Risen Savior

Turn your Bibles this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

! I think that means there's children's church.

! John was whispering in my ear,

and I had someone actually ask me,

is there children's church today?

and they were asking the wrong individual.

Linda, you're guilty of putting me on the spot and saying,

is there children's church?

and having been my secretary for what, 10, 12 years, 15?

it's like, don't ask me.

I'm thinking about preaching, and there's like zero bandwidth beyond that.

Yes, children are dismissed now, please.

And I love saying to you, turn in your Bibles.

Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

It's one thing to be preaching through a book such as John,

and know that, Lord willing, next week when I come back from vacation,

I will be in John 16,

and it is a passage and a portion of Scripture that I've never preached before.

And there's a part of study and prayer in dialing into that that is just a wonderful blessing.

It is also a blessing, however, to come to a passage that you have used over and over again,

mindful of this fact,

that while the information has been viewed and studied and prayed about before,

the ministry of the Spirit of God in that text and in my life and in your life

is different each time.

It's renewed, refreshed.

It is valuable, and it is significant.

And so one of the things that I would challenge you,

this is probably not your first Easter, right?

There are some of you that were probably carried to your first Easter service

without your dad or mom ever asking you if you wanted to go.

And you probably have been part of that routine,

and there's a certain thing that you do on Easter.

You dress a certain way, flowers.

By the way, how many of you like these flowers?

I had absolutely nothing to do with it,

and I'd like to thank all the ladies who did a wonderful, beautiful job.

I think Mary Ellen kind of encouraged it.

Where are you, Mary Ellen?

Somewhere out here?

Whoa!

It's like...

We like things like that.

It's just a...

Yeah.

It's like whipped cream on things, you know?

It's like, good.

We celebrate Easter,

and we get into the blessing of what this day is,

and I think sometimes we caught up in the flow of it

and don't think carefully about why the day really is significant.

And so I want you to think very carefully this morning

about the significance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we are using this passage in 1 Corinthians 15,

which is a text that kind of dives into the Apostle Paul's preaching

in relationship to the question of the resurrection.

And I want you to walk away from this morning's lesson

with several things in mind.

Number one, listen carefully,

what the Holy Spirit does in response to your prayers in your life

is dependent in part on you praying at all.

What I mean by that is it is fairly easy

when you are looking at a passage,

and you've looked at it before,

and you've looked at it a number of times,

that you can kind of,

well, I got this one,

and kind of settle back and not say,

I need the Holy Spirit's help,

that we get into this,

and we understand it,

and we're affected by it

in a fashion that honors the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I trust one of the things that happens

is you walk away from here saying,

wow, the Spirit of God used the Word of God

to affect the believer's life,

and you are changed and growing as a result of that.

Secondly, I would pray that if you are here today

and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ,

that today would be the day

that He in His kindness and His grace

brings you to the point of recognizing

the bankruptcy and the darkness

and the misery of your heart,

and you are drawn to call out on Jesus

as your only hope and Savior.

Because really what this day celebrates

is the reason that I can say without any hesitation

that there is salvation in no other name

but the Lord Jesus Christ.

And as I lift them up this morning,

and as you lift them up,

that was good singing this morning, wasn't it?

I'm sitting here on the front pew.

It's one of the best seats in the house,

and I am just listening to you guys blowing it out,

and I'm thinking, man, what a day.

What a day.

We worship Him because of the resurrection.

Now, as we look at the passage there,

I want you to mark what it says in verse 3.

Actually, again, go into the details in verse 1.

It says,

I remind you, my brothers,

of the gospel I preached to you

which you received and in which you stand.

Paul is recognizing here at the very beginning

of the importance of what he is going to be talking about,

and he says, listen,

I'm reminding you of something

that has been a central thread

throughout all of my preaching.

It is not only a central thread of all of my preaching,

but he says,

it's what you rest on.

It's what you are established in.

And then later on, he also says,

it is that which you are being saved by.

The reality of the fact is that our salvation

is dependent upon the resurrection.

And this morning, as we get into this passage

and what Paul has to say,

I want you to walk out of here being very, very thankful.

I am so thankful that Lord Jesus Christ died

for my sins according to the Scripture

and that He rose again according to the Scriptures.

Now, what we find here in this passage,

and we're going to look at verse 4 in particular,

it says,

He was buried,

then He was raised on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

We find kind of pressed together

a perfect picture of apostolic preaching.

