Our text this Easter morning is a familiar one found in Luke 24: 1-9.
Luke 24: 1-9, But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 
	In this passage, we have the account of the followers of Christ coming to anoint the slain body of their beloved teacher. They had diligently prepared the spices with which to give a final touch of earthly care upon the body which they believed would soon return to the dust from which it had been raised. They were fully expecting to find the remains of Jesus of Nazareth. When they realized that the Lord’s body was not in the sepulcher, they were afraid. They needed to be reminded of the words of Christ, with which He had taught them long before the day of His crucifixion. The angels, there to minister unto them, asked a very poignant question, which we, even today, must ask ourselves from time to time.
	Why do you seek the living One among the dead? Oh what a question to ask these faithful followers of the Lord. They knew that He was dead. They had watched as He was tried, tormented and then executed as a common criminal. They were filled with all the sorrow of the ages as their leader, their rabbi, their brother, their friend’s life was taken away in such a despicable manner. They had every expectation of finding His lifeless body wrapped for burial in that sepulcher. 
Of course they were seeking their Lord among the dead, He had died before their eyes, and with Him, so also died all of their hopes and dreams and visions of God. They were now adrift in a lifelessness of despair and anguish, because everything they knew and had been taught was as dead as Jesus was dead. With Him, their everything had perished, and they were merely filling the time until their own departure from this realm.
	Why do you seek the living One among the dead? Just as the followers of Christ, on that resurrection morning had to be awakened to the reality of Christ’s victory over death, and the reality of what He had been teaching, so it is in our lives. We need to have our hearts enlivened to this same truth, no matter what our relationship with the Lord. If we have not accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we need to ask ourselves why we are seeking any life in this world, which is dead in sin? What is it that we desire? Are we looking for love or wealth or power or position or relief? Whatever we are seeking, we will find only death in this present realm. If we truly are desirous after life, we must come face-to-face with the living Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our transgressions, and then victoriously raised on that third day by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is our Living Lord Jesus Christ Who now reigns on high, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Only He has the power of life and death, and only in Him will we find that death has no more reign in our lives. If we would have life, we must seek after Christ and not waste our time fumbling about in the cemeteries of this realm.
	If we have accepted Christ, we still must ask ourselves this question, because, too often, we find ourselves perversely drawn to the things of this realm, which have no more life than is found in the graves of a 100,000 cemeteries. It is all dead, and nothing but death. Just as in seeking after Christ for our eternal life, so must we always seek after Christ for our continued life in this realm.
	Why do you seek the living One among the dead? This is as true of being in the church as it is in being in the world. There are many church goers who are seeking life in a building or in a ritual or in a doctrine which has no more life than a cold stone. Life is only found where the Living Christ is exalted, where the Living Christ reigns, where the Living Christ abounds, not in a religious experience or center. If the Living Christ is the focus, if the Living Christ is the Lord, if the Living Christ is the source of the gathered believers, then He is the life and the life-functioning reality of that assemblage. If not, it is merely a ritualistic gathering, void of life and void of any eternal value. 
All of this necessitates that we ask ourselves, in our personal relationships, in our family relationships, in our fellowship relationships, Why do you seek the living One among the dead? In whom are we seeking the fulfillment and the joy and the refreshment of life? How are we dealing with those closest to us in respect to the manner of our interactions and our motivations? Do we look to anyone else to bring forth the life that is only found in Jesus the risen Lord?
	We must be constantly reminded of the reality of what occurred those two thousand years ago, in order to remember what the Lord taught each and every one of us who are His own. If we have no such relationship yet, we must stand together, one with another, earnestly seeking for the life of Christ to manifest Himself into each and every heart here this morning, for the sake of all. 
Christ is alive! Christ is life! Seek and ye shall find. We will not find Him in a structure. We will not find Him in any of the elements of this world, whether they be positive or negative elements. We will only find Him as we seek after Him by the ministry of the Holy Spirit as we open our hearts to Him to receive of His eternal life.
	As Christians, as believers, as the Body of Christ, let us always encourage one another to seek after life only where life abounds. It can not and will not be found in any element of this realm, no matter how philanthropic that endeavor may seem. Life is found only as we are seeking after the Living Christ, after His life to be made manifest in us to the glory of God. Let us remember His words, and His ways, and His Lordship unto the edification of each one, of each family, of all as the living Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. May His life richly and eternally bless each one gathered here this morning with the reality that He is risen, that He is Lord and that He is Life, and Life eternal. Seek Him and live in Him! So be it and Amen!

We pray that each of us will be the expression of the truth of what this day commemorates within our family celebrations. This world sets aside one day a year for that which is lived each moment of each day in our lives. The resurrection of Our Lord Jesus ushered in a brand new and glorious and victorious life for all who will but call upon Him in complete and willing and joyous surrender to the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are to express the reality that He is risen and He is glorified so that all may know the truth of Who True and eternal Life is. Therefore, as we are gathered together, let the life of Christ be freely manifested from our hearts unto all in our spheres of influence to the glory of the awesome name of Jesus Christ! Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Acts 13:38+39. "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Amen.