EASTER 2026

April 7, 2026·37 min·3 clips

A pastor walks into Jesus's actual tomb in Israel and touches the rock where the body was laid.

1. Change Church's Easter 2026 sermon is titled 'Hidden Hope' and is delivered by the lead pastor, who visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in September 2025. 2. The pastor is the lead voice throughout; his wife is present in the congregation and referenced multiple times as a source of grounding and joy. 3. The sermon's central thesis: God's plan is always in motion even when it is invisible — just as Jesus's tomb was hidden for 1,500 years but still real. 4. The pastor opens by asking who has felt their prayers bounce off the ceiling and never reach heaven, framing the Easter message as an answer to spiritual silence. 5. A historical timeline is presented: Jesus dies at age 33 in 33 AD in Jerusalem; 400 witnesses see him alive afterward; Jerusalem is destroyed by Rome in 70 AD and Christianity is made illegal. 6. Emperor Hadrian, described as having hated Christianity, discovered that believers still gathered at Jesus's tomb and built a pagan temple to Jupiter directly over it to bury the site. 7. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity; his mother Helena located the Jupiter temple, ordered its demolition, and excavated to find Jesus's tomb underneath, constructing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over it. 8. The pastor describes personally visiting the tomb, being escorted to the front of a multi-hour line by a priest who spotted his camera, and entering the chamber where Jesus's body was laid — describing the atmosphere as something 'you could cut with a butter knife.' 9. He describes a priest peeling back a painting on the wall to reveal the original cave behind it, and notes National Geographic has a YouTube documentary about the marble excavation that confirmed the rock dates to Constantine's era. 10. 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 is the primary scripture: God's wisdom is a mystery hidden before time began, and 'what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived' has been prepared for those who love him. 11. The tomb's concealment is applied as metaphor: when the enemy tells you God has no plan for you, it's like Hadrian covering the tomb — the miracle underneath is still in motion. 12. 'Prayer is not giving God an agenda — it's getting in alignment' is introduced as the second major point, framing unanswered prayer as an invitation to go deeper rather than a sign of absence. 13. Proverbs 3:5-6 is cited: 'trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, submit to him in all your ways.' 14. The torn temple curtain is identified as the Easter sermon's theological peak: the curtain that previously made entering the Holy of Holies fatal was torn when Jesus died, opening direct access to God for everyone. 15. The pastor describes his own dark season — when close friends left and he felt abandoned by God — and credits community at Change Church with his healing, framing it as the lived experience of the sermon's thesis. 16. He introduces a glow-in-the-dark Jesus figurine passed out to the congregation, leading into a story about dropping one in the car after retina surgery while still sedated. 17. The figurine story delivers the final point: just as he panicked about having 'lost Jesus' and the figurine was simply on the car floor, Jesus is always present and findable regardless of how lost someone feels. 18. The sermon tone shifts from historical teaching to personal testimony to comedic anecdote to altar call, covering a wide emotional register in roughly 36 minutes. 19. Listeners who are exploring Christian faith or returning after a period of distance, particularly those who respond to historical evidence combined with personal testimony, will find strong resonance. 20. Listeners expecting biblical exegesis or systematic theology will find the approach more narrative and experiential than academic.

As heard by us

A straightforward resurrection message about hidden hope and recommitment.

The piece keeps its focus on a familiar Easter idea: hope that does not stay buried, even when grief still feels close. It links the risen Jesus and the empty tomb to a private kind of comfort, then pushes that comfort toward a renewed return to faith.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want Easter hope for the part of your story you keep tucked underneath.

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