Apostolic preaching is important to us

because the apostles were appointed by Christ

to be His formal representatives

and His mouthpiece, His speaker.

They were given legal, in a sense,

legal authority to represent Christ

and the apostolic preaching is very significant.

So this morning, we want to think very carefully,

what is the centrality of the resurrection

in the preaching of the apostles?

And as we look at this,

I want you to begin by recognizing

that context is important.

One of the things that is so profoundly important

in our own Bible study,

and I remind you of this,

part of the purpose of preaching

is to inform and encourage

your own Bible study at home.

This is not the only place

that you ought to find

spiritual encouragement and refreshment.

It ought to be taking place

every morning, every night,

in your own heart,

that you are refreshed and encouraged

by the truth of who God is

and what He has done,

by the significance of the Word.

So woven into preaching that is biblical

is the intention of helping you learn to think

how you go about finding things in the Scripture.

And I tell you that context is important.

An illustration of that would be

if you were standing in front of a firing squad

and you heard someone say,

fire,

fire,

or if you heard someone yell fire in here,

or if you having been very, very cold

and a camping situation,

I know, Doug,

you're going to be camping in June,

am I right?

The campfires that you guys are going to have

is just for marshmallows and hot dogs

and entertainment.

But I can tell you,

if you were in a situation

where you were nearly freezing to death

and you were trying to get the tinder going

and nothing was happening

and you're wondering

whether you're going to make it or not,

and finally there's a little flicker

and a little bit of smoke

and fire.

Every context makes a difference.

And here is the apostle

bringing this issue

of the centrality of the resurrection

into focus for believers

and he says,

listen,

I'm telling you something

that is supremely important

and you need to pay attention to.

It is the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.

I want you to understand

that the issue

that we are dealing with this morning

is that there's no salvation

apart from the resurrection.

I remember talking with an individual

not too long ago

and the comment was made

that really, you know,

Jesus was a pretty good person

and he really gave us a great model

but it's not that important

that he existed.

There are others that say,

well, maybe Jesus did exist

as a historical figure

but the fact of the matter is

is that he just died

and that was it.

I'll tell you something,

apart from the resurrection,

we have no hope of salvation

and we have no confidence at all

not only in eternity

but in victory in this life

and we're going to get into that

a little bit more

and understand it this morning.

As we look at the passage

and we think about apostolic preaching,

what I want you to understand

is that apostolic preaching,

the preaching of the apostles

was something that held together

and was consistent throughout.

When you ask three different people

what happened in a particular incident,

one of the things

that we usually find out

is that everybody had

a different perspective.

Isn't that right?

You saw the accident,

I saw the accident,

somebody else saw the accident,

two people were involved

in the accident

and most of the time

they have two different stories,

particularly if they're trying

to determine who was right

and who was wrong

for the sake of insurance, right?

Oh no, I waited for the light,

it was green

and you were the one

who drove through

and broadsided me or whatever,

you know, there's always an issue

and we come at this issue

of determining what is right

by paying attention

to how it fits together

and marvelously,

the preaching of the apostles

have this unity that comes about

because God is the one

who gave the scriptures to us

and over 2,000 plus years,

thousands of years,

he gave the scriptures

through about 40 different authors,

he gave it in three different languages,

he gave it in all different

kinds of settings

and yet it all fits together

and we can track the reality

of what Christ Jesus came to do

and what he did.

And so this morning

as we think about

the importance of apostolic preaching

on the resurrection,

let me kind of remind you

of the importance

of apostolic preaching

by having you turn

to a passage just for a second

in Acts chapter 2 verse 42.

Acts 2:42

The early church,

when they gathered together,

one of the things

that was at the heart

of their gathering

was the preaching

and teaching of the apostles.

And so when we are here

this morning,

in essence,

what I am doing

and what Pastor Shearer

has been doing

and what Pastor Andrew

continues to do

is draw attention

to the preaching

or the truth

of the apostles.

Acts chapter 2 verse 42.

Acts 2:42

They devoted themselves

to the apostles' teaching.

When people got together,

the thing was at the heart

of their gathering

was apostolic teaching.

There's no doubt

of the importance

of apostolic teaching

and one of the illustrations

of it is that

most of you this morning

have a copy of the Bible

either in your hand

or on your phone.

I was kind of intrigued

this morning

when Megan read the scriptures.

Where are you, Megan?

You're somewhere out here.

Megan, Megan, Megan.

Ah, there you are.

Did you notice that

instead of pulling out

the sacred text,

she used the sacred phone?

