Sermon Tone Analysis

Text:

Welcome.

Introduction

Title: He is not here; He has risen.

Title: He is not here; He has risen.

He is not here; he has risen.

Hymn:

I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today.

I know that He is living, no matter what men may say.

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer and just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

He lives…

Today, we gather to celebrate

an unprecedented event in world history – the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The church celebrates three important dates – Christmas, Good Friday and Easter.

But if there were no Easter, Christmas is meaningless and Friday won’t be good.

We won’t celebrate any of them.

Do you know he lives?

Does He live in you?

What a difference He makes?

What a difference it makes in our lives that Jesus lives in us!

My car – Jesus is alive!

We live and die; Christ died and lived!

Muhammad

The world touts many great men, many religious leaders but if you visit their tombs, you will find their remains inside.

Muhammad was buried in the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi ("Mosque of the Prophet") in the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The Buddha's body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments.

For example, the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka is the place where the right tooth relic of Buddha is kept at present.

The remains of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith can be found in the the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh , located in Bahji, Israel.

The tomb of Christ is famous because of what it DOES NOT CONTAIN.”

Sam Morris.

The resurrection places Jesus in a category all by Himself.

He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Christianity is based upon the well-documented historical fact of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Without these two facts, there won’t be a church.

The truth of Christianity is based solidly on the bodily resurrection of Christ.

Questions

Whenever we contemplate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a few questions arise.

You will notice that at Christmas and Easter, you can usually expect the media to put out an article, a documentary that takes shots at Christianity.

These do not build faith but do the opposite create more doubt and confusion.

For example, MacLeans March 2016 issue asks the provocative question: Did Jesus really exist?

Whatever objections people have to the resurrection can be refuted.

Many scholars have done that.

There is a renowned NT scholar Dr. Gary Habermas who has extensively studied the life of Jesus.

Whatever objections people have to the resurrection can be refuted.

Many scholars have done that.

There is a renowned NT scholar Dr. Gary Habermas who has extensively studied the life of Jesus and does just that.“There is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.

“There is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.”

Brooke Foss Wescott.

“There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or that Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three.”

Billy Graham.

Sir Lionel Alfred Luckhoo (2 March 1914 – 12 December 1997) was a Guyana-born politician, diplomat, and well-known lawyer, famed for his 245 consecutive successful defences in murder cases.

"I humbly add I have spent more than 42 years as a defense trial lawyer appearing in many parts of the world ... I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt."

– Sir Lionel Luckhoo 

“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary.

No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”

Josh McDowell.

v.

The angel did not remove the stone so Jesus could leave the tomb but so that the disciples and others can go in and see.

An empty tomb is there to prove my Saviour lives!vi.

Ill- Aunty Veira.

Jesus declared- “I am the First and the Last.

18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

Let us examine an eyewitness historical account of the resurrection as recorded by a tax-collector, someone who had the ability because of training in accounts to keep meticulous records. .

Let us examine an eyewitness historical account of the resurrection as recorded by a tax-collector, someone who had the ability because of training in accounts to keep meticulous records. .

“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary.

No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”

Josh McDowelld.

I want us to follow three individuals/groups to see how they responded to Jesus death and resurrection.

How will you respond to the resurrection of Jesus?

Three responses -

.1.

Did Jesus really rise from the dead?2.

What does the resurrection mean to me today?

Prop: The resurrection is mankind’s greatest hope.

1.

Joseph of Arimathea: A rich man who loved Jesus

: 57-60

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We know few things about Joseph.

We know few things about Joseph.

We know few things about Joseph.

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There are some common objections people have to the resurrection.a.

“The disciples fabricated the resurrection.”

c. “The disciples suffered from some sort of hallucination.”d.

“The women and the disciples went to the wrong tomb.”e.

“Jesus did not actually die and simply awoke in the tomb.”f.

“The person killed was a look-alike of Jesus.”a)

Objection: “The disciples fabricated the resurrection.”

Answer: Hmmm, why?

There is no reason for the disciples to have fabricated the resurrection of Jesus.

Their loyalty to Jesus had already cost them more than they were comfortable with, so, why would they make up something that would get them into more trouble?

What would they gain by doing so?

Who would continue to claim they saw something they didn’t when it threatened their livelihood then their freedom and then their very lives.

Eventually, in a group of eleven, it breaks down…but it didn’t!The disciples themselves did not believe when the women said HE is risen.

Remember Thomas - “I have the see the nails in His hands before I believe.”

b) Objection: “The Gospels set forth one of many ancient resurrection stories!” Answer: There are NO ancient resurrection stories like the one recorded in the New Testament.

No one anticipated a physical resurrection.

c) Objection: “The disciples suffered from some sort of hallucination.”

Answer: A hallucination is a private, individual phenomenon, so a common event arrived at via the physical senses cannot be a “hallucination.”

How can all the disciples have the same hallucination at the same time?

How is it possible that 500 people [] had the identical hallucination m at the same time?d)

Objection: “The women and the disciples went to the wrong tomb.”

Answer: This one is so laughable that it barely deserves a response.

It is not as if there were tombs all over Jerusalem for Jews generally avoided all grave sites like the plague and professional stone cut ones were rare.