April 21, 2019

Easter Sunday – 2019
April 21, 2019
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Open:

Today, Easter Sunday, was a day filled with “the worst of times and the best of times,” to borrow a quote from Charles Dickens. If you were on social media today, or just in your ordinary life, can you give an example in either category?

Today is the day above all others that separates Christianity from any other religion in the world. We alone can point to the where Jesus Christ was buried on Friday evening, after dying from the crucifixion. We also are able to take you to that tomb, where on Sunday morning, the women went while it was still dark, and found the tomb empty, with angels proclaiming, “He is not here, for He is Risen, just as He said!” No other world leader ever walked out of a tomb under their own power and have hundreds of eyewitnesses to verify that He is alive!

Key Verse: John 3:17: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Focal Passages: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 9-10; John 3:16-17; Philippians 1:21-24a.

 

Discuss:

WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR:

  • Read 1 Cor. 15:1-8. What was Paul’s reason in verses 1-2 in writing to these believers?
  • Verses 3-4 contain the truth which we proclaim. What do we call it? Why is it such “good news”?
  • In verses 5-8, how many people saw Jesus after His resurrection? If you had seen a loved one die and placed in a tomb, then over 500 people saw that person walking and talking, what would you think? Would you doubt the truth?
  • The entire gospel is contained and defended in these verses. Why is this so important?
  • Read John 3:16-17.
  • Read 1 Cor. 15:9-10. How do you imagine Paul’s attitude to be as he spoke these words?
  • Did Paul deserve God’s grace on his life? Why or why not?
  • Why is your journey so much like Paul’s? Was your life full of disobedience, dishonoring the commandments of God, but Jesus came to you anyway?
  • Why is the empty tomb a reminder that Jesus appears to us when we don’t deserve His presence? 

TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN

  • Read Phil. 1:21-24a. This was Paul’s innermost, truest feeling. How can you explain such a willingness to live or die for Christ? Is this how you feel or are you ready to be with Christ, “but not quite yet”?
  • What did he mean, in saying these words?

Close:

Each year, as Easter approaches, we look for something new to add to this two-thousand-year-old series of events. The beautiful thing is, there is nothing to add: it has all been done, it was finished two thousand years ago, and there is nothing that can be put on as an addendum.

What does change, year to year, is the number of lives who have been radically changed. This year there are some who people would never have imagined that they would ever be saved. Some lives were so far down that all friends had given up. Yet God reached down and extended His grace to some of them. Others whom neighbors thought to already be a believer, actually got saved—and are literally a new person! The stories continue. Lives are changed, marriages are saved, addictions are healed, and diseases are cured.

Does that mean you lacked faith because God did not change something you asked of Him? Not at all. We see only the little picture, almost like looking though binoculars, missing everything except the small thing we’re focusing on. God sees the big picture—the overall, the beginning from the end. We see in fragments, minuscule portions, and put them together like a puzzle—most of the time incorrectly.

No, there’s nothing new to add to the perfect story of Easter. Jesus Christ, as Paul wrote in our opening passage, came from heaven to earth, and died for our sins, just as the Scriptures foretold. He was buried, raised from the dead on the third day, (just as the Scriptures foretold), was seen by Peter, then by the twelve, then by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote to the Corinthians. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, He was seen by Paul. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Then, so important to us—He reached down while we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and made us alive with Him forever. Now, we’re waiting for Him to return for us. What a glorious ending!

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