if... Easter 2012

What is Easter About? "For some people, Easter is about colors. For kids, it's all about the hunt. It's the promise of the spring harvest. It means making potato recipes."

What is Easter About? JESUS > DEATH

Marcus Borg, Jesus Seminar “As a child, I took it for granted that Easter meant that Jesus literally rose from the dead. I now see Easter very differently. For me, it is irrelevant whether or not the tomb was empty. Whether Easter involved something remarkable happening to the physical body of Jesus is irrelevant.”

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. John Updike’s "Seven Stanzas at Easter" “Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall….”

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic The resurrection proves that He is LORD and GOD Romans 1:4 who was declared the Son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic The resurrection proves that He is LORD and GOD Acts 17:31 ...[God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven 1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven The resurrection guarantees our forgiveness Romans 4:25 [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven We are powerless to obey God Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven We are powerless to obey God The resurrection empowers us to obey Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven We are powerless to obey God The resurrection empowers us to obey 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven We are powerless to obey God We are just fertilizer for daffodils 1 Corinthians 15:17–19 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have [died] in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Without the Resurrection... Jesus is just a dead liar or lunatic Our sins are unforgiven We are powerless to obey God We are just fertilizer for daffodils 1 Corinthians 15:32 ...If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

The resurrection defeated death Acts 2:24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Romans 6:9 Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. Revelation 1:18 ...I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

The resurrection guarantees our resurrection John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

With the Resurrection... Jesus is Lord and God Our sins are forgiven We are empowered to obey God Death is defeated and we will rise

Evidence for the Resurrection Gary Habermas, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus William Lane Craig, The Son Rises Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ or The Case for Easter “Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus” grace-bible.org  Downloads  Leader Resources

Evidence for the Resurrection The Jewish leaders didn’t exhume the body The Romans stole the body The disciples stole the body There was no body!

Evidence for the Resurrection The Jewish leaders didn’t exhume the body The disciples willingly suffered and died for this claim

Application Consider the evidence Thank your Lord Celebrate your hope