Luke 24:1-12 "1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass."

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 "1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."

What is the "Gospel"? Paul gave a great summary of the gospel in First Corinthians. The resurrection of Christ is essential to everything we know of His saving gospel. In fact, there could be no saving gospel apart from Christ's bodily resurrection from the dead. I think sometimes we try to make the gospel of Jesus Christ too hard to understand when in fact it is very simple. Jesus died for our sins, He was buried and He rose again three days later. He died, He was buried and He rose again which proves that Christ was God. What could be simpler than that? I said it was simple, I didn't say I fully understood it! But - I BELIEVE IT!

Every Easter Sunday, pastors all over America talk about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and they should. But I want to think about something else this week. I want to think about what Christ's resurrection means to us. Because He was resurrected, we will be too. I don't know exactly how that can be but - I BELIEVE IT WILL BE! Are you afraid of death? Everyone is a little afraid of what they don't know. We all talk about how wonderful heaven is going to be and how we can't wait to see Jesus but, secretly, on another level, there's a little fear of the unknown there, too. Jesus has already gone through the resurrection for us. He passed through death and came out on the other side with a glorified body. He allowed others to see Him and testify of His resurrection and write about it so we wouldn't have to be afraid. He wanted us to know that we didn't have to fear death. He was born, lived, died a horrible death, stayed in the tomb for 3 days and then came out and walked among men just so we could be resurrected just as He was and have a glorified body and live in a beautiful place after our body dies. What a wonderful gift! What a wonderful Savior!

A missionary lady in Africa was talking to some men and women. "Jesus died on the cross for us all," she told them. "Then His body was put in a grave and on the third day He arose from the grave. We, too, shall arise from our graves after our bodies have rested for a time in the ground."
   "How can that happen?" asked an old man. "I do not believe that. What is put in the ground cannot come up."
   "Listen to me," said the missionary. "Do you plant corn?"    "Yes, I do," he answered.
   "Well, what happens when you put the grain of corn in the ground?"
   "The grain decays and the corn comes up out of the ground," he replied.
   "Very well," she said. "The grain decays but the life in the corn doesn't die. It sends up a plant that comes through the soil and grows several feet above the ground. It will be the same with us. When we are dead our bodies will be put into the ground. They will lie there until Jesus comes again. Then He will wake us and we shall rise from our graves. We believe that His Word is true."
   "I cannot understand it," said the old man, "but I believe it now, too, for Jesus said it."

When Socrates lay dying, someone said to him, "Shall we live again?" His response was. "I hope so."

The night before Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded, he wrote in his Bible, "From this earth, this grave, this dust, my God shall raise me up."

Konrad Adenauer, former Chancellor of West Germany, said before his death, "If Jesus Christ is alive, then, there is hope for the world. If not, I don't see the slightest glimmer of hope on the horizon." Then, he added, "I believe Christ's resurrection to be one of the best attested facts of history."

Job said, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27)

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die..." (John 11:25,26)

(Excerpts taken from The Bible Teacher by Randall House)

BECAUSE HE LIVES

God sent His Son, they called him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Chorus
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold our new-born baby
And feel the pride and joy He gives
But greater still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days because He lives
(Chorus)

And then one day I'll cross that river
I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then as death gives way to vict'ry
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He reigns
. (Chorus)

Words by William J and Gloria Gaither
Music by William J Gaither

The originator of a new religion came to the great French diplomat-statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand and complained that he could not make any converts. "What would you suggest I do? He asked. "I should recommend," said Talleyrand, "that you get yourself crucified, and then die, but be sure to rise again the third day."

I HOPE YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE RISEN SAVIOR!

LOVE, MEME

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