241 Sermon Illustrations on Resurrection

Timothy Leary wants to have his head frozen in slim hope future medicine will be able to revive him. Calls it second most ridiculous option - most ridiculous is to be consumed by worms.

(get more details)

*

Religious parties in Israel gained in 1988 election. Hasidic Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, 86, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is the revered leader of the populist Lubavitcher movement, which promotes old-fashioned dress and strict observance of Jewish law and ritual. He refuses to visit Israel until the Messiah comes. A rival is Rabbi Eliezer Schach, 92, who founded the Degel Torah party.

The Hasidic offered their rebbe's blessing to anyone who would promise to vote for Agudat (Schneerson's party). In their ardor, some campaigners offered miracle cures, and in Tiberias they even assured a widow that the blessing would resurrect her husband.

Such tactics were so effective another rabbi complained to a special religious tribunal, which solemnly freed voters from their oath of allegiance to Agudat and promised to protect defectors from any curse that Schneerson might lay upon them.

*

Funeral directors in Ireland report that more and more families are throwing a mobile phone into the coffin with the deceased. They're more than just mementos, too. “There is a fear that some people have that they will be buried alive,” says Dublin mortician Peter Flanagan. “They have contact with the outside world if they have a mobile phone with them.” But, he says, he suggests to families they either turn the phone off, or at least turn it to vibrate. “Obviously,” he says, “you don't want a phone ringing inside a coffin during a funeral.” (AFP) .

*

[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

Melvin Hanson of Columbus, Ohio, was in trouble with his business, took out $1.5 million insurance policy on himself, faked his death. With the help of a doctor (Dr. Hawkins?) he faked a heart attack, went to doctor's office, was pronounced dead. A drifter (murdered?) was put in his place and a picture was taken. He was then cremated. Insurance company almost paid, but an adjuster asked to see the picture and had doubts it was Hanson. Hanson went into hiding but has been found. He is being charged with insurance fraud and murder.

Major article on the resurrection of Jesus. Seven lines of evidence from 1 Corinthians 15 are examined to support the historical resurrection.

1. How a Christian views death.

2. The facts of history.

3. Confidence beyond fabrication.

4. Through a glass, darkly.

Also discussion on resurrection vs. resuscitation, the intermediate state, and the resurrection body.

Sidebar "What if he didn't rise?" Ten implications from 1 Cor 15 are given.

*

Foes of Christianity also focus on resurrection of Jesus. (Frank Morison and "Who Moved the Stone?")

A remarkable attack was contemplated in the 1930's by a young British lawyer named Frank Morison. He was convinced that the Resurrection was a mere fairy tale. Sensing that it was the central point of the Christian faith, he decided to do the world a favor by once and for all exposing it as a fraud and superstition. As a lawyer, he began to rigidly sift the evidence and admitted nothing as evidence which did not meet the criteria for a law court today.

However, while Morison was doing his research, a remarkable thing happened. The case was not nearly as easy as he had supposed. Frank Morison found that the evidence for the Resurrection was so overwhelming he was forced to accept it. He became a believer.

The book he ended up writing is called "Who Moved the Stone?" It sets forth the evidence for the resurrection of Christ, and its first chapter is called, "The Book that Refused to be Written."

#1157

*

When the noted preacher Phillips Brooks was recovering from an illness and was denying himself to all visitors, Robert G. Ingersoll, the agnostic, called. The Bishop received him at once.

"I appreciate this very much," said Ingersoll, "but why do you see me when you deny yourself to your friends?"

"It is this way," said the Bishop. "I feel confident of seeing my friends in the next world, but this may be my last chance of seeing you."

==================

Version in sermon:

Phillips Brooks was an Episcopal bishop in the 1800s who is most famous as the author of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Toward the end of his life he was recovering from an illness and asked that no friends visit him. But when Robert G. Ingersoll, the famous agnostic, came by, the bishop invited him in at once.

“I appreciate this very much,” said Ingersoll, “but why do you see me when you won’t let your other friends in?”

“It’s like this,” said the bishop. “I feel confident of seeing my friends in the next world, but this may be my last chance of seeing you.”

The French Bishop Talleyrand gave up his offices and his faith to become the cleverest diplomat in postrevolutionary Europe. A lesser follower battling against traditional Christianity complained to him how difficult it was to start a new religion. Talleyrand's response was: It's really quite easy. All you need to do is get yourself crucified and then rise from the dead.

Sermon in 1 Corinthian series. Fear of death and the hope of resurrection.

1. We fear death.

a. Death is an evil, not part of God's original creation.

2. God promises resurrection.

a. What resurrection entails.

b. When it will happen.

3. Response: despair or hope.

a. How to have a part in the resurrection.

Easter message for 1991. The past event of Jesus' resurrection has an impact on our lives right now.

1. What Easter is all about.

2. Four aspects of living and dying to Christ in Romans 6.

a. Judicial sense.

b. Baptismal sense.

c. Moral sense.

d. Prophetic/future sense.

3. Have you died and been raised with Christ?

Sermon in Questions People Ask series 1 Corinthians 15:35-44

ASHES TO ASHES

==============

I. What will happen to you when you die?

II. Cremation is on a roll.

A. It is an increasing popular option for the deceased.

B. Cremation is practical.

C. Is it less spiritual?

III. History of cremation.

A. Popular in ancient world.

B. Jews and Christians chose burial.

IV. Why cremate?

A. Fire is a positive symbol - purification and holiness.

B. Burial is not important in the Bible.

C. Cremation only speeds the natural process. Gen 3:19

D. Non-religious issues.

V. Questions about cremation.

A. It can be less dignified.

B. Disputes over cremation's claims.

C. Burial was consistent Christian practice in past years.

VI. Dust that is eternal.

A. Neither cremation nor burial do justice to resurrection.

B. Resurrection is associated with body, but goes beyond it.

VII. Honor God with your body.

A. No clear Biblical command about funerals, so do as you wish.

B. Key points to focus on.

C. What will happen to YOU when you die?

[previous illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickId #1684]

Partial sermon on the reality of the soul vs. materialism. Influenced by Newsweek article on the brain.

