Easter 2022 • 1 Corinthians 15

Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.

We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear

the latest message.

Thanks for listening.

Good morning.

Glad that you guys are here with us.

Happy Easter.

We are so excited that you are here.

We had our 8 o'clock outdoor service, had about 200 people show up for that, so we filled

up the bottom layer of our parking lot, and it has just been a wonderful, wonderful day.

I hope you had the opportunity to be a part of the breakfast and for the team that put

that together.

Just overall, it has been a wonderful day to be here at Willow Ridge Church and to celebrate

the fact that Jesus is alive.

If you're a guest with us this morning, maybe your family that came with some family members,

maybe you were friends from work, friends from the neighborhood, or maybe you were driving

somewhere today and said, you know what?

I need to be at church.

Why don't I stop off right here?

We don't care your reasons for being here.

We're just glad that you're here this morning.

We're glad that you're here to worship Jesus Christ with us as well.

And if you wouldn't mind, for all of our guests, you'll see we got this card.

If you'll fill that out, there's a couple other ways on here that you can connect with

us.

And at the end of the service, my wife and I will be right back here to my left at this welcome

table.

We'd love to talk to you, but if you've got somewhere to be, we understand that and

you can just drop it off in the baskets as you leave.

And then also you'll notice on the seats around you guys, we are going to be wrapping up a study

that we've been doing in 1 Corinthians this morning.

And we're going to spend five weeks in the book of Ruth and we would love for you to join

us.

Now, some feedback we got from 1 Corinthians from a lot of people were that you enjoyed reading

and being a part of the study and doing that with us.

And so this is my teaching calendar that I'm going to use for the book of Ruth.

And so if you want to read with me, I'll encourage you, read the whole thing this week.

And we'll come back next Sunday and dive back into that for our introduction for Ruth.

And then last and definitely not least, we'll be taking the Lord's Supper at the end of the

service.

And so if you did not grab one of these as you came in, you can slide right back here to

the exit and there are some that are right there.

We would love for you to have this and be able to partake in this with us this morning.

Well, today is the day that we get to celebrate the greatest moment in history.

That's an event that is tried to be defined by different people based off of their opinions

of what is the greatest event.

And I would argue for us as believers that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is by far

the greatest event in human history, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

And today we gather here and we'll gather for others in churches all over South Carolina, all

over the United States, all over the world.

Believers will join together to celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive.

Today we'll celebrate the reason we have hope, the reason we have life, the reason our lives

have meaning, and our lives have purpose.

Today we simply do not celebrate just the fact that Jesus died, but we celebrate the miracle

that Jesus died and was buried and was resurrected.

Today we woke up this morning with the reminder of hope.

If you've got your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

And in just a moment, we'll get there.

But before we do, let's talk a little bit about hope.

We had our outdoor service this morning.

And I don't know about you guys, because you guys came to this service, and it's indoors.

And if it rains, we're okay.

If it's cold, we're okay.

But for the outdoor service, if it rains, we're going to struggle.

I mean, if it's cold, we're going to struggle.

If it rains, we're in bad shape, all right?

And so last night, let's just say, was not a good night of sleep for me.

Woke up continually checking my app, wanted to make sure on my weather app of percentages.

When I went to bed last night, I believe the weather app said 30%.

And I prayed, Lord, don't give us any rain.

And woke up this morning at 5%.

God, we'll run with that, all right?

We can do that.

And then it began to hit me.

The hope that we have this Sunday of what we celebrate, for everything that we focus in on,

for everything that we talk about, for every Sunday, for every Bible study, for every prayer time,

rests and is centered on what we're here to proclaim, to sing about, and to talk about today.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope that we have in Him.

But there's a stark contrast for us this morning and for the disciples that first Easter morning.

And so while we're going to look at not necessarily a traditional Easter Sunday passage in 1 Corinthians 15,

I do want us to look at the traditional historical account of the days leading up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that morning.

You see, Jesus, during much of His earthly ministry, had told His disciples the events that would unfold,

the events that would happen, and that would take place.

Jesus let them know that He would die, that He would be buried, and that He would rise again.

And I don't know whether it was from a lack of faith or lack of understanding,

but those early followers of Christ woke up that first Easter morning,

not with hope, but devastated, defeated, and afraid.

Throughout that week, in the days leading up,

they'd been on a rollercoaster ride emotionally with Jesus.

