WELCOME (2-5 MIN)

Good morning everyone!

Welcome to Easter Sunday with Mountainside Community Church. We are so very glad you are here, whether this is your normal church family or this is your first time with us. I’m thankful that God has brought us here together this morning.

Before we get going, there’s an obligatory Easter tradition we have to do first. I’ll say, “He is risen.” And you respond… “He is risen indeed!” Very good, can we try that again? Okay, ready? He is risen! He is risen indeed! That’s awesome! You guys really nailed it!

We gather every year during this season to celebrate the life, the death, and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is the central claim of Christianity. So much so, that the apostle Paul, who wrote many of the books and letters contained within the New Testament of the Bible, wrote, “…14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19)

But the evidence for the resurrection is overwhelming. It’s been the central claim of Christianity from the very beginning. Nearly all of the disciples suffered and died holding on to this belief–not because they stole Jesus’ body or made up a lie, but because they were convinced that He was alive. They had seen Him. They experienced the resurrection. Thousands of people radically changed their lives and beliefs as the message of Jesus’ resurrection spread, and there is ample record of this outside the Biblical witness. It’s one of the most well-documented events in history. Even skeptics and enemies of the early church were transformed after encountering the risen Jesus for themselves–and that same invitation stands for you today: to experience the risen Jesus personally.

Maybe this is new to you. Maybe you’re skeptical or just watching. You may see or hear some things that you find strange or uncomfortable. That’s okay. You’re welcome here. Observe. Ask questions. Engage as you are able.

Today, we’re inviting you to experience something real–the living God. And if something stirs in you, if your heart beats a little faster, if you are overcome with emotion, don’t talk yourself out of it. Be open to Jesus. He’s already removed every barrier between you and God.

So wherever you are this morning, however you are feeling–curious, questioning, tired, hopeful, hurting–bring it with you. Bring your whole self. You don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to clean yourself up. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just come. Open. Ready.

Come. Let’s stand together. And let’s begin by singing to the One who is alive–the One who washes us clean, who brings us life through His blood, who drenches us in His love, and who is with us even now. Let’s sing!

WHAT’S MY IDOL (10 MIN)

Why don’t we begin with a game–what do you say?

This is a game created by a Harvard Business School professor which he plays with his students each year, and I thought we’d try it today. It’s called: “What’s My Idol?”

Because, the reality is that we all worship something. The late author, David Foster Wallace, said, “You don’t get to decide to worship. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”

C.S. Lewis put it this way: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Not surprisingly, in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 3:11, it says “11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, [because] people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Deep down, we all sense that there is something more to life beyond what we can see. We are wired to seek meaning, purpose, transcendence. The question is not if you worship–it’s what you worship.

So, Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest minds in church history, and a superb behavioral scientist, said back in the 13th century, that every human heart tends to chase after four false gods—every person in this room is prone to wander toward one of four idols as he called them.

Money. Power. Pleasure. Praise.

And these are the four idols this Harvard Business professor uses to play his game.

These are the counterfeit gods of the human heart. They promise life, but they never deliver. In fact, they’re usually the root of the things we regret the most. Some people are drawn to money—not just the desire to have enough, it’s about security, status, and the belief that if you just had a little more, you’d finally be safe or happy.

Others chase power or control—the ability to shape their world, to command situations, or even people. It's not just about being in charge, it’s about feeling protected by being the one who decides what happens next.

For some, it’s all about pleasure—the pursuit of feeling good, avoiding pain, and chasing comfort, entertainment, or escape. It could be food, sex, experiences, or even the simple need to stay constantly amused and distracted.

And then there are those of us who are captured by praise—the admiration of others, the desire to be liked, respected, or seen as important, especially by the people whose opinions we value most. We don’t just want applause; we want the right people to be clapping.

That’s Money. Power. Pleasure. Praise. If we all spoke Spanish then we could change money to pesos and we’d have all P’s but then we’d probably have to change some of the others. Money. Power. Pleasure. Praise.

