If you’re here and you’re new, or kind of new, or a little bit new — welcome. Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church. We’re super glad that you’re here. Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is risen. And we are celebrating. This is a great week to be reminded of what Christ has done. This resurrection day — this Holy Week — is a great reminder that we know Jesus and that we can walk with Jesus and that Jesus has an incredible plan for our lives.

When I was growing up, I have a lot of memories around Easter. My mom would make a basket and give me and my two brothers one each. My mom loves jelly beans — there would always be jelly beans in there, some chocolate bunnies, things like that. But one of the things my mom always put in the basket was a matching outfit for me and my brothers.

So I went deep into the family archives and found the earliest photo of me and my brothers in matching outfits. I am the child on grandma’s lap. And as you can tell, I am a descendant from the people of the land of Chicago. We have striped shirts on and shorts — and what a great photo of me and my brothers smiling and just getting along. There’s nothing wrong with this photo, except our cousins freaking out on grandpa’s lap. But that’s okay. Screaming — that’s all right.

Because I know my brothers and I, I know what was happening before this photo. We were totally fighting. And after this photo, we were fighting. Because that’s what we knew how to do best. We knew how to argue and we knew how to fight. My parents were always telling us, “Stop arguing. Stop fighting.” But oh, we got the photo. And my two older brothers would always be fighting with each other, and it looked like so much fun that I’d jump in the middle between them. They’d turn their attention to me, throw me out, and go back to each other.

What’s in the photo doesn’t always represent the reality before and the reality after. What’s on Instagram isn’t necessarily the reality of what’s happening before or what’s happening after. I don’t know what the photo of your life looks like right now. Some of you may have even taken photos today — we had photo booths all over the campus, and I’m sure many have already taken a family photo or are going to. And that photo shows something, but there’s a reality before and there’s a reality after.

What we’re going to look at from God’s word today is a photo. It’s a photo from the first day — the resurrection day — the first day of Jesus being resurrected. And we’re going to see that from this photo, there’s a reality of what people were experiencing before. And then there was a reality of what people experienced after. And the key change is because God revealed himself. God showed up into the lives of people who were in a photo and he brought radical transformation into their lives.

And I think as we look at the text today — as we look at the photo from the day that Jesus was resurrected from the grave — God is going to use this to reveal himself to you, into your photo, so that if God showed up into the photo of your life today, no matter what the reality has been before, there might be possibility for transformation after.

Let me pray for us. Father God, Lord, thank you for your word. God, I pray that you would use your word — that your word would be the loudest voice in the room — and as we look at your word, that your Holy Spirit would be at work and you would use it in our lives in a significant way right here, right now. I pray this in Jesus’ name, and all God’s family said, amen.

If you have a Bible, I want to encourage you to turn to Luke chapter 24. If you don’t have a Bible, our team would love to give you one at the end of the gathering. The verses are going to be on the screen as well, so you’ll be able to follow along.

In Luke 24, I’m going to read from verse 36 through 53. And it’s a photo — a photo from the day that Jesus was resurrected from the grave.

In verse 36: “As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were startled and frightened, and they thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate it before them. Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’ And he led them out as far as Bethany. And lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.”

This is a photo of a moment late in the day on the day that Jesus was resurrected from the grave. If you were to look at a photo album from the days leading up to this, you’d have seen a photo of Jesus having dinner with twelve disciples — what we refer to as the Last Supper. You’d have seen a photo of Jesus praying in the garden. You’d have seen a photo of Jesus being arrested by religious leaders and put on a religious trial. You’d have seen a photo of Jesus being handed over to the Roman guards and being beaten horribly. You’d see a photo of Jesus dying on a cross — the crucifixion. You’d see a photo of his body, which was dead, being taken off the cross and laid in a tomb, a large stone rolled in front of it with Roman soldiers standing guard. And you’d see a photo on resurrection morning where the tomb had the stone rolled away and it was empty. And you’d see a photo of two women trying to understand what was happening, a couple of disciples, two guys walking on the road — and Jesus begins to appear and show up multiple times — until we get to the photo of this passage, late in the day, where he appears to all the disciples.

The people in this photo — before this photo, they’re not doing well. The man they had followed for three years, whom they trusted as their leader and understood to be their savior — they saw him die and it crushed them. They were full of sadness, full of grief and despair. They were not in a good place. This was not a good season of their life. They were hurting and they were in pain.

