First Church Charlotte

March 21, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Why do people weep? Why do you weep? Why do I weep? Loss. Pain. Sorrow. Evil. Trauma. Reality Check for us: 1. EVIL IS THE DOWNSIDE OF OUR FREE CHOICE “Sin came into the world because of what one man did (Adam), and with sin came death.” Romans 5:12 (NCV) 2. Everything on earth is BROKEN by evil & sin “There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other.” Matthew 24:12 (NCV) 3. God grieves WHEN HE SEES US HURTING “In all their suffering, he (God) suffered too.” Isaiah 63:9 “You, Lord, keep a record of all my sorrows. You’ve collected all my tears in your bottle and list each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 (NLT) I think it is significant that the first appearance of the resurrected Christ was to someone who was weeping, Mary Magdalene. Mary's weeping was understandable. Christ had done so much for her. I am going to take my tears to an empty tomb. Because an empty tomb is not a place of mourning… an empty tomb