Today’s reading: Luke 24, Psalm 72
My birthday is on Tuesday. As I was reading Luke 24 and preparing for my post this week, I reflected on one of my favorite birthday stories from two years ago. I’ve told you this story before, but I believe it is worth repeating.
For my birthday two years ago, I decided we would go to my favorite fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park. We reserved a hotel, headed up to Chicago, got all dressed up, and took a cab to the restaurant. This was going to be so much fun…
After the first cheese course arrived, my 11 year old started in. “Hey, I thought this was going to be nacho cheese. This is nothing like I thought it would be. Nacho cheese would have been way better than this stuff Mom.” The second course came, and we had fun cooking our meat, seafood and vegetables. Other than a minor fire started from trying to deep fry the garnishing greens, the second course was a success. On to dessert – chocolate fondue. Who doesn’t like a huge vat of melted chocolate with pound cake, marshmallows and fruit to dip, right? Well, my kids were disappointed the dipping sauce was dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. As we got back in the cab after dinner Freddy summed up his sentiment well. Five spirited words – “YOU OVERHYPED THIS PLACE MOM!”
Our assigned reading has us in Luke 24, the account of Christ’s Resurrection, today. It is significant. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the focal point of the Christian faith. In fact, without it there wouldn’t be a Christian Faith. Unlike my favorite fondue restaurant, the significance of the Resurrection cannot be overhyped. Why?
It revealed Christ’s power over death – We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 6:9).
It secured our victory over death – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).
In 1976 the late SM Lockridge preached a sermon titled That’s My King! Do You Know Him? to a congregation in Detroit, Michigan. Forty years later, this message continues to be impactful and inspiring message to many audiences. May I ask you to use one of the links below to either listen to or read an excerpt from this sermon, then stop and reflect – is this someone who’s life, death and resurrection could EVER by overhyped?
That’s my King, I hope he’s yours too.