Preaching on the most important story of the Christian faith—the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—can feel daunting.

How do we convey the gravitas, the wonder, the extraordinary grace of God? Who loves us so much, God will not allow even death to come between us?

How do we make that story sound credible to the scientifically-minded, the spiritually-individualized, or the what’s-in-it-for-me religious consumer?

How do we say something new about a story we’ve encountered countless times in dozens of ways? Read along and sung. Depicted in movies and dramatized on Broadway. Studied, prayed over, and preached. Again and again.

One way to approach and convey the story with fresh insight is to do what Scripture does best: tell the story.

The four gospels each offer a different Easter narrative.

Each author or community of the gospels tells its own story about who was there, what was at stake, what happened, and how people reacted.

In fact, each version follows a similar pattern of story-telling, a pattern that can be applied to telling the Easter story so our listeners connect this ancient story to their lives of today.

You can resurrect the impact of Easter by learning to tell its story more effectively. Consider this process in your sermon prep over the next few weeks, and see what discoveries emerge in your own understanding—and your listeners’.

Step One: Understand The basic pattern (structure) of Story

All stories have certain elements in common. And the primary building block of a story is conflict.

In fact, you can break down any movie, novel, musical, or story told ‘round the fire into a basic pattern:

Somebody wants something, but something gets in the way (that’s the conflict, and various reactions/attempts to overcome the obstacle ensue).

Then something happens to resolve the conflict, so as a result, the Someone lives changed. The character leaves the story different from how they entered the story.

The pattern, then, can be summarized: Want. But. Then. So.

Step 2: Define this Pattern for each character in the story?

Start by noticing who is named in the story. Make a list.

But don’t stop there. Consider who else is present but unnamed. In the story of the crucifixion, for example, it’s likely there were guards, servers, slaves, and others.

Go even further. Who isn’t mentioned at all but might be intuited to be present? Did the high priests who turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate watch from afar, relieved to see their political stress come to an end? Were any of the disciples’ wives there? Had any children followed the procession through town? Were they Jewish or Roman? What about someone in the multitude who’d watched the loaves and fishes multiplied—what did they make of this event?

Now, the deep work begins: dive into each character's perspective to discover the conflict. Each character will likely have a different want, a different hope. Consider:

What are they expecting?

How do they believe the world operates?

What is driving their choices and actions?

What outcome represents success for them?

In other words, what is at stake for each character?

Then consider what (or who) gets in the way. And imagine the feelings that result.

Characters may share an event that thwarts all their hopes at the same time but in different ways, as in the case of the crucifixion. Mary, Peter, John, and Jesus experienced the same event, but Mary’s disappointment surely differed from Peter’s vs. John’s vs. Jesus’s.

Other characters may have conflicting desires and obstacles. For the high priests, the crucifixion seemed to be the resolution of their conflict. But then the resurrection happens. Now they have a new problem to overcome.

Exegesis can help you get into the mindsets of the day and what various people of their “stations” (like guards, women, religious authorities, or government procurators) might have been likely to hope for or do.

Follow each character’s desires and disappointments through to the story’s resolution.

How is the conflict resolved?

More importantly, what does the resolution mean for each character? What is the implication for their former way of thinking or life? How is each character changed as a result of enduring this process?

Step 3: What resonates?

One of these perspectives is likely to stand out to you.

Perhaps it will be a hope or expectation that hits close to home, or one that was about to be realized when an unwelcome surprise sent it reeling.

Maybe listeners are already at their emotional nadir—disappointed, confused, wary, waiting for a vision of grace and new life. Or perhaps they’ve recently come through the gauntlet. They feel reenergized and wonder together what they and God can do next.

Another possibility is to focus on the differing narratives of multiple characters.

Just as there are four gospel accounts of the same story, all of which are true, maybe the all-true-and-all-different experiences of your listeners, and those beyond the church walls, might help them wonder about their neighbors with more open-hearted curiosity than closed-minded self-righteousness.

Step 4: Craft your sermon based on this story’s structure.

Once you’ve decided on the conflict you want to highlight, the way the gospel resolves it, and how it resonates with your listeners, choose the order to tell the story in your sermon.

For example, the sermon could follow one character’s perspective chronologically from beginning to end.

First, who is this person and what does s/he want?

But what got in the way?

Then, good news: surprise!

So, how did s/he change?

Parallel the story with your listeners: what do they want? But what’s getting in their way? Then, good news: didn’t see that coming! So, how are they changed?

Alternatively, you could also start with the conflict (the “but” part of the story) and how it mirrors the conflict your listeners face.

What got the character into that pickle? What did s/he want?

What about your listeners; how did they get into their mess? What do they want?

Then, how does the good news clean up everyone’s mess? So, now what?

Another choice is to work backwards.

Start at the end: So, what happened long after the characters let the good news sink in?

What resolution happened before that (the “then” part)?

Prior to that, what was the conflict (the “but”)?

And it was a conflict because why: what had they wanted?

Therefore, who could your listeners, who may share a similar want, become? If what? And they let go of what conflict?

Step 5: Help your sermon Show rather than tell.

Tell the story, but instead of telling people what happened, describe it.

Use all five senses.

Pepper your sermon with a few choice sensory details: a scent, a sound, a flavor, a view, a feeling against skin.

What did it feel like, for instance, when the sun disappeared? Did someone shiver? Get goosebumps? Pull a shawl more tightly around their shoulders?

Did someone peel an orange for a snack? Did the sharp citrus provide relief from the smell of sweat and body fluids?

Did the guards’ laughter stand in harsh contrast to the silence of the otherwise somber crowd? Or did it melt into the din of the crowd?

Rather than tell listeners a character felt betrayed by a turn of events, describe the character’s affect before and after: paint the shift from smiling and greeting others with an embrace to silent, arms crossed, and avoiding another’s gaze.

To get inspiration for these details, return to your exegesis, or remember your own trips to the Holy Land.

What did you learn about typical daily activities for the characters?

How did the landscape influence events?

What might have been commonly understood and easily misunderstood that could have fostered conflict?

Or simply call on our shared humanity. Spend time noting how people move, speak, and respond in different settings based on different emotions.

Take notes about the five senses of people then, and your listeners now.

Step 6: Preach

Put it all together, and you’ll keep us on the edge of our seats.

By helping us empathize with a character’s desires, you’ll pull us in.
When you tease out what’s at stake and the conflict it creates, you’ll keep us engaged.
Add sensory details, and we’ll live the story with you.
Then show us the resolution and the transformation so we see change—a new way of living—is possible.

If you’ve done the rest, your audience will already be making connections to their own lives, finding hope for their own conflicts and transformation.

In short, you’ll preach a sermon that resurrects an old, old story and makes it live again!

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Resurrecting the Easter Story