To have entered into the city one day,

as the crowd shouted,

Hosanna!

To next to be with Him in the garden,

and to watch Jesus being betrayed by one of their own,

by Judas,

for a few pieces of silver,

and with a kiss.

Arrested as a common criminal

by a band of Roman soldiers.

Their leader, who they'd given everything to follow,

they had walked away from their careers,

from their pursuits,

from their savings.

The leader that they had entrusted their lives with

was now taken from them.

And what are they to do?

The events that would unfold,

some saw,

most heard about.

This is what would happen to Jesus over the next 12 hours.

He would be brought in after His arrest

and would be imprisoned.

During that imprisonment,

they would begin the physical,

mental,

and emotional abuse on Him.

And He was forced to stand before a group of Jewish leaders

who longed for His execution.

They would then bring Him to stand trial before Pilate,

who, while he found no guilt in Jesus,

sent Jesus to stand trial

before Herod Antipas.

And when Jesus refused to answer Herod's questions,

He sent Jesus back to Pilate

as there was no guilt that could be found in Jesus.

And Pilate wanted to release Jesus.

But the Jewish leaders refused.

So Pilate had Jesus tortured and beaten

in hopes that seeing this happen to Christ

would appease the crowds,

would satisfy the anger that was in their hearts.

But that would not be the case.

And instead,

the crowd demanded

that Jesus be crucified.

And so an order of execution

was placed on Christ.

Jesus would be again led away

where He would be beaten

repeatedly over and over again,

where He would be mocked

and a crown of thorns

would be forced onto His head.

The torture of Jesus lasted

for about nine hours

to where He would then be forced

to carry His cross

the instrument

by which He would be executed.

He carried it on the journey

up a mountain

to a location

where He would then be nailed to it

and hung between two thieves.

And there He would die.

His body would be taken down

and buried

in a borrowed tomb

because there was no tomb

for Jesus.

I'm going to use the phrase

perceived reality.

This was the perceived reality

of the followers of Jesus.

Friday He dies.

Saturday He's dead.

And then come Sunday.

But for us,

it's not and then come Sunday.

But we know,

but then there was Sunday.

A group of ladies

go out to the tomb

to anoint the dead body of Jesus.

And on the way there,

one of the ladies

says to the group,

there's a stone at the front.

How are we going to roll it away?

And when they got there,

they noticed the stone

was rolled away.

And the Bible tells us

instead of finding

the dead body of Jesus,

they found a young man

dressed in a white robe

who told them

Jesus has risen

and to go and tell

the disciples.

Jesus would later

appear to the disciples

and would later

appear to others

and 40 days later

would ascend into heaven.

And today is the day

we celebrate

not just the wonderful,

brilliant,

miraculous truth

that Christ

died for us,

but that he lives.

And because he lives,

we live too.

Now Paul is writing

this letter

to the church

at Corinth.

And if you've been

on this journey with us

as we've gone

through this book,

you know

Paul's love for them

and trying to guide

God and direct them

to point them

to a truth

of who Christ is

and the impact

for their life

and what this means.

And there were some

in the church

at Corinth

who believed

to be resurrected

from the dead

was impossible.

And so on the surface,

this is the question

that Paul

is seeking

to attack.

But the greater

truth for them

and the greater

truth for us

is that because

Jesus is resurrected

that we find

life in him.

We find hope

in him.

We find meaning

in him.

And everything,

everything that we

stand on

is centered

in the truth

of today.

That Jesus

Christ

is alive.

So if you join me,

let's start reading

chapter 15

verse 12.

Now if Christ

is proclaimed

as raised

from the dead,

how can some

of you say

there is no

resurrection

of the dead?

But if there is

no resurrection

of the dead,

then not even

Christ has been

raised.

And if Christ

has not been

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 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.

Then those

also who have

fallen asleep

in Christ

have perished.

If in Christ

we have hope

in this life

only,

we are of all

people

most to be

pitied.

But in fact,

Christ has been

raised from the

dead,

the first fruits

of those

who have

fallen asleep.

What Paul does

in this passage

of scripture

is he says

to him

repeatedly,

if you believe

there's no

resurrection of

the dead,

then Christ

has not been

resurrected.

And if this

is true,

then here's

negatively

what this

means for you.

But then he

finishes it

with the

reminder,

but in fact,

verse 20,

but in fact,

Christ has

been raised

from the

dead,

the first fruits

of those

who have

fallen asleep.

