back to indexBerean Community Church Easter Service - Jesus Came to Bring Peace
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And as always, it is a joy and it is a privilege for us 00:15:16.120 |
And especially today, as we gather to celebrate, 00:15:27.120 |
And so with that, let us begin our worship service this morning. 00:18:24.120 |
Our God, seated on his throne, come, let us adore him. 00:20:53.340 |
As we continue our celebration of Christ's Passion Week, 00:20:58.340 |
and those of you who were following along with us on last Sunday, 00:21:01.340 |
we had the triumphal entry of Christ, what we call Palm Sunday, 00:21:05.340 |
and everything that He's done, He's triggered and deliberately went to the cross. 00:21:10.340 |
And Monday, we remembered Christ coming and cleansing the temple 00:21:14.340 |
and the significance that had, and how He triggers the leaders to kind of, 00:21:21.340 |
And then on Tuesday, we were celebrating and remembering the Olivet Discourse 00:21:26.340 |
where Christ was reminding them about His second coming and what to look for 00:21:33.340 |
And Wednesday, as we remembered the betrayal from Judas where Satan enters into him 00:21:39.340 |
and begins to calculate how we're going to catch him, avoiding the crowd. 00:21:46.340 |
And every aspect of the Passover meal that kind of reminds and prepares for the coming of Christ. 00:21:51.340 |
Friday, we got together and we had communion, remembering the suffering that He went through 00:21:56.340 |
and how our boasting ought to be in Christ, in Christ alone. 00:22:00.340 |
Today, this morning, we come together, we celebrate His resurrection. 00:22:04.340 |
His resurrection is at the core of why we are here. 00:22:08.340 |
If Christ's life ended at the cross, that would have been the end of Christianity. 00:22:14.340 |
He was a good man, did a lot of great things, said some crazy things, 00:22:17.340 |
and then they crucified Him, and that would have been it. 00:22:20.340 |
But the resurrection proved that everything that He said was true, 00:22:24.340 |
that the Word of God is true because it predicted and prophesied that, 00:22:28.340 |
meaning that the hope that He had and what He said the cross accomplished, 00:22:32.340 |
that our sins are atoned for and our sins have been forgiven. 00:22:36.340 |
As a result of that, we have eternal hope in Christ. 00:22:39.340 |
So everything that we celebrate this morning is the reason why we have hope. 00:22:46.340 |
This is not just a religion where we take morals and where we remember and raise our children together. 00:22:54.340 |
This is the reason why we are here this morning. 00:22:58.340 |
So we pray that in our celebration that we continue to remember Christ 00:23:02.340 |
and that it would have the effect that it ought to have as we celebrate. 00:23:06.340 |
So along with that, after service we have lunch prepared, L&L or Hawaiian barbecue. 00:23:16.340 |
There will be tables set out. You can eat in the cafe. 00:23:19.340 |
But after service, just go grab your water and things, 00:23:22.340 |
and then we'll continue our celebration and our fellowship while we're having lunch together. 00:23:27.340 |
After service, if you've been brought here by a friend or family, coworkers, 00:23:33.340 |
and after you understand what the resurrection is about and you have some more questions, 00:23:39.340 |
we have a table outside, our outreach team, Pastor Mark, they're going to be at the table. 00:23:44.340 |
They have a gift bag with some books and articles that will help you answer some of the questions 00:23:49.340 |
that you might have about Christianity and about the gospel. 00:23:54.340 |
There will be plenty of food so after you visit the table, you'll be able to go and grab your lunch after that. 00:24:00.340 |
Along with that, next Saturday at 10 to 11.20 a.m. in the cafe area, 00:24:07.340 |
again, this is next Saturday on April 15th, we have a gospel presentation night. 00:24:14.340 |
So if you have further questions and not just a quick drop by or gift bag, 00:24:19.340 |
but you want to spend some time, extended time, asking questions 00:24:22.340 |
and to have the formal and complete gospel presented to you, or you just have some questions, 00:24:29.340 |
next Saturday they have a meeting from 10 to 11.20 a.m. 00:24:32.340 |
And those of you, again, even if you're not new, those of you are members in the church 00:24:37.340 |
and you want to bring a friend to that, again, that's happening next Saturday at 10 to 11.20. 00:24:44.340 |
Our next round of membership classes is happening on April 16th, so just keep that in mind. 00:24:49.340 |
And then we have a members meeting on April 23rd, just again to keep that in mind. 00:24:54.340 |
And there's other announcements, but I'll save that for next week. 00:24:58.340 |
Well, this morning if we can have the choir come in. 00:25:05.340 |
So as the choir comes in, just kind of, again, as a special presentation, 00:25:10.340 |
they've been practicing, and those of you guys who heard them during Christmas, 00:25:15.340 |
I think our hope and desire is, and I don't know if this is possible, 00:25:18.340 |
that we would be able to hear them more often. 00:25:21.340 |
It was such a blessing to hear them, this early service. 00:25:26.340 |
One request that our Ohe, who's our choir conductor, asked me to tell you is 00:25:32.340 |
there's a part in it where they're singing "Amazing Grace" where she's going to sign for all of us 00:25:39.340 |
to sing together so that we can hear the congregational singing of this song. 00:25:44.340 |
So after they do the presentation, she's going to signal to do the congregational singing. 00:25:49.340 |
So when she signs that, she's asking all of us to participate. 00:25:54.340 |
So let me pray for our offering. You can give electronically. 00:25:57.340 |
Again, if you have a physical offering, there's a box in the back as you are exiting. 00:26:01.340 |
So let me pray for us, and we'll give you a few minutes to prepare and to give your offering. 00:26:10.340 |
Gracious and loving Father, we thank you so much for what we are celebrating this morning. 00:26:16.340 |
We thank you, Father God, for your sacrifice. 00:26:21.340 |
We thank you for the suffering of your Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of sinners, Lord God. 00:26:27.340 |
We thank you for demonstrating your love toward us while we were still in rebellion. 00:26:33.340 |
That you came after us, that you softened our hearts, opened our ears, 00:26:37.340 |
that we may understand and believe what you have done. 00:26:41.340 |
We pray that even in our giving, that it would reflect our joy, our thanksgiving, 00:26:46.340 |
and may it be multiplied for your use, for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 01:29:59.340 |
Lord, we ask that you would help us to open our eyes to see that our true peace, our shalom, our wholeness, our perfection, our Sabbath, our rest can only be truly found in you. 01:30:19.340 |
Help us, Lord God, to seek you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help us to determine in our hearts and in our lives and in our minds that true life is found in Christ and Christ alone. 01:30:33.340 |
That all that we say, all that we do, all that we pursue may reflect the hope that we have found in Christ and Christ alone. As you send us wherever it is that we go, help us to be the aroma of Christ and that hope that we may shine this light in this dark world. 01:30:54.340 |
That they also may know that true life, true peace, and true rest is in Christ. Send us, Lord God, that we may be your ambassadors this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.