Sermon Tone Analysis

Easter-So What?

I. Video Then What

A. /For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living.../1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (NIV)

B. Slide: So What?

II.

Introduction

A. So What?

It's a fair question.

B. Answer it one way and you have Easter every day

C. Answer it another way, and it makes little difference.

D. Greatest threat to fully understanding what Easter is all about is not the Easter Bunny.

E. Greatest threat is religion.

1. Reading Easter story reminds us.

(easy to miss)

2. It was the religious people that crucified Jesus

3. Men who believed in God spent a lot of time going to church, studying and obey the law, trying to be viewed as leaders

4. The one's who were supposed to recognize the Messiah, missed him, and then crucified them

5. Story surrounding Resurrection: Religion can be dangerous.

6. Cause you to miss God and his purpose for your life

7. Religion led them to oppose the God they claimed to worship.

8.

Many of you, like me, resist being called religious.

9. Rather be called believer or follower of Christ

10.

The more doctrinally correct from an intellectual standpoint religion is, the more dangerous it is.

III.

Am I religious?

A.  Ask: Am I kind of religious or kind of think like a religious person thinks/ e/ven if I don't act like a religious person acts.

You need to have a heads up, because religion incredible capacity to cause you to miss God.

And what God has for you.

B.

Religious thinking people boil the God and Jesus thing down to

1.

A routine: the rules I keep

2. A script: the things I say: Ocassional prayers and prayers for each occasion

3.

An event.

Are you a Christian?

I go or used to go to such and such church

C. Will consider themselves as being formerly religious because they don't go to church anymore.

1.

I'm here under duress.

2. Don't want to come, but may want to reconnect with God at some point

3. Hesitate because you you think of the routine, script and event you were so inconsistent with

WARNING: You are thinking like a religious person

D. You say, Of course I'm going to be here Easter.

It's the event.

YOU ARE THINKING LIKE A RELIGIOUS PERSON

E. Or you say, I'm okay with God and believe in Jesus, but when people start talking about Jesus in a personal way outside of church, I cringe.

F. This is my annual visit to church because I used to do the whole thing but got burned.

The church people weren't what they appeared.

IV.

Religion can be a dangerous thing and can cause you to miss God and miss what he has for you.

A. Those who crucified Jesus were so caught up in the signs pointing to Jesus, missed Jesus

B. So caught in a system that was foreshadowing the Messiah, they missed him

C. Had an event like Easter

D. Jesus shows up on the way to event and was in the way of the event.

E. Whole story around the resurrection is religious people trying to get Jesus out of the way so they could have their event.

F. Religion is dangerous thing

V. John.

Jesus was arrested and they took him to who was actually the former high priest but still held influence and the title.

VI. /Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied.

“I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together.

I said nothing in secret.

Why question me?

Ask those who heard me.

Surely they know what I said.”

When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face.

“Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded./John

18:19-22 (NIV)

A. Standing before God and saying how dare you talk to the religious man that way.

Don't you know the system?

VII.

/Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor.

By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover./John

18:28 (NIV)

A. Picture: Beginning of Passover week, a seven day festival and the Sabbath is coming up

B. Religious people know rules require them to be ceremonial clean

C. If they went in Pilate's home they would be unclean and couldn't participate in the Passover.

D. We have the Son of God bound, but we don't want to miss the Passover

E. Religious people trying to maintain religion: Can't come into your house, you come out.

VIII.

/So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected./John

18:29-31 (NIV)

A. Well you see, we want to kill him and our law won't allow that, but if we bring him to you and you (wink wink) kill him then we're still good to go.

B.

Not atheist but religious people who couldn' t stand Jesus invading their formality and traditions

IX. /Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.

They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”

And they struck him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify!

Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him.

As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”/John

19:1-6 (NIV)

A. Secular leader, Pilate: I don't see a problem.

He's done nothing wrong.

B. Religious  leaders say: Yes he has, and He must die.