So, you want to play? Some of you seem less enthusiastic now than you did a minute ago. And the way to do this is not to say what is your idol, but to eliminate the ones that are not. That last one, the one you couldn’t bear to let go of, that’s the one that most tempts your heart. That’s the one that might be getting in the way of experiencing real life with God.

Ready?

You’ve got four: Money. Power. Pleasure. Praise. You’ve got to kick one out first—the one you’re least tempted by. You can still value it. You might still chase it a little. But it’s not your idol. Which one are you going to go for?

POWER—why? - - Maybe you’re not driven to control things or people. Maybe power feels heavy to you, or hierarchical systems make you uncomfortable. People who love power usually aren’t bothered when others have power over them—it just feels normal. But maybe you don’t need to feel in control to feel secure.

MONEY—why? - - Money gives comfort, options, security. But maybe you’ve found other ways to enjoy life that don’t cost a dime. Maybe you’ve learned contentment, and you’ve realized that some of the best things in life—family dinners, sunsets, laughter—can’t be bought. Maybe you’ve started to see that wealth, while helpful, doesn’t make you whole.

Now it gets tricky because we’re starting to get personal.

Two Left—PLEASURE or PRAISE.

PLEASURE—why? - - Maybe you’ve learned how to say no to instant gratification. You’re disciplined. You value resilience. You know that constantly chasing the next thrill or indulgence never truly satisfies.

And now what’s left?

PRAISE. - - The approval of others. The admiration of the people who matter most to you. Praise is tricky—because it feels so good. But it’s also fragile. The applause fades. The likes don’t last. And you end up performing for people who might not even know you, let alone love you.

If you were playing along, you may have made some different choices. Your results may vary. But here’s the point:

Everyone chases idols. Whether we realize it or not, there’s always something we’re looking to for meaning, security, or identity. The trouble is, idols always overpromise and underdeliver. They offer the illusion of life, happiness, or fulfillment, but they leave us empty. The more we pursue them, the more they demand, and yet they never satisfy. Instead, they keep us locked in a cycle–craving more, but never reaching what we hoped for. And in that pursuit, we often end up doing the very things we later regret. When we feel shame, or when we look back with regret, it's often because we’ve been chasing our idol–whichever one it might be.

But here’s the good news you won’t find in a Harvard Business class: You were made for more than these idols. You were made for something more real. More tangible. More filling. 

For Thomas Aquinas, true and lasting happiness–the fulfillment of our deepest human longing–is ultimately found in a supernatural union with God. This union begins now and is perfected in eternity, as we are drawn all the more deeply into His love.

In the Bible, in the book of Micah chapter 6 it says: “the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). That’s the purpose we were created for and the only thing which actually brings us lasting happiness and deep fulfillment, “to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever".

You don’t have to exhaust yourself. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to chase things that will never love you back. Jesus invites you into a new way of being, a new kind of worship, a new kind of freedom.

He alone can give the security you look for in money.

He alone can give the control you want through power.

He alone can give the satisfaction you crave through pleasure.

And He alone can give the affirmation you long for in praise.

In [His] presence there is fullness of joy; and at [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

And that’s why we bring our praise—not to lifeless idols that can never satisfy, but to a living, breathing God who sees us, knows us, and loves us. Because every other god is an idol that cannot see and cannot hear. But there is one true living God. Would you sing that with me?

THE GOSPEL (10 MIN)

Let’s turn our attention now to the heart of the story. This is what we call the gospel. That word, gospel, means “good news.” And that matters. Because the Bible isn’t a book about what you have to do to get to God. It’s a book about what God has already done to come to you.

This is the good news: that through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, God has made a way for us to have real life.

In Acts 8, we meet an Ethiopian man. We don’t know much about him, not even his name. But here’s what we do know: He’s a high-ranking official. He’s in charge of the queen’s entire treasury. He’s powerful, educated, successful. And, he’s searching.

He travels hundreds of miles to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. But because of who he is, he’s not allowed to go all the way in. In Deuteronomy it says that no one who is a eunuch may be admitted into the assembly of the Lord. So, he worships at a distance.

