On the Third Day He Rose
Notes
Transcript
Mission and Vision
Apostle’s Creed
He is Risen! (Your response is He is Risen Indeed)
THank you for joining us this morning. As we close today we will be taking Holy Communion together, so if you can, go ahead and get your elements together. If you came by the church this week you would’ve picked up one of these… if not, that’s okay. Get some bread and some juice and we are going to pray over it later and take communion as one through social media.
Today is the foundational Holiday of our faith
This is founders day, so to speak. The only reason we are here is because HE LIVES
Because he has risen
We are continuing our Sermon Series I believe...
And today we are talking about… of course… on the third day he rose again
There is a passage there that speaks about Jesus descending to the dead or to hades… We’re going to cover that one next week when we talk about his ascending
But First let’s jump into the word for today.
If you have a bible open up to , 17-19
Paul in giving these instructions to the church in Corinth
He tells them at the beginning of this section that this is a reminder of the gospel preached by which you are being saved
Meaning this is what it’s all about
He says that this Gospel is saving you if you are truly holding fast to it and not believing in vain
If what you say you believe is more than just an exercise in mental acknoledgement
If you are resting in the truth of this good news
If it matters to you
If it actually has transformed your life
If it affects every aspect of how you do everything
He says of first importance that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures
Not only did he physically die but his spirit had to go to the land of the dead
speaking on the truth of Christ and how his death was not a surprise but it was foretold as part of God’s great redemption plan
That Jesus was buried and he was raised on the third day… again… in accordance with the scriptures
Then jumping down into v17
He says if Christ has not been raised… your faith is futile and you are still in your sins
The birth of Jesus only matters because of the cross, the cross only matters because of the empty tomb
The resurrection is the reciept that the work of the cross was accepted and that all that Jesus said was and IS true
You can’t be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection
Paul tells us that if Jesus just died… that’s it… then what hope do we have?
If in Christ we have hope in this life only… not a hope that transcends the grave… then we are of all people most to be pitied
If Jesus stayed dead then every single person who calls themselves by his name is to be pitied… because it was all for naught.
But the fact is that Jesus didn’t stay in the grave...
No grave could hold him down.
But let’s talk about that grave for a second
Because Jesus had to not only physically die, but his spirit had to enter into the realm of the dead.
Lets talk about the descened into hades for a second
Some translations say he descended to hell others say he descended to the dead
I like either the dead or hades
Jesus didn’t go to Hell as we think of it as the lake of fire
Jesus went to a place that the OT called Sheol and the NT called hades
Hades/sheol… pre Crucifixion was described as 2 different spaces.
We see this when jesus tells us about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16
The first is where the righteous went… Like Lazarus. Also called the bosom of Abraham
a place of rest for the righteous while they awaited their hope of deliverence
All the heroes of the faith … who we see in , they were all waiting for Jesus in this land of Abrahams bosom. This resting place for the dead
The second is not the lake of fire. It’s the place of darkeness and weaping and gnashing of teeth.
This is where the rich man went
It was hot, uncomfortable
Jesus said in other places that it is the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth
What did Jesus do there?
The book of Ephesians tells us that when Jesus descended to the dead it was to retrieve the captives
He ripped the gates off of hades (the good place) and lead the host of captives with him to heaven
Then when He ascended he took Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel… and all the men and women of the faith who died before Christ and he lead them into the presence of God in heaven
But before he could ascend to the right hand of the father… Which we will talk about next week. We have to celebrate the fact that He ROSE
Because of the resurrection we don’t have to fear death, because our hope and savior has been there and came back with the keys
It is at the resurrection we got to s
who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
If you have never heard this truth before… that Jesus died for your sins to be your atoning sacrifice. So that you can be in right relationship with God the father… and that he was resurrected to prove that he is our Lord and savior and that death has no control or hold over us. That he came back to tell us that It Worked.
If you’ve never accepted the fact that Jesus died for you because he loves you and he rose so that you can be a new creation...
Now is your chance to put your faith in Jesus Christ! Now’s your chance. Today, to allow the weight of your sin and shame to be layed at the foot of the cross and you to move from death to life
Just as Christ moved from death to life. When you put your trust in him, your old self and all your stuff is buried in that tomb and you are made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit just as Christ was.
I’m going to ask Kylie Jo to come back up and we are going to do a song for you, afterwards we are going to join in together for holy communion.
So while this song is playing, spend some time in prayer… and get your elements together.
Aint No Grave
Communion
Road to Emmaus
Because He Lives