Afraid Yet Filled With Joy: Easter Resurrection Call

Easter morning opens with practical invitations: an Easter offering designated for the Food to Flourish program and an invitation to Discover Smithfield for those seeking connection. Worship moves quickly into prayer and the Lord’s Prayer, centering the day on resurrection hope. Matthew 28:1–10 unfolds the narrative: an earthquake, an angel who rolls back the stone and sits on it, guards struck down, and the angel’s proclamation that Jesus has risen. The women run from the tomb, meet the risen Jesus on the way, clasp his feet, worship, and receive a commission to tell the disciples to go to Galilee where Jesus will meet them.

The text highlights a striking paradox: the women hurry away “afraid yet filled with joy.” That tension becomes the sermon’s hinge. Everyday life resembles a roller coaster—ups, downs, sudden turns—but that mixture of fear and joy also marks childbirth, job transitions, and the inward work of dying to self. Job loss, waiting, and arrival into new ministry illustrate how fear and expectation coexist and lead to fresh work in the world. Committing to Christ appears as another form of this paradox: discipleship asks for a death to old patterns but promises deep, abiding joy and purpose.

Holy Week’s upper room supper receives attention as the moment Jesus redefines Passover—bread and cup become the new covenant, sign and seal of a life given and a life restored. Communion functions as both remembrance and commissioning: the elements point to Christ’s body broken and blood shed and send worshipers back into the world to embody that sacrificial love. The service issues a clear summons to live as people shaped by resurrection: to proclaim that Jesus is risen, to serve neighbors, and to step into new beginnings when the tomb’s emptiness calls for witness rather than retreat. The final moments celebrate new leadership in youth ministry and bless the community to go forth, proclaiming the resurrection in word and action.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Afraid yet filled with joy The tension of fear and joy refuses easy resolution; it drives movement. Fear keeps attention on risk and limits, while joy opens toward promise and mission. Holding both together prevents false bravado and passive withdrawal, calling for courageous action rooted in trust. [40:47]
• 2. Resurrection rewrites defeat into mission The empty tomb converts finality into beginning: what looked like an end becomes a summons. The angel and the risen Christ redirect grief into proclamation and steps toward Galilee. Resurrection theology requires seeing loss as an invitation to witness, not a reason for despair. [34:17]
• 3. Faith requires dying to self Following Christ demands renouncing comfortable patterns and familiar identities. That loss carries real fear because transformation dismantles certainties and social anchors. Yet the relinquishment also frees vocation and aligns life with God’s purposes, producing durable joy beyond temporary gains. [46:45]
• 4. Communion anchors resurrection memory The bread and cup root a congregation in a remembered gift that reorients daily life. Communion does more than recall; it incarnates covenantal identity that sends participants outward. Regular practice recalibrates ethical and spiritual priorities so worship shapes work, not the other way around. [53:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [09:42] - Easter Offering: Food to Flourish
• [12:03] - Opening Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
• [33:28] - Matthew 28: Tomb Encounter
• [35:52] - Women First: Witness and Worship
• [40:47] - “Afraid Yet Filled With Joy”
• [46:45] - Faith’s Call: Dying and Rising
• [52:39] - Communion: New Covenant Remembered
• [63:19] - Closing Song and Sending Prayer
• [67:44] - New Youth Leader Introduction

Bible reading: Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Observation questions

1. What specific actions did the angel take at the tomb, and what was the immediate reaction of the guards?
2. What two contrasting emotions did the women experience as they left the tomb to tell the disciples the news?
3. How did Jesus greet the women when he met them, and how did they respond to seeing him?
4. What specific instruction did both the angel and Jesus give to the women regarding the disciples?

Interpretation questions

1. Why is the mixture of fear and great joy a seemingly contradictory but powerful combination that compels the women to action?
2. The angel tells the women that Jesus is "going before you to Galilee." What does this reveal about Jesus' character and his ongoing relationship with his followers, even after the resurrection?
3. In what ways does the empty tomb convert a moment of finality and defeat into a new beginning and a mission? [34:17]
4. The act of taking communion is described as both a remembrance and a commissioning. How do the elements of bread and juice root us in a remembered gift while also sending us outward? [53:25]

Application questions

1. The women hurried away from the tomb "afraid yet filled with joy." [40:47] Describe a recent situation in your own life where you experienced this same tension of fear and excitement. How did that mix of emotions affect your actions?
2. Resurrection rewrites what looks like an end into a summons to witness. [34:17] What is a current or past "ending" in your life—a loss, a disappointment, a closed door—that God might be inviting you to see as a new beginning for a fresh purpose or mission?
3. Putting trust in Jesus requires a death to old patterns and familiar identities, which carries real fear but also promises deep, abiding joy. [46:45] What is one "old pattern" or comfortable certainty that you feel God might be asking you to relinquish to align more fully with His purposes? What fears does that bring up, and what joy do you hope to find?
4. Communion functions to recalibrate our ethical and spiritual priorities so that our worship shapes our work in the world. [53:25] How can regularly remembering Christ's sacrifice through communion practically change the way you approach your daily tasks, your interactions with difficult people, or your spending habits this week?
5. The service ended with a summons to live as people shaped by resurrection: to proclaim Jesus is risen, to serve neighbors, and to step into new beginnings. What is one tangible, perhaps small, step you can take this week to "hurry away" from this discussion and embody that resurrection hope in your neighborhood or workplace?