CRCF””Resurrection Sunday, 4-4-10
VIDEO Clip from The Passion
Does the Resurrection Really Matter?
“The Resurrection is God”™s ”˜Amen!”™ to Christ”™s statement, ”˜It is finished!”™” (S. Lewis Johnson).
Only a LIVING Savior can save!
John 14:6
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 11:25
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Revelation 1:18 (New Living Translation)
“I am the living one. I died, but look””I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
- You can be FREED by Grace
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
Every person here needs grace!
The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). That paints a picture of a life that is a prison that ends in destruction! There”™s no freedom when you”™re under a death-sentence from God!
And so, we need grace. “Grace is when God gives you what you need, not what you deserve . . . Grace is God saying . . . I forgive you even though you can”™t earn it . . . all because of Jesus”™ death and resurrection” (Warren).
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
Galatians 5:1 (The Message)
“Christ has set us free to live a free life.”
What does the resurrection have to do with grace and freedom in our lives?
1 Corinthians 15:17
“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
Romans 4:25
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
You can be freed by grace!
HOW?
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith””and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God””not of works, so that no one can boast.”
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
If you”™ll only trust what He did on the cross and in the resurrection, you can be freed by grace!
- You can be TRANSFORMED by Purpose
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
Do you ever wonder why you”™re here? Does anyone here live without an ultimate purpose to your life?
The greatest tragedy in life is not death. It”™s to go through your entire life without knowing why you”™re living!
We all long to know that our lives matter–that they serve a purpose bigger than survival.
John 10:10 (NLT)
“My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NLT)
“He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.”
Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God”™s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God””this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God”™s will is””his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
You can be transformed by purpose!
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)
“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
Rick Warren: “You were made to live for God. When you start living for God, that”™s when you discover real happiness, real meaning, real purpose, real value to your life.”
Jesus told us what our ultimate purpose in life:
Matthew 28:18-20 (The Message)
“Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: ”˜God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”™”
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
You can be transformed by purpose!
- You can be FILLED with Hope
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
Every person on the planet needs hope! We all need to know that our lives are going somewhere, that this isn”™t all there is.
Philippians 1:6 (New Living Translation)
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
The fact that God is working in us””and won”™t quit until He”™s done””fills our lives with hope!
1 Peter 1:3-5 (New Living Translation)
“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, 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. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
You can be filled with hope!
John 14:1-3 (New Living Translation)
“”™Don”™t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father”™s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”™”
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 (New Living Translation)
“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus”™ resurrection can radically change your life!
You can be filled with hope!
Conclusion””
There”™s a reason you showed up here this morning! For some, it”™s to be reminded of some things about Jesus”™ resurrection that you already knew. And for others, it was so you could hear Jesus calling you to a life freed by grace, transformed by purpose and filled with hope!
Respond to the Risen Savior this morning! Let Him give you grace, purpose and hope!
Celebration of the Lord”™s Supper