I grew up in a time

where Bible quizzing

and sword drills

were really important.

How many of you

did sword drills?

I mean, it's an age-specific issue.

You know, all of you

who are, yeah,

sword drills?

What are sword drills?

Probably all depends

on whether I have 3G

or 4G

or whatever else it is.

You know, it's like, bang.

We used to have to know

where John was

without just hitting

a little icon

that pulled up John.

You know, it's like,

John is about,

here's the thing

I want you to focus on.

The apostolic preaching

put a great deal

of emphasis on the fact

that this book

is God's Word

and we are gathered

around it

because it is God's Word.

We're dependent,

and thankfully so,

on the clear revelation

of God

of what truth actually is.

And so when the apostles

taught that the resurrection

happened

and it is essential,

we recognize that

to be entirely true

and we hang on to it

and we hold on

and believe that it is valuable

and our hearts are thus blessed

by what we find

in the Scriptures.

So let me mark with you

just kind of a broad swing

of the apostolic preaching

on the cross

and the resurrection.

Peter,

in every sermon

recorded in the book of Acts,

we don't know how many

he preached,

but in every sermon

recorded in the book of Acts,

and Peter was one of the

predominant preachers

in the book of Acts,

every sermon

has a central theme

that includes

the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The very first sermon

on the day of Pentecost,

how did Jesus start out?

Does anybody remember?

He let people know

that they had crucified Jesus

and that this same Jesus

who they had crucified

was risen again

and he was waiting

to be the judge

of the whole earth

and they realizing

what had happened,

what they'd done,

they cried out,

what must we do?

In every place

that Peter preached,

the resurrection was central.

It's interesting,

if you were to go

to 1 Peter,

one of two of his last letters

to the church

before his execution,

we find there

that the resurrection

was part of the thematic flow

of what he dealt with

in his last letter.

Paul,

in addition to our text today,

in which he gives

an extended lesson

on the importance

of the resurrection,

he dealt with the fact

of the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ

over and over again.

It was part of,

and we're going to see

some of the illustrations

of that later,

but you couldn't dive

into the apostles' teaching

and not bump right

into the fact

that the resurrection

for Paul

was very, very important.

If you were to ask me

what are the very essentials

of our faith,

I would tell you

that it's the resurrection.

It's the fact

that the Lord Jesus Christ

died for my sins,

that's important,

but if the resurrection

hadn't happened,

I really wouldn't have

any reason for faith.

I remember a number

of years ago,

Pastor Saul and I

were at the Basics Conference,

and we heard Phil Johnson.

Phil Johnson was a,

he has two PhDs,

one from Oxford

and whatever else

in mathematics,

way beyond me,

and he was actually,

he was actually given

the opportunity

of debating Richard Dawkins.

Richard Dawkins.

How many of you

heard the name

Richard Dawkins?

A phenomenally intelligent guy,

and they were having

this back and forth

and really going at it,

and Phil Johnson

was actually doing

quite well in that debate,

and so Richard Dawkins

kind of descended

to sarcasm.

How many of you know

that when you're

not winning an argument,

sarcasm is a great tool?

You're acting

just like your mother.

That really works well

if you want to go home.

So, at the end

of the argument,

Richard decided

it was time

to pull his trump out,

and here's what he said.

You just believe

in the resurrection

of Jesus,

and that's all

that your faith rests on.

Yes?

Yeah, it's okay.

I'm not bothered by that.

And we have Paul saying,

man, the resurrection

is critical.

We find not only

Peter and Paul,

but we also find John

speaking about Christ's

victory over death,

and a number of times

it appears at various places

in both the Gospel of John

and 1 John,

but also in the book

of Revelation,

and I want you to turn

just for a moment

to the way in which

we find Jesus introduced

in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1, verse 18.

Revelation 1:18

As you're turning there

this morning,

I wonder whether you were

kind of cross-referencing

the words of our last song

with a passage in the book

of Revelation

where the songwriter

kind of attaches

some of the wording

that we were singing

with the fact

that Jesus is the one

who died and rose again.

Look at verse 18.

Revelation 1, verse 18.

Revelation 1:18

Fear not,

actually in verse 17,

fear not,

I am the first and the last,

the living,

I died,

and behold,

I'm alive,

and forevermore

I have the keys

of death and Hades.

Here is Jesus explaining

He is indeed

the one who died

for our sins

and rose again.

I want you to think

with me now,

not only the fact

that the resurrection

was woven into the fabric

of apostolic preaching.

