​Let me ask you a question: have you ever inherited anything? It doesn’t have to be money. Land? Personal keepsakes? Family customs, traditions? Bad temper?

Rich Gotshall, our historian at Grace Church, is working on a history of the church, as we move toward celebrating 200 years in Franklin. It is a history that contains a rich inheritance! 

And yet, an inheritance is a complex matter. I know some of the worst conflicts I have witnessed as a pastor are arguments about “who gets to inherit what” in a family. Jesus speaks of this dynamic in his parable on the prodigal son in Luke’s Gospel: how do we receive an inheritance (Luke 15)? Because receiving an inheritance says something about who we are and how we are to act. For example, if we receive an inheritance, how will we exercise responsibility toward what we have been given? Will we bless others with it, or will we squander it? Will we utilize our inheritance to benefit others through a matching grant, or a loan, or a charitable foundation, let’s say, or, will we simply keep it to ourselves?[1]

In Romans, the apostle Paul writes that, as children adopted into the family of God, we have also received an inheritance, although it’s an inheritance we have not earned, but have been given in Christ. In fact, it’s an inheritance that calls forth further sharing, for we don’t receive this inheritance alone, only for ourselves, but with Christ, who is our co-heir (Rom. 8:17); and because Christ is our co-heir, in both suffering and glory, we find ourselves in debt to the One who loved us and saved us.

That’s what we have inherited – the very grace that leads us from bondage to life, giving us the Spirit, who brings us into a relationship with God as children of God.  

It’s a picture of intimacy, with all the markings of love, of being adopted by the Father in the Spirit and then inheriting the gift of Christ’s sacrifice. It’s an amazing gift, leaving us in debt, yes, but in debt to God, and not to our own selfish devices. That’s what life in the Spirit looks like: the Spirit testifying to our spirits that we are children of God!

How may we live with the assurance of God’s grace as children? How does the inheritance we receive in Christ mark us? How may we now share it with others?

Pastor Andy Kinsey

[1]Fleming Rutledge, Not Ashamed of the Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007), 246.

We will never be the same.  Our lives have been changed.  We cannot be the same as we were.  And it is not because of Covid19!  It is because Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed.  Say it with me, Christ is risen - Christ is risen indeed.

Humanity hasn’t been the same since. Some 2,000 years ago, followers of Jesus witnessed the very best of people and the very worst of people.  Followers of Jesus, saw the crowds gather in praise and excitement; with anticipation and joy on their lips.  A few days later, they witnessed the crowds gather in a mob-like fashion with anger and hatred on their lips. 

In the span of a week, Jesus went from a celebrated King to a crucified criminal, was dead and put in a tomb.  It didn’t look like anything was going to be any different.  It didn’t look like anything was going to change.  It didn’t look like anything the followers of Jesus had been about while he was with them mattered at all or made any impact.  

God knew different.  Jesus knew better.  And the Holy Spirit was about to make it happen.  Because of what happened early in the morning on the first day of the week, when the women went to the tomb and found it empty, we are not the same.  The Spirit of God made the impossible possible and moved that stone.  

The Spirit didn’t have to do that.  Jesus would have risen anyway, cause that was the plan and promise all along.  Jesus didn’t need the tombstone rolled away, we did!  We had to see it to know that there would be life outside the tomb, and Jesus was and is that life.

There are tombs all around us church; tombs that keep us from living our full and resurrected life with Christ, tombs that convince us we are not enough or not worthy, tombs that haunt us with things from our past.  There are tombs of oppression, injustice, illness, grief, anger, bitterness, and prejudice.  

Dear church - people of God, did you not hear what the women said upon returning?  The tomb is empty!  The tomb is empty.   The Spirit of God has defeated the tomb.  Jesus lives.  AND that means there is new life to be lived for us; life outside the tombs we find ourselves in.  

That life is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in the book of Romans.  Called the Himalayas of the bible often referred by many as the greatest chapter in all of the bible, the book of Romans chapter eight brings to light the foundation of life outside the tomb - in other words, life with Jesus, led by God and filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The Spirit of God is with us.  The Spirit of God is at work among us.  The Spirit of God is nothing to be taking for granted, not now, not ever. 
Paul is telling those early believers and us, to pay attention.  Pay attention to the spirit!  Why?  Because the same spirit that was moving tombstones and raising the dead with Jesus is the spirit moving in and around us and it changes lives.  The spirit is moving all the time.  The spirit is power.  The spirit is gentleness.  The spirit is the very presence and essence of God and Jesus.  It empties tombs.  We need to pay attention. 

