybe it is still a secret.   Maybe it is still ongoing and we seem unable to stop.   When this happens we need a savior.

John 8:2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

So, for anyone guilty of sexual sin, including adultery, you savior is offering you full forgiveness.  All you have to do is to stop doing what you have been doing.   Jesus will take you back.   You may have consequences to suffer, but Jesus loves you and want you to have a new life of abundant blessing.

I urge you not to have sex outside of marriage. Be faithful to your spouse because adultery is an offense against God.  And if you are suffering from the effects of sexual sin then your savior is ready to forgive you and comfort you and set you on the right road.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven forgive us for all sexual sin and release us from guilt.   Keep us away from temptations.   Give us the strength to resist evil thoughts and actions.    And keep us ever faithful to you and our family.   This we pray in Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Sermon Deuteronomy 5:17 “You Shall Not Kill”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Deuteronomy 5:17 “You Shall Not Kill”
New Covenant Church
April 8, 2018

Sermon Audio


I am continuing today, with a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments.   These are principles which, if followed, allow us to flourish in the world God has created.   We have the freedom to choose not to follow them, but we should expect consequences if we don’t.   In commandments 1-5 we have heard how we should relate to God.   Now, in commandments 6-10 we will hear how we should relate to each other and our neighbors.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Deuteronomy 5:1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:  Hear, Israel, the decrees, and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.
5:17 You shall not murder.

In the sixth commandment, we have an absolute prohibition on killing another human being.   As we read in the Book of Leviticus, the punishment for killing someone is death.

Leviticus 24:17 Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.

Why does the Bible put such a high value on human life?  What is it about human life that requires the forfeit of life if you take another?   As we read in the Book of Genesis, the reason for this is that human life was created by God and created in the image of God.

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

So we are not to kill another person.   If we do the punishment is death.   And the reason for this was that God has created humans in God’s own image.   Therefore we are to put a very high value on all human life.  But what about the story we heard earlier?   What about Cain?   He murdered his brother but did not forfeit his life.  Instead, God sent him to a city and ordered that no one take Cain’s life.  So what is going on here?

There is a distinction in scripture between intentional and unintentional killing.   Suppose you park a car on a hill but do not set the brake properly.   The car rolls down the hill and kills a pedestrian.   Are you at fault?    Yes, because your negligence resulted in the death.  Did you intend for the person to die?   Of course not.   The death was unintentional.   And the Bible makes a provision for unintentional killing.   To avoid a death sentence someone who killed a person unintentionally could escape to a city of refuge where he would be safe.   And this is exactly what happened to Cain.

So we have an absolute prohibition on killing a human being because people are created by God in God’s image.   The biblical punishment for an intentional killing was death.  The biblical punishment for unintentional killing was exile from family and land in a city of refuge.

Are there any exceptions to this law on killing others?  The only exceptions in scripture are when it is God’s will that someone dies and we are commanded to carry it out.   This would happen in self-defense when we protect ourselves and families from death.  This would happen in war when a nation defends itself.   And this would happen in criminal justice when a murderer is executed.  Let’s take a look at self-defence.

Exodus 22:2 “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.

The rule for self-defense is that you may protect yourself and family from an intruder in your home by killing him.   But you may only use lethal force at night when the burglar is trying to hide himself and your cries for help may go unheard.    During the day, presumably, you have other options.    So the principle is that you may defend yourself and family but only if this is your sole option.  Now, let’s look at killing in war.

Joshua 8:1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

The Bible is very clear that sometimes war is necessary.  Killing in war is justified but only if God says so.   We must first discern if what God’s will is.    For the Hebrews, God’s purpose was to give them land.   War was necessary to accomplish this.    The principle here is that we must always prayerfully ask God if war is necessary.   Only if God responds positively are we justified in killing in warfare.

Abraham Lincoln believed that the Civil War was justified because the United States was attacked and its survival was in jeopardy.    This was a war of self-defense.    As the war came to its conclusion Lincoln wrote this in his second inaugural address:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

And that is our goal, not to fight and kill, but with God’s help to find a lasting peace.
Let’s look at killing as a form of executing justice.