Still, he’s hungry for God. He’s reading the Scriptures on the way home. He’s reading from the scroll of Isaiah. Which means he didn’t just show up–he studied. He learned Hebrew. That’s some serious effort. Meanwhile, I’m still getting passive-aggressive DuoLingo notifications for ignoring my Spanish lessons for the 80th day in a row.

But, I believe there are people here today just like him. Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’re curious. Maybe you’re here because you’re hungry for something more. You can’t quite explain it, but you’ve wondered if there’s something bigger. Something greater. Something beyond this.

That’s the eunuch. He’s yearning for the transcendent, for the world beyond.

And when Philip hears him reading, he joins him and begins to explain what the passage is really about. It’s Isaiah 53: “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray… yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Philip tells him: This is about Jesus. And this–this is the gospel.

God created the world, and He created us to live in harmony with Him. To live under His love and leadership. And then, from that place, to spread His blessing into the world. To fill the earth.

That was the design. That was the plan. But we broke it.

We wanted to be our own gods. We wanted to define good and evil for ourselves. That’s sin. It’s choosing to live life on our own terms instead of trusting God.

And the result of sin is brokenness. Brokenness inside us. Brokenness around us.

That’s what we all live in: a world marked by anxiety, division, shame, pain. We all feel it. And we all try to fix it—through money, power, pleasure, comfort, relationships, religion...

But nothing works. Nothing gets us out. 

That’s why God sent Jesus.

Jesus came as God in the flesh. He lived the life we couldn’t live–perfect, obedient, pure. And then he died the death we deserved. But here’s the thing: Jesus didn’t just die to cancel your sin. He died to give you new life.

His blood cleanses and it also transforms. He doesn’t just wipe the slate clean and say, “Try again.” He gives you His own Spirit. The life of God in you.

Jesus’s blood isn’t about death. It’s about life.

This is the new covenant–not rules and rituals, not behavior modification, but a relationship with Jesus who loves you deeply. God doesn’t say, “Impress me with your discipline.” He says, “Let me change your heart from the inside out.” That’s grace. That’s the Spirit’s work.

You don’t have to carry the weight of your past, and you don’t have to live in fear of messing up your future. The cross was once for all. The record of debt that stood against you? Canceled. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

You don’t white-knuckle your way into God’s favor. You don’t clean yourself up first. This isn’t about being good enough, it’s about admitting you’re not and trusting the One who is. Jesus did what you could never do, and he offers what you could never earn

“All of your sins past, present, and future have been fully, freely, and forever forgiven through the blood of Jesus.”

There is no sin you’ve committed that the cross hasn’t already dealt with. No record of debt that hasn’t been canceled. Jesus didn’t lower the bar on holiness just to make you feel better. He paid the full cost to bring you all the way home.

“All of your sins past, present, and future have been fully, freely, and forever forgiven through the blood of Jesus.”

This is why the gospel is good news: Because it announces that God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. It’s good news because we don’t have to climb our way up to God. He came down to us. 

It’s good news because we are more broken than we care to admit, but also far more loved than we ever dared to hope. 

It’s good news because Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live, died the death we deserved, and rose again to offer us new life–not by earning it, but by receiving it. 

It’s good news because we are not defined by our past, by shame, failure, or sin but by what Jesus has done. In Him, we are forgiven, made new, and called beloved.

It’s good news because death doesn’t get the final word, and neither do our doubts, our struggles, or our pain.

It’s good news because the God who made you wants you. He doesn’t want you to fix yourself and try harder. He wants you to come as you are and be transformed from the inside out.

That’s the good news: God made a way through Jesus, and He’s done everything necessary to bring you back. He’s removed every barrier–everything that is standing in the way. He’s already done the work. Jesus made the statement on the cross, “My life isn’t taken, I lay it down freely to redeem, to save, and to grant holiness in such a way that we can enter into the holy presence of God right now. So that we can follow in His example and freely surrender all of us for all of Him. That’s the trade. All of us for all of Him. I wonder if we could once again sing these truths back to Him in response.

WHAT’S STANDING IN THE WAY? (8 MIN)

Acts 8:35–39 says: “Then Philip told [the Ethiopian] the Good News about Jesus. As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?’ He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.”

