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HPUMC - Cornerstone Sermons (Contemporary Worship)

Fear and Great Joy

·23 min·2 clips
A pastor argues that your belief about God is the greatest predictor of your future, based on scientific research.
The episode is a contemporary Christian sermon delivered outdoors, beginning with gratitude for the setting and volunteers. The host introduces the core theme: beliefs shape your future, referencing Shawn Achor's scientific work on happiness. He posits that the most important belief is about God's existence and nature. After a prayer, he engages the audience with a lighthearted question about first concerts, sharing staff responses like One Direction and NSYNC. He then transitions to scripture, reading Matthew 28:1-10, which describes Mary Magdalene and the other Mary visiting Jesus' tomb, encountering an angel who announces the resurrection. The host explains the passage as a breaking of the spiritual 'heaven' into the physical 'earth,' with the angel's message centered on 'do not be afraid.' He breaks down the Easter message into three actions: don't be afraid, come and see, go and tell. For skeptics, he emphasizes 'come and see,' sharing his own near-departure from faith and transformation through daily Bible reading and prayer. For believers, he stresses 'go and tell' through actions in daily life. The sermon culminates with a detailed personal anecdote: his first concert was Pearl Jam on August 3, 2000, in Virginia Beach, shortly after nine fans died at a Pearl Jam show in Denmark. He describes Eddie Vedder leading the crowd in singing 'it's okay' to process grief, highlighting a universal human desire for assurance. The host contrasts this with the Christian belief that God, through Jesus' resurrection, promises to make things ultimately okay. He concludes by reiterating that belief in the resurrection is something to build a life on, leading into a hymn and closing prayer.

As heard by us

An Easter sermon that turns a short resurrection text into a clear call to trust, see, and speak.

This Easter sermon keeps close to the original message: the angel's words to the women at the tomb, the frightened guards, and the simple charge, "do not be afraid." It also argues that belief is never just private thought, insisting that what people hold true about God shapes…

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Why you'd press play

When you want Easter distilled to three verbs and one empty tomb, start here.

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