I. What are we all about?

A. "Newsweek" article on the human brain.

1) Age-old debate:

a) Are we merely a wonderful collection of neurons?

b) Or do we have a soul, a non-physical aspect of existence?

2) Consensus of scientists is that we are nothing but material.

a) There is no "ghost in the machine."

b) Our brain is nothing more than a super-computer.

c) When our brain dies, we return to dust and cease to exist.

B. The Bible says the scientists are wrong.

1) We are material beings.

2) Yet we also have a eternal soul.

a) Everyone does, believer and non-believer.

b) But their futures are quite different.

II. Philosophical differences on the essence of being a person.

A. Scientists tend to be crass materialists.

B. Greek philosophers went in the other direction.

1) The body is evil and holds us back.

2) Our goal is to leave this body and become free spirits in

eternity.

3) Hindus and Eastern religions are similar - we become a single

raindrop in the ocean of nothingness.

C. The Bible presents a different view.

1) Contrary to some, our goal is not to be a ghost-like soul

running from cloud to cloud.

a) This aspect of heaven is only temporary.

2) Our destiny is to have a resurrected body and soul and live

in a new universe, with new heavens and new earth.

3) The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the Bible's proof

that this is our future.

III. What this means for us right now.

A. We cannot treat people like soul-less machines.

1) Euthanasia debate - their life is worthless because they

can't produce, so let them die.

2) Every human, even evil ones, have value to a Christian.

B. We cannot live just for today.

1) Today is important, but we live our lives with a view to

eternity.

C. We cannot flee from physical existence.

1) People try to flee by means of drugs, alcohol, ....

a) Only leads to disappointment and emptiness.

2) Suicide is no answer.

D. There is a supernatural aspect to life.

1) Miracles can happen.

Our future life will not be in a boring heaven, but in a dynamic, rejuvenated heaven and earth. Heaven itself as our dwelling place is only temporary. The OT image is perfected in the NT, especially in Revelation. Heaven and earth will actually be merged.

Will the new earth be re-created or renewed?

1. Romans 8 says the present universe will be set free from destruction.

2. Analogy with our resurrection bodies.

3. The defeat of Satan.

There will be much activity in the new world. Cultural and political activities are hinted at. Individuals will have specific gifts. Art will be better. There is continuity and discontinuity with the old world. We will not be disembodied spirits.

==========================

Full article:

"Heaven: Not Just an Eternal Day Off" by Anthony Hoekema

As if anticipating the question, “Will life on the new earth be boring?” the Bible points to much activity there.

____________

Life in heaven sounds downright boring, if some descriptions are to be believed. In my boyhood, psalms were sung very slowly in church, and I thought heaven was like that — a place where one sat on hard benches all day long and sang Dutch Psalms. I was not enthralled. Huck Finn thought heaven was a place where a person would “go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and forever.”

This future life is often seen as an eternal existence without bodies. Also, it is thought of as “above,” somewhere off in space, far removed from this earth — an escape, in fact.

Some hymns suggest this (and people often learn more of their theology from hymns than from sermons). “We're marching through Immanuel's ground / To fairer worlds on high” (Isaac Watts). Heaven is “Where the harps of angels ring, / And the blest forever sing” (H. E. Blair). And this heaven is a place of rest, we are told; work is restricted to these present evil days. “Be not aweary, for labor will cease some glad morning; / Turmoil will change to infinite peace, some glad morning” (Charlotte Homer).

Are we then to spend eternity in space, disembodied spirits who flit from cloud to cloud, plucking golden harps in an endless day off? We can agree with the element of truth in these teachings: Paul tells us that when he dies he will go to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23), who has now been taken up into heaven (Acts 1:11). And he also says that this state is “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

But, and here is the critical point, this will be a TEMPORARY existence — one where we shall eagerly await the resurrection of the body to take place on the last day, at Jesus' second coming.

Resurrected bodies are not intended just to float in space, or to flit from cloud to cloud. They call for a NEW EARTH on which to live and to work, glorifying God. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body, in fact, makes no sense whatever apart from the doctrine of the new earth.

The Bible teaches such a new earth on which God's people will live eternally. The Old Testament reveals that the ultimate destiny of man is an earthly one. In Isaiah 65:17 we read that the final state of the universe will involve a new EARTH: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth” (see also 66:22). This vision of the future is continued in the New Testament. Peter tells us that we look forward to a new heaven and a new EARTH in which righteousness will dwell (2 Pet. 3:13). From the last book of the Bible we learn that those purchased by Christ's blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation will some day reign forever on the EARTH (Rev. 5:9-10). And we remember the words of Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

This last passage, in fact, adds a crucial fact: in the final state, heaven and earth will have MERGED! “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:2). The “new Jerusalem” stands for the entire glorified church of God. This church, in John's vision, does not remain in a “heaven” far off in space, but it comes down to the renewed earth; there redeemed will spend eternity in resurrection bodies. So heaven and earth, now separated, will then be merged: the new earth will also be heaven, since God will dwell there with his people. Glorified believers, in other words, will continue to be in heaven while they are inhabiting the new earth.

