He Is Not Here: The Tomb Is Empty

In one paragraph

Pastor Carl preached on John 20:1-18 on Resurrection Sunday, walking through the eyewitness account of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John discovering the empty tomb. He framed the resurrection as the hinge on which the entire gospel turns, and called the congregation to remember what it felt like the first time the good news clicked for them personally. Before getting into John's account, Pastor Carl...

Read together

1. Matthew 28 Angel at the tomb announcing the resurrection, read as the opening scripture
2. Luke 8 Records Mary Magdalene's story of Jesus casting seven demons from her
3. Genesis 1 In the beginning God created, and walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day
4. John 20:1-18 The main sermon text, John's eyewitness account of the resurrection
5. John 14:19 Jesus says because I live you will also live
6. John 11 Jesus tells Lazarus's sister I am the resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me will live even after dying
7. John 3:16 God so loved the world that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life
8. John 10:4 The good shepherd's sheep follow him because they know his voice
9. 1 Corinthians 15 Paul states what is of first importance: Christ died, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the scriptures
10. Acts 17 Paul brings the good news of the resurrection to Athens and some want to hear more
11. Mark 9 The father's prayer, I believe but help me in my unbelief
12. Romans 15 Closing benediction: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
13. Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless and keep you benediction spoken as a closing blessing

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl walked through the gospel using the acronym GOSPEL and said that 'there cannot be good news if there isn't bad news.' What part of that presentation struck you most, and why does the bad news matter for understanding the good news?
2. Pastor Carl pointed out that every person in the resurrection account, including Mary Magdalene and Peter and John, had a personal history with Jesus that shaped how they responded at the tomb. What does your own story with Jesus look like, and how has knowing Him changed you since that first encounter?
3. John referred to himself not by name but as 'the one whom Jesus loves,' and Pastor Carl described that as a humble way of grounding his identity in being loved by Jesus rather than in his own name or reputation. How do you tend to define your own identity, and what would it look like to root it the way John did?
4. Pastor Carl noted that Jesus came out of the tomb and called His scattered, frightened disciples not weasels or traitors but brothers, saying 'go tell my family.' What does that tell you about how Jesus responds to people who have let Him down, and how does that shape the way you think about your own failures?
5. Pastor Carl closed by saying this is not always a one-and-done moment, and that some people need to keep coming back and hearing more before it clicks. If you are in that place right now, or if you remember being there, what was it that finally moved you from hearing the story to believing it?