You talk to the apostle,

he's going to come

to the resurrection.

Go talk about it often.

I want you to think

why it would be that way.

Why is the resurrection

so important,

particularly in our faith

and our understanding

of what Christ

has done for us?

For one thing,

the resurrection affirms

the deity

and the judgment of Christ.

It affirms the deity

and the judgment of Christ.

How do we know

that Christ is indeed God

and that He is going

to be the judge

of the whole earth?

Turn in your Bibles

to Acts chapter 17,

Acts 17:31

verse 31.

We find in Acts chapter 17

Acts 17 · chapter mention

that Paul is having a debate

with Athenians.

In the ancient world

without electronic devices

and without TV and a radio,

the thing that you wanted to do

in terms of entertaining yourself

was go down and listen

to the wandering philosopher

who would show up

at the market

and He would try

to foist off on you

His current idea

and you had

very active debates

and it was

what they did.

And here is Paul

shows up in the Agora

and he takes advantage

of all these statues

and various idols.

He says,

hey listen,

let me talk to you

about the unknown God

that you've got a statue to.

And at the end

of his sermon,

look there at verse 31,

here's what he says.

He says,

because He has fixed the day

on which He will judge

the world in righteousness

by a man

whom He has appointed.

The day is coming

that sin

is going

to be judged.

Do you believe that?

Let me say it again slowly.

The day is coming

when sin

is going

to be judged.

Tim Bauer and I

were

under the bridge,

was that 70?

I think that's 70,

yeah.

And we were

bringing oatmeal

and different things

to a man

who's under the bridge.

He's been there

for as long

as I've been going.

And I can remember

the first time

Tim and I went

and said,

hey,

can we pray for you?

That's one of the things

we normally do.

Nah, I'm good.

He said,

I'm good for about

two, three months.

I'm good, I'm good.

Every time we'd go,

we brought him food

and started bringing him

AAA batteries

for his light.

Today,

or last yesterday

when we said,

hey,

how can we pray for you?

He says,

yeah,

I'd like God

to smite those thieves

that stole my stuff.

He said,

is God in the smiting

business still?

Where are you,

Tim?

You're out here somewhere.

Thank you.

Remember that?

Is God in the smiting

business still?

And Tim and I

usually take turns.

You know,

we go back and forth.

Tim has a shot at him.

I have a shot at him.

We kind of,

you know,

good cop,

bad cop,

that kind of thing.

So,

it was my turn this time.

I said,

well,

I got to tell you,

you know,

I hope God is as patient

with them as he's been

with me.

And we got to talking

about the fact

God does judge sin.

I'm really glad

that he's very patient

about that,

aren't you?

And,

and here is Paul

preaching

and he says,

let me tell you something.

The day is coming

when God is going

to judge sin

and he will judge

the world in righteousness,

verse 31,

by a man whom

he has appointed

and of this

he has given assurance

to all

by raising him

from the dead.

How do you know

it's going to happen?

Because Jesus

came back from the dead.

Oh,

that's frightening

to stop and think about that.

The one

who died

to pay the penalty

for sin

is going to be

the one

who judges

all who reject

the offer of salvation

that is freely given

through the blood

of Christ

who has made

sacrifice

and satisfied

the judgment of God.

Some of you

sitting here this morning

thinking to yourself,

I don't have any time

for Jesus.

I'm quite good

myself.

Thank you.

You're wrong.

You're wrong.

Every now and then

your conscience

bears witness

with you

that there is

a darkness

and a blackness

in your heart

that you

can't solve.

And beloved,

the day is coming

that that heart

will be judged

and the one

who judges it

will be the one

who died

to make payment

for sin.

And he will judge

your hard

and bitter

rebellion

and rejection.

And the fact

that he rose

from the dead

is going to be

a significant part

of that judgment.

Well,

I want you to

recognize

that not only

does the resurrection

affirm the deity

of Christ

in his judgment,

but our faith

rests.

It is solidly

based on the

resurrection

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Look at 1 Corinthians.

You're there

in Acts

for a moment,

but go to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

or 15,

beginning there

in verse 14.

Here's Paul

arguing extensively

for the effect

of the resurrection

on gospel living.

Everybody look up

so you know

I'm kind of

talking at you

here a little bit.

Hey.

There is a disconnect

today

between gospel

profession

and gospel living.

Do you know

what I mean by that?

