RESURRECTION: The Foundation of our Faith (Resurrection Sunday)
Resurrection 2014 • Sermon • Submitted
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Sounds of the Cross
(SCREEN - Welcome to Fellowship)
Arrested, mocked, spit on, beaten, flogged, crown of thorns, crucified, died, buried…and Resurrected. Or WAS He? Different people in this room - if honest - might answer that in different ways.
Some of you are:
CONVINCED. You believe in Jesus written about in the Scriptures and you await His return.
Some of you are CONFUSED. You have been involved in church for a while, but you have doubts. History Channel and other pseudo-scholars tell you the Gospels aren't reliable while others give their lives to spread the message of Jesus...and you’re caught in the middle.
Some of you are CRITICS. You are here today - and I’m SO GLAD you are - welcome! - You might be here because someone guilted you to make this annual pilgrimage. but in truth you wonder why people believe all this man-made religious jargon. And if you could, you would love to prove your Christian friends/family members wrong. And I’m about to give you that chance.
PROP In fact, I am going to give you the SILVER BULLET that would KILL CHRISTIANITY. [set up cups while this is happening]. The Resurrection is the FOUNDATION of our Faith
- Remove the Resurrection of Jesus, the rest of the story falls apart.
POLL: Be sure to register how you classify yourself in on YouVersion Poll.
PRAY Father, this is a huge task and right now I invite you to invade our thoughts, to challenge our minds and change our hearts. May you be honored in all that is taught today.
James Warner Wallace, a former cold-case homocide detective and former atheist - now Jesus follower - writes that Dr. Gary Habermas and Professor Mike Licona surveyed the most respected and well-established historical scholars and identified a 4 facts that are accepted by the vast majority of researchers in the field regarding Jesus of Nazareth.
4 FACTS HISTORICAL SCHOLARS AGREE ON:
Jesus died on the cross and was buried.
Both early Christian and non-Christian sources state this including Romans like Thallus & Tacitus & Jews like Josephus (Find out more in our HIStory series - More than a Myth, Martyr, and more than a Man).
There are a lot of internet claims that Jesus either never lived or never died on a Roman cross. But anyone who disagrees with this stands in opposition to both historical & biblical scholarship.
Of course New Testament writings teach that Jesus DID die on a cross & was buried.
The tomb of Jesus was empty, and His body was NEVER found.
Jesus died just outside of Jerusalem & was buried just outside of Jerusalem. Anyone who wanted to crush the claim that Jesus resurrected need do, is simply produce His body. The story of Jesus would have would gone no further if the enemies of Jesus found the body and paraded it around the streets of Jerusalem - They could not!
The disciples of Jesus claimed He spoke of resurrection WELL before it ever happened. This is a supernatural claim that Jesus made and IF He didn’t resurrect, Jesus is a LIAR.
Let me show you what I mean: (passages)
Mark 8:31 (NIV)
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
Mark 10:33–34 (NIV)
33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
Luke 18:32–33 (NIV)
32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
John 2:19–22 (NIV)
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
The enemies of Jesus heard some of these claims as well. In fact, they PREPARED for it!
Matthew 27:62-64 (NIV)
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
The disciples claimed to interact with the resurrected Jesus.
They claimed to do more than Jesus see Him alive. They interacted with Him. Check out what happened when they first saw Him after he - as my boys used to say when they were young - ‘tum back alive!’
Luke 24:37–49 (NIV)
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. [physical resurrection] 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Earlier I said that if Jesus DID NOT resurrect, He is a LIAR. But if He DID rise again…then Jesus is LORD and the claims His disciples make about his miracles & teachings are trustworthy. This leads us to the 4th Fact Historical Scholars Agree On. This might be the most important evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
The Resurrection TRANSFORMED the disciples.
They transformed from fearful folks hiding behind closed doors to fearless ambassadors who refused to stop talking about their Resurrected King. And from that day forward…those guys & gals - the first disciples of Jesus, were NEVER the same. They began to…Live like Jesus is Alive! The Resurrection became the foundation of their faith & message to others. They spoke of forgiveness of sins in the Name of the Risen Jesus! Here are a couple of examples.
