Power Revealed

Mallory Mathias • April 20, 2022

Notes from Pastor Ky's message on Matthew 28:1-15.


This past Sunday we celebrated the truth that after Jesus was crucified, He rose from the grave and conquered sin and death! 



In His resurrection, Jesus shows us that He has power over death.


How? He is the author of life — He existed before death was a thing.


There is no other major world religion that has a holiday where they celebrate the day that their God or prophet rose from the grave, nor will you find any Christian church that claims to house the remains of Jesus. As Christians, we set our hopes on the resurrection of Jesus! 



The resurrection also shows us His power over all other authorities.


In Matthew, we have observed a power struggle between Jesus and the religious teachers of His day. Ultimately, these leaders plotted to kill Jesus because they were jealous of Him.


In Matthew 28:11, we see how these religious leaders responded when they learned that He had risen – they bribed soldiers to say that His disciples stole His body. Contrast their response to how Jesus’ disciples responded — most of them went to their deaths proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection! If Jesus hadn’t risen from the grave, they would have had nothing to gain (and everything to lose!) by sharing this news. 


Though with Jesus’ death, it seemed as if the Pharisees had won — but, as it turned out, Jesus was actually using their aggression toward Him to accomplish His own purpose.


“For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I make take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This charge I have received it from my Father.” — John 10:17-18


The religious leaders did not take His life from Him, but He chose to lay it down.


By His resurrection, Jesus established His authority not just over death, but over all other rulers, principalities, and authorities – especially the Jewish religious leaders, who thought they could silence Him along with His teachings and followers by putting Him to death.



The resurrection also proved that Jesus has the power to forgive.


Jesus tells those that believe and place their faith and trust in Him that “your sins are forgiven.” How could He promise that? Under the Old Covenant, being in right standing with God required a lot of work. Their system was all above levels of access (temple areas, sacrifices, etc.). Jesus could offer free forgiveness because He was the answer that is all of those things — the temple, the priests, the sacrifices — they were all just preludes to the work of Christ. 


We no longer have to make sacrifices for our sins because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.


Hebrews 10:11–12, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”


More than just making a sacrifice for Jewish people, Jesus made access to God available to everyone.


Consider the woman at the well (John 4:13-14),


“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”


We all often wonder, “can God really forgive me?” It’s funny that even unbelievers are known to have “Come to Jesus” meetings. Often, these meetings are full of dread, shame, and confrontation.


But friends, the promise Jesus has given us is that if we would be willing to turn from our sins and draw near to Him, that experience is not one of dread or being bludgeoned with endless guilt or shame. Rather, it’s one of coming home! A Father, his arms extended, welcoming His children back into the fold.


Psalm 103:12 paints a dramatic picture for us, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”


He’s a good Father who loves us!

His message is as simple for us as it was for the woman at the well. There’s no special journey, no special person, no moral scale you have to tip — just repent and believe! 


Had Jesus said all this, died, and stayed in the tomb, all of those claims would be irrelevant. But He didn’t! We can rejoice in the fact that Jesus did not stay in His grave, but on the third day rose again to spend eternity with His Father in Heaven. He paid the ultimate sacrifice and washed our sins white as snow, so we can now spend eternity with Him too.


This is the hope that we have in Jesus, and why we celebrate Easter Sunday!


“Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

— Romans 10:9

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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