This Ethiopian man had found what he’d been searching for his whole life in the person of Jesus. And it was such good news to him, so personal and so powerful, that he stopped the chariot right then and there. He looked at Philip and essentially asked, “What could possibly stop me?”

What’s standing in your way?

Some of you may not be convinced this is truly good news. So let me show you why this moment hit so deeply for him.

Just a few chapters beyond where he was reading in Isaiah, here’s what the Scriptures say—the very promises Jesus came to fulfill: “Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’ For this is what the Lord says: I will bless those eunuchs who commit their lives to me. I will give them, within the walls of my house, a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one—it will never disappear… I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.” (Isaiah 56:3–5, 7)

What had this man given up? A family. A future. A name. The right to worship in the house of the Lord. And what does Jesus offer him through his death and resurrection? Everything he had lost—and more. Not at a distance, but within the walls of God’s own house. Jesus brings him home. He gives him a name, a future, and fills him with joy. So when he comes out of the water, he isn’t confused or cautious—he’s rejoicing.

What’s standing in your way?

Maybe it’s pride. Have you been trying to fix yourself, thinking you can just do better and that’ll be enough? You can’t. It’s not enough.

Maybe it’s shame. Do you believe you’ve gone too far? That you’re too broken? Maybe someone made you feel like you always have to stand at a distance, like you're marked by your mistakes or your past. But Jesus came near. He already made a way. The only thing standing in the way now is you.

Maybe it’s doubt. Maybe you’re not sure you believe enough. Maybe you’re afraid you don’t know enough. But faith doesn’t have to be huge. Bring what you have, even if it’s small. God can do more than you imagine with just a little. He multiplies it. His Spirit will overflow in you.

Maybe it’s comfort. Maybe you’re just not ready to let go. You’re still holding on to your own way of doing things. Jesus told us that when we try to hold on to our lives, we end up losing them. Real life is found when we let go and give it to Him. (Matthew 16:25)

The truth is this: Jesus has already removed every obstacle.

Romans 8:38–39 says, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Not death or life. Not angels or demons. Not our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing is standing in the way.

Nothing... except you.

INVITATION

So here’s the invitation: this is an invitation to life.

God made a way through Jesus. He’s done everything necessary to bring you home. The only thing standing between you and Him now... is you. No one else can stop you. The suffering servant already paid the price. He laid His life down freely so you could come freely.

So I’ll ask you plainly:

Will you trust Him?

Will you trade your effort for surrender?

Will you come home?

Would you close your eyes for a moment? No pressure. No hype. I just want to remove distractions. No one’s looking but God–and me.

If you're here today and you never knew that this was what the gospel is really about—and as we’ve celebrated this morning something has stirred in your heart—you feel it. You want to receive this. You want to be washed clean. You want to be made holy. You want to say yes to Jesus for the first time—then raise your hand.

If that’s you, raise your hand and say, “Yes. I want this. I want Him.”

Now maybe you’ve said yes before, but as the Spirit’s been moving this morning, you’ve realized you’ve put up some walls. You’ve built barriers that don’t need to be there. Maybe you’ve tried to remake God in your own image, and you want to stop and return to trust. If that’s you, raise your hand too. Just say, “I want to say yes again.”

Thank you. You can put your hands down and open your eyes.

I have one more invitation for you.

As we sing this last song, I want to invite you to make your private yes public. You don’t have to—but you can. You don’t have to do anything that I ask, you’re grown people. But I hope that you will. If you raised your hand, or even if you didn’t but you know God’s tugging at your heart, I want to invite you to walk to the back of the room and pray with someone. Just tell them what God is doing. Let them pray with you.

And if you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus today, I want to invite you to follow in the footsteps of this brave Ethiopian man—and be baptized today. Right now. We have shirts, shorts, towels—everything you need.

There’s nothing stopping you.

Don’t argue with yourself—you’ll win, and your heart will harden. Let it stay soft. Let it stay open before the Lord.

It’s time to stop the chariot. Step into the water.

Let your private yes become a public one.

Don’t let this moment pass.

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

What do you worship - a game

Summit Church - Sent (Acts Series)