The Rising: 7 Ways the Resurrection Changes EverythingSample

Day 1

The Rising Changes Everything

Two thousand years ago something happened. It’s undeniable. How else do you explain how a rural Jewish carpenter came to be worshipped and followed by billions of people all over the world? Yes, something happened. But what? According to the Apostle Paul, a resurrection, a rising…THE RISING happened! A man, claiming to be God was crucified, died, and was buried. However, three days later, He did not do what you and I would do, which is stay dead. No! Three days later He rose! And not in secret, not in silence, but He rose and appeared to over 500 people at once. Yes, something happened and this something changes everything. 

I mean, just take a look at Paul. This guy made a living persecuting believers and trying to destroy the Church. He hated Jesus and hated his followers. The idea that a man - a man claiming to be God, no less - was raised from the dead, and thousands of people were following His teachings daily, drove Paul insane. That is, until Paul came face to face with the resurrected Jesus. (See Acts 9:1-6)

He was stunned, literally stopped in his tracks. And while it humbled him, he couldn’t have been more thankful to have been wrong! Ironically, meeting Jesus, a man raised from the dead, showed Paul that he was actually the one who was dead. 

Paul didn’t go from a persecutor of the Church to a church planter because he thought it would be a good career move, or because he thought the Gospel was just some inspiring story. Paul’s conversion came for no other reason than he experienced an event. Paul experienced The Rising.

Have you experienced the Rising for yourself? If so, when, and how has your life changed as a result?