And yet we see in this photo, God takes people whose reality was very hard and very difficult before this photo, and after this photo it ends with them worshiping and praising and full of joy. Why? Because God revealed himself. And God revealing himself is the reason their lives were transformed. Before this photo and after this photo, their lives were changed.

God shows up into the photo of people who lack peace. He gives them peace and he changes their lives. There are two phrases from this passage that are really important for us to grab hold of — they’ll help us understand why this photo from a couple thousand years ago even matters for our life today.

One phrase is: Jesus said to them, “Peace to you.” And another is: “Then Jesus opened their minds.”

All through human history, individuals have sought peace. They’ve worked with other people to seek peace. They’ve signed many documents to have peace, and it’s all failed. How is it that this one specific person in human history is actually able to offer peace when everyone else has failed to do it? All throughout human history, people have sought to be enlightened, gone on long painful journeys to try and open up their minds, and they haven’t been able to do it. How is this one person in all of human history able to open up their minds?

Jesus said to them, “Peace to you.” Then Jesus opened their minds. God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And where everyone in human history has failed to find peace and have their minds opened on their own, God shows up and does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He brings peace into our lives. He opens up our minds so that we can understand.

So how does this matter? How does the photo of this moment matter for our lives today? How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us?

If you are new to Jesus, new to church, new to God — you are going to learn something today that is going to be incredibly helpful for you to understand. If you already walk with the Lord, today is going to be an incredible moment for you to gain a deeper understanding of what God has done to make the peace of Jesus available to us.

Number one: peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. God took action to ensure that the peace of Jesus would be available to us. And one of the ways God took action is this: peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

What does that mean? That means Jesus lived and had a body. He was a human. He ministered. He ate dinner with the disciples. He was a human. And he had a body when he was beaten. And he had a body when he was nailed to a cross. He had a body that died. He had a body that was laid in a tomb. And he had a body that was resurrected to new life — raised to new life. He had a body, and peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Part of my story is that I had a hard time understanding the bodily resurrection of Jesus. How is that possible? How does a body come back to life? I had a hard time understanding it and a hard time explaining it to others who would ask questions about it. And if you’re here and you’re having a hard time understanding the bodily resurrection of Jesus, I want you to know you’re in a great place — because I was in that place too. And God showed up in my life. And maybe God’s going to show up in your life today.

Look at the references to the bodily resurrection of Jesus in this passage. Verse 36: “Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’” But they were startled and frightened — they thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them: “Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they were still disbelieving for joy, they were marveling. And he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” And he ate a piece of broiled fish before them.

Look at the five senses of the human body being displayed here — all of them, even smell. You know that fish smelled. It’s all here. All five senses of the human body are being shown. He had a body, and peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us? Because Jesus conquered death. The fact that Jesus conquered death means that we can conquer death also. You may have skepticism about it — and that’s not a problem for God. He can help you overcome that. You may have doubt — and that’s not a problem for God. He can help you overcome that. He did that for me and he can do that for you. Peace has been made available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. And in the same way that this gives testimony that Jesus was raised to new life in a body, it gives us hope that we might have a future where we are raised to life in a new body because of Jesus.

Peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Also: peace is available because of the fulfilled prophecy about Jesus.

As I began to walk with the Lord and read my Bible, one of the things that fascinated me was the hundreds of prophecies about specific details about a person’s life that were foretold hundreds of years prior to happening — and they came true in the life of Jesus. That is fascinating. That there would be prophecy foretold about a specific person in time, and that hundreds of prophecies would be fulfilled in the same person. It blew my mind. And God used his word to draw me closer into relationship with him. And maybe God’s going to do that with you.

In verses 44 and 45: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

In our Bible — in the Christian Bible — we have the Old Testament and the New Testament. This is like Jesus saying: “Everything in the Old Testament that talked about me, it all had to come true.” Hundreds of references. They all had to come true. Hundreds of prophecies about specific things about my life. Every one of them had to be fulfilled. The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms — the Hebrew Bible — all of it, everything about Jesus, it all had to come true.

How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us? Because the Savior came. The prophecies are about a Savior. What was foretold in the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, is about a specific person who is the Savior. And that specific person fulfilled all of those prophecies — which means the Savior came. Peace is available because of the fulfilled prophecy about Jesus.

You may go on the same journey that I went on. You may begin to have your confidence in Jesus built as you begin to realize the hundreds of prophecies that are fulfilled about him. It built my trust and my confidence in the person of Jesus Christ as seen in the scriptures. And maybe God’s going to do the same thing with you.

