The Crack of Dawn

Text: Luke 24:1-12 (NIV) On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

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I.        Introduction:

II.      The Dawn of Discovery Cracks our Expectations: A Mysterious Disappearance

A.      Expectations Shared

B.      Expectations Shown

C.      Expectations Shattered

III.   The Dawn of Insight Cracks our Thinking: A Miraculous Explanation

A.      Explanation Pondered

B.      Explanation Given

C.      Explanation Remembered

IV.    The Dawn of Faith Cracks our Attitude: A Marvelous Possibility

A.      An Attitude of Sharing

B.      An Attitude of Suspicion

C.      An Attitude of Seeking

V.      Conclusion:

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[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.