The BIG "SO WHAT?" of EASTER: Overcoming!

This Sunday we celebrate the 6th Sunday of Easter. We also honor Mother's on this Mother's Day.

In 1 John 5:1-8
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. ⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood —Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the^[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

We recognize in these verses that the command of God given in his message to his disciples at the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday (Mandate Thursday which is HIS new command: "Love one another as I have loved you, you must love one another" in John 15:12) In our Gospel lesson, from this Seder meal discussion recorded in John 13-16, we hear in John 15:9-17 how we are to love and most importantly how we are loved by the Father and the Son. So we are called to share this love, not just to "like" but to "love." How appropriate that we have this command on Mother's Day since many times our mothers exemplify the love of God to us. We are to know who we are so that we can overcome the world. John states 3 times that we overcome the world because Christ has overcome the world.


In John 16 at the end of this Seder meal Jesus states what John is reiterating in his first letter to the churches: ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus reminds us that we will have trouble but we are not to be afraid, not fear, but take heart for we have Victory through his Victory. He has overcome the World. We win because he won. The resurrection proves it! Christ is risen! He has risen indeed! Hallelujah! AMEN

Let us know who we are in Christ and that we have the victory because he has won the victory over sin, death and the devil by his blood shed on Calvary.

His love is not burdensome when we know who we are, what we have and the Spirit's power in our lives. We love because he first loved us.

Happy Mother's Day, 

Pastor Bryan