April 2026
Redeemer Lives, 5 April 2026
10 04 26 Filed in: Sermons | Handel's Messiah
My Redeemer Lives
Handel’s Messiah
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
April 5, 2026
Job 19:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Series Big Idea: Handel’s Messiah may be the greatest work of music ever created, bringing praise and glory to the Creator.
Big Idea: Because my redeemer lives, I have a living hope.
I know that my redeemer lives. What a great message for Easter, resurrection Sunday. Today is the greatest day on the Christian calendar as we remember Jesus’ horrific death on the cross was followed by his miraculous resurrection.
This past Advent, we began a message series examining the songs and lyrics of Handel’s Messiah. The first part of the magnificent work of music speaks of the Incarnation, the events of Christmastime which is why it’s commonly performed in December. But the rest of it—including the Hallelujah Chorus—is about the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah with glimpses of the future.
Our world is a mess…would you agree? Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, sin and evil have been wreaking havoc, whether it’s violence, racism, abuse, addiction, greed, adultery, or any number of things that steal, kill, and destroy. It’s nothing new. What makes things seem so bad, I believe, is the 24/7 news cycle that is constantly screaming through our screens. We know too much!
Because humans made a mess of the world, Jesus came as a baby to fix things, to ultimately die, to take the punishment you and I deserve for our sins, our pride, our rebellion. Jesus is our redeemer…and I know that my redeemer lives.
Redeemer is one of those churchy, biblical words you rarely hear in our culture, but it’s incredible.
To redeem is to exchange. We redeem gift cards, for example. Another meaning of redeem is to pay off, like a debt or promissory note.
Is there anyone perfect here? You’ve never told a white lie, cheated, lusted, driven over the speed limit…!!! We’ve all sinned—missed the mark—and according to God we must be penalized. That’s only fair, right? A simple example would be paying a parking ticket.
Imagine you received a ticket from God for every sin you committed, every bad deed, every failure to love well, every evil thought. That would be an expensive ticket, right?! How would you feel about paying it? It would be impossible!
Now imagine Jesus comes along and says, “I’ll pay it.” How would that make you feel?
That’s redemption. That’s a redeemer. That’s grace…unmerited favor. And it’s available to everyone one of you. You can choose to suffer yourself and be punished for your sins or say yes to Jesus and let him pay the bill, let him be your redeemer.
One of the most famous of the ancient scriptures says,
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
About 2000 years ago Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem…though he did nothing wrong.
When Jesus rose from the dead—and hundreds of people saw his resurrected body—he proved his love. He proved his power. He proved his sacrifice was sufficient. Paul, who wrote much of the Bible, said,
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, NLT)
“Belongs to Christ” simply means they say yes to Jesus. The simple prayer is, “Jesus, I give you my life.”
If you’re like me, you probably like to be in control. You don’t want to follow, you want to lead. But how’s that working out for you? Are you experiencing a life of freedom? Peace? Joy? Satisfaction? Contentment?
The culture says to pursue happiness, and we usually do so through money, power, and pleasure, but I haven’t found anything or anyone that offers true meaning and purpose than Jesus. He’s fully God, yet fully human, the perfect example of what it means to be human…and the one I want to lead my life.
Our song from Handel’s Messiah is curious because although it declares, “My redeemer lives,” those words were taken from the book of Job, written hundreds—if not thousands—of years before Jesus died and rose from the dead.
It’s the story of a righteous man whose faith is tested by a variety of tragedies and pain, from physical suffering to the loss of his children. Job is honest about his suffering and how he feels about God’s testing. Then he adds,
My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. (Job 19:17)
Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me. (Job 19:18)
All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. (Job 19:19)
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. (Job 19:20)
“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. (Job 19:21)
Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? (Job 19:22)
Have you ever felt like that? We all have stories of hurt and suffering. I’ve suffered. My family has suffered. We’ve been through many long, hard seasons including nine years of treatments across the country with a sick child. For months, one of our children lived at the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland with me while my wife was in Ann Arbor with our other two kids during the week. Heather and I would switch on weekends, passing one another on the Ohio Turnpike. The relational, physical, and financial challenges were overwhelming, and as the years dragged on, I could relate to Job, a little bit. It felt like God was out to get us or at least forgot us, at times, though our story was not over…and neither is yours.
A few verses after expressing all of his anguish, Job declares,
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:26-27)
I know that my redeemer lives. Job had hope that the Messiah would come. He knew his story—and HiStory—was not over.
Job wrote centuries before Jesus walked the earth. While we can view his words as somewhat prophetic, he had no knowledge of the Messiah’s death and resurrection. He was not only on the other side of Easter, Job was on the other side of Christmas! But even in his agony, he had faith to believe God would eventually intervene, that he would be vindicated, that whether in life or death, he would see God.
I know that my redeemer lives.
If Jesus remained dead, there would be no reason for faith. We would have no hope. Death would win.
But he is risen! He is risen indeed!
So What?
Because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow
Because Jesus lives, all fear is gone.
When we trust him rather than ourselves, we can rest, experience forgiveness, and know peace.
Do you know God loves you? No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God loves you…so much that He proved His love by sending Jesus to die as your redeemer, to pay the penalty of your sins…and mine.
Do you know Jesus died and rose from the dead? That’s the foundation of the Christian faith. It’s not about a religion or politics, but the person of Jesus.
Do you know Jesus is your redeemer? If not, today can be the day you say yes to Jesus, the day you choose to follow him, the day to allow him to pay the bill and lead your life. You’ll never regret it.
My hope is not in my talents, my wealth, or my wisdom. It’s not in technology, our government, or the stock market. The only real hope I’ve found came through a cross and an empty tomb, a death and a resurrection. I know that my redeemer lives, and because he lives, I have hope. Jesus is my living hope. Is he yours?