And so what

I want us

to do this

morning is

to look at

one argument

that Paul

says,

if you

believe that

there is no

resurrection

of the

dead,

then Jesus

is dead,

then this

is true

about you.

And then

to look at

the counter

truth of that,

of the

gospel,

of what the

gospel says.

because he

is alive.

So let's

look at

these.

The first

thing Paul

points out

is if

Jesus is

dead,

then our

words are

lies.

Look back

at verse

14.

And if

Christ has

not been

raised,

then our

preaching

is in

vain.

Our

preaching is

in vain.

if Christ

is dead,

then the

truth that

you and

I proclaim

is not

truth at

all.

If Christ

is dead,

then all

of this

is a

lie.

Every

moment

leading up

to Scripture

in this

point,

as prophecy

continually

is fulfilled

in the

person of

Jesus Christ,

if Jesus

is still

dead,

then folks,

what we

find in

this book

are rare

coincidences

impossible to

explain.

If Jesus

is dead,

God's

standard for

us is

not to be

trusted.

His plan

for us

is not to

be followed,

and his

plan for

this world

is not to

be pursued

if Christ

is dead.

But the

truth that

we have

is Jesus

is alive.

And since

Jesus is

alive,

our words

are true.

And the

beauty of

God's

word is

this.

These

words are

not true

for some.

These

words are

true for

all.

It's the

message for

all of

humanity.

It's the

message for

all of

mankind.

The

gospel of

Jesus

Christ

stretches

across

language

barriers,

culture

barriers,

socioeconomic

barriers,

barriers of

time,

barriers of

tradition.

It crosses

all of

those because

these words

ring true.

They ring

true for

men.

They ring

true for

women.

They ring

true for

kids.

The words

of Jesus

Christ are

true.

We can

know this

because Jesus

is alive.

These words

stand

independent

and stand

on their

own.

Independent

of our

opinions

and

independent

of our

feelings.

And while

for years

they may be

argued

against,

the word

of God

cannot be

defeated.

And how

do we know

this?

Because Jesus

is alive.

Because Jesus

is alive.

Paul continues

on and

he says,

if Jesus

is dead,

then our

faith is

worthless.

Look back

at verse

14.

The entirety

of it,

and if Christ

has not

been raised,

then our

preaching is

in vain and

your faith

is in vain.

Your faith

is in vain.

Faith in

Jesus is

faith in

the living

Messiah.

Most

religions

acknowledge

the person

of Jesus

to an

extent.

Most

people,

if they

want to

be

historically

accurate

and honest

with

themselves,

will have

to admit

that he

was a

real

person.

But faith

in Jesus

is more

than

acknowledging

things of

a person.

Faith in

Jesus

is faith

in the

living

Messiah.

Was

Jesus a

great

man?

Yes.

Yes.

But being a

great man

is not

worthy of

our faith.

Was

Jesus a

great

teacher and

speaker?

Absolutely.

But being a

great teacher

or speaker

isn't worthy

of our

faith.

Is Jesus a

great example

full of

kindness

and compassion,

friendship,

forgiveness,

and love.

Absolutely.

But holding

these

characteristics

does not

make him

worthy

of our

faith.

If Jesus

wasn't

raised from

the dead,

there is no

reason for

you or I

or anyone

else to

place our

faith in

him.

But Jesus

is alive.

But Jesus

is alive.

So it's

not that

our faith

is worthless,

but our

faith is

solidified.

Because

everything in

this book

is not

coincidence.

Everything

in this

book is

true from

Jesus' own

mouth himself.

He said

he would

die,

and he

did.

He said

he would

come back

from the

dead,

and he

did.

He said

he would

ascend,

and he

did.

In church,

he said

he'll

return

again,

and he

will.

We can't

think about

the resurrection

of Jesus

Christ,

and not

also think

about the

return of

our Savior.

A few

weeks ago,

we talked

about that

in here,

living in

this world

and longing

for Jesus.

This past

week,

my family

had a

wonderful

opportunity

to get

away

for several

days and

go up to

the mountains

in North

Carolina,

and it

was beautiful.

The temperature

was perfect.

It never

got too

hot.

It never

got too

cold.

It never

got too

windy.

It never

got too

rainy.

It was

just

perfect.

The food

was

fantastic.

Somebody

said to me

this morning,

they said,

you like

you lost

some

weight

this

week.

