The Gospel of Mark | Chapter 15 | The Empty Tomb, A Full Heart | Pastor Gladys Nordlund

The sermon delivered by the associate pastor at River City Church centers on the profound spiritual journey through darkness to resurrection hope, using the biblical narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection from Mark chapters 15 and 16 as the foundation. Opening with community updates and encouragement to engage in church life groups, Pastor Gladys transitions into a reflective and deeply personal message about enduring trials and setbacks. Drawing parallels between college life and church community, Pastor Gladys challenges the congregation to view their church family as their “campus,” where growth, testing, and perseverance are necessary for spiritual graduation.

The sermon highlights how Jesus’s darkest hour on the cross—marked by pain, betrayal, and abandonment—does not define our destiny or identity. Instead, it is a pathway to perfect worship and ultimate victory through surrender and trust in God. Pastor Gladys emphasizes that Jesus’s anguish and cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” reveals that even the Savior experienced deep pain, yet remained obedient to the Father’s will.

Moving into the resurrection narrative, the sermon reflects on the significance of the Sabbath as a period of rest, mourning, and preparation before the breakthrough of the empty tomb. This moment signifies that new beginnings are greater than endings, reminding believers that death and despair do not have the final word—Jesus’s resurrection does. Pastor Gladys encourages the congregation to trust God’s timing, even when it involves forced pauses or seasons of silence and grief.

Personal testimonies are shared about struggles with plans falling apart, miscarriage, depression, and marital challenges, illustrating the power of surrendering pain to God and relying on the church community for support. The message underscores that hope and strength come not from circumstances or self-effort but from the resurrection power of Jesus and the sustaining work of the Holy Spirit.

The sermon concludes with a call to share the gospel boldly, live in resurrection joy, and trust the Holy Spirit to carry believers through their darkest times. Pastor Gladys affirms that God’s promises never fail, encouraging the congregation to surrender their burdens and allow God’s transformative power to bring new life, restoration, and hope.

 Highlights  

🙅‍♂️ “Don’t date the first year” advice for college students emphasizes the importance of observing and understanding people before engaging deeply.  

⚖️ Pontius Pilate’s dilemma and the crowd choosing Barabbas over Jesus illustrate the injustice Jesus faced despite his innocence.  

😢 Jesus’s cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” reveals his human anguish and divine obedience.  

🛑 Importance of Sabbath rest: a time for mourning and reflection before the resurrection breakthrough.  

💔 Personal struggle with miscarriage and unexpected life paths highlights the reality of pain and God’s sovereignty.  

🤝 Church community as a support system in dark times, holding each other up when individual strength fails.  

📢 The Great Commission: sharing the gospel joyfully is essential, even when life is hard.  

 Key Insights  

👀 “People watching” in college as a spiritual metaphor: Pastor Gladys’s advice to college freshmen to avoid dating in their first year serves as a metaphor for church members to carefully observe and adapt to their faith community. Just as students learn to navigate new social dynamics, church members are called to engage thoughtfully, build relationships, and grow spiritually before jumping into commitments. This encourages maturity and resilience in faith.  

😞 Jesus’s cry of abandonment teaches honesty in pain: Jesus’s anguished question to God on the cross models that it is acceptable to feel forsaken and to express honest emotions in suffering. This counters the misconception that faith requires constant positivity and instead invites believers to bring their deepest struggles to God, trusting in His presence even when it feels absent.  

🌑 Darkness is a setup for worship and victory: Pastor Gladys explains that Jesus’s suffering and death, though devastating, were part of a divine plan to perfect worship and bring ultimate victory. Similarly, believers’ darkest moments serve as a preparation ground for deeper faith and testimony. This reframes suffering not as meaningless but as an opportunity for growth and glorification of God.  

🕊 The Sabbath as ordained rest fosters spiritual processing: The sermon highlights that Sabbath rest is not only physical cessation of work but a sacred space for grieving, reflection, and spiritual renewal. It is during these quiet, often painful pauses that God prepares believers for resurrection moments, teaching trust in His timing rather than hurried solutions.  

🔄 Perseverance over division sustains church unity: Pastor Gladys shares personal experiences of conflict and temptation to leave the church, emphasizing that disagreement should not cause division. Instead, perseverance and submission to God’s timing enable communal growth and spiritual “graduation.” This insight underscores the value of endurance and reconciliation in church life.  

💔 Surrendering personal plans to God’s greater purpose: Pastor Gladys’s testimony about shifting from law school ambitions to unexpected vocations, amid painful miscarriages, illustrates the necessity of surrendering human plans to divine will. This teaches that God’s purpose transcends personal expectations and that faith involves trusting Him through uncertainty and heartbreak.  

🌍 Sharing the gospel is an overflow of personal encounter: The Great Commission is framed not as a mere obligation but as a natural outpouring of experiencing Jesus’s transformative power. Pastor Gladys encourages believers to share their stories and spread hope, highlighting that testimony strengthens faith and builds community, especially in a hurting world desperately needing resurrection joy.  

The message overall is a powerful reminder that God’s resurrection power is available to believers in their darkest moments, transforming pain into hope and despair into joy. It calls the church to be a supportive family, to persevere through trials, and to boldly share the gospel as evidence of God’s saving grace.