Dead Or Alive?

SERMON OUTLINE:

The Empty Tomb – The Facts:

• The Gospel writers

• The Roman Soldiers

• The Senhedrin

• The Jewish people

The Missing Body - Three options

• Fraud (stolen body)

• Swoon (resuscitation)

• Miracle (resurrection)

The Proof:

• Direct evidence

Eye witnesses

• Indirect evidence

Life of Jesus demands it

The change in the disciples

Existence of the Christian faith

Personal experience

The Implications of the Resurrection

• Key to life’s most important questions

• It shows us which is the true religion

• The cross atoned for our sins

• Proves deity of Jesus

• Jesus is relevant today

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

Joke:

• Beethoven died in 1827 and is buried in Vienna.

• Joke: A tourist went to visit his grave and found it a deeply moving experience;

• As they stood looking at the gravestone they could hear music;

• It was Beethoven’s music only it wasn’t quite right, there was something wrong.

• Then the tourist realised that it was Beethoven’s music;

• But it was being played backwards;

• He saw a gardener in the cemetery and asked him what was going on.

• The Gardner replied; ‘O, that’s just Beethoven decomposing!”

• Transition:

• Easter Sunday is a reminder that the body of Jesus did not decompose!

• It was resurrected in glory!

Ill:

• When Pepsi Cola was first launched in China:

• Its marketing managers wondered why its famous slogan, ‘Come alive with Pepsi,’

• Was not achieving the impact, that it had achieved elsewhere in the world.

• After an investigation it was discovered;

• That the translator had rendered the famous catch phrase as:

• ‘Pepsi brings your relatives back from the dead.’

Transition What Pepsi Cola was and is unable to do:

• God did!!!

• He raised his own Son from the grave.

Quote:

"Christians believe in a Christ who was dead and is alive,

Not a Christ who was alive and is dead".

Therefore Christians do not meet to together to merely remember the teaching or the memory of Jesus:

Ill:

• As an appreciation society meet to remember a performing artist:

• i.e. Writer may live through their works (i.e. Shakespeare),

• i.e. Or a singer may live through their songs (i.e. ‘Elvis lives’).

• i.e. Communists remember memory of Karl Marx's (i.e. live through his ideas).

Christians believe that Jesus himself, the historical man of history, is still alive:

• We don't just follow his teaching.

• We don't just follow his example,

• Christians follow him!

The fifth book of the New Testament is called 'Acts' (or ‘Acts of the Apostles’):

• It is the history book of the early Church;

• It is an historical record of the very first Christians & how Christianity spread.

• We find in this book exactly what the very first Christians believed,

• It is history in the making,

• The earliest record of what happened and how.

•

• In the book of Acts 13 sermons were preached, 13 messages are recorded:

• 7 By Paul, 5 By Peter & 1 By Stephen.

• There is only 1 common thing mentioned in all those 13 messages:

• That is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he is alive & that he is able to change people.

Christians believe that the Jesus of 2,000 years ago is very much alive today:

• Not physically on earth.

• We read about his ascension back towards heaven.

Ill:

• Recently we showed a children’s DVD story version of the resurrection;

• To our Friday Night Kids Club.

• As I summarised what the kids had been watching with the words “Jesus is alive”.

• Callie (aged 7) one of the kids turned to her friend and said; “Where is he now?”

• Her friend Jenna-May (aged 7) replied; “Perhaps he’s down the pub!”

• Please note that when we talk about Jesus being alive:

• We are not talking physically alive on earth anymore.

• Earlier in the service we read about his ascension back towards heaven.

• Jesus is alive by his Spirit (Not his memory).

• The Holy Spirit Jesus indwells each and every Christian.

Ill:

• One reason Jesus ascended back into heaven was to be with all believers;

• Had he stayed on earth his body limited him to one place at a time.

• i.e. Jerusalem or the road to Emmaus etc.

• But by the Holy Spirit Jesus can now be with all Christians everywhere!

• i.e. With Christians in Jerusalem, in Australia, in UK etc.

I AM A CHRISTIAN FOR TWO REASONS:

• (1). It is true. (2). Because it works.

• It is only those two things, because Jesus is alive!

Question we are asking is: Jesus - Dead or alive?