Family Day 2026

August 30th 2026

Series: N/A

Sermon Title: Family Day

Key Passages: Various

Topic: 13 resurrection eye-witness appearances.

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will walk through the 13 resurrection eye-witness appearances.

***1st week ODD months add communion & target message at 15 pages.

***1st week EVEN months add space for dedication, baptism, or ministry highlight & target message at 15 pages.

***Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, and/or a picture that goes on the screens.

***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday, every even month):

SUGGESTION:         We divide up the exec team to make sure we have some at each campus. The pastor that isn’t preaching is the pre-service guy.

Grace: Erik, Bob

Ebenezer: Keith, Tim

Haven: Mike, Derek

Redwood: Adam, Dave

Pre-service – Pump up the crowd… be high energy… fun… if needed ask people to slide in and make room for others…

        Intro who you are.

        What you do.

        Invite people back to church next week.

        Talk about after service…

                Where to go…

                What will be going on.

                Etc.

Worship – Make sure the set is seeker friendly.

Sermon:

Hello, Family Church!

        Welcome, whether you are here in person or online.

Family Moment –

Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.

Celebrate salvation/rededications/baptisms last week.

Now if you have been around for a LONG time here at Family Church you might remember the days when Family Day was held in the backyard at the Grace Campus where all this started.

        This year we decided to go back to our roots…

To hold Family Day at each campus instead of the BIG gathering at the fairgrounds we have done the last few years.

        We thought…you know what why not a good old fashion big church picnic / potluck after service this year!

        We have bounce houses ready!

        All kinds of people are bringing food to share!

        We have all kinds of games planned!

        It is going to be awesome!!!

PAUSE

But before we get to all that…

        I know we have a lot of guests today.

        And if you are guest, we are SO HAPPY you are here today!

But I realize we probably have some people here who doubt Jesus really is God.

        Who doubt if Jesus really lived a real life.

        Who doubt that Jesus really died and rose from the dead.

And so, what I want to do today is actually quite simple.

        I am simply going to share with you all the 13 stories we have about people who saw Jesus alive and well after his death.

        13 stories that I think might help some of you decided today to follow Jesus.

You will see in your notes a list of all 13 if you want to dive in deeper this coming week.

PAUSE

Before we talk about where Jesus showed up…We have to ask:

Did He actually live?

Did He actually die?

And not just because the Bible says so…

        Does history show Jesus lived a real life and died a real death?

History absolutely says, “Yes!”

Here are three names you can write down if you want to research it.

        Tacitus, Josephus, and Pliny the Younger.

Tacitus was a Roman historian. 

        He did NOT believe Jesus was God.

        If you look it up, you will find out he is one of the most reliable Roman historians who lived during the Roman times.

        He wrote extensity about the Christians.

Tacitus wrote about Jesus.

Tacitus wrote about Jesus being executed by Pontius Pilate.

Josephus was a Jewish historian.

He did NOT believe Jesus was God.

        He wrote a lot about the history of the Jewish people under Roman rule.

        He wrote about Jesus’ brother James.

        He wrote about Jesus and his “surprising deeds and miracles.”

        He also wrote about Jesus life and crucifixion.

Pliny the Younger was a Roman governor.

        He did NOT believe Jesus was God.

        But he wrote letters to the Roman Emperor Trajan about these annoying Christians.

        About how they gathered regular to worship Jesus.

        How they sang about Jesus as if he was a God.

        The they were committed to this his moral of living.

NONE of them were followers of Jesus.

        They were ALL skeptics and outsiders.

However, they KNEW Jesus lived a real life and Jesus died a real death.

PAUSE

But here is the thing I want you to ponder if you are a skeptic…

Dead men don’t change the world… unless they don’t stay dead.

        (Repeat)

Let me give you an illustration…

It’s like a courtroom.

You don’t want one witness, you want multiple, consistent testimonies.

And what we’re about to walk through…

Is not one story about Jesus coming back to life

Today, I will share 13 eyewitness moments.

PAUSE

The first two appearances of Jesus ALIVE after his death teach us something important.

        Write this down:

Jesus shows up where life falls apart.

        (Repeat)

We see that very clearly in the first two resurrection eye-witnesses…

1.     3 women at the tomb (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:1)

You can see in your notes the Bible passages that talk about this.

Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:1

They came to mourn…

They found a miracle.

Jesus’ body gone!

The second appearance of Jesus was to:

2.     Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18)

        You can read about that in Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18.

She was crying.

Confused.

Overwhelmed.