Handel’s Messiah
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
April 5, 2026
Job 19:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Series Big Idea: Handel’s Messiah may be the greatest work of music ever created, bringing praise and glory to the Creator.
Big Idea: Because my redeemer lives, I have a living hope.
I know that my redeemer lives. What a great message for Easter, resurrection Sunday. Today is the greatest day on the Christian calendar as we remember Jesus’ horrific death on the cross was followed by his miraculous resurrection.
This past Advent, we began a message series examining the songs and lyrics of Handel’s Messiah. The first part of the magnificent work of music speaks of the Incarnation, the events of Christmastime which is why it’s commonly performed in December. But the rest of it—including the Hallelujah Chorus—is about the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah with glimpses of the future.
Our world is a mess…would you agree? Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, sin and evil have been wreaking havoc, whether it’s violence, racism, abuse, addiction, greed, adultery, or any number of things that steal, kill, and destroy. It’s nothing new. What makes things seem so bad, I believe, is the 24/7 news cycle that is constantly screaming through our screens. We know too much!
Because humans made a mess of the world, Jesus came as a baby to fix things, to ultimately die, to take the punishment you and I deserve for our sins, our pride, our rebellion. Jesus is our redeemer…and I know that my redeemer lives.
Redeemer is one of those churchy, biblical words you rarely hear in our culture, but it’s incredible.
To redeem is to exchange. We redeem gift cards, for example. Another meaning of redeem is to pay off, like a debt or promissory note.
Is there anyone perfect here? You’ve never told a white lie, cheated, lusted, driven over the speed limit…!!! We’ve all sinned—missed the mark—and according to God we must be penalized. That’s only fair, right? A simple example would be paying a parking ticket.
Imagine you received a ticket from God for every sin you committed, every bad deed, every failure to love well, every evil thought. That would be an expensive ticket, right?! How would you feel about paying it? It would be impossible!
Now imagine Jesus comes along and says, “I’ll pay it.” How would that make you feel?
That’s redemption. That’s a redeemer. That’s grace…unmerited favor. And it’s available to everyone one of you. You can choose to suffer yourself and be punished for your sins or say yes to Jesus and let him pay the bill, let him be your redeemer.
One of the most famous of the ancient scriptures says,
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
About 2000 years ago Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem…though he did nothing wrong.
When Jesus rose from the dead—and hundreds of people saw his resurrected body—he proved his love. He proved his power. He proved his sacrifice was sufficient. Paul, who wrote much of the Bible, said,
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, NLT)
“Belongs to Christ” simply means they say yes to Jesus. The simple prayer is, “Jesus, I give you my life.”
If you’re like me, you probably like to be in control. You don’t want to follow, you want to lead. But how’s that working out for you? Are you experiencing a life of freedom? Peace? Joy? Satisfaction? Contentment?
The culture says to pursue happiness, and we usually do so through money, power, and pleasure, but I haven’t found anything or anyone that offers true meaning and purpose than Jesus. He’s fully God, yet fully human, the perfect example of what it means to be human…and the one I want to lead my life.
Our song from Handel’s Messiah is curious because although it declares, “My redeemer lives,” those words were taken from the book of Job, written hundreds—if not thousands—of years before Jesus died and rose from the dead.
It’s the story of a righteous man whose faith is tested by a variety of tragedies and pain, from physical suffering to the loss of his children. Job is honest about his suffering and how he feels about God’s testing. Then he adds,
My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. (Job 19:17)
Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me. (Job 19:18)
All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. (Job 19:19)
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. (Job 19:20)
“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. (Job 19:21)
Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? (Job 19:22)
Have you ever felt like that? We all have stories of hurt and suffering. I’ve suffered. My family has suffered. We’ve been through many long, hard seasons including nine years of treatments across the country with a sick child. For months, one of our children lived at the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland with me while my wife was in Ann Arbor with our other two kids during the week. Heather and I would switch on weekends, passing one another on the Ohio Turnpike. The relational, physical, and financial challenges were overwhelming, and as the years dragged on, I could relate to Job, a little bit. It felt like God was out to get us or at least forgot us, at times, though our story was not over…and neither is yours.
A few verses after expressing all of his anguish, Job declares,
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:26-27)
I know that my redeemer lives. Job had hope that the Messiah would come. He knew his story—and HiStory—was not over.
Job wrote centuries before Jesus walked the earth. While we can view his words as somewhat prophetic, he had no knowledge of the Messiah’s death and resurrection. He was not only on the other side of Easter, Job was on the other side of Christmas! But even in his agony, he had faith to believe God would eventually intervene, that he would be vindicated, that whether in life or death, he would see God.
I know that my redeemer lives.
If Jesus remained dead, there would be no reason for faith. We would have no hope. Death would win.
But he is risen! He is risen indeed!
So What?
Because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow
Because Jesus lives, all fear is gone.
When we trust him rather than ourselves, we can rest, experience forgiveness, and know peace.
Do you know God loves you? No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God loves you…so much that He proved His love by sending Jesus to die as your redeemer, to pay the penalty of your sins…and mine.
Do you know Jesus died and rose from the dead? That’s the foundation of the Christian faith. It’s not about a religion or politics, but the person of Jesus.
Do you know Jesus is your redeemer? If not, today can be the day you say yes to Jesus, the day you choose to follow him, the day to allow him to pay the bill and lead your life. You’ll never regret it.
My hope is not in my talents, my wealth, or my wisdom. It’s not in technology, our government, or the stock market. The only real hope I’ve found came through a cross and an empty tomb, a death and a resurrection. I know that my redeemer lives, and because he lives, I have hope. Jesus is my living hope. Is he yours?