The message focused around 1 Corinthians 15 and most specifically verses 16-17: 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.
The Pastor reaffirmed several times that the event was supernatural. He rebuked ridiculous arguments and theories such as Jesus was poisoned to appear dead but didn’t really die, there were mass hallucinations, there were visions, they had the wrong tomb. He noted that the witnesses of the women who arrived at the open grave was consistent with their knowledge. They were present when Jesus was buried and the stone rolled to close the grave. They were alarmed by the stone being rolled away and meeting an angel. If Christians wanted to make up a story of resurrection couldn’t they have a made a more realistic story instead of one that relies on women who weren’t accepted as witnesses in that culture? (From Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson speaking on the authenticity of the Resurrection Story.)
The angel told the women ‘He is not here. He is Risen; go tell His disciples’. We are each responsible to do the same. We must believe that He is Risen in order to be Christian. If we believe, then we should go and tell others.
I came upon this song several months ago and set it aside for today!
Mercy Tree
Verses for Today:Romans 6: 8-10 (NIV)
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
I believe and thank God. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Beautiful song - thanks for sharing! We had a wonderful Easter service at our church. I love all the beauty of Easter.
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