Will the new earth be totally other than the present earth (annihilation followed by re-creation), or will it be the present earth renewed and purified? I favor renewal for the following reasons:

1. Paul's argument in Romans 8. Paul tells us that the creation

waits in eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God

so that it may be liberated from its bondage to decay (vv. 20-

21). He is saying that it is not some totally different universe

but the present creation that will be set free from corruption.

2. The analogy between the new earth and the resurrection bodies of

believers. The differences between our present bodies and our

resurrection bodies, breathtaking though they will be, will not

take away the continuity: it IS WE who shall be raised, and it is

WE who shall always be with the Lord. By way of analogy, we

would expect that the new earth will not be totally other than

the present earth, but will be the present earth wondrously

renewed.

3. The defeat of Satan. If God would have to annihilate the present

cosmos, Satan would have won a great victory, for then Satan

would have succeeded in so devastatingly corrupting the present

universe and the present earth that God could do nothing with it

but blot it out of existence. But Satan was decisively defeated.

God will reveal the full dimensions of that defeat when he renews

this very earth on which Satan deceived mankind, and finally

banishes from it all the results of Satan's evil work. God will

maintain his creation. There will be continuity as well as

discontinuity between the present earth and the new earth.

Edward Thurneysen writes of this new earth, “The world into which we shall enter in the Parousia of Jesus Christ is therefore not another world; it is this world, this heaven, this earth; both, however, passed away and renewed. It is these forests, these fields, these cities, these streets, these people, that will be the scene of redemption. At present they are battlefields, full of the strife and sorrow of the not-yet-accomplished consummation; then they will be fields of victory, fields of harvest, where out of seed that was sown with tears the everlasting sheaves will be reaped and brought home” (Zwischen den Zeiten, 1931, p. 209).

As if anticipating the question, “Will life on the new earth be boring?” the Bible points to much activity there. The author of Hebrews says Abraham looked forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God (11:10). And the apostle John says, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2). These passages describe the new earth in terms of a city and a city usually bustles with activity.

We read, for example, in Revelation 22:3, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” We learn from the same book that new songs will be written on that new earth (5:9), and that new songs will be sung (14:3). According to the parable of the talents, the master's reward to the faithful servants is this: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matt. 25:21,23, NIV).

“Being in charge” or “ruling over” (KJV) many things suggests a busy program of administrative activity. And in what is commonly called the parable of the pounds, the king rewards the servant who made ten pounds by placing him in authority over ten cities, and the servant who made five pounds is given authority over five cities (Luke 19:17,19). In these two parables, the reward promised consists not of idle rest but of service. In the latter parable the type of service implies a kind of life as busy and active as that of a mayor on this earth. Can you imagine being mayor of ten cities?

Startling and breathtaking are the words of Revelation 21:24 and 26: “The kings of the earth will bring their splendor into [the Holy City]. ... The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.” Kings in those days were more than political rulers; they were the representatives and bearers of the cultures of the nations over which they ruled. John is here speaking about the cultural and artistic contributions of various national groups which shall then have made their home in the new Jerusalem.

Two interpretations of these words have been suggested. One holds that some of the actual cultural products of various ethnic groups will be found on the new earth: paintings by Rembrandt, sculptures by Michelangelo, music by Bach. This view, however, seems to be ruled out, since the Bible teaches that the first earth will then have passed away (Rev. 21:1), and that the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:10). A more likely interpretation is that in the life to come various types of people will retain their unique gifts. These gifts will develop and mature in a sinless way, and will be used to produce new cultural products to the everlasting glory of God's name.

In the resurrection we shall retain our individuality, but in a heightened way. This means that we shall not only still possess the gifts God gave us, but that our potential for exercising these gifts will then be realized to the full — as it never was in this life. Using the analogy between the talents of a child and the fully developed gifts of an adult, Abraham Kuyper suggests that in the life to come we will retain the seeds of our present gifts, but God will then give to what is developed from those seeds a NEW FORM that will be in harmony with the everlasting glory of his kingdom (Gemeene Gracie, I, 461).

The fact that not only kings but nations are mentioned implies that the various cultural contributions of different ethnic groups will then no longer be in competition with each other, but will harmoniously enrich life in the Holy City. Christ, who is the lamp of that city, will then draw all these cultural products into his service, for the glory of his Father (see When the Kings Come Marching In, Richard Mouw, pp. 55, 63).

In the beginning man was given the so-called cultural mandate — the command to rule over the earth and to develop a God-glorifying culture. Because of man's fall into sin, that cultural mandate has never been carried out in the way God intended. Only on the new earth will it be perfectly and sinlessly fulfilled. Only then shall we be able to rule the earth properly.

The possibilities that now rise before us boggle the mind. Will there be “better Beethoven” on the new earth, as one author has suggested? Shall we then see better Rembrandts, better Raphaels, better Constables? Shall we read better poetry, better drama, and better prose?

Will scientists continue to advance in technological achievement, will geologists continue to dig out the treasures of the earth, and will architects continue to build imposing and attractive structures? Will there be exciting new adventures in space travel? Shall we perhaps be able to explore new Perelandras? We do not know. But we do know that human dominion over nature will then be perfect. Our culture will glorify God in ways that surpass our most fantastic dreams.

This all means a lot for us now. If there is continuity as well as discontinuity between this earth and the new earth, we must work hard to develop our gifts and talents, and to come as close as we can to producing, in the strength of the Spirit, a Christian culture today. Through our kingdom service, the building materials for the new earth are now being gathered. Bibles are being translated, peoples are being evangelized, believers are being renewed, and cultures are being transformed. Only eternity will reveal the full significance of what has been done for Christ here on earth.