In other words Paul was saying, as followers of Jesus, do you live a life dominated by the dictates and desires of human nature or a life dominated by the dictates and love of God?  Do you / we live a life focussed and centered on self; whose only law or rule is its own desires?  Or do we live a life focussed and centered on Jesus?   

Paul basically tells the believers one kind of life leads to a sealed tomb; literally and metaphorically; it moves farther away from God and ends in physical and spiritual death.  The other kind of life leads to an empty tomb; a life with steady progress to God and with God. 

One leads to a life inside the tomb and the other to life outside the tomb.  

It is time church, to live life outside the tomb.  It is time to allow the Spirit of God to roll away the tombstone and empower you to walk in new life.  To live, in spite of covid19, a life that is centered in Jesus and draws us closer to God and one another; a life that sees beauty, goodness, and truth, amist and beyond the ugly, bad, and lies that surround us; a life where we can be our authentic selves, and love others for who they are or where they are on their path of faith; a life where yes grief, pain, and brokenness occur yet at our core was can have peace, hope and even joy.  

We will never be the same.  Our lives have been changed.  We cannot be the same as we were.  And it is not because of Covid19!  It is because Christ is risen!  Christ is risen indeed.  Say it with me, Christ is risen - Christ is risen indeed.

Pastor Jenothy Irvine

Persons may watch the Easter service or obtain a hard copy of the sermon on the website of Grace Church at www.franklingrace.org/sermons.

Do you remember Jesus teaching his disciples to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Mt. 10:16)? 
In a moment like this, with a pandemic taking place, we need to remember such a teaching: in other words, if we truly follow Jesus and what he is about, we will seek to do no harm, and in this case, by maintaining our distance from others; but we also will do so as smart and creative people who still go about caring for others.

In this way, the resurrection of Jesus is not simply about mere survival or some kind of bliss. Rather, it is about the very concrete and practical and bodily ways God is making all things (2 Cor. 5:17). It is about the way in which Jesus’ crucified body has gone through death and come out the other side into a whole new way of life, into a whole new body. 

I can’t help but think that God is doing something similar with the church today: that on the other side of the pandemic the church will come out with a new kind of body – something we had not considered.

That’s certainly the message we receive from Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew wants us to know that there is something earth-shattering about Easter and that on the other side is something new (28:2). Indeed, as Matthew tells it, there is a great deal of excitement on the first Easter: there is lightening and an angel descending from heaven (28:3). There are guards who are as dead and disciples full of fear (28:8). But above all, there is an empty tomb (28:6), and there is a message that Jesus has already gone out in front of the church; he has already come out of the other side and gone to Galilee (28:7). Put differently, Jesus is already setting a new agenda for ministry, an agenda that will involve us in ways we may not have anticipated (Matthew 28:16-20).

I am wondering how Christ’s new agenda can guide us now. How may the dashed hopes of Good Friday and the new hopes on Easter Sunday provide the ground upon which we may move into the future? What are the ways the risen Christ may call us to minister in new ways? 

Easter Blessings,
Pastor Andy Kinsey

We can deny a lot of things but there is definitely no denying the past month has been like a never ending scene from the Twilight Zone tv series or some alternate reality!  I would deny that people are capable of hoarding toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and now tylenol, but there is no denying it. The shelves are empty and the ones that aren’t can hardly keep up with the demand.  If you think what is happening in our community, cities around the world, is simply an over-rated, media-hyped flu season, you are in denial.
If you think the virus that is wreaking havoc can’t be as bad as science and medical experts are saying it is, you are in denial. If you think this will all be over in a few weeks, you are in denial.

There is no denying we are navigating strange and mostly uncharted territory.  We are living in what will one day be the history our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will read about in school and ask questions about when they visit. 

There is no denying this is a time of emotional, mental, and spiritual ups and downs, ins and outs, and everything in between.  We all feel it - in one way or another; that sense of uncertainty and angst; perhaps frustration or dread in the pit of our stomach.  It may manifest itself differently but it is there. 

