Christ Wesleyan Church
Join us for our primary worship service each week on Sunday.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 6, 57 NLT
A. The greatest day in all history, Resurrection Sunday...
Here are the facts:
1. Christ died for our sins.
1 Corinthians 15:3 NLT
2. Christ was buried.
1 Corinthians 15:4 NLT
3. Christ was raised from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:4 NLT
4. Christ was seen...by Peter, by the Twelve, by 500, by James, by all the apostles, and by Paul!
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 NLT
B. The greatest day, Resurrection Sunday, holds the greatest value to our faith...
Here are the values to our life:
1. If the resurrection didn't happen, preaching is useless.
1 Corinthians 15:14 NLT
2. If the resurrection didn't happen, faith is useless.
1 Corinthians 15:14 NLT
3. If the resurrection didn’t happen, there is no forgiveness of sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 NLT
1 Corinthians 15:18-19 NLT
4. If the resurrection didn’t happen, there is no victory over death and no victory beyond the grave…and if so…we are to be pitied!
C. If there was no Resurrection Sunday...
How would it have changed our world?
1. The Christian faith has changed the value on human life; affected human rights, the value of women, the value of children, the abolition of slavery, the end of gladiators, and cannibalism.
2. The Christian faith has changed compassion and mercy. Christian charities stand out: i.e. Mother Teresa, the Salvation Army, religious hospitals, soup kitchens, and thrift shops. Christians are the most generous group in our culture.
3. The Christian faith has changed education. The Protestant Reformation brought about the education of the masses. For 200 years in America, children’s reading texts contained Scripture. All but one of the first 123 colleges in colonial America were Christian institutions.
4. The Christian faith has directly impacted America’s Constitution by its biblical doctrines.
6. The Christian faith has even impacted our free enterprise and work ethic with the “Protestant work ethic.”
7. The Christian faith has made its mark on art, music and literature. It influenced writers like Dante, Chaucer, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton, and more. It influenced the music world of Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach. It influenced art with its beautiful cathedrals, sculptures, and paintings.*
*D. James Kennedy, Jerry Newcombe, Dinesh D’Souza, and Glenn Sunshine
...and all because of Resurrection Sunday!
D. What are the truths about the resurrection?*
*Lee Strobel
1. Execution: The crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus was clearly dead and was buried!
2. Empty tomb: No bones were ever found!
3. Eyewitnesses: Over 515 eyewitnesses, including skeptics.
4. Early accounts: Creed of the early church (I Corinthians 15 as early as 24-36 months after Jesus’ death), historical data close to the happenings.
5. Emergence of the church: Explosive growth!
E. What will you do with the truth of the resurrection?
1. I choose to believe that the greatest power in the universe could love me.
John 3:16 NLT
2. I choose to believe that the resurrection power could live in me.
John 11:25-26 NLT
3. I choose to celebrate this day by choosing Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.
John 1:12 NLT
4. I choose to follow Him by giving Him my life and my all!
1 John 5:13 NLT