A scintillating future awaits us — not a future of disembodied existence (though this will be an earlier part of it), but everlasting life in glorified bodies on the new earth. Compared with the immeasurable span of eternity, this present life is but a passing moment, a fleeting sigh.

We look forward eagerly to that new earth, which will far surpass in splendor anything that we have ever seen before.

__________

This article originally appeared in the September 20, 1985, issue of Christianity Today. At the time, Anthony Hoekema was professor of systematic theology emeritus, at Calvin Theological Seminary. The article is adapted from his book, THE BIBLE AND THE FUTURE (Eerdmans, 1982). Hoekema died in 1988.

Sermon in Why I Believe series. The resurrection of Jesus.

"WHY I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION"

1 Corinthians 15

I. The dilemma of death.

A. Job 14:14 - "If a man die, shall he live again?"

B. Tombs of great philosophers and religious leaders are occupied.

C. Christians claim that Jesus' tomb is empty.

II. Centrality of Resurrection.

A. Apostle Paul rested his whole case on it. 1 Cor 15:14

B. Foes also focus on it.

C. Significance of resurrection:

III. Facts to be considered.

A. Existence of Christian church.

B. Sunday as Christian day of worship.

C. Bible's predictions of resurrection of Messiah.

MAIN TWO FACTS of Resurrection of Jesus.

I. Empty tomb. 1 Cor 15:4

A. Body stolen. Matthew 27:64

B. Authorities moved the body.

C. Women went to wrong tomb. (They imagined it was empty.)

D. Swoon theory.

E. Jesus was really raised from the dead.

II. Appearances of Jesus after his death. 1 Cor 15:5

A. Hallucinations.

B. Evolved from a confused story.

III. Most convincing proof that something happened 2,000 years ago -

A. Millions testify that Jesus is alive to them in a personal way.

B. The fearful disciples were changed into courageous men.

#3324

*

Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the famous missionary, wrote a charming and delightful autobiography called A Song of Ascents. He tells about a layman, a newspaperman and mutual friend, who was called upon to conduct a funeral service. Being an exact man, he wanted to do it properly and in the best Christian tradition. So he turned to the New Testament as the original source and example of how Jesus conducted a funeral. And he found that Jesus didn't conduct funerals at all. All He dealt with were resurrections.

*

Nicole Coffman doesn’t remember much about last Easter, except it was fun.

“We had to pick up the men and say, ‘He is risen,’” the third-grader said. “It was fun because we got to pick up a lot of them.”

Nicole and about 20 of her friends participated in a “soul hunt” at Lakota Baptist Church, a growing congregation in northwest Sioux Falls, S.D., which meets in a small building on a run-down trailer park.

“Easter is all about fun,” Nicole said with a wide grin just before Sunday school one recent week. “It was fun because I was looking and looking so I could get a whole bunch of the little men, and then I got one and my mother said it was my brother’s, so I gave it to him.”

Early last Easter morning, church leaders set out in the church yard about 100 brightly-colored, flour-and-water figures molded into gingerbread shapes and glued to Popsicle sticks.

When the children arrived for Sunday school with Easter baskets in hand, they lined up at the edge of the church property — there is no fence and not much grass — and listened to the instructions even as their eyes searched for the “souls” that weren’t hard to find. The gingerbread shapes were sticking up everywhere.

Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus, the children were told. The people who love Jesus need to tell everyone he is alive, and those who do so will receive a reward in heaven.

At the “Go ye” signal, the children squealed as they raced to pick up what their eyes had spotted. “He’s alive!” they shouted as they waved each soul they found. “He is risen!”

Parents and trailer park residents attracted by the unusual commotion watched.

The children — ranging in age between “barely walking” and 11 — turned over all the little souls in their baskets to the pastor, who rewarded them with sweet treats.

“Our goal is to teach them about the resurrection of Christ,” said children’s leader and present pastor’s wife Jennie Constant. “We feel when they grow up that’s what they’re going to remember about Easter. When they think of church they think of God; when they think of Easter, they think of God.

“We’re trying to not take away the joy of Easter but just to redirect the purpose,” she continued. “We want to teach them about Easter and not about bunnies and chickens.”

The idea for a soul hunt came from a former pastor, Randy Rhodes. He’s gone now, but Lakota church and its ministries continue to thrive with bivocational carpet installer Nick Constant in the pastoral role.

Lakota church meets in a wooden building that, from the outside except for its sign, looks like a neatly painted white house at the back of the trailer park. “It’s the smallest church in town,” Jennie Constant said. “We’re getting very full sometimes. It’s barely standing room only in the kitchen with the children.” The word “kitchen” is an exaggeration. There’s a stove, but no sink. There’s a counter, but it doubles as a stove. And in this environment, the children eat a hot meal while they listen to a Bible story. For some, it’s their only hot meal of the day.

“Hot meal” also is an exaggeration. It’s usually something from a can, such as Beefaroni. “We had hamburgers recently, and that was a bit of a mistake,” Jennie Constant said with a wry grin. “I had to make 25 of them. The fried grease smell and the heat was overwhelming in that small space.”

Lakota church buys from the local food bank at 14 cents a pound to provide the children’s meals and to take food to a missionary at Crow Creek Indian reservation, a five-hour drive west of Sioux Falls.

Church members also have a Bible study and friendship evangelism ministry with inmates at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, which is directly across the street from the trailer park.