I mean,

people,

I think we're

seeing kind of

a decline

of people

who have

anything to do

with Christianity,

but we still bump

into a lot of people

who say,

well,

I'm a Christian,

but when it comes

to it,

their behavior,

their lifestyle,

the things that

they engage in,

the things they care

about have nothing

to do with eternity

and the glory

of Christ.

They're profoundly

self-focused

and as carnal

as the unbelieving

world.

Paul,

in this passage,

he says,

if Christ is not

raised,

then our preaching

is in vain

and your faith

is in vain.

We are even found

to be misrepresenting

God because we

testified about God

that He raised

Christ.

whom He,

if He did not

raise,

if it is not,

if it is,

sorry,

that He raised

Christ,

whom He did not

raise,

if it is true

that the dead

are not raised.

For if the dead

are not raised,

not even Christ

has been raised.

And if Christ

has not been raised,

your faith is futile

and you are still

in your sins.

Now I want you

to stop and think

about that just

for a moment.

What Paul says

is that Christ

has not risen

from the dead,

I am still

in my sins.

You know

what that means?

I still stand

condemned before

a holy God

and the wrath

of God

still is over me

and ready to fall

upon me

at the appointed

time of His judgment.

That's a pretty

sobering thought.

Look there,

if you will,

as Paul works

his way through

the passage.

He says this,

then he's talking

about the resurrection.

He says,

verse 20,

but in fact,

Christ has been

raised from the dead,

the first fruits

of those who have

fallen asleep.

So when we think

about Christian living,

I want you to recognize

that when you think

about the resurrection,

this is the day,

this is the Sunday,

we kind of put

an extra emphasis

and say,

the resurrection

is profoundly important

to me.

Well,

if it is,

practically speaking,

are you living

like a saint

that shows the power

of the resurrection

in your holy living?

Listen to the argument

that Paul makes.

Okay?

He says this,

verse 19,

if in Christ

we have hope

in this life only,

we are of all people

most to be pitied.

In essence,

what he is saying

is this,

is if our hope

in Christ

is only now,

then the restraint

that godliness brings

is worthless

and irrelevant.

Why do you not do

some of the things

you do?

I'll give you

an illustration.

Many of you

may not know this,

but Wilson Road

is a contributor

to revenue

of state police

and the,

you know how it works?

There are actually

parts of,

of Wilson Road

that are marked

off as 35.

I do not understand

the city fathers

because once you

cross broad,

there's a sign

right there

that says 55.

And there has been

a state police band

that's been sitting

there by the oil tanks

for the last week.

I saw him pull somebody

over and I thought

to myself,

no to self.

34.

34.

34.

34.

Okay.

We do things

because we know

what the outcome,

remember right?

We do things

because we anticipate

an outcome.

If Jesus did not

rise from the dead,

godly living

has less motive

and less blessing.

Now,

is there benefit

to living a godly life?

Yes.

But the supreme

blessing is this,

is the fact

of Christ's resurrection

and the fact

I'm going to see him again

and I want to hear him

say what?

Well done,

thou good and faithful servant.

See,

our faith rests

in the reality

of Christ.

I'll tell you

another thing.

The resurrection

encourages us

to believe

that we can change.

Turn in your Bible

to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

One of the things

I love

about gospel preaching

and when I say that,

just gospel ministry,

is being able

to say to people,

you don't have to

stay the way you are.

How many of you

heard me say that before?

You don't have to

stay the way you are.

You don't have to

stay the way you are.

The truth of the matter

is that

probably if we got past

the makeup

and the hairstyle

or whatever else,

most of us here

are not overly impressed

with who we are.

There are things about us

we know we don't like.

Am I right?

Even now.

I remember when my dad

and mom moved in

next door

and I'd been pastoring here

for probably 25 years or so

and I don't want to say

that I was going around

thinking I was pretty spiritual

but I really didn't realize

how much stubbornness

was still in my heart

at about 63 or 64

and having my dad

live next to me

and serve him 24-7

I began learning things

about humility

and servanthood

that I needed to learn

and I am very thankful

that Christ's resurrection

assures me

I can change.

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1:19

verse 19

here is Paul praying

for the believers

there in Ephesus

and he says

in what he wants them

to know the immeasurable

greatness of his power

towards us who believe

according to the working

of his great might

that he worked in Christ

when he raised him

from the dead

and seated him

at his right hand

in the heavenly places.

You see,

Paul is praying here

that these believers

in Ephesus

would understand

the sweetness

of the gospel

and that it would have

an effect on their life.

