He is risen!

Today was our first Easter Sunday in Alaska. It is supposed to springtime, but the temperatures are still in the mid to high 30's. Yet it does feel like winter is over; the snow is nearly gone, and there is abundant sunlight. After the evening service tonight, all the kids in the church were outside running around and playing Frisbee.

I preached this morning on the resurrection from Luke's Gospel. The main point of my sermon was that as Christians, our hope is not just for a better life in this world, but our hope is for resurrection life.

Everything in the Christian faith and life hinges on the historical reality of the empty tomb. If the body of Jesus was there all along, and if his bones are still interred in some tomb in Israel, then everything I do as a pastor is a colossal waste of time. The day it is proven that Jesus was not raised from the dead is the day I stop being a minister of the gospel, because there would be no more gospel and no more point to Christian ministry. Not only that, but if Christ is not raised, everything I believe about God is false. But ever since I've been a Christian, I've never really doubted the reality of the resurrection of Christ. I believe in my heart of hearts that one day it will be revealed to all the world that the stories in the Bible of his resurrection are true. And, I believe in my heart that one day I will also be raised up from the grave.

This evening I preached on God's faithfulness to us despite our unfaithfulness. One of my favorite verses is 2 Timothy 2:13 - "if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself." One point I made was that God is faithful to us because he is true to his word and his promises. It is remarkable how there are such profound practical implications of the character of God. It is just because of who God is, that our salvation is secure and we can rest our hearts in his promises to us in Christ.