Two

things

are

happening

in that

statement.

Number

one,

either

God

worked

a

miracle

in

me,

or two,

they just

lied to

me,

right?

I'm

going to

go with

number

two,

right?

And we'd

stand out

at the

cabin

that

overlooked

the lake,

and at the

top of the

lake,

on the side

of the lake,

we could

look at

and see

just the

handiwork

of God's

creation.

The

mountains

and the

trees,

and watch

the birds

come flying

through.

And in

that moment,

I'm going to be

honest with

you,

it was

easy to

look at

that and

think about

the beauty

of the

glory of

God,

and his

wonderful

majesty

that we

painted.

But then

we got

the

reminder

when we

got back

and we

did things

like cut

on the

news

and we

did things

like jump

on social

media

where you're

reminded

that even

in the

beauty

of the

landscape

of the

mountains

and the

water,

there's still

the brokenness

of this

world.

And the

deep,

deep

longing

as we

celebrate

that Jesus

is alive

for Christ

to return.

All right.

Paul continues

on.

And he

says,

if Jesus

is dead,

then our

sins,

they cover

us.

Look at

verse 17.

And if

Christ

has not

been raised,

your faith

is futile

and you

are still

in your

sins.

So,

if Jesus

is dead,

then our

sins

still cover

us.

That

everything

we've

done,

every sin

that we've

committed,

every word

that we've

spoke,

every action

that we've

done,

every thought

that we

had,

every sinful

motive of

the heart,

all of

those still

rest on

you and

on me.

Every

charge.

If Jesus

is still

dead,

then you

and I

are lost

with no

hope to

be found.

If Jesus

is still

dead,

you are

spiritually

dead with

no hope

of life.

In fact,

the Bible

tells us

that we're

enemies of

God.

And then

that's who

we are.

But Jesus

is alive,

so our

sins are

forgiven.

Because Jesus

is alive,

our sins

are forgiven.

Now,

in just a

moment,

we're going to

sing a

beautiful song,

one of my

favorites that

we're going to

sing.

And it's

going to

talk to

us about

the blood

of Jesus

Christ.

And how

it washes

us and

makes us

clean.

And it's

one of the

most miraculous

pictures that

God paints for

us in

Scripture.

Is that as

Jesus,

bloody and

beaten,

hung on a

cross and

died,

his blood

was shed.

and his

blood that

covers us,

that when

we're found

in him,

it makes us

clean,

it makes us

white as snow,

that Jesus

and what he

did, he

took our

punishment,

and through

his blood,

we find the

forgiveness of

sins.

So,

if Jesus

just died

for us,

isn't that

enough for

our punishment?

Wouldn't just

simply his

death be

enough?

No.

Paul tells

us in

Romans 4

that he

was killed

for our

transgressions

but raised

for our

justification

and that

in that

our

forgiveness

is complete.

So,

it wasn't

just the

punishment,

but it was

the justification

of that,

that we are

no longer

guilty but

we're made

right to

stand before

him in

life.

And so,

we identify

and die

with him

to ourself

and by

the power

of the

work of

the cross

we die.

But just

as Christ

was raised

to walk

in life,

you and I

are raised

to walk

in the

newness

of life

as well.

And so,

in that

our forgiveness

is not

broken

but our

forgiveness

is complete

because our

sins are

forgiven.

And Paul

goes on

and says

if Jesus

is dead

then we

will

perish.

Verse

18

Then

those

also

who

have

fallen

asleep

in

Christ

have

perished.

Now,

some of

your

translations

if you

read them

you may

have a

different

word

than

perish

but I

like

what

this

word

here

means

for

us

in

the

original

language

in which

Paul

wrote

it.

Paul

used

the

word

perish

here

and

it

carries

with

it

a

specific

meaning.

And

it's

beyond

more

than

death.

And

it

carries

this

that

not

only

do

we

die

the

physical

death

but

that

in

that

we

stand

in

the

way

of

the

impending

wrath

of

God.

And

so

if

Jesus

is

dead

then

we

perish

and

we

face

not

just

physical

death

but

the

full

judgment

of

God

that

was

poured

out

on

Christ

on

our

behalf

because

of

who

he

is

but

Jesus

is

alive

so

after

death

comes

life.

