Grace, mercy and peace are yours through the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Amen.

Almighty God, as Your Son on this day rose from the dead for us, victorious over sin and the grave, grant that sin may no longer live in our hearts. By the power of His resurrection set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. Grant that in Christ's resurrection we may conquer sin and find strength to resist the devil's temptations. Give us a living hope and a lively faith that death may have no more power over us and that we have been made partakers of eternal life. Amen.

A sweet little boy surprised his grandmother one morning and brought her a cup of coffee. He made it himself and was so proud. He anxiously waited to hear the verdict on the quality of the coffee. The grandmother hadnever in her life had such a bad cup of coffee, and as she forced down the last sip she noticed three of those little green army guys in the bottom of the cup. She asked, "Honey, why would three little green army guys be in the bottom of my cup?" Her grandson replied, "You know Grandma, it's like on TV, 'The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.'"

A more serious mistake would be saying, "I know just how you feel" at a funeral. There may be similar situations for people dealing with grief, but everyone’s grief is unique. Grief is like snowflakes. No two snowflakes are alike. Neither is grief the same. When someone comes to you in your grief and says, "I know just how you feel," you may want to scream back at him, "No! You do not know how I feel! You do not know what I am going through! How can you understand my pain?"

Jesus knows whether we are grieving, hurting, or lonely. Jesus knows whether we are depressed, frustrated, or experiencing one of a hundred different emotions – we are never feeling quite the same as someone else. Jesus knows he must look into our hearts and minister to us as individuals. He knows he must find a way to break through our grief, our loneliness, or our depression and put joy and hope back into our hearts. Jesus’ resurrection and that gravestone rolled away, means Jesus knows, he cares, and he has the power to do something about your pain.

I want you to focus this morning on the Easter message that was brought to two individuals in particular, Peter and Mary Magdalene. Each of them needed to experience Jesus' resurrection for a different reason. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is alive! He comforts the guilty conscience, just as he did with Peter and he heals the brokenhearted, just as he did with Mary.

If you were one of the other disciples, what would you have said to Peter after Jesus died? How would you try to comfort him? I doubt if the disciples said anything at all. What could they say? "Peter, don't take it so hard. You'll get over it. We are all to blame." Isn't that the way the world tries to deal with guilt? Some just hope it goes away. Others wait until they become numb. Still others try to minimize the sin. They keep telling themselves that it wasn't so bad after all or that everyone does it.

Peter felt terrible. Imagine what it would be like if you called your father and had a big argument. In anger you called him names and hung up. How would you feel if the next day your mother called to tell you that your father had died and asked, "What did you say to him last night?" What words of comfort would make you feel better when the last words you spoke to your father were said in anger? I doubt if anyone could say anything that would really be helpful.

Do you see why Peter's guilt was unique? The other disciples had fled in the garden, too. But that night in the courtyard of the high priest, Peter cursed and swore and said, "I don't know this Jesus you're talking about. I've never met him." Do you know how much it must have hurt Jesus to have Peter, whom he pulled out of the waves of the Sea of Galilee, pretend not to know him at all? Peter denied him the third time at the same moment Jesus was being led past where Peter stood. After those words of denial, Jesus looked at Peter. All that Friday, while he watched Jesus die, Peter remembered that look on Jesus' face in the courtyard. All day Saturday, while the disciples sat in stunned silence, Peter recalled the face of Jesus. He would never forget that look.

On Sunday morning, when John and Peter arrived at the tomb they saw that it was open, that all the burial clothes were lying there in neat order, with the linen strips lying undisturbed, and the head cloth neatly folded and laid to the side. John saw and believed that Jesus was alive.

And what about Peter? For Peter, his guilty conscience wasn’t comforted yet. He wasn’t sure. He didn’t believe. He still held onto the guilt and shame of his denial. Yet sometime later that Easter Sunday, Jesus came to Peter alone. Can you understand why? Jesus knew that he had to erase the guilt Peter carried with him from the courtyard. Don't you wish you could have been there to hear Peter blurt out, "Lord, I'm sorry! I didn't mean those words!"? Did Jesus wipe away the tears of sorrow from Peter's eyes and look into his face and say, "Peter, I forgive you"?

The Bible doesn't tell us what happened between Jesus and Peter that day. It's left to our imaginations. But we know Jesus comforted the guilt in Peter's heart. For the rest of his days on earth, Peter would tell people everywhere about Jesus. He later wrote, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3,4).

Are you like Peter? Do you have any sin or guilt or shame that needs to be taken away? Does your troubled heart need to be comforted? Maybe you have denied Jesus at times, too. Maybe you went away to college and lived a life that outwardly said, "I don't know this man, Jesus." Those days may be over now, but the memory of them still lingers. Maybe today is the first time you’ve stepped into a church in a long while. Maybe your faith has become stale and stagnant. Maybe you are feeling guilty and ashamed because of your past and present addictions, weaknesses, and pet sins. Maybe you’ve failed someone close to you, perhaps your parents? your children? your husband or wife? Or perhaps you just realized again this morning that you have failed God every day of your life.