I've got to tell you something.

If you're sitting here

this morning

and you profess

to know Christ

but you cannot

look in the rearview mirror

and see the evidence

of the power of God

changing you

from glory to glory

which it says

in 2 Corinthians chapter 3

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

you have a good reason

to kind of ask yourself

well am I really saved?

And I think that's

an appropriate question.

Here's the fact.

Christ Jesus

who raised from the dead

serves as an illustration

of the power of God

in the life of the believer

which is available

to help us stop

being who we used to be.

Do we have to stay

bitter and unforgiving?

And the answer is

no.

Do we have to stay

a person who is

consumed by covetousness

and greed?

No.

Do we have to stay

a person who is

absolutely under

the affliction of immorality

and the burden of sin?

No.

Why?

Because we have been

saved by the power

of Christ

and His power

is at work

changing us.

I want you to understand

one more thing.

His resurrection

guarantees

our resurrection.

last week I was out

to the graveside

of my mom and dad

and

there are a lot

of friends

that are

momentarily resting

out in Alton Cemetery.

Judah and I

got a plot out there

but it's only

a temporary parking

place.

I got to tell you

something.

Why is that?

Listen to what it

says in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:20

chapter 15

verse 20.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:20

chapter 15

verse 20.

But in fact

Christ has been

raised from the dead

the first fruits

of those

who have fallen

asleep.

I like that.

I like that.

You know what it's saying?

Christ is just

kind of a

token

reminder

of the fact

that there are

others who are

going to be

raised again.

And in the book

of Daniel

it says this.

There will be a

resurrection to

judgment and

eternal condemnation

and there will be

a resurrection to

life and joy and

peace forever in

the presence of

Christ.

So bring it down

in practical terms.

You are going to

die unless Jesus

comes back.

And if you die

you will either

be resurrected to

eternal

judgment and

consequences for

your sin and

rejection of the

offer of the

gospel or you

are going to be

resurrected to a

joyful life in

the presence of

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

I'm wondering

this morning

whether or not

that matter is

settled in your

heart.

Does that make

sense?

I mean at the

end of the day

one of the things

that should mark

apostolic preaching

which pastors are

generally should be

involved in doing.

Wouldn't you agree

with that?

One of the things

that marked

apostolic preaching

is helping people

come to grips with

where they were

going to spend

eternity and

whether or not

they had come to

trust in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

So listen to me.

One of the good

things about Easter

is a lot of people

show up at a

service.

I like that.

It's good.

But there are some

that I don't know.

And there are some

who come that I

don't know to the

point of if you are

here and you don't

know the Lord Jesus

Christ.

I would plead with

you this morning

be reconciled to

God.

Do not sit here

thinking I am

almost to the

point of pastor's

going to wrap this

up and I've got

another Easter under

my belt.

You got that?

I want you to

think to yourself

I need to know

where I will spend

eternity.

eternity.

And I need to

settle it in my

heart.

I believe in

Jesus Christ who

died for my sins

and rose again and

I am trusting in

him alone for

salvation.

Or I'm sitting

there with my arms

crossed saying well

yeah six minutes

and we're done.

If you refuse the

offer of salvation

you will face

Christ as judge

not as savior.

And I would plead

with you and Christ

said.

in Christ's

dead.

Be reconciled to

God.

Let's pray.

Precious Father

we are thankful

for the blessing

of the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus

Christ from the

dead.

And for all that

that means to us

as believers.

I pray that this

morning we who are

believers would have

our hearts lifted up

to glory in the

cross.

To delight in the

fact that we serve

a risen savior.

I pray Lord that the

lives that we live

the conversations

that we have

the attitudes of

our hearts would

reflect his victory.

And I do pray for

those that are here

today that do not

know Christ.

That they would walk

out of here either

yielding to him or

profoundly uncomfortable

at the reality of the

stubborn darkness of

their heart.

Bring them to

conviction by whatever

means you see fit.

spirit.

And we pray this in

Jesus name.

Amen.

John Lee

Disson singing.

Thank you.

Let me tell you

something.

There's no better

time to come to

Jesus than now.

Do you understand

that?

You can ask him to

save you where you

sit.

You can pray while

you are singing.

If you are here

today and you need

Christ as your

savior I got to tell

you there's no better

day than this.

One of the ladies in

our church came up to

me and said do you

know that this is

ten years from now

that I ten years in

the past I was saved

on Easter Sunday.

Not a bad idea.

Okay.

Don't let it pass.