Jesus was sentenced to death in Jerusalem.
Jesus had been killed just outside of Jerusalem.
Jesus had been buried just outside of Jerusalem.
The disciples of Jesus had locked their doors inside of Jerusalem….BUT THEN…just a few days later…
The disciples of Jesus boldly share the message of the risen Jesus…guess where!!! Inside of Jerusalem!
Peter and John told a paralyzed man to stand up in the name of the risen Jesus…and He did! People heard about it from all over and ran to hear Peter explain how this happened. Here’s what he said…
Acts 3:15–16 (NIV)
15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Even when threatened by the same leaders who had Jesus put to death…
Acts 4:33 (NIV)
33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all
The Resurrection of Jesus was the Foundation for their Faith…-355600210308
And they put their feet to faith and daily began to…
Live like Jesus is Alive!Live like Jesus is Alive!Live like Jesus is Alive!Live like Jesus is Alive!
Live like Jesus is Alive!
Live like Jesus is Alive!
This wasn’t just a Sunday thing for them. It was an academic discussion they had. It affected EVERYTHING about their lives. They had a deep desire to live in purity, to speak truth, to serve others, & to carry the message of Jesus to their enemies. They had SEEN the risen Jesus and now they had to put feet to faith and Live Like Jesus is Alive!
I wonder how this impacted
their marriages: how did husbands & wives treat each other when they Live like Jesus is Alive?
their families as parents led their children to Live like Jesus is Alive.
their communities - as believers chose to Live like Jesus is Alive - in their language, attitudes, & actions; as they shared the message of with passion & confidence…all because…they had seen the risen Jesus and they had to Live like Jesus is Alive.
Let me ask YOU a question. Does His resurrection make a difference in YOUR life?
Do you live like Jesus is alive?
How does the resurrection of Jesus impact YOUR…marriage, family, community?
You want to know the TRUTH? What if we were to ask THEM?
What would your spouse say? Does he/she Live like Jesus is alive?
What would your children say? Does he/she Live like Jesus is alive?
What would your friends & neighbors say? Does he/she Live like Jesus is alive?
Many of you have heard the story of Josh McDowell - one of my heroes of the faith. Growing up with a father who beat his mother & being sexually abused by an older man, Josh’s mom told him she would die after he graduated from high school. And she did.
Josh hated his dad and wanted him dead instead. While at college, Josh met some Christians who - as he later came to understand - made a real effort to live like Jesus is alive. Josh was challenged by them to examine the evidence for Jesus of Nazareth. An ardent atheist, Josh took them up on the challenge….and lost.
Since then Josh has spoken to more teenagers than any single individual in history; giving over 24,000 talks in over 100 countries & over 1,000 universities while making over 10,000 flights - all because Josh took the challenge from those who CHOSE to live like Jesus is alive. And you’ve just GOT to hear what God did between Josh & the dad he hated so much…but I won’t spoil it for you.
Today we have given you a GIFT - the story of Josh McDowell - as he examined the story of Jesus, “More Than a Carpenter.” I hope you will read it & pass it on to someone else. But more than that. I hope YOU will put Feet2Faith and Live like Jesus is Alive.
We’re about to pray, but before we do, would you take your CONNECTION CARD and turn it to the back? (Walk them through it)
LET’S PRAY Simple prayer for God to move among them. (Band comes up)
With heads bowed & eyes closed - Would YOU pray this? “Jesus, what do YOU want me to do with what I just heard?” Sin to turn FROM, Savior to turn TO? Now, would you quietly write down any response - prayer need, spiritual question, desire to follow Jesus.
Would you quietly stand
Finally, we are going to close today by celebrating our Risen King. During this song, I invite
This is a place where it’s okay to not be okay. If God spoke to your heart today, and you need someone to pray WITH you or FOR you
Pass Info Cards toward aisle
47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things. 49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
The resurrection of Jesus is the FOUNDATION of our FAITH.
Homework
Share WHY Jesus’ death is important to you, with at least 1 person who doesn’t walk with Jesus. Use LIFE/DEATH card (give them out).
Death/Life Card - present Gospel
Books More Than a Carpenter