Why this SERIES?

We have a HOLY FAITH!

We have RESURRECTION HOPE to Announce!

We have a LORD to OBEY!

He said “Go and Make Disciples”

What CAN we Do Together?

REMIND someone to consider JESUS

INVITE someone to join us these NEXT SUNDAYS

LEAD a GROUP using a GUIDE to discuss the RESURRECTION.

March 20

MARCH MEN’S RetreatTHURSDAY 24BAPTISM DAYFRIDAY 25Day of PRAYERSATURDAY

26NEW CHURCH Launch SUNDAY 27

March 27

April 3

RISEN!: Week 3

“RESURRECTION: Myth or Miracle?”

TEXTS“He is not here; he has risen!” —Luke 24:6

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’” —John 20:19

Things don’t normally come back to life, but a couple thousand years ago something happened that had never happened before.

A few brokenhearted people went to the tomb of a man they loved, a man who had just recently died, a man who they had watched soldiers crucify and pierce.

They were told by a shining angel that He wasn’t there. The tomb was empty. “He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:6).

That one fact, that single piece of news, is much more important than anything else that has ever happened in the history of the world.

To this day, all of human history is roughly divided into “BC,” what happened before Him, and “AD,” what happened after Him.

The reason for that is not simply that the tomb was empty. It wasn’t so much about where Jesus wasn’t. It was about where Jesus was.

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’” -- John 20:19

20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. [VERSE 20]

All of a sudden, Jesus was with them. He was letting them know, “Now you have a reason to live and a reason to die, and you have a reason to hope beyond all life and all death.”

All of a sudden He was with Mary. He was communicating to her, “You don’t have to go through life being afraid anymore. Not of anything. Not even death.”

All of a sudden, He was with Peter, saying in essence, “You don’t have to go through life feeling guilty anymore because you failed so often. Not even because you failed Me by denying Me before I died, because I’m restoring you.”

Then He was with Thomas. His message was, “You don’t have to go through life doubting anymore. Not about God. Not about Me. You can live with faith and hope and joy.”

Now, that’s good news! But is it true news?If it’s true, then the resurrection means that your past is not unforgivable, no matter what you’ve done.

So, if you need an injection of hope—and this is true news—then this is very good news.

EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTIONThe apostle Paul wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Here is how Michael Green put it in an old book called Man Alive!:

Christianity does not hold the resurrection to be one among many tenets of belief. Without faith in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all. The Christian church would never have begun and the Jesus movement would have fizzled. . . . Christianity stands or falls with the truth of the resurrection. Once you disprove it, you have disposed of Christianity.

If you go to the Guinness Book of World Records, you’ll find the most successful lawyer in history was a man named Sir Lionel Luckhoo.

He won 245 successive murder acquittals as a defense attorney.

1. THE EVIDENCE OF THE EMPTY TOMB He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:6–7)

Here are some objections to the resurrection that people have come up with. And here are a few easy ways to refute these objections.

Objection #1: “The Swoon Theory”

First proposed in the 1800s, this theory states that Christ never really died, that the reason He got out of the grave was because He was never really dead to begin with. The shock from the loss of blood on the cross, His wounds, and all that He suffered sent Him into a semi-coma.

Objection #2: “The Stolen Body Theory”

Some say Jesus couldn’t possibly have risen from the dead. There’s not a chance. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen. The body had to have been stolen.

Objection #3: “The Hallucination Theory” So, what happened to the body? Many people suggest something like a mass hallucination.

Objection #4: “The Wrong Tomb Theory” What if the disciples simply went to the wrong tomb?

After all, it was early in the morning when these exhausted, emotionally drained, psychologically jaded disciples saw a tomb, which looked like Jesus’s tomb. It was empty, they jumped for joy, thinking He was alive, and the rest is history. However . . .

This Was Not a Little Execution

4.THE EVIDENCE OF CHANGED LIVES

Apostle JohnJohn wrote, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), which leads us to this—the evidence for the resurrection which is both contemporary and personal.

The DisciplesWhen you think about it, what was the initial reaction of all the disciples?

• They all fled. • Peter went back to fishing.

• Mary came to the tomb at the first Easter sunrise with spices. Why? Not to find a risen Savior! She came to anoint a dead body. In fact, when she first saw Him, she mistook Him for the gardener.

• One minute they’re defeated . . . the next they’re dynamic.

• One minute they’re crushed . . . the next they’re confident.

• One minute they’re having a pity party . . . the next they’re taking on the world.

• One minute they’re paralyzed with fear . . . the next they’re filled with faith.

John R. W. Stott wrote, “The transformation of the disciples is perhaps the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection.”

4. Human NatureWhen people are expecting death but find life, it causes an uproar. This is what happened historically at the time of Christ.

5. Historians AgreeSomething triggered the birth of a worldwide movement two thousand years ago that “turned the world upside down” over the span of a few years.

If Jesus wasn’t resurrected, what’s the catalyst for this world-changing movement? One scholar said, “The coming into existence of the Church rips a great hole in history, the size and shape of the resurrection.” What does the secular historian propose to stop it up with?

Many MoreFrank Morrison, a journalist and

lawyer, set out to disprove the resurrection. He investigated it and devoted his life to Christ as a result.

Many MoreJosh McDowell, as a young agnostic

headed for law school, investigated the resurrection and was converted and has helped convert thousands of young agnostics.

Lee Strobel was an award-winning legal editor at the Chicago Tribune and an athiest until he investigated the resurrection and became one of today’s great apologists.

John Singleton Copley, one of the greatest minds in the legal circles of England and three times Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, had a similar experience. He said, “I know what evidence is and evidence like that for the resurrection has not broken down yet.”

The only one who may not yet have written or declared their decision is sitting in this church right now.

John wrote, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

If you have believed these truths and are willing to receive Christ today, please pray this prayer.

Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. I believe Jesus was who He said He was and proved it by rising from death. I want to discover and begin following Your plan and purpose for my life.

I want to get to know You personally. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for me and forgiving all my sins. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for Your free gift of eternal life. AMEN.