The Resurrection of Christ

†CALL TO WORSHIP John 4:24

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Christians, we have met to worship. How can we sinners worship a holy God?

Congregation: God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. By God’s help, we will worship him together.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #230

“Holy, Holy, Holy”

† CONFESSION OF SIN

based on Psalm 51; Isaiah 44:22

Not planned this way, but he confession of sin this morning repeatedly reminds us of the kindness of God - that which we celebrated as this morning’s focus in Sunday School.

Minister: Let us confess our sins before God and one another:

Congregation: Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God.

Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us clean hearts, and renew right spirits within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Sustain us with your bountiful Spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Minister: Hear the merciful response of a loving God: My people will not be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist. Now return to me, for I have redeemed you. Know that your sins are forgiven. Be at peace.

Congregation: God is merciful, offering forgiveness to all who confess their sin in faith. We are forgiven. I am forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

You may be seated

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Exodus 15:1-21

Paul Mulner, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #226

“O the Deep, Unbound Riches”

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

We pray, O God, that the words which you spoke through your prophet Isaiah would be realized in us today, For your word goes forth and shall not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and will succeed in the matter for which it was sent. Amen.

SERMON 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 The Resurrection of Christ

TEXT 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

Every word of God is perfect, let his people bless his Holy name.

INTRO

One of the questions that we received in our questions from kids box was this: “Why did Jesus need to die on the cross?”

I have been very thankful for these questions and have tried to respond to them all - some briefly and some with more length. The newsletter is just about ready to go to the printer now and should be here by sometime in the next two Sundays.

But that question about why Jesus needed to die is such a rich one. And the answer, with all of its glory, and the way that it repairs all that is wrong with the world, and the hope that it brings, is one that Paul, too, knew needed to refresh the weary and wayward Corinthians.

And, by the way, it’s been a while since I have tied our series title “Life Under Grace” back into the sermons. But that is not to be forgotten. The Corinthians really seem like a tough bunch — they are filled with pride, sexual immorality, immaturity, disruption, lawsuits, disregard for one another at the The Lord’s table. But they are also the early church. They are trying to navigate what it’s like to be reoriented from everything that they have ever known. From Jews and Gentiles worshipping together, to all the new freedoms that they have in grace, to all the restraints that they may willingly place themselves under for the good of others and the sake of the gospel. They seem pitiful, but they are also remarkable — a miraculous picture of what the gospel does in the world. It takes a world and a people so knotted up and strangled by their sin and teaches them to sing together, to love, and to serve. The church is a miracle.

And so Paul takes this opportunity to remind them of what was of first importance — what they have received from Him as an Apostle, what they have believed, and what they are to continue standing on.

And this begins a lengthy discourse on the resurrection of Christ. And in our section for today (Paul’s introduction), He is drawing their attention back to the authenticity of the resurrection.

We’ll look at this text today under three headings:

Is the resurrection important?

Is the resurrection necessary?

Is the resurrection too good to be true?

Is The Resurrection Important? (We’re going to jump to vv. 3-7 and come back to vv.1-2 in just a minute)

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–7, ESV)

In this section Paul reminds the Corinthians that this gospel is of utmost importance — it’s the whole thing. It’s the whole point.

And two different times Paul notes that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection after three days was in accordance to the scriptures. And these weren’t the gospel accounts, by the way - those hadn’t been written yet. The OT scriptures had testified everywhere in types and shadows that a messiah was going to come, die, and rise again. In Jesus, the Light came — no more shadow. The puzzle piece that had all of these unique contours and shapes was matched just right in Jesus Christ.

To use just a few brief examples of how the OT anticipates Christ:

His betrayal and mock trial:

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7, ESV)

His death:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)

The grave and Joseph of Arimathea:

“And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9, ESV) (some of those unique contours to our puzzle piece)

His resurrection

“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10, ESV)

All of this foreshadowing came bursting into our world in full color and clarity in Jesus Christ. But what if Jesus wasn’t really God? What if he was a superb teacher that we can learn from who got caught up in the jealousies of other priests and the insecurities of Roman authorities? What if it was just an inspiring story? Does that matter?

Well, Paul says that this wasn’t just done in some unobserved corner in secret. Christ lived and taught with massive crowds and died a spectacle on a Roman cross. His heart stopped beating and his lungs stopped breathing for days. He was truly dead. There are these stories of the High Priest wearing bells as he went into the Holy of Holies as a way of keeping track of him. If the bells were ringing then he was alive and moving, but if they were not then he was likely dead. As the disciples lost their leader there was silence in the holy of holies — no bells.

But then, Jesus was raised back to life under the eyes of a watching world. He was seen and touched and spoken to by hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people over the course of a month and a half. Paul says, “look, most of these witnesses are still alive” — how glorious that they could still speak with most of the people who witnessed Christ.

Paul is saying here that the gospel message is of most importance, and part of its importance is that it is true. If he merely lived and taught and died, that would have some value as a philosophy that is attached to a martyr’s name. But, in the end, it’s all just hogwash if it wasn’t real. It isn’t the gospel (good news) unless Jesus was who He said He was. And Paul reminds the Corinthians of the importance of that truth. Jesus did rise from the dead.

But was it necessary? Can we still have all of the good things about love and sacrifice and forgiveness even if we don’t have the resurrection?

Is The Resurrection Necessary

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–2, ESV)

As the world has cried out for all time, and as the world cries out now, and as your own heart cries out, “where does our help come from? Who will free us from these bodies of death?”