Lakota church itself is a young congregation — it constituted as a church just last summer, and the oldest members are in their mid-50s. It was begun about 10 years ago by a Conservative Baptist retired pastor as a mission for Native Americans. Before he moved into a nursing home in Michigan at age 84, he connected with Southern Baptists and gave them the property so the ministry would continue.

“Now we are a multicultural church,” Jennie Constant said. “The true gospel message is for everyone.”

This is why the gingerbread-shaped men this year will be colored in people tones, from very light to very dark, rather than in last year’s bright colors, she explained.

“Our target group is mainly Native American but whoever walks through that door we do everything we can to make them feel comfortable,” pastor Nick Constant said. “As the church grows, we’re expanding but not forsaking the original purpose.”

About 30 people from a variety of racial backgrounds attend Sunday morning worship, where they sing to the accompaniment of prerecorded cassette tapes. The full-service church also provides a choice of Sunday school or discipleship training on Sunday mornings, Bible study and prayer on Sunday evenings and Bible study on Wednesdays.

“You’ve got to get them when you’ve got them,” pastor Constant said. “We have lots and lots of baby Christians.”

About 30 children are expected to participate in this year’s soul hunt, including Nicole, who is one of just a few children still at the church who took part in last year’s hunt.

Like many families, hers moved away from poverty-stricken northwest Sioux Falls. Most of the others moved out of town, however. Nicole and her brother and sister continue to attend Lakota church because an adult church member goes by to pick them up. “It’s fun, and I help the little kids sing,” Nicole said of her Sunday mornings.

Does a 9-year-old remember why she was playing the soul hunt game last year? Not exactly, but preacher’s kid Crystal Constant does. “Jesus was risen I think on Easter and it’s supposed to be about Jesus,” 10-and-a-half-year-old Crystal said. “I get to learn about Jesus and it’s fun.”

Copyright (c) 1996 Baptist Press

Easter sermon for 1997. John 5:21-25

(special reference to Heaven's Gate suicide cult)

=========================

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR EASTER?

=========================

I. Concept of Easter has a powerful appeal.

II. The possibility of resurrection.

A. We would like it to be true, but this doesn't make it so.

B. Evidence of resurrection.

III. How resurrection is obtained.

A. Cult attained it through suicide.

B. Jesus attained it through power of God.

C. For us, resurrection comes not by death but by new life.

D. Crossing over happens now, not later. John 5:25

IV. The dead need to rise.

A. Living dead people are in view. John 5:25

B. A culture of death.

C. Dead or alive?

V. Coming alive.

A. Having Jesus changes things.

B. An Easter emphasis in life.

VI. Have you had your Easter?

I have preached this sermon many times in various forms. I have repeated it after a few years because of its power and message. I stole a lot of this from the late Clovis Chapel, a Methodist preacher who published during WWII. I have read and tried to preach many of his sermons in my early days of learning, and learned much from him in the process. I am greatly indebted to the man. This sermon is based on the Gospel passage.

The Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 1

Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 1:11-23

Gospel Lesson: John 11:1-16

Sermon: The Village Tragedy

Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” For most of us, that is the last word. There is nothing else to say. We silently turn, hugging our family or friends who are with us. We cry and walk out the door. The worst has happened. The grimmest of all grim tragedies has already been enacted. Lazarus is dead. In our modern world, the nurse can go home. The physician can return to his office. Medicines, IV.’s, oxygen and ministering hands are no longer needed.

There had not been a happier home in the little village of Bethany. They had everything a family could possibly need. They had a comfortable home and plenty of good food. More than that, they had a home whose doors were open to many friends. And there was love there. They loved each other, and they had a love for Jesus. That is a sure foundation for any happy home.

But, Lazarus is dead. The head of the house, the protector, the business manager, the beloved brother could no longer join in their laughter or share their tears. The home which once was among the happiest, is now filled with gloom, darkness, and despair. The light had gone out of their lives. The sun had set. Home can never be again what it once was.

Their home had always been the place where people would go to sing and dance, and celebrate. They made others feel loved and they rejoiced with others in the village. Opened handed hospitality is what would could expect to find from them. Their home was the preacher’s home.

No where on earth was Jesus more at home than when he was with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Here was a brother to listen, a sister who sat at his feet, and a sister who was the best cook around. What a wonderful place to go! Jesus went there often with his disciples. But, all is changed now. Lazarus is dead.

What took Lazarus’ life? We do not know. How intense was his suffering? How long did he linger? Be assured, from the first day of his sickness, his two sisters and others nursed him with the most tender care. During his illness, many times the sisters said to one another, “If Jesus would only come.” There was a dread that death would cross his ghastly foot across the door sill before Jesus would come again.

Why was this tragedy allowed to take place? Why must Lazarus suffer? Why must death lay hold of him? Why must God call these sisters to pass through this Gethsemane? I am sure that these questions perplexed these two sisters long along, just as they puzzle us.

Lazarus grew sick, and died. Some may claim, “If Jesus really loved him, he would have been there.” The Bible says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”

Love does not always do what we want or expect. God does not always do what we want or expect. Jesus loved these three as special individuals and as part of a special family. Yet Jesus stayed away from them in the hour of their dire need. He loved them; therefore he delayed until Lazarus died. Jesus stayed away until under-takers prepared the body of Lazarus for burial and put it into the tomb. What a strange event! To put it plainly, “Because Jesus loved them, he stayed away.”

We would expect just the opposite. We expect the Bible to read, “Jesus loved him, therefore he rushed to go help them.” That is what we expect. That is what we want. If you are in the hospital, most of you want your family or pastor there immediately.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus; therefore he will let Lazarus die. That is strange to us. What really seems strange is when we read about the disciples being confused about Lazarus really being dead, and Jesus says plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and ... I am glad I was not there.”

