{"id":11540,"date":"2026-04-05T07:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=11540"},"modified":"2026-04-05T07:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:39:34","slug":"jesus-is-risen-indeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=11540","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Is Risen Indeed!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Scripture Readings: John 20: 1-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Easter! Before we begin today, I would like to share a brief word from my heart. Over the past weeks, my husband has been 41 days in the ICU with a massive heart attack, bypass surgery, and an Impella procedure. In those long and uncertain days, we have witnessed again and again that God is the One who truly helps, sustains, and intervenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been many moments that we can only describe as miracles. We have seen the Lord\u2019s healing hands at work, binding up and restoring, and His presence has been with us through every moment. We have also experienced waves of emotion – deep gratitude, quiet hope, and at times discouragement – but through every step, God has remained faithfully with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have been deeply strengthened and comforted by the sincere prayers of so many in our church family and beyond. Through your prayers and support, God has given us strength, peace, and hope. Uncertainty and difficulties are still ongoing, but I am truly grateful to God and all of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 1) Today, with the resurrection hope, we gather not at a place of defeat, but at an empty tomb. In John 20: 1-18, the story begins with a stone that has been rolled away. It was not by human strength, but by the power of God. No one saw it happen. No one prayed it into motion. Yet God had already acted. While the disciples were asleep, while Mary was grieving, while the world remained unaware, God was working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How often is this true in our lives? There are moments when we feel stuck, when something feels sealed and final, like a tomb. But even then, God is not absent. God is working quietly, faithfully, and powerfully, even when we do not notice. God is moving, helping, and making a way, even when we are in pain or confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will we respond when we see what God has done? Today, I invite you and I to look at His quiet work again in our lives. Where has He made a way without us realizing it? The resurrection begins there. Today, may we open our hearts to see where God has already rolled the stone away in our lives, and may we encounter the risen Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary Magdalene becomes the first witness of the resurrection. She went to the tomb. She ran and told the disciples. She stood outside weeping and stooped and looked inside and spoke with angels. She saw Jesus but did not recognize Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 2) Mary\u2019s journey shows us that faith is often a path of movement, confusion, and persistence, where encountering Jesus may come gradually rather than instantly. Even in her grief, she stayed. Even in her confusion, she looked again. And then, everything changed. Jesus called her by name, \u201cMary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that moment, her sorrow turns to recognition and joy, revealing a risen Lord who meets us personally and knows us deeply. And what does Mary do? She goes and declares: \u201cI have seen the Lord.\u201d This is the heart of Easter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 3) We may all encounter Jesus in different ways. We may hear His voice differently. We may come to faith through different journeys. But the calling is the same. Jesus not only comforts but also sends, calling us to become witnesses who proclaim, \u201cI have seen the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is present, near, and compassionate. He asks Mary, \u201cWhy are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?\u201d He meets Mary in her sorrow and calls her by name. This is resurrection power, not only conquering death, but restoring relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus does not only rise. He comes near, speaks, comforts, and calls.
And then He gives a mission: \u201cGo to my brothers and tell them\u2026\u201d Mary is sent. The first witness of the resurrection is commissioned to proclaim it. And today, that calling continues. We are not only people who believe in the resurrection. We are sent because of it. May we encounter again the Risen Lord who calls and sends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the disciples heard the news, they ran to the tomb. They looked, entered, and saw. And the Scripture says: \u201cThey believed.\u201d The disciples move from running to believing yet return to ordinary life where the risen Christ continues to meet them. Here is the hope: Even when they returned home, their story was not over. The risen Jesus would come to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 4) In the same way, even when we return to our daily routines, the risen Christ is still coming toward us. The empty tomb is not the end; it is the beginning. So let us run toward Jesus. May we look again and believe more deeply. And let us remember: In the middle of ordinary life, even in the unexpected suffering, we may encounter the risen Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the stone has been rolled away.God is working – even when we do not see it.Like Mary, may we seek, remain, and respond.Like the disciples, may we run, see, and believe.And like those first witnesses,
may we go and proclaim:\u201cI have seen the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 5) Brothers and sisters, as you go back into your daily lives today, let us remember this: The resurrection is not only something we celebrate –
it is something we live. Let us look for the places where the stone has been rolled away. May we look for the signs of God\u2019s quiet work in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when we encounter the risen Jesus, let us go and tell and live as witnesses. May the power of the risen Christ fill your hearts, strengthen your faith, and guide your steps. From now on, may we learn to recognize God\u2019s quiet work in our everyday lives, and may the life and hope of the risen Christ take root within us. In the risen Christ, may our hearts overflow with this confession: \u201cI have seen the Lord,\u201d and may our lives become a living testimony of His resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks be to God! Amen.
<\/strong>(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials, and a Vanderbilt Divinity Library Resources)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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