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Our world is filled with death and hatred and envy. We can distract ourselves through so much of it, but there remains a long shadow that hangs over our souls. That out there in the world can be the evils of war and slaughter, but that even under our own roof the curse is still found in the brokenness of our homes. And further still, we find fear and shame and sin and sickness in our own hearts. “Where does our help come from?”

We needed a Prophet, someone to come and tell us the truth about life and purpose and hope.

We needed a Priest, someone to bridge the gap between ourselves and God.

We needed a King, someone to rule over sin and death, dealing our justice and protection.

And that is what we have received in Christ.

Sometimes we can speak as if these things are just ideas. Take a look at you hands, you can see on your skin scrapes and bruises, decay and wrinkles. Take a look at the world with all of its crookedness and death and hatred. Take an ear today and listen to how we speak to one another - how we withhold kindness. Take a lesson from Ecclesiastes and walk through a graveyard and remember death. How I wish that we could all love one another perfectly and speak perfectly and serve one another, but this place is cursed.

And if Jesus didn’t die in a real tomb in this real world on some spot six thousand miles from here and then rise from the dead then we are trapped, stuck, and without hope. You can wax eloquent all you want about love and forgiveness, but it means nothing. Paul says if this isn’t true then eat, drink, and be merry — sex, drugs rock n’ roll. Live for the moment, have a few experiences, distract yourself from what’s gnawing at your soul the best you can and don’t expect too much. And that is a terribly embarrassing and pitiful way to live.

But Jesus did rise from the grave.

But the fact that He did rise from the dead in our world means that your sins can be truly forgiven. It means that those whom we have lost in death can be raised to life. It means that this world with all of its brokenness can and will be made new.

This is what so many in the 19th and 20th century pushed for. That there was plenty of good to learn from Christianity, but that any claim that it was actually true was naive, superstitious, and silly.

Paul says, “No. It is of first importance that you remember the authenticity of the resurrection.” And here’s the reason why: It is absolutely and essentially necessary.

If you have a fictional resurrection then you have fictional forgiveness.

If Christ didn’t rise from the dead then you are still in your sins

Is The Resurrection Too Good To Be True?

“Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:8–11, ESV)

For months now we have been listening to how Paul pastors the Corinthians through all of their entanglements and sins, and here he just seems to smile and praise them for their continued trust in the gospel that they have recieved. It is sufficient to save them. It is sufficient to fix their problems and to unite them into a body. And he pulls back the focus on their problems and reminds them of his own. He was the least of all the Apostles, calling himself the “chief of sinners”, one who even persecuted the church. But by God’s grace, the old man was put to death and a new man was raised to life in Jesus. Without the gospel, Paul might have still been hunting down Christians, burning with hatred and envy. But here he was, instead of taking lives, he was giving his life for the church. The gospel isn’t just an idea or a religious system of controlling people, it is the power of God for salvation. It is the power of God to change our world. It is the power of God to raise you to new and eternal life. 1 Cor. 4:20 says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”

We sometimes hear the phrase “Christ died so that I could live”, and that’s true enough, but maybe more accurately put is that Christ died so that we may die. And Christ rose so that we may rise. In Paul’s own words,

“If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:5–11, ESV)

You may feel that you, too, are unworthy of being redeemed. You may be filled with indifference to the gospel, but you need to look at Christ (His person). You may be filled with shame or guilt (that long shadow pressing down on you that we mentioned), but you need to look at the cross(His love poured out). You may be filled with doubt, but you need to look at the empty tomb (His authority).

To go back to our question from the beginning ““Why did Jesus need to die on the cross?” And does the resurrection matter?

The answer is a resounding, yes! Paul said it is of the utmost importance that we get this right above all things. He says in these last verses that it doesn’t matter who it is doing the teaching — the Corinthians needed to be done with all of the pride in man and in prominent speakers. What’s truly important is that we get the gospel right. The message matters more than the minister.

And that message is that your sins can be forgive and this world that you live in has hope of redemption because Jesus Christ did enter the world, and He did die, and He did rise from the dead.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #436

“My Faith Has Found a Resting Place”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION Mark 14:22-25

Hear Jesus’ words as he offers the supper to his disciples:

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.

And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

CONFESSION OF FAITH Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 75, 80

Minister: Christians, what do you believe about these words?

Congregation: By these words our Lord commands all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory.

In this supper God declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself finished on the cross once for all. He also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ, who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, where he wants us to worship him.

Minister: Let us worship him together. Be seated.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE The Lord has prepared this table for all who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation. It is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and abiding union with his Church.

“O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” Let’s pray.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Minister: Lord, our God, send your Holy Spirit so that this bread and cup may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we and all your saints be united with Christ and remain faithful in hope and love. Gather your whole church, O Lord, into the glory of your kingdom. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS [Ask elders to distribute the trays].

Does everyone have what they need?

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

As the Lord Jesus has commanded us, take, eat and drink, remember, believe, and proclaim.

†OUR RESPONSE #248

“All Creatures of Our God and King”

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13, ESV)

Grace Notes Reflection

Our world is filled with death and hatred and envy. We can distract ourselves through so much of it, but there remains a long shadow that hangs over our souls. And that shadow isn’t just “out there”, either; it lies under the roofs of our own homes. And further still, we find fear and shame and sin and sickness in our own hearts.

“Where does our help come from?”

We needed a Prophet, someone to bring truth and life, hope and purpose in our land of confusion.

We needed a Priest, someone to bridge the gap between ourselves and God.

We needed a King, someone to rule over sin and death, dealing out justice and shielding us with protection.

And that is what we have received in Christ.

The fact that He did rise from the dead in our world means that your sins can be truly forgiven. It means that those whom we have lost in death can be raised to life. It means that this world with all of its brokenness can and will be made new.