Exodus 21:23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

This is the law of proportionality.    Punishment must fit the crime.   And therefore it is permissible for the state to execute someone who has taken a life.

In America today there are strong forces advocating for the taking of human life in three areas:  suicide, euthanasia, and abortion.   Let’s take a look at these.

Suicide is the taking of one’s own life.   It is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.  45,000 people die at their own hands every year.   Each one of these people was created by God.   Each one was created in God’s image.  Only God has the right to end a human life.   We need to reach out to people and bring them to hope in Jesus Christ.

Euthanasia is the taking of someone’s life at the end of their lives often to end pain and suffering.   Euthanasia is illegal in all fifty states.   Some states do allow for physician-assisted suicide.   And sometimes we do have to remove life support to allow a person to die in peace.  God alone will decide how many days we have on earth as he said in the Book of Job.

Job 14:5  A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.

And finally, we turn to abortion.   Abortion is legal in the United States.   In 1972 in Roe v Wade the Supreme Court recognized a Constitutional right to have an abortion.   The standard they set was the viability of the fetus.   In the first trimester of a pregnancy, they reasoned that a fetus would not survive outside the womb and therefore could be aborted.   Of course, the sixth commandment has a different standard.   It says that an unborn fetus was created by God in God’s image.   Listen to the Prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 49:1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:  Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

The value of the unborn fetus is so high that it should not be aborted.  Only God should decide if it lives or dies.  The Choice to have an abortion or not is really the Choice to obey the sixth commandment or not.   And there are consequences for not obeying the commandments.

And now we turn to Jesus’ teaching on the sixth commandment.

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

So Jesus’s concern is that our anger can overwhelm us to the point when in rage we kill someone else.   This is what happened to Cain.    He was so angry with Abel that he attacked him and unintentionally killed him. What Jesus wants to do is give us some very practical advice for controlling our anger before it gets out of control.  Let’s hear this advice directly from Jesus.

Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

These are practical suggestions from Jesus that will help us to keep our anger in check and prevent killings.   When a Roman soldier slapped a Hebrew man the usual reaction was to pull out a knife and attack the soldier.   Usually, someone would die in this fight and it wouldn’t be the soldier.   Instead, Jesus told them to turn the other cheek.  This would diffuse the situation and prevent a killing.   Whenever we are in situations that cause us to be angry, look for ways to diffuse the situation and keep control of your anger.

There were 17,250 murders in the United States in 2016.   Each person who died was created by God in God’s own image.  God grieves each death.  This is why what we do is so important.   Christians need to obey the 10 commandments.  Christians need to teach this nation the principles of the ten commandments so that we can live lives of abundance through obedience.   People need to experience Jesus’ love and hear his teaching about controlling our passions.  Only though Christians can our nation learn to have a high value on life.  Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we thank you for creating us in your image.  We thank you for the blessing of life.   We will follow Jesus and find practical ways of controlling our anger.  Bless our nation with fewer violent deaths.   This we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Sermon John 20:1-18 They Saw and Believed

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Church
Sermon John 20:1-18 They Saw and Believed
Easter, April 1, 2018

Happy Easter!  This is the day we have been waiting for.   Jesus Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Let's pray.

Jesus, victorious Lord, I exult in your resurrection. As I sing “alleluia” with my voice, let my life embody “alleluia” as a testimony to your love and a witness to your eternal life. Amen.

Let's start by reviewing what happened.  Jesus was arrested, tried and executed on a cross.  A couple of the religious leaders who believed in Jesus removed him from the cross and placed him in a nearby tomb.  There is no question about it.  Christ was dead.  There were plenty of witnesses.  His disciples then took their usual sabbath rest on Friday evening through Saturday sunset.  Let's see what happened early Sunday morning.

NIV John 20:1 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.  2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" 

Mary made her way to the tomb in the dark.  All of her hopes and dreams had been crucified the previous Friday.  She had spent the weekend in the fog of grief for the death of a loved one.  Then when she arrived at the tomb what she saw, or more specifically, what she didn't see scared her to death.  Jesus was missing from the tomb.  So she ran to get help.  Here is what happened.

