Still - Part 2 - Next Steps
Message Summary
The resurrection reshapes our understanding of who God is and why he loves us so much. Without the resurrection, there is no proof of eternity, or proximity to God. With the resurrection, the power and love of God can be known through Jesus’ substitutionary atonement. Jesus is the Savior of the world, and the living God who wants to have a relationship with you. Through faith in Jesus, we have forgiveness and a restored relationship with God. Through faith, we have eternal life, both now and forever. And through faith, we can experience God’s transforming power in our lives here and now.
1) How has your relationship with Christ changed your life?
2) What do you think is the biggest barrier for people to have faith in Jesus?
Consider This
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:1-3).
1) Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was the greatest miracle of all—he is the only man in history who declared he would be raised from the dead and then made good that promise.
a. How does God reveal that miracle to most people? (John 17:20, 20:28-31)
b. How did God reveal it to you?
2) Most other religions deny the resurrection of Jesus. Some cults cite 1 Corinthians 15:50 (completely out of context!) and some translations of 1 Peter 3:18 to “prove” Jesus was raised in spirit only. However, what does Jesus himself say about his physical body?
a) Luke 24:39
b. John 2:19-21 what differences are implied between the terms “flesh and blood” and “flesh and bones?”
3) Secular historians, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and other hostile witnesses validate the historical accuracy of the New Testament. Like any good historian, NT writers mention specific people, places and times that could easily be refuted if untrue. Read Luke 1:1-5a, 2 Peter 1:16 and 1 John 1:1. What did Luke, Peter and John say about their message?
a. Luke
b. Peter
c. John
4) King Agrippa was another well know figure of secular history. What did the Apostle Paul say to him about the historical accuracy of the person of Jesus of Nazareth? (Acts 26:24-31)
5) Read Matthew 28:11-15. What was the most common excuse for the empty tomb given in Jesus Day? Discuss reasons why this excuse or argument breaks down.
6) Read Luke 22:39-44. How did Jesus feel about his impending death? How did he get past those feelings? (Hebrews 12:2) Can you share a time when you followed Jesus’ example and pushed past tragedy and sorrow in this life? How did you do it?
7) Jesus, “… will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Phil 3:21) Considering Jesus’ resurrected body, what do you think our resurrected bodies will be like according to the following?
a. Luke 24:31
b. Matthew 13:43, 22:30,
c. 1 Cor. 15:35-44, 51-54)
d. What aspects of your glorified being do you look forward to the most?
Moving Forward
Following the resurrection, the Apostles were threatened with death, yet they continued to spread the Gospel to the world. Over the next 60 years, nearly all the Apostles were killed for their faith. All scholars agree that the Christian faith came into being because the Apostles believed in the resurrection of Jesus. The Apostles were said to have turned the world upside down. All theories to explain away the resurrection break down under scrutiny. For if Jesus hadn’t been raised from the dead, the Apostles would have known. People give their lives for things they think are true, but NO ONE has ever willingly died for something they knew to be a lie.
1) This week, consider reading/listening to William Lane Craig’s defense of the Resurrection at Reasonable Faith http://www.reasonablefaith.org Type in “resurrection” in the search field to view several articles and videos on the subject.
2) Consider Reading/viewing Josh McDowell’s research on the resurrection of Jesus at https://www.josh.org/
3) Consider reading the book Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace, And if you have time this week, also consider perusing his website https://coldcasechristianity.com/ for interesting articles and videos about the historical accuracy of Christianity.