Core 52 Week 44 - Resurrection
You can listen to the audio of this sermon on my podcast at:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/697261/6238342
Intro:
• Two old men had been best friends for years, and they both live to their early 90’s, when one of them suddenly falls deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they’re reminiscing about their long friendship. The friend says, “Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there’s baseball in heaven.”
The dying man responds, “We’ve been friends for a lifetime, so yes, I’ll do this for you.” And then he dies.
A few days later, the surviving friend is sleeping, when he hears his friend’s voice.
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” it says. “The good news is: there’s baseball in heaven.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“You’re pitching on Wednesday.”
• There is life after death. Maybe even baseball...
• Life after death means, in biblical terms, a resurrection.
• Resurrection = rising again.
• For those of us who grew up in church, resurrection is a familiar term. Raises images of heaven (various ideas about that!)...
• Not just a doctrine or some future, unknowable event.
• The early Christians taught the resurrection of Jesus and subsequently his followers as their core doctrine. If it was about something that made no difference in their daily life, it would not have been nearly as effective in bringing the world to Christ.
• Resurrection makes a difference NOW.
• Quick overview:
o Jesus died, was buried and rose to new life (not reanimation).
o This confirmed everything he ever said or did as true.
o Jesus consistently claimed that he would be resurrected (Lk. 9.22, Lk. 13.32, Lk. 18.33, LK. 24.7)
Luke 9:22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
• The messages of the apostles reflected this.
1 Corinthians 15:4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
Why this matters: A Living Hope.
1 Peter 1:3–4 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
• You are already living in the resurrection because of your salvation.
Why this matters: Forgiveness
1 Peter 1:21–23 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
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Why this matters: Power
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