Jesus doesn’t give her a sermon…

He simply said her name: “Mary.”

        She thought life was falling apart and Jesus met her there.

PAUSE

Have you ever been in a crowded place…airport, stadium, mall…and suddenly someone calls your name?

Out of all the noise…

You know that voice.

That’s what happened here.

The resurrection became real when it became personal.

Church… Jesus didn’t just rise from the grave…He walked into her grief.

        And Jesus will be there when you go through hard times as well.

        IF you choose to look for him like Mary did.

PAUSE

But Jesus doesn’t stop with the broken…He moved toward the confused.

To the second grouping of appearances, we learn this.

Write this down:

Jesus reveals Himself to the searching.

        (Repeat)

Jesus shows up in the middle of your questions.

That is what happened with the third appearance to Peter.

3.     Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5)

        Peter denied Jesus.

Peter failed publicly.

And then Jesus died.

Then Peter heard from Mary that Jesus rose from the dead and Peter went to the tomb but Jesus was NOT there.

Then Peter took off to get alone and process what to do.

And on that walk Jesus and Peter had a talk…

        And Peter learned this.

        And this is good you might want to write it down even though it is not in your notes…

Failure isn’t final when Jesus shows up.

Failure isn’t final when Jesus shows up.

PAUSE

Next Jesus appeared to:

4.     Two men on the road to Emmaus (Cleopas and one unnamed man; Luke 24:13-35)

They’re walking away… because Jesus’ movement was over.

They were walking away from hope.

Jesus met them along the way.

Jesus was like the GPS on our phone.

Recalculating.

You missed the turn.

You went the wrong way.

Re-routing us.

That’s what Jesus does.

You can walk away from Jesus…

But He won’t stop walking toward you.

Oh come on someone should amen that…

        You can walk away from Jesus…

                But He won’t stop walking toward you.

PAUSE

Next Jesus appeared to:

5.     10 disciples (excluding Thomas, John 20:19-25, Luke 24: 36-43)

When you read that story it is crazy!

They were locked up in a house.

They were processing all this news about Jesus being raise from the dead…

And Jesus just teleports into their midst like Star Trek.

But one guy was not there to experience that….

        So later Jesus appears to all:

6.     11 disciples (Mark 6:14-18; John 20:26-31)

Thomas was not there with the 10 when Jesus showed up.

Thomas said he needed proof Jesus was alive or he would NOT believe.

Just like some of you here today might say the SAME thing.

So, Jesus again, appears out of no where to all of them and said, “Come here Thomas…let me PROVE to you it is me.”

PAUSE

Let me ask you—have you ever had a moment of doubt?”

PAUSE

If you would say, “YES!”

GOOD!

You’re in the same category as the disciples.

Doubt doesn’t disqualify you…it can position you for an encounter with Jesus!

PAUSE

After those appearances Jesus makes a shift.

        Watch this shift…

Jesus isn’t just comforting anymore…

Jesus is…write this down:

Jesus enlists the resurrection eyewitnesses to lead His disciple-making movement.

        (Repeat)

Jesus shows up to send us out.

The 7th time Jesus appeared alive and well was to his:

7.     7 disciples while fishing (John 21:1-25)

And this is a GREAT story to read later because his followers had gone back to their old life.

        Gone back to their old jobs.

        Back to their families.

And Jesus meets them there to call them BACK into ministry.

It’s like someone quitting their dream job after one bad season… and going back to what’s familiar.

And Jesus shows up on the shoreline saying:

That’s not who you are anymore.

You are called to something greater!

PAUSE

The 8th appearance is what our church is founded upon.

        When Jesus met the:

8.     11 Disciples in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18)

This passage gives us The Great Commission.

The CLEAR called for ALL followers of Jesus to: “Go and make disciples…”

This is where church stops being an event…and becomes a movement.

        This is how Family Church has grown from 1 location with very few people to 5 locations with thousands of people.

Because at Family Church we take SERIOUS the call to be disciples who make more disciple of Jesus!

        And if you are here today and you want to learn MORE about Jesus and how to be a disciple.

        Or how to make disciples of Jesus.

        Grab that connection card in the seat back in front of you and fill it out and write that on it and we will connect with you next week!

PAUSE

The 9th appearance of Jesus risen from the dead was to:

9.     500 people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6)

Not private.

Not hidden.

This wasn’t a rumor.

This was a reality.

That would equate to (use your campus):

        Grace – Jesus appearing to everyone here.

        Ebenezer – That would be like Jesus appearing to everyone one Sunday here!