God, in his infinite wisdom sometimes delays to act, or refuses to act as we want him to act. For most of us, there is nothing more important than life. For God, death is a transition, not the end.

Jesus loves you, and there are times he brings you to extreme disappointment. God loves you, therefore trouble comes to your house. God loves you, therefore He calls on you to kneel by the coffin of your dear one. None of that makes sense. The goal of God is not to make sense, but to bring people to faith. The desire of God is not to destroy the body, but to build up the soul.

“Why, must this happen?” is a question which ran through the mind of Mary and Martha. If only, Jesus had been there. Why couldn’t things have turned out differently? Why was this village tragedy allowed to take place? Simply, it was because Christ loved these people. Christ loves us and he comes to us through tragedy and grief.

There is something more precious than life, and that is to do the will of God. There is a power greater than death, and that power is in Jesus Christ. More precious than preserving life, are events which bring others to believe in Jesus Christ.

To do God’s will is more precious than life. To believe in Jesus Christ is to triumph over death. And, to help others believe in the power of God in Jesus Christ is worth endangering your life.

It was some time after Jesus raised Lazarus that he gathered with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. They saw the resurrection of Lazarus, and still they did not understand that resurrection power was within Jesus. Many times that sat down at table with Jesus, but on this evening, the meal had a new dimension and a new meaning.

Jesus calls us to himself. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the Lord of the universe and comes as the servant of all. He calls us to die with him, that we might have life. He calls each of us to be a servant, that we might reign with him. He calls us to give ourselves and all we own to his purpose, so we can inherit treasures in heaven. Sin and death are powerful and they stand against us. But, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.

The pain of the village tragedy receives meaning when we come to the Lord’s Table. Here we obey the command, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Here also we receive the promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.” No tragedy, no pain, no tears, no heartache can separate us from the love of God, for he also suffers our tragedy, our pain, cries our tears and experiences our heartache. Trust in the Lord who comes to be with you in your pain, who weeps over you, and gives himself for you to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

One of the most powerful evidences for the truth of the Gospels is found underneath an ancient church in Jerusalem. Ironically, in attempting to cover up the evidence, the ancient enemies of Christianity preserved it for later generations.

Our story begins in the year 135 A.D. The Roman emperor Hadrian had just subjugated Judea after the Second Jewish Revolt. Hadrian was determined to impose Roman religion upon the Judeans. After destroying the Jewish synagogues in Jerusalem, he then turned his attention to the Christians.

What better way to squelch this upstart religion than to obliterate its holy places? The site of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection was known and venerated by Christians at the time. So Hadrian concealed the site under a massive concrete platform and built a temple to the pagan god Zeus on top of it.

Nearly two centuries later the tables turned: The emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. He decided to build a magnificent church in Jerusalem to commemorate Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and he insisted that the church be built upon the actual site. When Constantine's architects arrived in Palestine, Christians pointed them to Hadrian's temple, which marked the very spot.

The builders set to work demolishing the pagan temple. Sure enough, underneath they found the ancient quarry called Golgotha and nearby, the remains of the tomb of Christ.

Today, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City still marks the actual site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

You see, the early Christians knew their faith was rooted in historical events. They built churches throughout the Holy Land for precisely that reason to mark the actual location.

And the Church of the Holy Sepulchre isn't the only example. The Gospels say that Jesus was tried before the high priest Caiaphas, and then was taken to the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.

The tomb of the Caiaphas family was recently discovered in Jerusalem. Inside were the very bones of the infamous high priest mentioned in the Gospels. As for Pontius Pilate, a first-century inscription discovered at Caesarea confirms that he was indeed procurator of Judea from 26-36 A.D.

In addition, the second-century Roman historian Tacitus confirms that Christianity was founded by a man named Christus, whom he says was "put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius."

Our faith is based squarely on history.

What does all this mean for us? It demonstrates that our faith is based squarely upon the acts of God in human history. The God of the Bible is a personal yet infinite God who became a man to walk among us and to redeem us. That's why Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer refers to "the God who is there" who "acts in history, answers prayers, and gives men reality in their lives."

Share the story of "the great cover-up" with those who question the historicity of the Gospels tell them of the botched attempt to hide the site of Christ's crucifixion.

Like the resurrected Christ Himself, the truth could not remain buried for long.

___________________

Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

*

In Artesia, New Mexico, Mary Bratcher accidentally ran over her own pet dog Browny. The family tearfully buried the mixed-breed dog in a field near their ranch home. The family's young son, Toby, age 3, refused to accept that his pet was dead. Browny's mother refused to accept it also. The mother dog dug Browny out of the ground and the following day the family returned from a trip to discover Browny caked with mud and dried blood on their porch. Browny, barely breathing, was rushed to a veterinarian. Browny will recover. Browny has lost an eye, has a broken shoulder and has a new name: Lazarus.

-- Associated Press, 3-9-94.

RESURRECTION

From "The Jesus I Never Knew," by Philip Yancey. (Zondervan, 1995)

That Jesus succeeded in changing a snuffling band of unreliable followers into

fearless evangelists, that eleven men who had deserted him at death now went

to martyrs' graves avowing their faith in a resurrected Christ, that these few

witnesses managed to set loose a force that would overcome violent opposition

first in Jerusalem and then in Rome - this remarkable sequence of

transformation offers the most convincing evidence for the Resurrection. What

else explains the whiplash change in men known for their cowardice and

instability? . . . One need only read the Gospels' descriptions of disciples

huddling behind locked doors and then proceed to the descriptions in Acts of

the same men proclaiming Christ openly in the streets and in jail cells to

perceive the seismic significance of what took place on Easter Sunday. The

Resurrection is the epicenter of belief. (pp. 216-217)

(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, SwanLC@aol.com,

March 22, 1999)

The hope of the resurrection is the sure promise that, for the believer, all that is sad and hurts will become untrue. These quotes help us meditate on our blessed hope.

