John 11
Theme: Death is not the end for those who trust Jesus, we can have hope
Aim: Believe and trust in the hope God gives us and not worry about everything else to do with covid-19.
Good morning
Now I don’t know about you, I love Star Wars. I’ve loved the old trilogy and the new trilogy and controversially I loved the trilogy became our when I was a teenager.
For me, I love the battle between the Jedi fighting with the resistance to free the people there are enslaved across the galaxy. Whether it’s the Empire or the sith. Lightsabres’ aliens and battles for the galaxy. I love Star Wars.
Let’s watch the trailer for the last film.
Ray is the person at the Star Wars universe has been waiting for. She is only one who can save the day, lots of people tried before her and never actually completely won, she was the only one bringing balance to the force. And if your a Star Wars fan, you’ll know what I mean.
Lots of us, we like superheroes and action heroes like Ray because they make us feel better. They stop the bad things from happening, they stop us from getting hurt. We all want superheroes to be real and turn up and save the day, we wish we could have the same powers so we can fix things so we don’t have to cope with the horrible things that happen that they don’t stop in real life.
Covid-19
life right now is very different. We are at home instead of being at school and work, church is done over the computer and that’s how you watching me right now. This is happening because people are getting sick people dying. This is not what we expected. This is not what we want and really, we would rather be anywhere else.
The virus we are staying home to avoid reminds us that you and me have a big problem and that big problem is death. We are going to die. We cannot get around that. The biggest problem that we face is
SIN. Shove off god….
Sin means we are going to die and if we don’t trust in Jesus, the reality is we are not going to heaven.
We are cut off from him and there is a big no entry sign.
There are no real-life superheroes, to rescue us. There is only one person who can fix death, fix sin, fix the covid 19 virus and make everything right again. His name is Jesus.
Make sure you have bible and turn to John 11, its on page …
The true story we had read from the bible was Jesus experiencing grief. That’s the word we use when deep inside us, we feel horrible because someone we love has left us and we realise things are never going to be the same. Some of us are feeling like that today. Some of us feel like we have lost our freedom, our hope and some of our friends and family may have died.
Jesus knows how we are feeling right now.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus were brothers and sisters and all very good friends with Jesus. But Lazarus got sick and Jesus was a few days away. Lazarus died, Jesus felt what it was like to lose a friend, to be sad at them not being there anymore, he understands how we feel, when we miss someone. V35 Jesus wept, which means Jesus cried. It’s the shortest verse in the whole bible, when Gods son cries at the loss of his friend.
We can come to him as our friend boys and girls, parents we can call on him as King and ask him to help us with the sadness and the pain of loss.
But the biggest thing that Jesus gives us in this passage is Hope.
What does it mean to hope in something?
TO believe that something is going to happen.
Jesus says that we can have hope because when we die it is not the end. Jesus says in v I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes I me will not die but have eternal life. Jesus is offering us hope. He is saying that if we are friends with him, if we believe and following him as our king, when we die we will go to heaven and be with him forever. This is hope, when we die its not the end.
Take down RIP and put up the Cross
Jesus shows us this us true and shows us the power he has by bringing his friend back from the dead. We also know that on the first Easter Sunday Jesus himself rose from the dead. He shows us that because he rose from the death that death and sin are beaten. They are over. Jesus was the only person who could beat death and sin. In the same way Rey Skywalker in Star Wars was the only person who could help bring balance to the force. Jesus is the only way.
We cant stop bad things happening, we cannot stop people we love from dying and we don’t have super heroes to rescue us.
But do have a God who knows what it’s like to lose a friend, to lose family and we all feel that at the moment. But we can hope for heaven, life after death, we can hope in what heaven is going to be like.
Reading 3 Rev 21:1-5
God says that in heaven there will be no more pain, crying or death. No more illness, no more cancer, no more depression or anxiety. We can hope for heaven as there is something we can hold onto. Its not going to be like this forever and Jesus says that those who trust him in him can have life in heaven.
How should we respond to the death of those we love, having to stay at home while the world tackles COVID 19?
We can have hope in a God who has beaten Sin and Death and who is going to take us home to be with him.
We don’t need superheroes to rescue us or to fix things, we have a God who is going to make everything new and who gives us hope, hope that pain and
suffering will end and that boys and girls if we trust in him, we can be with him in heaven, with no more tears and no more heartache.
Is this what you are hoping for today. Are you trusting in Jesus as the resurrection and the life? If God has been pushed out of your mind because of everything that happening, because your worried about friends, family, food, comfort, work, money. Then this morning I ask you to stop and to fix your eyes on Jesus instead. To know and trust that he is the resurrection and the life. To put your hope in heaven. And pray give him all the things you are worried about. You can do this as a family, you can sit down later and pray about all your worries.
Jesus Said I am the resurrection and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.
Lets Pray