English Sermon

- English Sermon

- 4/20/2024 Resurrection Sunday Worship Service

“Hope of Resurrection”

Hallelujah! Let us praise our risen Lord!
What a beautiful Resurrection Sunday morning we’ve been given. Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to greet the person next to us with the joy of this day.
As I remind you every year, the word “Easter” actually originates from the name of a pagan spring goddess—it has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So today, let’s not say, “Happy Easter”—instead, let’s say with confidence, “Happy Resurrection Sunday!”
Now, church, let me give you three words and see if you can guess which nation I’m describing:
Rapid economic growth. A divided country. Kimchi.
Yes, that’s right—our beloved homeland, South Korea.
Now let me ask you this: can you describe yourself in just three words?
It sounds simple, doesn’t it? But when you actually try, you’ll find it’s not so easy.
So then, how much harder would it be to summarize the entire Christian faith in just three words?
Yet there was someone who did exactly that. That person was the Apostle Paul.
And the three words he used to describe our faith are words we know so well: faith, hope, and love.
These three—faith, hope, and love—are the very heart of Christianity.
In Korean hanja, they are written as 信 (faith), 望 (hope), and 愛 (love).
But here’s something interesting: when you read those three characters in reverse order, it becomes 愛望信 (ae-mang-shin), which in Korean sounds like “embarrassment” or “disgrace.”
Church, if we call ourselves Christians but do not truly understand the meaning of faith, hope, and love—if we do not live them out—we may end up being a disgrace to the very name we bear.
So today, let us reflect on these three core values of our faith.
Let us draw near to God’s grace as we meditate on faith, hope, and love—gifts that flow from the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered the grave and lives forevermore. Amen.
1. Love
Let us begin with love, the first of the three.
Everyone, what is 1 Corinthians 13 known as? The “Love Chapter.”
So verse 13, the final verse of this chapter, can be seen as the conclusion about love.
Here, it says the greatest of these is love.
That’s why we’re starting with love.
Christianity is often called a religion of love.
However, many people misunderstand what that means.
Some think it means we must perform acts of love in order to be saved.
But the reason Christianity is called a religion of love is this:
We, who were dead in our sins and trespasses, were saved solely because of God’s love.
As we shared last Friday night, if we were to choose one core verse out of all 66 books of the Bible, it would undoubtedly be John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son...”
Yes, it was through love that God gave His only Son, Jesus.
And through this, sinful humanity, who could never stand before a holy God, was given the path to salvation.
That’s why Christianity is called a religion of love. Another word for God’s love is “grace.”
That’s why Christianity is also a religion of grace.
Just consider other religions.
In them, people must strive, sacrifice, and discipline themselves to reach the divine.
But Christianity is the opposite.
It is not about humans finding God, but God coming to find us.
It is not through good deeds, merit, or qualification, but solely by God’s grace that we are saved and become His children.
That’s why Christianity is a religion of love and grace.
And the love we practice is not a condition for salvation but a result of experiencing God’s love.
Without the love of God, Christianity would not exist.
Even human history, or more accurately, God’s story—History—would not exist without His love.
That’s why among faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love.
Let us never forget: Christianity begins with the love of God coming to us.

2. Faith
Now then, if God has given us His love, and if acts of love cannot save us, then what must we do to be saved? We must believe.
That is why one of the three core values of Christianity is faith.
Order matters, doesn’t it?
Things go smoothly when done in the right order, but they fall apart when they’re not.
So among faith, hope, and love, what must come first for a believer?
It is faith. That’s why although the greatest is love, the first mentioned is faith.
Salvation does not depend on what I do, but on what I believe.
So, what must we believe to be saved?
We must believe the Word of God written in the Bible.
But we know the Bible is not always easy to understand.
That’s why the Apostles’ Creed summarizes the core truths we must believe.
Though not written directly by the apostles themselves,
The creed reflects the faith of the apostles, compiled by the early Church leaders.
Today, we also confessed our faith using the Apostles’ Creed.
Those who truly believe this confession will be saved and become children of God.
So I encourage you not to recite it as a mere formality,
But to meditate deeply on its meaning each time you confess it.
The creed begins with the confession that we believe in God the Creator.
It then speaks of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered,
was crucified, died, rose again on the third day, and ascended to heaven.
Yes, those who believe that Jesus died and rose again for their sins,
That He forgives their sins and is their personal Savior—those people are saved.
It is the Holy Spirit who gives us this faith, and the Spirit works through the Word.
The Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.
So I pray that each time you hear the Word, your faith will grow through the work of the Spirit.
But how can someone believe if they haven’t heard?
And how can they hear unless someone preaches to them?
That’s why Paul says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
You might think, “Are there still people today who haven’t heard the gospel?”
Surprisingly, yes. Even among churchgoers, some think they must live morally to be saved.
But the gospel we believe, the good news, is this:
Salvation does not depend on our works—it depends only on God’s grace and our faith.
Let us be people who never doubt that we are saved by faith in Jesus alone,
And live joyfully in the assurance of salvation.

