One Last Sermon

The setting for today’s reading is a Sunday morning, sometimes around 6 a.m. A group of women go to the tomb of Jesus. The real story begins when they get there and find Jesus gone. Now we read:

Matthew 28:5-6

The angel …said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

In the first hours of that day, everything changed – for everyone. Jesus had been crucified, but he got up from the dead. 

In serving that same Jesus, I’ve preached well over 4,000 sermons. Most preachers who have preached that often, eventually preach one called, “If I had only one sermon to preach.” I want to tell you what sermon I would preach. If I were asked to preach one last time, There would be many wonderful topics available.

I could preach on “Why I believe in God.” I could preach on love. 1 John says that without love we are nothing. But the one we all need to feel down in our souls is ‘The Resurrection of Jesus.”

Paul explained it this way I Corinthians 15:13-19

“…If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

As a preacher, I have stood by more graves than most people. As I’ve gotten older, I have had the duty of standing by the graves of my own family and friends. When I leave those piles of dirt, I find great comfort in knowing that it is only temporary. In the song titled, “Hurt,” the writer said, “Everyone goes away in the end.” To those who do not know that Jesus got up from the grave, it would seem that way. As a believer, I say, “No! They simply go to wait for us.” 

There is not a more needed sermon for Christians to Truly believe.

Lonnie Davis