Maybe you feel guilty. The amazing thing about guilt, though, is it can become cyclical. You feel guilty. You know you are forgiven, yet you still feel guilty. Now you feel guilty because you feel guilty.

If Jesus had only died on the cross and his body still lay in the tomb, then you would never be able to say, "Jesus, I'm sorry; forgive my sins." But that isn’t so. He's alive! He's risen! He's risen indeed! He's alive to see your tears and hear your confession! He’s alive to feel your sorrow and hear your prayer of repentance! He's alive to tell you once more, through his Word, "I forgive your sins; I forgive all your sins. I died for you. And now I am alive for you!" He's alive to help you in your recovery from guilt and in your eagerness to start a new life again, today.

Make no mistake about it, Jesus is alive. He comforts the guilty conscience and he heals the broken heart, too.

Who was Mary Magdalene? The Bible tells us simply that Jesus had driven seven evil spirits from her (Mark 16:9). She and several other women also followed Jesus and helped support his ministry out of their own means (Luke 8:3). That's not much of a biographical sketch, is it? But it is enough. Satan had bound her, but Jesus set her free. The mercy of Jesus was enough motivation for her to give up her life and follow him.

She must have loved Jesus deeply. She was among the first to come to the tomb that morning to anoint his body with spices. When she discovered Jesus was gone, she ran back in distress and confusion to tell the other disciples that someone had stolen his body. When she returned, after Peter and John had already come to the tomb and gone, she just stood outside the tomb crying. Those of you who have experienced grief can better understand how she felt. Yet, as I said earlier, how can one person ever really know how another person feels at such a time? She lost more than a friend. The One in whom she believed was dead. How could she follow a Savior who had died?

Why did Jesus appear in such a special way to Mary Magdalene? Because Jesus knew her grief. Jesus could look into her heart and feel her sorrow, and he knew exactly what she needed to hear in order to comfort her broken heart.

Have you experienced the kind of grief that breaks the heart? Most of you have. If you have not, you will. Maybe it’s a grandparent, parent, child or dear friend. Maybe the grief is a strained relationship with your family. And when you do, someone will come to you and say, "I know just how you feel." You will probably be kind and say nothing, for you know they mean well. But inside you will be screaming, "You do NOT know how I feel! NO ONE knows how I feel!" And you will believe that this is true – that no one can understand your grief and that somehow you must bear it alone.

But there is someone who knows, someone who understands – Jesus. He knows your heart from the inside out. When you hide your broken heart from everyone else, Jesus is there to see your inner tears. He knows what you need to hear in order to heal your broken heart with the joy of his glorious resurrection. When you are weak, Jesus makes you strong. When you are hard-hearted, Jesus makes you compassionate. When you have been selfish, Jesus makes you generous. When you have been lukewarm in your faith, Jesus makes you excited and enthusiastic. When you are overcome by a life that seems worthless, Jesus gives meaning and purpose with his death and resurrection. When you feel that death has done its worst, Jesus reveals that he conquered death and shows that he is in control. Jesus gives us an inheritance that nothing can destroy, spoil or wither. May all who are in pain, grieving, lonely or fearful see Christ’s resurrection and rejoice! He's risen! He's risen indeed! No one can comfort and heal better than Jesus!

It was only a few days before Easter. A young lady had gone to the store to pick out an Easter dress and hat to wear to church. As she waited in the checkout line, she noticed two children in front of her, a boy of about eight or nine and a slightly younger girl. The boy wore a ragged coat. Enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much too-short jeans. He clutched several crumpled dollar bills in his grimy hands. The girl's clothing resembled her brother’s. Her head was a matted mass of curly hair. Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers. When they finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated the shoes as though they were a treasure.

The clerk rang up the bill. "That'll be $6.09," she said. The boy laid his crumpled bills atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. "I guess we'll have to put them back," he bravely announced. "We'll come back some other time, maybe tomorrow." With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "But Jesus would have loved these shoes," she cried. "We'll come back," the boy assured her. Quickly the young lady behind them handed $3.00 to the clerk. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, after all, they did seem to be in need. Suddenly a pair of arms came around her and a small voice said, "Thank you, lady." "What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?" the lady asked. The boy answered, "Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Easter to be with Jesus." The girl spoke, "My Sunday school teacher said the streets up in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes. Won't mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these shoes?"

Make no mistake about it, Jesus is alive! And that is important to know and believe. It was important for Peter and his guilty conscience. It was important for Mary and her broken heart. It was important for that little girl and boy whose mommy was going to be with Jesus. It’s important for us to know and believe because we need the resurrected Christ. Jesus comforts and heals. A few years ago when I was struggling with depressing and distracting situations in my ministry, a friend came to me and said, "Michael, no matter what happens in life, Jesus still rose from the dead. We still celebrate Easter." Wow. What a fantastic truth! Jesus really is alive! Praise the Lord! Amen.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3,4).