From The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien:

“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue?

A great Shadow has departed,” said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.”

Another quote, this one from Keller:

The fourth great doctrine is that of the bodily resurrection from the dead for all who believe. This completes the spectrum of our joys and consolations. One of the deepest desires of the human heart is for love without parting. Needless to say, the prospect of the resurrection is far more comforting than the beliefs that death takes you into nothingness or into an impersonal spiritual substance. The resurrection goes beyond the promise of an ethereal, disembodied afterlife. We get our bodies back, in a state of beauty and power that we cannot totally imagine. Jesus’ resurrection body was corporeal – it could be touched and embraced, and he ate foot. And yet he passed through closed doors and could disappear. This is a material existence, but one beyond the bounds of our imagination. The idea of heaven can be a consolation for suffering, a compensation for the life we have lost. But resurrection is not just consolation – it is a restoration. We get it all back – the love, the loved ones, the goods, the beauties of this life – but in new, unimaginable degrees of glory and joy and strength. It is a reversal of the seeming irreversibility of loss that Luc Ferry speaks of. (Tim Keller, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering, 58-59).

C.S. Lewis:

“Son,’ he said, ’ye cannot in your present state understand eternity ... That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say “Let me have but this and I’ll take the consequences”: little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man’s past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man’s past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why ... the Blessed will say “We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, : and the Lost, “We were always in Hell.” And both will speak truly.”― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce.

*

[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #13040]

A lot of people say, “I believe in the resurrection; I just don’t understand it.” Pollster George Gallup said even 84 percent of people who never go to church believe Jesus rose from the dead. It is historical fact; it wasn’t done in secret. The whole city of Jerusalem and the whole Roman Empire knew about it. It was news. If CNN had been there, they would have had it live.

There are at least 15 historical references to Jesus meeting people, touching people, and talking with people AFTER he had been crucified. One time he cooked breakfast for some people. One time he talked to about 500 people after he had risen from the dead. A lot of people saw him.

Jesus did rise, he is who he said he was, he has the power he said he had, and he keeps the promises he makes. So what? Why does the resurrection matter? What difference does it make? It matters for three reasons.

1. My past can be forgiven. That’s good news. Have you ever been halfway through a project and wished you could start over? A lot of times people feel that way about life. They get halfway through and wish they could start over. We have all done things we wish we hadn’t done, said things we wish we hadn’t said, and thought things we wish we hadn’t thought. We all have regrets. We all feel bad about things. We all have guilt.

A fellow pastor received this letter:

“I’m 31 years old and divorced, though I fought the divorce

bitterly. I feel bad. I have no hope for my future. Often I go

home and cry, but there’s no one holding me when I cry. Nobody

cares. Nothing changes, and I continue to fail. I’m stressed

our emotionally, and I feel I’m on the verge of a collapse.

Something is very wrong. But I feel so hurt and embittered that

I can scarcely react or relate to others anymore. I feel as if

I’m going to have to sit out the rest of my life in the penalty

box.”

The tragedy is, I know a lot of people like that. They can’t get on with the present and the future because they’re stuck in the past. Some guilt or regret has tied them down. Sometimes they’re letting a former relationship mess up their current relationship. They say, “I guess I’ll just have to live with this the rest of my life.”

Here’s the good news. Colossians 2:14 says: “He has forgiven all our sins and canceled every debt we owe. Christ has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.”

This is God’s pardon program. Jesus nailed it all to the cross. He paid for my guilt. That means I don’t have to pay for it. He was hung for my hand-ups. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, so I can quit nailing myself to the cross. He wants to forgive your past. He wants to cancel every debt you owe — emotional debts, relational debts, sins. All canceled.

2. My present problems can be managed. The number one complaint I hear from people today is this: “My life is out of control.” I hear it a thousand times:

I feel powerless to change the situation...

I feel powerless to break a bad habit...

I feel powerless to save a relationship...

I feel powerless to get out of debt...

I feel powerless to manage my schedule.

What you need is a power greater than yourself. You were never meant to live this life on your own power. God want to have a relationship with you. And here’s the good news. Ephesians 1:19-20 says: “How incredibly great is his power to help those who believe him, the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.”

The same power that enabled Jesus to rise from death will help you rise above your problems. The same power God used at the Resurrection 2,000 years ago can be used in your life right now. You don’t know what the future holds. I don’t either. I don’t know what’s going to happen next year, next month, next week. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and neither do you. But it doesn’t matter, because even though it’s out of my control, it’s not out of God’s. He will give me the power to face it. Philippians 4:13 says: “I’m ready for anything through the strength of Christ, who lives in me.”

“I want to help out,” God says. Some of you came crawling in here — you’ve had a tough week. God wants to say to you this: “Don’t give up.”

No problem is too big for God. No situation is hopeless if you’ll turn it over to him. “I am ready for anything through the power of positive thinking”? No, it doesn’t say that. “I am ready for anything because I psyched myself up”? No. “I am ready for anything through the strength of Christ, who lives in me.”

3. My future can be secure. One of the universal problems we’ve all got is death. Let’s face it — everybody dies. I’m going to die someday, and so are you. Only a fool would go all through life unprepared for something he knows in inevitable. That doesn’t make sense. But sometimes we get so busy in the here and now, we don’t stop to think about what’s going to come.