Peace is available because of the fulfilled prophecy about Jesus. And peace is available because of the death of Jesus on the cross.

Two days ago on Good Friday, about a thousand people gathered here to remember the cross that Jesus died on — the cross of Jesus Christ, where he died and his blood was shed for the purpose of paying for our sin. We gathered to remember the death of Jesus Christ on the cross because it is the location that God chose for those prophecies to be fulfilled — that the Savior would shed blood so that you and I might have our sins forgiven.

And I want you to know: as a young adult man, when I realized the ugliness of my sin — dirty, nasty sin — and I came to realize that another man died because of my sin, I was greatly humbled to realize that the sin I deserve to die for, Jesus died for me instead. Maybe God’s going to humble you. Maybe God’s going to help you understand that your sin was paid for by another man — Jesus Christ — who died on the cross.

Peace is available because of the death of Jesus on the cross. In verses 46 through 48: “And he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”

He’s saying: all those prophecies about the Savior had to be fulfilled. The Christ, the Savior, had to suffer — because the prophecies said the Christ would suffer. But not just suffer — on the third day, rise from the dead. And that would give opportunity for repentance, which means to turn away. Repentance of sin — to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus. Not just to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus, but to receive forgiveness of those sins. And that is the message that’s going to go out, proclaimed in his name. It’s the same message that’s been proclaimed for thousands of years beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And now you, here today, are witnesses of these things.

How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us? Because the price has been paid. The price for our sin — my sin, your sin — it has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. You have the opportunity to repent of your sins as well.

Your sin is ugly, and you’re the only one who knows how ugly it is. Your sin is nasty, and you’re the only one who knows. You and God — you both know about your sin. And you might be thinking that you’ve sinned too much and you can’t be forgiven. That’s not true. Because the peace of Jesus has been made available because of Jesus dying on the cross. And you can repent of your sins today. You can experience forgiveness by trusting in Jesus Christ and the blood of Jesus shed for you.

I highly recommend you do it. I highly recommend that you trust in Jesus Christ, repent of your sin, and accept the forgiveness of your sin that is offered in the name of Jesus Christ. It is the only name that it is offered in. And I highly recommend that you trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin.

Peace is available because of the death of Jesus on the cross. And number four: peace is available because of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

I want you to know I was greatly encouraged when I came to the realization that Jesus is alive and is in heaven — in the throne room of heaven, which is over all of creation. He is alive. He is in the throne room of heaven over all of creation. That was greatly encouraging to me: peace is available because of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

In verses 49 through 53: “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Jesus said: “I am sending” — sending from where? Sending from heaven. He said, “You’re going to have power from on high.” Where is on high? Heaven. And they watched him be carried up into heaven. How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us? Because the throne room of heaven decided to make it available to us. It was a decision made in the throne room of heaven over all of creation to have peace be made available to us.

You can have your life transformed by the peace of Jesus. Jesus is alive and he is in the throne room of heaven right now. And he can make his peace available to you right now. And your life can be transformed right now by Jesus, who is the Son of God, who is in the throne room of heaven.

How has the peace of Jesus been made available to us? One: peace is available because of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Two: peace is available because of the fulfilled prophecy about Jesus. Three: peace is available because of the death of Jesus on the cross. And four: peace is available because of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

In this photo from the day that Jesus was resurrected, there are two phrases that are so important. Jesus said to them, “Peace to you.” Then Jesus opened their minds. So the question is: is God opening your mind to receive the peace of Jesus?

Each one of us is invited individually to the peace of Jesus. Each one of us is invited as an individual to receive the peace of Jesus.

Let me share with you a passage that describes true peace. This is from Ephesians chapter 2: “But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

It says that you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Do you think that you’re far from God? Well, then you’re in the right place — because if you’re far from God, you can be brought near by the blood of Jesus. It says that he himself is our peace. Have you been trying to have peace on your own and it keeps failing? Well, then you’re in the right place, because now you know you can’t do it. And he himself is our peace.

It says that he creates one new man in place of two — two individuals who can’t get along, who are hostile toward one another, who can’t be in relationship. Families. Nations. People groups. And you know what he does? He brings people together to experience peace because of the blood of Jesus.