Yet in the midst of it all, there is also no denying, we are finding our voice, presence, and place as a church in new ways that express who we are as individuals, families, church and community.  We are all of it - all together.   

Someone who knew all about denial was the apostle, Peter.  One of Jesus’ early followers and disciple. Peter was all heart- passionate about his faith and his devotion to Jesus.  He wore his faith and excitement on his sleeve and had great energy around who Jesus was and what he was about in changing lives and turning expectations upside down. 

He is described as one of the most courageous disciples; leaping off the boat to walk on water with Jesus, only to panic and need rescuing.  There was a time he jumped off his own boat and swam to shore ahead of the other disciples when he saw Jesus. He was the one who was adamant that Jesus would never have to suffer and be killed, it wasn’t possible, only to be rebuked by Jesus himself.  He tried to do his best in the garden before Jesus was arrested, yet failed. And then failed again when he tried to protect Jesus when he was arrested. 

In Matthew 26:69-75, we find Peter, moving through the last week of Jesus' life on earth.  He is tired, frightened, short on sleep and bombarded with emotional, mental, and spiritual upheaval.  It had been a huge, full of people, chaotic few days since they arrived in town. One that started with a parade and celebration and ended with the unthinkable - Jesus’ arrest and pending trial at this point. 

No one can read or hear this passage without being struck with the staggering honesty of the New Testament.  If ever there was an incident which one might have expected to be swept under the rug, this was it. Yet here it is.

We have this story of Peter’s denial, because Peter himself told it to others.  Peter made it an essential part of his witness to Jesus’ gospel message; and did so for the best of reasons.  Every time he told the story, he could say, “that is the way that this Jesus we are talking about can forgive.”  He could say, “Jesus forgave me when I failed him in his most bitter time of need. That is what Jesus can do.” That is who Jesus is.

There is no denying the depth of love, the complete sacrifice, and the unending compassion of Jesus.  There is no denying who Jesus is, and Peter uses his own denial experience to tell us this truth. He uses his most vulnerable moment to reveal Jesus’ strength. 

 I think Peter may have been just as stunned at his denial as we are reading it.  There were no words to explain it, only tears and the final acceptance and realization that even then, when we flat out forget who we are and fail and deny our relationship with Jesus, we are loved and forgiven.  

None of us know for sure how we are going to respond in times of crisis, disaster, or great uncertainty until it happens.  None of us know for sure what we will do, how we will act, or what we will say until it happens.  

Our identity in Christ is revealed in times of conflict, panic, and separation.  Our identity in Christ is revealed in times like now, living in the midst of a pandemic.  Our identity in Christ is revealed in how we treat others in times like these and how we respond to the needs around us.

We are all a part of something much bigger than ourselves.  

What started as a joke several years ago here at the church was the phrase, “the church has left the building.”  That has now become even more of a reality. We have left the building. AND we are still the church. We are still doing and being church together. There’s no denying it: being church has never been about the building.  We are living that reality now people of God.

You see evidence all around:

• Rainbows and teddy bears in windows and on front porches for children and families to see.  
  
• People sewing face masks for emergency personnel and medical facilities. 
  
• Individuals banning together for a common cause and starting up local on-line communities, food and supply stations, and delivery services.
  
• Videos of individuals and families creating art and music together to encourage others.
  
• Teenagers reading stories on-line for others to listen too. 
  
• High School seniors creating personal avatars and recording their favorite quotes for an online graduation video.
  
• Food and basic supplies being purchased and delivered to homebound individuals and families. 
  
• Letter writing skills and snail mail making a comeback!
  

People of God, there is no denying these are challenging, nerve-racking, uncertain and unpredictable times.  AND Jesus is with us moving, living, and revealing our identity in the midst. No matter what, we are who we are.

There is no denying it is hard on all of us.
There is no denying life will never be the same.
AND, there is no denying we will come through the other side.

There is no denying God is ultimately working for good in all things.
There is no denying that today, Palm Sunday, and the coming Holy Week, and Easter are going to be different this year.

And that’s o.k. Because there is no denying who Jesus is and who we are in his love. 

Throughout this week let us remember in the midst of it all, there is no denying the love of God, the peace of Christ and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Pastor Jenothy Irvine