Mark 16:5+6, And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 
On this day that we set aside as the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ to commemorate His death and resurrection, it would do us well to pause and to reflect upon what that means to us. While it will take all of eternity to understand the surpassing significance of the fact that the Son of God gave Himself up to death on the cross in order to make our salvation a reality, we would be utterly remiss in our duties as His Church on this earth if we did not continually remind ourselves of this so great act of God’s love. 
As human beings, we are so apt to begin to take things for granted and to just accept as a common fact of history the death and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hopefully, we all embraced it at the moment of our salvation, as so concisely detailed for us by the Apostle Paul in Rom 10:9+10. Rom 10:9+10, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. If this is not the case as yet with anyone in this room, please see me after this morning’s worship so we can talk and pray together. 
The vital point that is before us is that we often begin to take things for granted and just gloss over the beauty and the magnificence and the utter importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sadly, it can become merely a commonplace knowledge, filed away in our minds as just another detail in our experience with the Lord. We must never allow that to happen in our minds and in our hearts as individuals or as a fellowship. 
This is one of the reasons that we partake of the communion table on a weekly basis, at the early stage of our worship. Doing so, we remind ourselves and join together in the fact that we are here only because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is imperative that we ever and always hold this miracle of God’s Omniscience, and Omnipotence and His Grace and His Mercy as sacred and cherished in our lives, in our hearts, in our minds, and in our sincere adoration of The Lord God, Almighty! 
There are several aspects of the truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the death that He suffered on the cross that we want to highlight this morning. This is not some intensive theological dissertation. We want to bring back to our immediate thoughts the basic and singular realities of Christ that we might have simply filed away.
First, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very basis of the Gospel, the Good News of our salvation. Please open in your Bibles to 1 Cor 15:12-26, as we read just how important the Apostle Paul considered the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 15:12-26, Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 
	It is the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead that gives us the hope of our salvation. If it were not so, then we are fools, and to be pitied, as the Apostle tells us. However, thanks be to The Lord God Almighty, He raised Jesus from the dead and in that victorious triumph, He has abolished all fear of sin and of death for those who believe in the Good News that Jesus Christ is both Savior and Lord. He is our promise of redemption and salvation as in Him we too will be raised up from our earthly deaths to live with Him forevermore. 
	Next, the resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter morning is the proof that Jesus is Who He said He was throughout His earthly ministry. He is the Only Begotten Son of God, the I Am, the Christ, the Lord and Savior of those who will call upon His name. Turn in your Bibles to Acts 2:22-26 where we hear what the Apostle Peter so boldly proclaimed to the people on the Day of Pentecost. 
	Acts 2:22-36, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. "For David says of Him, 'I was always beholding the Lord in my presence; For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 'Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will abide in hope; Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. 'Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou wilt make me full of gladness with Thy presence.' "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified." 
	It is because God raised Him from the dead that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit testify, in the power of His resurrection life, that Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God is both Lord and Christ. And more than being just the Messiah of the Nation of Israel, His resurrection life was so fully authoritative and dominating that, by it, God’s salvation was opened to all the Gentile nations on earth. Jesus is the Savior of any who will call upon His name and believe that God raised Him from the dead.
	The Apostle Peter then reiterates this basic truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, as recorded in Acts 10:38-43, if you would please read along with me. Acts 10:38-43, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. "And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. "God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." 
	It is by the power of the resurrection that …everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. If there was no resurrection, there would be no forgiveness of sin, no salvation, no Good News for you and for me. All would be a futile wishing and hoping that somehow somewhere by some means, we will have a better afterlife than what we have right now. But the truth is that because Jesus rose from the dead, all those sins that He took upon Himself to the cross are eternally dealt with and we are saved! Hallelujah! His resurrection seals the eternal forgiveness of our sins and raises us into a living relationship with God forever and forever. It is a relationship of family, making us the very children of God in Jesus Christ!
	This, then brings us to the next focal truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His resurrection not only gives us hope and peace in our relationship with God, but it gives us the comfort of knowing that our loved ones, who died in Christ, will be raised up with Him. 
1 Thess 4:13-18 is a passage that we often rightly read together when we celebrate the homegoing of our loved ones. And it is the resurrection of Christ that makes it a celebration and a comfort to know that they belong to the Lord, even as they have passed the boundaries and defilements of this earthly existence. 
1 Thess 4:13-18, But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 
	The next verity that is ours by the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one that we have already intimated, but can never be sufficiently emphasized. It is the truth of the Godhood of Our Lord Jesus. This was revealed to Martha, in John 11:24-27, as she was mourning the death of her brother, Lazarus. Jesus gave her the assurance that in Him, in Jesus, was eternal life. Our resurrection unto eternal life is secure in Him, and His resurrection sealed that promise made to Martha and to all who believe in Him. John 11:24-27, Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? " She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." 
	Jesus can make such a promise because He is the Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth and the One in Whom life has its very source. When He promised that eternal life was there for everyone who believes in Him, it is a surety, a certainty that was instituted and guaranteed and sealed by His own resurrection. 
	Next, consider the reality that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the security that we have peace with God and that our entire lives are kept and ordered by Him. As He raised Christ from the dead, so does He manifest that power every day in the manner in which we live our lives on this earth. Please turn to Rom 4:23-5:11, and rejoice together in this passage. 
	Rom 4:23-5:11, Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. 
Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 
	The final aspect, detailed in Col 3:1-4, that we will highlight this morning is the fact that as Christ has been raised from the dead, so we will be raised with Him and we will be seen in His glory. It will not be any glory of our own, but all based on the truth that His resurrection has created eternal life in us, with Him in His life. Col 3:1-4, If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 
	Hopefully, as we celebrate together the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we will give God all praise and honor and glory for the awesome manner in which the resurrection life of Jesus is so effective and vital in our lives now and forever more. We rejoice for all eternity because He lives and reigns on high. So be it. 
	And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen... Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Isa 2:2+3. Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Amen.