3. Hope
Lastly, let’s talk about hope.
Do you have hope?
Do you live with a sense of hope?
Wanamaker, a devout Christian, founder of a major American department store, and former U.S. Postmaster General, once said:
“Lose your reputation and you lose a little. Lose your health and you lose much. Lose hope and you lose everything.”
His store was once completely destroyed in a fire, losing millions.
Yet, instead of despairing or becoming angry, he sang hymns with his employees.
The following year, he rebuilt a larger and more beautiful store,
Which today still stands in Philadelphia as the Macy’s building.
Viktor Frankl, who miraculously survived Auschwitz,
Endured the suffering by holding onto the hope of seeing his wife’s face again.
In contrast, those who lost hope in the concentration camp perished quickly.
Truly, the Bible is a history of people who clung to hope in hopelessness.
Abraham, even at 100 years old without a son, still hoped—and Isaac was born.
When the Red Sea was in front and Egyptian chariots behind, Moses did not give up hope. The sea parted.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a furnace seven times hotter than normal.
Yet, because they held onto hope, God walked with them in the fire—they were unharmed.
There are countless stories in Scripture of despair turned into hope.
Even Jesus was rejected.
He described Himself as the stone the builders rejected.
On the cross, He bore the agony of being forsaken by God.
But that was not the end. Jesus rose again in victory.
So if you are in a place of despair, feeling abandoned, look to God.
He will raise you up in victory.
This is the life of a believer—one who lives in hope.
What are you hoping for today?
Whatever it is, believe that God will fulfill it in the best possible way.
But even if all your hopes in this world come true,
Life without eternal hope still ends in despair at the face of death.
No matter how wealthy you are, it means nothing after death.
You may hope for your children to succeed, but once you die, what does it matter?
No matter how healthy you want to be, no one can escape death.
Thus, all humans are bound to despair in the face of death.
Yet believers have hope—because this world is not the end. We have the hope of heaven.
Not only that, when Jesus returns, our physical bodies will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life.
Yes, we may have many earthly hopes,
But our ultimate hope must be to enter heaven,
And to one day receive a resurrected body and live eternally in joy.
The Bible says our bodies will be changed in the blink of an eye when Jesus returns.
No matter how well we care for our health now, our bodies will weaken and die.
But on that day, our new bodies will be free of sickness and imperfections.
Aging is frustrating, isn’t it?
But it’s an unavoidable reality.
Just recently, I had a week where I was constantly at the hospital--
Visiting sick church members, accompanying my wife for tests, and even going for my own check-up.
Everyone knows Son Heung-min, right?
He’s truly world-class, having won the Golden Boot in the Premier League.
Experts say he may be the only Asian ever to achieve that.
Yet even Son is now past his peak, slightly declining.
He’s still an incredible player, but even he has physical limits.
Looking at our aging bodies can lead to despair.
But for believers, a perfect resurrection body awaits.
That’s why we don’t despair before disease and death—we have the hope of resurrection.
After we die, our souls will enjoy eternal life in heaven,
And when Jesus returns, our bodies will rise and reunite with our souls for everlasting life.
I believe my left ear, which cannot hear, will be healed on that day.
All our diseases will disappear.
May you all be people who overcome every situation not with despair,
But with the hope of heaven and the resurrection.

Conclusion
Let me close.
If you sum up Christianity in three words: Faith, Hope, and Love.
Because of God's love and grace, we are able to come to Him.
We could never become His children without His love.
It wasn't us who sought God—it was God who sought and loved us first.
That’s why the greatest of these is love.
Those who have received this love must now live by showing love to others—thus, Christianity is called the religion of love.
But we are not saved by our acts of love.
Our salvation is not based on works, but on faith.
Anyone who believes that Jesus died for their sins and accepts Him as Lord will be saved.
Christianity does not teach that salvation comes through good behavior,
Or even by living according to the Word.
It teaches that salvation comes by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
May you never doubt that you have been saved by faith alone,
And live in the joy of that assurance.
Yes, love is the greatest, but it all begins with faith.
May you grow in faith daily by hearing the Word.
Lastly, Christianity is also the religion of hope.
Scripture shows us many who held onto hope in the midst of despair and were victorious.
May you also believe in the God who still turns despair into hope today.
And never forget: our ultimate hope is in heaven and in the resurrection.
May we all live with the joyful expectation of the day we will enter heaven,
And receive our glorious resurrection bodies, to dwell in eternal life forever.
In Jesus’ name, I bless you all.
Let us now sing together.
On that day when we meet Jesus in heaven, all wounds and sickness will be gone.
Every sorrow and tear will be wiped away, and we’ll sing the song of victory in joy.
Let us praise with hope for the day our bodies will be transformed like Jesus' and we shall receive the resurrection body.
“One Day”