8. 31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 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.” 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Luke 18:31-34

9. 1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple (John) started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. John 20:1-8

10. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. John 20:1-8

11. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 
8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
I Corinthians 15:3-8

12. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 
Acts 2:32-33

13. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. Acts 3:12-16

14. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 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. Acts 3:12-16

15. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Acts 7:55,59

16. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. I Corinthians. 15:14-19

17. TAKE HOME THOUGHT
Jesus’ empty tomb does not have to be in Redding for it to make all the difference in the world to us in this life and the next.

18. You will have a stronger faith

19. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

20. You will have a stronger faith
You will have victory over the cycle of sin

21. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8

22. You will have a stronger faith
You will have victory over the cycle of sin
You will have a courageous witness

23. 1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:1-22

24. 5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 
6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 
Acts 4:1-22

25. 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:1-22

26. 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 
14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 
15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 
16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.
17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 
Acts 4:1-22

27. 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. Acts 4:1-22

28. You will have a stronger faith
You will have victory over the cycle of sin
You will have a courageous witness
You will have a never-ending hope

29. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 1 Corinthians 6:14

30. TAKE HOME THOUGHT
Jesus’ empty tomb does not have to be in Redding for it to make all the difference in the world to us in this life and the next.

31. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21

32. I pray that my heart will know the hope given to me by God’s invitation. I pray that I will see how great the things are that He has promised to me because I belong to Him.

33. I pray that I will know how great His power that raised Christ from the dead is in my life because I have put my trust in Him. I ask this in the name of the risen Christ, Amen.