Paul

says to

the church

at

Corinth

and God's

word

says to

us

today

because

of

Christ

we

live

forever

because

of

Christ

we

live

with

God

because

of

Christ

we

enter

into

eternal

joy

because

of

Christ

our

faith

becomes

our

sight

because

of

Christ

we

will

get

to

live

the

way

that

Jesus

does

it's

imparted

for

us

Jesus

not

only

takes

on

our

punishment

but

Jesus

grants

us

his

life

and

then

lastly

if

Jesus

is

dead

then

our

lives

are

foolish

our

lives

are

foolish

verse

19

if

in

Christ

we

have

hope

in

this

life

only

we

are

of

all

people

most

to

be

pitied

let's

understand

this

church

if

Christ

is

dead

every

moment

of

obedience

for

him

is

for

nothing

every

sacrifice

was

wasted

in

all

that

we

are

doing

now

should

be

mocked

if

Jesus

is

dead

our

worship

is

not

heard

in

our

lives

have

no

meaning

but

because

Jesus

is

alive

our

lives

have

purpose

right

now

because

Jesus

is

alive

in

spite

of

what

you

want

to

be

told

or

what

you

want

to

feel

sometimes

your

life

is

full

your

life

is

meaningful

your

life

is

valid

and

valuable

you

were

significant

and

purposeful

because

Jesus

is

alive

and

your

faith

is

in

him

following

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

he

appeared

to

the

disciples

in

the

events

that

would

continue

on

a

group

of

people

who

once

were

hiding

like

cowards

afraid

of what

might be

done

to

them

because

their

association

with

Jesus

found

strength

found

hope

found

purpose

not

because

they

hid

in

a

back

room

and

developed

a

plan

or

a

scheme

this

group

of

followers

found

this

power

not

in

themselves

but

because

Jesus

is

alive

I

want to

ask you

this

question

as we

wrap up

here in

just a

moment

chances

are

you

and I

because

we came

to church

this

morning

aren't

going to

leave

from here

and out

of fear

of

persecution

fear

of

death

go

hide

in

some

back

corner

of

our

house

go

hunker

down

in

a

basement

be

afraid

of

what

tomorrow

will

hold

you

see

these

followers

of

Jesus

when

it

became

clear

and

evident

to

them

that

Jesus

was

alive

they

lived

in

the

boldness

of

the

truth

and

you

and I

can

stand

here

all

day

and

read

the

words

and

sing

the

songs

and

give

the

phrases

but

are

we

living

every

single

day

with

the

truth

that

Jesus

is

alive

and

you

pray

with

me

Lord

we

come

to

you

this

morning

thanking

you

and

celebrating

who

you

are

Lord

and

what

you've

done

we

thank

you

for

the

hope

of

Christ

we

thank

you

for

his

death

Lord

we

thank

you

for

the

resurrection

and

because

of

that

Lord

we

know

truth

because

of

that

Lord

we

know

hope

because

of

that

we

have

purpose

Lord

I

pray

that

it

would

not

affect

just

a

Sunday

morning

once

a

year

but

the

truth

that

Jesus

is

alive

would

penetrate

every

fiber

of

our

being

every

thought

that

we

think

every

motive

that

we

have

every

word

that

we

say

every

action

that

we

do

based

in

the

truth

that

Jesus

is

alive

and

when

we

are

in

him

we

are

alive

as

well

Lord

as

we

enter

into

a

time

of

worship

Lord

and

as

we

prepare

to

take

the

Lord's

supper

together

just

ask

that

your

spirit

speak

to

our

hearts

we

remember

the

body

which

was

given

for

us

or

that

we

remember

the

blood

that

was

spilled

we

remember

the

life

that

is

found

in

him

in

him

alone

Lord

as

you

need

to

work

in

our

hearts

the

power

of

your

spirit

Lord

we

we

ask

Lord

in

your

kindness

in

your

grace

Lord

that

you

do

so

we

celebrate

you

in

your name

we

pray

amen

we

are

not

going

to

take

the

Lord

supper

quite

yet

we

are

going

to

a

time

of

worship

and

reflection

I

will

come

back

out

in

a few

minutes

and

lead

us

in

that

but

I

do

want

to

go

over

some

things

that

we

went

over

several

weeks

ago

for

us

to

call

this

place

home

here's

what

I

want

everyone

to

know

if

you're

a follower

of

Jesus

Christ

whether

this

we

invite

you

to

take

part

in

the

Lord

supper

with