Resurrection: Fact Or Fiction?

Dead people stay dead.1 “Nobody goes to funerals and says, ‘What’s the over/under if this person comes alive again?’” I have yet to see one dead person come back to life. I doubt you have seen any dead person live again, either. Once people have gone down the road of death, they just don’t return.2 Easter is the celebration of a once-dead Savior who lives again. Plus, Christianity teaches that if He rose, all His followers will rise, too. So, if all of our experience tells us that dead people stay dead, what are we doing here this morning?

In the minutes ahead, I want to explore with you why we believe Jesus rose from the dead when experience tells us this isn’t true.

If you have a Bible, please find 1 Corinthians 15 with me.

Communication Card

At the end of today’s message, I will invite you to commit your life to Jesus Christ. I want everyone to have the “Communication Card” near you. You’ll find one in the pew in front of you. Please keep that handy. I’ll share with you some instructions about this a little later in the service.

If you’re a skeptic, we are glad you are here. If you’re an agnostic, we are glad you are here. If you’re here only because your family expects you to come, we are glad you are here ?.

Quick Preview of Next Series

Many of you are first-time guests. Feel free to join us next Sunday for a new series entitled, “Hello, My Name is God.” We’ll explore what the Bible says God is really like. I hope you’ll join us.

Either the resurrection happened or it didn’t. If Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, Christians are wasting their time. In the minutes to come, I hope to give your family and friends something to talk about over Easter lunch tables.

Today’s Scripture

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of you are being saved you are being saved I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-9, 14).

Here’s the thing about the resurrection – it’s a crucial and even a central part of Christianity. Christianity falls apart without the resurrection.

On-screen: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7r5_jVXlJ4w - this is an on-screen silent video. Some of you have played Jenga with your family, right? You turn off the TV, go to the kitchen table, and set the blocks up. Then, you seek to pull piece after piece out without the tower collapsing. If Christianity were a Jenga tower, the resurrection is the one block that, when pulled, the tower comes crashing down every single time.

Notice the Bible uses the words “of first importance” in verse 3. What’s “of first importance”? The Bible goes on to say, “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” in verses 3 and 4. Further, the Bible says this is “you are being saved” in verse 1, and it’s by this gospel “you are being saved” at the beginning of verse 2.

If Christianity were a house, the resurrection would be as crucial as the hidden support beams or the foundation. If Christianity were a human body, the resurrection would be as crucial as your lungs. You get the idea. Without a dead person coming back to real life, Christianity collapses. Either the resurrection happened or it didn’t. If Jesus did NOT really rise from the dead, Christians are wasting their time.

Sermon Preview

Here is what we know for a fact.

1. Jesus Died by Roman Crucifixion

2. Jesus Was Buried in a Private Tomb

3. People were Transformed on the First Easter

This morning, I want to focus on this question: Did Jesus really rise from the dead, and if He did, what does this mean for us?