Maybe you feel like you’re near to God. Maybe you feel like you’re far away from God. It doesn’t matter how close or how far away you are — peace is for you. That is the message of peace, the preaching of peace. It’s the peace that Jesus offers, that you might be in relationship with God because of his blood shed for you. Jesus is our peace. We can have peace with God and we can have peace with others because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

When I was a young adult, I was really good at one thing — screwing everything up. I made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision. I had an incredible run going. And God showed up in my life and he used a verse from the Bible to help me understand that he wanted to give me peace. And this is the verse that God used when I was a young adult: Colossians 3:15 — “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

I knew I was horrible at making decisions. I knew I was horrible at ruling my own heart. I was doing a horrible job. And God used his word to help me understand that I could have the peace of Christ rule in my heart instead of having me try to rule my heart. And it’s exactly what I needed to hear — because I was in a horrible place, and I needed God to be in charge of my life because I wasn’t any good at it. God showed up in my life when I was a young adult and he used this specific verse to help me understand he wanted to give me his peace.

I don’t know what the photo of your life looks like right now. I don’t know about the reality of what has just happened in your life. I don’t know about your history. I don’t know about the pain and the suffering and the grief and the sorrow that you have experienced. But I know this: you and I are the same. We need the peace of Jesus. We need the peace of God in our life.

And in the same way that in this photo from scripture, God shows up and reveals himself to a people who are hurting — God can show up in your life and reveal himself to you. Even if you are hurting right here and right now. And he can bring a new reality into your life because of the peace of Jesus.

If you’re here and you know that you need Jesus, I want to help you. I’m going to share with you two verses that very clearly explain how we can have salvation in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

By grace — grace is a gift that is not earned and is not deserved. That is what grace is. For by grace you have been saved. That means salvation from the penalty of our sin, which is eternal separation from God. For by grace you have been saved through faith. Faith means believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, his blood shed on the cross for our sins. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. God decided to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves. He decided to give us a gift — not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Because if you and I did it, you can be sure we’d both be bragging about it. But you and I can’t get it done. We need God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

If you’re here and you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, I’m going to invite you to pray. I’m going to lead you through a prayer right now so that you can put your faith in Jesus.

I’m going to have everyone bow their head in prayer. And if you know Christ, please be praying for those that God is working in right now. And if you’re here and you need to know Jesus, I want to encourage you to pray this along with me.

God, I need help. God, I need grace. God, I have sinned. God, I need to repent of my sin. God, will you please forgive me? God, would you save me? God, would you help me to believe? God, would you help me to trust? God, would you give me faith in Jesus Christ? God, would you give me faith that the blood of Jesus is enough? God, would you help me receive the gift of God? God, would I trust that Jesus is alive? God, would I trust that Jesus can save me?

And if you’re here and you prayed that, then I want to encourage you to also thank God. Pray like this:

God, thank you for saving me. God, thank you for forgiving me. God, thank you for showing me grace. God, thank you for loving me. God, thank you that I can have a relationship with Jesus. God, thank you for doing for me what I can’t do for myself.

God, I pray for all those who just prayed. And God, I pray that you would take every person who just prayed and take them from the prayer that they just prayed to the very next step that you have for them. And God, you would help them take that very next step, and you would walk with them, and you would continue to confirm their trust and their hope and their faith in Jesus Christ. I pray this in Jesus’ name, and all God’s family said, amen.

If you’re here and you just prayed that — during this next song, our team is going to be standing down here in front. If you just prayed to accept Jesus Christ, I want to encourage you: don’t stay alone in that. Come forward and have one of our team members pray for you. They’re going to be right up here, ready to pray for you. They want you to come. So if you’re here and you just prayed to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, come down during this next song and pray with one of the team members. It’s going to take some courage, some bravery, and some boldness. But Jesus died on the cross for you. You can walk 30 steps.

God is working in the lives of people — men and women and boys and girls. God is at work right here, church family. And we want to walk with you. If God’s stirring things up — if you prayed to receive Christ today — one of the ways you can let us know is through that connect card. It’s just a tool for you to use to let us know that God is at work in your life. If you use it, it’ll let us know and we’ll be able to come alongside you and walk with you.

Discover BBG is coming up. The whole point of that moment is to help you take that next step — whatever your next step is in following Jesus. We want to help you. Today, Logan and Aubrey were baptized. Maybe you are the next person who’s going to be baptized. And we want to help you be baptized. So if you let us know that God’s at work, if you let us know, then we can meet you where you’re at because we want to walk with you and help you.

Father God, Lord, thank you for what you’re doing in our church family. You are moving in the lives of people and you’re changing our reality. All glory to God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ, our resurrected Lord. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, and all God’s family said, amen. Church family, we love you and we’re going to see you again real soon.