Sermon Tone Analysis
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This morning we are continuing in our study of the Gospel of Mark.
If you’re new to our church today, it would be good for you to know that we practice a style of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what they mean in our lives.
With that said, we are currently working our way through the Gospel of Mark, and believe it or not as we pick back up in chapter 16 today, we are one week away from ending this study.
I know some of you never thought you’d see the day but next Sunday we will wrap up the Gospel of Mark as we prepare to start the book of Acts in September.
I know some of you never thought you’d see the day but next Sunday we will wrap up the Gospel of Mark as we prepare to start the book of Acts in September.
I have to say, the gospel of Mark has been one of my favorite studies to date.
I believe it has been a timely study for our church that has prepared us for more of what God wants to do in and through our church in the days to come.
Today we are picking back up in chapter 16 as we are nearly to the end of our study.
Believe it or not, but next Sunday we will wrap up the Gospel of know some of you never thought you’d see the day.
But I think we’d all have to admit that our study of Mark has helped us better understand who Jesus is and what it means to follow him.
With all sincerity, I believe the best days of our church are ahead of us.
And I believe that God is going to use MCF to impact our county and our region with the Gospel in a supernatural way.
Opening Story
All that to say, I hope the Gospel of Mark has helped you grow in your understanding of Jesus, and I hope you’re ready for this Fall as we begin the book of Acts, because I believe God has big plans for MCF.
But before we get to far ahead of ourselves,
You may recall last week we ended our time together with the Empty Tomb, as the two Mary’s discovered the body of Jesus was missing?
And as we learned, it wasn’t missing because it had been misplaced or stolen, but because Jesus had risen.
How do we know he rose?
Well, for one, his body was gone, but more importantly we know because an angel, a divine messenger, declared it.
Mark writes:
Mark says after entering the tomb, the two Mary’s encounter an angel who told them that Jesus had risen from the grave.
The angel then gives them specific instructions.
Listen to what Mark tells us:
Mark 16:
The angel instructs them to go and tell Peter and the other disciples that Jesus has risen.
That Jesus is alive!
And after some initial hesitation, that’s exactly what they did.
In his Gospel, Luke writes:
That’s where we left off last week as the two Mary’s exit the empty tomb and begin to spread the word that Jesus has risen.
The question on the table now is, “How will people respond to this news?”
And maybe more importantly, “How will we respond?”
And we’ll get to that, but before we do, I think it’s important we take a moment and build a framework for what we are about to read.
Because in order to understand this passage, we need to engage mentally and emotionally.
And in order to do that, I want to begin by asking you to consider a couple of questions:
Question 1- Have you ever had somebody tell you something that seemed to good to be true?
Anybody?
For example, let’s say somebody came up to you after church and said, “Hey did you hear that Pastor Brad is thinking about becoming a Chiefs fan?”
For some of you, that would be exciting news.
You’d be like, “Finally, he has seen the light!”.
But the truth is, that news is to good to be true.
Because I think we all know I’m a die hard Broncos fan.
Because unless I recently suffered a massive brain injury and lost all rational thought, that’s just to good to be true.
Question 2 - Have you ever had somebody tell you something that sounded to good to be true, and so you required evidence or proof in order to believe it?
For example, let’s just say the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl this next year.
I know, it sounds to good to be true, but just play along with me.
Let’s say they make it, but your unable to watch the game because you have to work.
But while your working, somebody calls you and tells you the Chiefs won the Super Bowl.
But that sounds to good to be true, so you’re going to need to see some evidence.
You’re going to need to see the score for yourself or hear somebody on ESPN confirm that it’s true.
And even then, you may wonder if somebody is playing a joke on you.
For example, in 2016 when Donald Trump won the Presidential election, even though he won a majority of the electoral votes, there were people who just couldn’t believe it, and still don’t believe it.
In their minds there has to be a conspiracy.
In their minds he didn’t win, even though the votes say otherwise.
Here’s another example, and after I share it, you’re probably going to think I’m some kind of nut.
But, some of you already think that, so here goes.
History tells us on July 20th, 1969, Apollo 11 touched down on the moon and Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
An amazing moment in human history.
But if I’m being honest with you, I have a hard time believing that really happened.
And when I say that I know what some of you are already thinking.
You’re thinking, “Oh no.
Are you one of those pastor?
Are you one of those conspiracy theorists?
Please don’t tell me I need to find a different church.”
No, I’m not a conspiracy theorist.
To be honest, I just struggle believing we had the technological capabilities to do that in 1969.
Yes, I know they have footage, I’ve watched it.
Yes, I know they claim to have moon rocks, I’ve touched one.
Yes, I’ve been to the National Air and Space Museum and I’ve seen all of the evidence.
But for whatever reason I struggle with the moon landing.
And to be honest, until I can look though a high powered telescope and with my own eyes see the flag or some kind of evidence that was left on the moon, I’m going to have doubts about the moon landing.
I know, some of you will never look at me the same again.
Now, you might be wondering, “Ok pastor, now that you’ve weirded us out, what do these questions have to do with the message today?”
I ask you to consider these questions, because in much the same way, the news of Jesus’s resurrection is just going to seem to good to be true.
And as a result, even his disciples are going to have a hard time believing it.
Some are going to automatically dismiss it as being made up.
Some are going to doubt it.
And some are going to require factual evidence.
And the reason today’s passage is so important, is because without the belief in the resurrection, there can be no Christianity.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is a pointless faith.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this.
In he writes:
Without the resurrection, Christianity is a pointless faith.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this.
In he writes:
Without the resurrection, Christianity is a pointless faith.
The Apostle Paul himself says this.
In he writes:
Paul says, “As Christians, everything we believe about this life and the life to come is based on the resurrection of Jesus.
Without the resurrection, Christian faith is futile.”
In fact, he goes on to say:
Paul says, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then why go through all the trouble to be a Christians.
If he did’t rise, we might as well live it up.
We might as well sleep around, get wasted, and live like there is no tomorrow.
Because without the resurrection, without a risen savior, there’s nothing worth living for beyond this life.
All that to say, without the resurrection, there is no hope in this life or the life to come.
That’s why the resurrection of Jesus is so important.
So, if it’s that important, how can we be certain what we believe about Jesus is true?
How can we know we’re not wasting our time?
How do we know what these two women are saying isn’t to good to be true?
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