Easter Sunrise Sermon: Face Your Sunrise with Hope (Mark 16:1-20)

Running head: EASTER SUNRISE SERMON
Easter Sunrise Sermon
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Easter Sunrise Sermon: Face Your Sunrise with Hope (Mark 16:1-20)
Introduction:
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him... Then the disciples went out
and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the
signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:1-20)
The message of the God to us for Easter remains same year after year. With the Easter
morning around the corner let us not forget that God always brings new life when we are
surrounded with death, gives us trust and courage when we are afraid, showers his love when
there is indifference, brings joy when we are in grief and gives us hope when we are in
despair. The women in Mark 16, who came to the tomb of Jesus Christ after he was crucified
were not only grieving, but also were in a state of shock for seeing a young and lovable
person who they all adored being so violently executed. Even today there are so much of
grief around us and find ourselves or others close to us grieving and mourning for the demise
of our loved ones who lost their loves in acts of violence. We can therefore relate to how
those women felt while grieving for Jesus Christ. However on the morning of Easter, God
brought them hope as he would also do for us. We should therefore face the Easter Sunrise
with hope.
Discussion:
Mark 16 chronicles the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the day of Easter; it starts with
three grieving women, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Salome going to the tomb of Jesus Christ.
Upon reaching the tomb they realize the large stone guarding the entrance of the tomb was
removed and they saw a young man declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that he

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shall appear before his disciples. Jesus them appears to Mary Magdalene, driving away seven
demons from her. He then appeared to all the people morning his death and finally appearing
to the Eleven, instructing to spread the word of God after criticizing them for not being able
to belief in him and questioning his teachings. He promised miracles such as driving away
demons, surviving deadly poisons, heal the sick people can happen in his name and made the
Eleven his disciples. After this he went to heaven and his disciples preached his love and
compassion across the world and spreading his word.
This story teaches us three important things: firstly we live our faith by sharing the
compassion and love of god, secondly, when given the right motivation we can do amazing
things beyond our own imagination and thirdly even when we have failed, Jesus still sees
well in us and gives us the opportunity of redemption and he still loves us.
We live our faith by sharing the compassion and love of God:
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15)
God’s message to his disciples was very clear and simple one “spreading the gospel of
God” everywhere. But the gospel of the God is message of his love and compassion towards
all beings. The gospel tells us how much the God loves us despite our failures, inadequacies
and our mistakes and is compassionate enough to forgive us of our sins and mistakes and in
the end he comes to take us and relieve us from the bondage of life and death, ushering us to
the eternal bliss.
“Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled
away” (Mark 16:2-4)