People don’t like to talk about death. If you don’t believe me, invite your friends over, sit them down, serve them some coffee and pie, and say, “Let’s talk about death.” See what happens.

U.S. News & World Report ran a cover article called “The Rekindling of Hell.” It says more people believe in heaven and hell than ever before in American history. Why? Because people are wondering, “What’s going to happen?”

There are a lot of misconceptions about heaven. Most of them come from movies with bad theology: Heaven Can Wait; Oh, God; All Dogs Go To Heaven. These are cute little ideas of what somebody thinks heaven is going to be like.

What is it really going to be like? Let’s check it out with the source. When you go to the Bible, what does God say it’s really going to be like in heaven and hell?

Number one, heaven is a perfect place. Total love, total peace, total joy, total perfection. No sin, no mistakes, no evil, no bad, no errors. It’s perfect in every area.

The second thing the Bible says is that in order for you to go there, you have to be perfect, because only perfection can exist in heaven. You say, “Well, thanks a lot. That leaves me out.” Yeah, it leaves me out too. You say, “I’ll never make it if I have to be perfect.” Right! That’s the point. Neither will I. Neither will any of us, because none of us is perfect; we’ve all messed up.

There are two ways the Bible says you can get to heaven. Plan A is to earn it. That’s the performance plan. And to earn it you only have to do this: never sin and always do what’s right for the entire time that you live. Just be perfect.

Since none of us qualify for Plan A, God came up with Plan B, which is this: You trust Jesus Christ when he says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” He was the only perfect person who ever lived, because he was God. He came so we could know what God is like. And by trusting and establishing a relationship with him, you get in on his goodness.

My friend Ron Dunn took his young son to a carnival one time for his birthday. His son picked six boys to go with him, so Ron bought a roll of tickets. Every line he’d come up to, he’d pull off seven tickets and give them to all the kids. When they got to the Ferris wheel, all of a sudden there was this eighth little kid with his hand out.

Ron said, “Who are you?”

The kid said, “I’m Johnny.”

Ron said, “Who are you, Johnny?”

Johnny said, “I’m your son’s new friend. And he said you would give me a ticket.”

Ron asked me, “Do you think I gave him one? Absolutely.”

When you get to heaven, you’ll say, “God, I can’t get in on my own effort. The only way I can get into heaven is because I’m a friend of Jesus Christ.” John 17:3 says: “This is the way to have eternal life: by knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one he sent to earth.”

That’s what the Bible says. Jesus has already paid for your way to heaven. This is news you can use.

________

Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. This column is excerpted from “What Difference Does Easter Make?” published by PreachingToday.com, issue 223.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/LEADERSHIP Journal.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #1209]

At the battle of Knoxville in East Tennessee there was a little

drummer boy about fourteen years of age. In that battle he was shot in

his right arm so that it had to be amputated. After the amputation,

and as soon as he came from under the influence of the chloroform, he

raised the stump of his arm, severed just above the elbow, and,

looking at it, he began to cry. Turning with brimming eyes and

trembling voice, he said to the hospital steward:

"Steward, where is my arm? I want my arm."

"Why, Willie, boy," said the kind-hearted steward, "your arm is out

yonder with a whole pile of legs and arms that have been taken off the

boys today. You can't see your arm any more. Don't cry."

"But, steward, I want my arm," and he began crying afresh. So great

was his distress that the chief surgeon was appealed to that he might

quiet the lad. When the surgeon saw the state of matters he bade the

steward go find and fetch the little severed arm, saying that

otherwise the lad would fret himself into a fever. So the steward went

and found the arm, and, having washed it and bound the shattered elbow

in a napkin, brought it to the little patient. With his left hand he

took the bit of right arm by the wrist and looking at it for a while,

he handed it back to the steward, saying, "Take it away, steward." As

the steward passed out of the hospital tent door, Willie lifted

himself onto his elbow and, with his hands to his lips, blew a kiss to

the departing arm. With a shining face he said:

"Good-bye, old arm good-bye. I drummed with you as best I could

while I had you; but now good-bye, good-bye, I will see you again in

the resurrection." Willie was a Sunday school boy and a little

Christian, who had been well taught and he believed in the

resurrection of the body.

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

England, France and the United States have each tenderly laid away

an "unknown soldier" who fell in sacrifice for his country in the

first World War. No king, no potentate or president ever had more

honor than has been bestowed upon this unknown hero. At Arlington

Cemetery quietly rests, in a costly tomb, the body of some mother's

boy. At present he is "unknown."

The newspapers gave much space to the record of the burial of this

soldier and the ceremony connected with the same. One leading

newspaper, with emphasized headlines, declared: "THE IDENTITY OF THIS

SOLDIER SHALL NEVER BE KNOWN." This is a mistake. The identity of this

soldier will be known. There will come a time in the universe of God

when the body of the soldier boy shall rise, for the scriptures

declare, "There shall be a resurrection of both the just and the

unjust." There will be a resurrection for the "righteous dead" and the

"Wicked dead." The dead in the graves shall "hear his voice and come

forth." This is inevitable. There is no other way. The dead, small and

great shall stand before God. We know not now, who this young man may

be. His mother may live in the same block with any of us. His mother

might have been English, French or German. So far as we know, it may

be the body of one of the black boys from the Southern belt. It may be

the most humble mother whose boy has been thus honored. This is all

concealed from human knowledge, but there is nothing hid from God.

Everything will be revealed at the very house top of the universe! His

identity will one day be known.

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."