        Haven – That would be like Jesus appearing to basically all of Hamilton High school at once!

        Redwood – That would be like Jesus appearing to everyone in this service right now!

CRAZY!!!! But Jesus was not done there.

        Next Jesus appeared to his little brother:

10.   James, half-brother of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:7)

And bear in mind James was NOT a believer that Jesus was the son of God BEFORE Jesus died.

        He didn’t believe before.

He saw his brother die.

        He knew his brother was dead.

        And then Jesus appeared to him alive and well.

        And James BELIEVED!

And James would go on to become a leader in the early church!

        And James would go on to die a horrible death because he would not renounce His own brother as God.

And James did not get rich or powerful to die for his brother.

        He got NOTHING for it…other than salvation.

PAUSE

Then Jesus appeared to:

11.   11 Disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8)

And right after that

12.   To the apostles at the time of his ascension (Acts 1:9-12; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53)

There Jesus prepares them…

And Jesus sends them.

Let me read the FINAL words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven.

Acts 1:4-9 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

And here comes the FINAL WORDS….LEAN IN!!!!

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Stop there…

        Go be my witnesses.

        Go witness to people so they will become disciples.

        Go do that in Jerusalem – your home town.

        Judea – A town near you.

        Samaria – A town that has a culture VERY different from you.

        And to the ends of the earth – Take the gospel EVERWHERE you go.

That is our call.

        To go make disciples of Jesus who will make more disciples of Jesus who will make more disciples of Jesus ALL over the world!

And verse 9….

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

That is still our call today.

PAUSE

Let me give you the last resurrection-eyewitness account.

13.   Saul/Paul (not during the 40 days following the resurrection, Acts 9:1-6)

Then 1-3 years later this happened.

Jesus appeared to Saul.

Saul was the chief anti-Christian police office.

An enemy of the church.

He literally was the first person to endorse the public murder of a Chrisitan!

        He HATED Jesus.

        He HATED Jesus’ movement.

And skeptics lean in…

        He lived during the time of Jesus.

        He KNEW Jesus lived a real life.

        He KNEW Jesus died a deal death.

        He KNEW all these stories about Jesus being raise from the dead.

And he was just like you…

        He thought it was a load of crap.

        He thought it was all made up!

        He did NOT believe ANY of it!

Until one day…

        One day he was on his was to a town to kill or imprison some additional Christians…

        And Jesus interrupts his life.

He was like a man running the wrong direction at full speed…

And Jesus doesn’t shout from a distance.

Jesus steps into his path and changes his trajectory.

        He knocked Saul off his literal horse.

Blinded him.

And set him down for a few days to process.

And then Saul became a believer in Jesus.

Church let me end with this…

If Jesus can change Saul, He can change me.

        (Repeat)

Church…

        Here is some good news if today is your FIRST day at Family Church…

We are literally in a series learning all about this guy named Saul!

For the last 3 weeks we  have been learning about him.

And when you come back to church next week…

You can join us in this journey learning how a guy can go from murdering Christians to one of the greatest church builders of all time!

PAUSE

Anybody in here thankful Jesus changed you?

        Come on….

        Anyone????

These 13 appearances were NOT random.

It’s a pattern.

He shows up to the broken.

He shows up to the searching.

He shows up to the called.

PAUSE

Imagine 13 people in a courtroom.

Different backgrounds.

Different personalities.

Different moments.

But all saying the same thing:

I saw Him alive.

The question isn’t: “Did Jesus rise from the dead?”

The real question is: “What will you do knowing Jesus rose from the dead?”

If you’re broken—He’ll meet you.

If you’re searching—He’ll walk with you.

If you’re ready—He’ll send you.

PAUSE

Let’s wrap things up today with your life application.

If you are new or newer to Family Church, we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.

        Something to help you apply the message to your life.

So, here is this week’s Life Application…

Life Application: Jesus called us to be His witnesses. Share (witness) what you learned today with someone else this coming week. As a result of today’s message I will….

Can I pray for you…

Closing Response Song:

Prayer:

        Make sure to do a salvation call!

Offering:

Thank you all for being here today!

        If you would like to continue your worship through giving, there are offering boxes by the doors as you exit, or behind me on the screens. You can also see other ways to give here at Family Church.

        You can also place any connection cards you filled out in there.

POST-service – Pump up the crowd… be high energy… fun… if needed ask people to slide in and make room for others…

        Intro who you are.

        Invite people back to church next week.

        Talk about after service…

                Where to go…

                What will be going on.

                Etc.