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,  7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.  8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.  9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)  10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 

Let take a look at the evidence.  The two disciples have seen the empty tomb and discarded grave clothes.  The head cloth was neatly folded.  And we are told that one of them believed. What did this disciple, the one Jesus loved, believe?    I think that he believed what Jesus had told him at the supper on Thursday night.  Listen to what Jesus had said.

John 7:33-34  33 Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.  34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."

So the disciple must have believed that Jesus had died, and his spirit went to heaven to be with God.  This would have been consistent with first-century thought.  Our bodies die, return to dust, and our spirits go to heaven.  Most people today would be comfortable with this belief as were the two disciples. So they went back home to grieve the death of their dear friend, Jesus.    But as Paul Harvey used to say, let's look at “the rest of the story.”

11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb  12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.  13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 

Mary's grief is almost overwhelming.  Not only had Jesus died, but now something has happened to his body.  Mary must have been very angry at what was happening.  Everything was spiraling out of control.   Then, the most surprising thing in scripture happened.

14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.  15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."  16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 

Suddenly Mary's grief turned to joy.  Jesus was alive!  He was right there in front of her.  She recognized his voice.   All she wanted to do was give him a big hug.  Let's hear what Jesus has to say.

17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 

Jesus is doing what he said he would do.  Death on a cross could not stop him.  He was alive, physically alive.  He was not a spirit or ghost.  He was physically alive, resurrected from the dead.  Let's get back to Mary.

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

The Gospel of John is filled with twists and unexpected endings.  But no ending is more surprising than this one.  Jesus' spirit had gone to heaven, paradise, with the soul of a man crucified at his side.  But then his soul returned from heaven and entered his dead body.  God made his dead heart to beat and cold blood to flow.  His lungs filled with air.  He stood up, folded his grave clothes, walked out of the tomb, and waited around for a chance to talk with Mary. 

At first, Mary did not recognize him.  She thought he might be a gardener or something.  But then she heard his voice she recognized it.  By seeing and hearing Jesus she became the first of many people who witnessed his resurrection from the dead.  Jesus told her not to hug him because he had not yet ascended to heaven.  We learn from this that Jesus will ascend to the father with his physical flesh and blood body where he lives today in heaven at God's right hand.

The resurrection of the Jesus Christ is a sign or miracle.  It's purpose, as is the purpose of all signs in the gospel of John, is to bring people to faith.  People see the sign and hear what it means and then come to belief.  So what does this all mean?  And what is it we should believe?  For this explanation let's turn to the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8  NIV 1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  8 and last of all he appeared to me also.

So according to Paul, the resurrected Jesus was seen by many reliable people.  Since there were many trustworthy witnesses of the resurrection,  we can believe their testimony.  The story we heard today is true.  It is a historical fact.  Jesus rose from the dead. But what does it all mean?  Let's go back to Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:17-22  17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is proof that one day we too will be resurrected from the dead.  When believers die our souls go to heaven to be with God.  But then at the end of time, our world will be recreated, our graves will be opened, and our bodies will be reassembled and reunited with our souls.  And we will live forever on earth in resurrected bodies under the lordship of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God.  This is the promise of Easter.  Here is the vision that has guided us for two thousand years:

Revelation 21:1-5  NIV Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

The promise of scripture is that the world we live in will be recreated.  Our souls will be reunited with our dead bodies and we will come to life, resurrected from the dead.   Then we will live for eternity in a new creation God will make here on earth.  This is the good news of Easter.

You have heard about the sign, Jesus' resurrection from the dead.  You have heard testimony from Mary and many other witnesses who saw it.  You have heard that this means that you too will one day be resurrected from the dead to eternal life on earth in the Kingdom of God.  The sign is right there.  The explanation makes sense.  There is only one question remaining.  Do you believe it?  Do you believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead?  Do you believe that one day you too will be resurrected to live in his eternal kingdom?  Do you believe these things?  I think you do or else you would have found something else to do today.  Believe that Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia, let's pray.

Heavenly Father we thank you and praise you for your promise of resurrection to eternal life.   Strengthen our faith.  Send your Spirit to bring everyone to belief this day.   This we pray in the name of the one first raised from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.