The Risen Lord
The sermon emphasizes the joy and hope found in the resurrection of Christ, encouraging believers to celebrate life and share this message with others.
Charles E. Cowman preaches a powerful Easter sermon emphasizing the eternal life and victory over death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He calls on various elements of nature, literature, and music to proclaim the message of immortality and hope. The minister's realization that Christ is not just a historical figure but a living reality ignites a fervor for the truth of Easter. The sermon encourages believers to focus on the living Christ, not just the past, and find joy and assurance in His resurrection.
Text
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore" (Rev. 1:18).
Flower! Easter lilies! speak to me this morning the same dear old lesson of immortality which you have been speaking to so many sorrowing souls.
Wise old Book! let me read again in your pages of firm assurance that to die is gain.
Poets! recite to me your verses which repeat in every line the Gospel of eternal life.
Singers! break forth once more into songs of joy; let me hear again the well-known resurrection psalms.
Tree and blossom and bird and sea and sky and wind whisper it, sound it afresh, warble it, echo it, let it throb and pulsate through every atom and particle; let the air be filled with it.
Let it be told and retold and still retold until hope rises to conviction, and conviction to certitude of knowledge; until we, like Paul, even though going to our death, go with triumphant mien, with assured faith, and with serene and shining face.
O sad-faced mourners, who each day are wending
Through churchyard paths of cypress and of yew,
Leave for today the low graves you are tending,
And lift your eyes to God's eternal blue!
It is no time for bitterness or sadness;
Twine Easter lilies, not pale asphodels;
Let your souls thrill to the caress of gladness,
And answer the sweet chime of Easter bells.
If Christ were still within the grave's low prison,
A captive of the enemy we dread;
If from that moldering cell He had not risen,
Who then could chide the gloomy tears you shed?
If Christ were dead there would be need to sorrow,
But He has risen and vanquished death for aye;
Hush, then your sighs, if only till the morrow,
At Easter give your grief a holiday.
--May Riley Smith
A well-known minister was in his study writing an Easter sermon when the thought gripped him that his Lord was living. He jumped up excitedly and paced the floor repeating to himself, "Why Christ is alive, His ashes are warm, He is not the great 'I was,' He is the great 'I am.'" He is not only a fact, but a living fact. Glorious truth of Easter Day!
We believe that out of every grave there blooms an Easter lily, and in every tomb there sits an angel. We believe in a risen Lord. Turn not your faces to the past that we may worship only at His grave, but above and within that we may worship the Christ that lives. And because He lives, we shall live also. --Abbott
Sermon Outline
- I points: - The assurance of immortality - The joy of resurrection - The call to celebrate life
- II points: - The significance of Christ's resurrection - The impact on believers' lives - The promise of eternal life
- III points: - The contrast between sorrow and joy - The role of faith in overcoming grief - The invitation to embrace hope
- IV points: - The power of the living Christ - The transformation of mourning into celebration - The call to share the message of resurrection
Key Quotes
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” — Charles E. Cowman
“If Christ were dead there would be need to sorrow, But He has risen and vanquished death for aye.” — Charles E. Cowman
“He is not the great 'I was,' He is the great 'I am.'” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Reflect on the significance of Christ's resurrection in your daily life.
- Share the message of hope and joy with those who are grieving.
- Celebrate the promise of eternal life and live with a sense of joy and purpose.