This morning… we are not just celebrating Easter… we are stepping into it. I want you to see it… feel it… hear it… Like you are there.
“We were justified in a courtroom — FOUND NOT GUILTY
AND RELEASED TO ATTEND OUR wedding.”
“We were justified in a courtroom — FOUND NOT GUILTY
AND RELEASED TO ATTEND OUR wedding.”
Grace is defined from a Biblical perspective as “the undeserved, unearned favor of God giving blessings, forgiveness, and strength that they have not earned.
Matt 25:1-13
• The virgins = covenant community
• The lamps = visible faith
• The oil = sustained relationship
• The delay = Father-determined preparation
• The door = covenant union, not exclusion
BIG PICTURE
Creation → Fall → Promise → Betrothal → Preparation → Return → Wedding → Dwelling
Most of us grew up hearing salvation described in courtroom language.
We heard about:
• judgment
• books being opened
• verdicts rendered
• “well done, good and faithful servant”
And hear me clearly:
That language is biblical.
They are necessary.
They are true.
But they are not final.
It answers the question:
How can a holy God deal justly with sin?
But here’s what the courtroom never answers:
Why did God want us in the first place?
We don't marry in a courtroom.
The courtroom resolves guilt.
It does not create intimacy.
Church, if we stop with courtroom language,
we understand justice…
but we never fully understand God’s heart.
Life After Death Is the Most Rational Conclusion, Not the Most Religious
Science Can Observe Death, But It Cannot Explain Life
The Creator of Time, Space, and Matter Must Exist Beyond Them
The Human Heart Craves Eternity Because It Was Made for It
The resurrection restores meaning: Death does not have the last word.”
For Believers: Life Beyond the Grave Is Not Survival, It’s Glory
LIFE Is Not Only Future — It Starts Now
“I don’t just HAVE eternal life — I live IN the One who IS Life.”
Betrothal a Legal Act
Betrothal involved three formal steps:
The Bride Price (Mohar)
The Covenant
Agreement
(Ketubah)
The Cup of
Acceptance
Betrothal a Legal Act
Betrothal involved three formal steps:
The Bride Price (Mohar)
The Covenant
Agreement
(Ketubah)
The Cup of
Acceptance
Everything we’ve preached about LIFE comes together here:
• Life begins at belief
• Life is present now
• Life is unbroken fellowship
Life is not interrupted by death
So death isn’t leaving Life behind —
it’s leaving the shadows of Life for its
substance.
