scripture: 1 corinthians 15:1-15:20

How would you answer this question - is the Resurrection real? If you don't believe, what are your reasons? And if you don't know what you believe, then don't you think you should examine the evidence? In this message, Pastor Scott Savage shares not only why the Resurrection matters, but the four pieces of evidence that convinced him that believing in the Resurrection was the most reasonable explanation based upon the evidence.

A listing of all of the services recorded at Thornville Baptist Church.

A listing of all of the services recorded at Thornville Baptist Church.

A listing of all of the services recorded at Thornville Baptist Church.

The Apostle Paul lays out his thoughts very directly. Let's take a look at his thoughts on the resurrection.

"The Poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, met General William Booth of the Salvation Army, while both were out walking. 'General,' said Tennyson, 'what is the news this morning?' 'The news, sir,' replied Booth 'is that Christ died for our sins and rose for our justification!' 'Ah,' replied the poet, 'that is old news, and new news, and good news.'" Paul said: "If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain" (1 Cor. 15:14). In these words Paul emphasized the significance and value of the resurrection. Everything depends upon this central fact—a risen Christ. If Christ was not raised, then our preaching is empty, our faith is false, and we are in a state of abject misery. But since the resurrection of Christ is an indisputable fact, then it follows that the resurrection of Christ is an indispensable faith. Preaching represents the word of Christ. Everything that Jesus ever said during His earthly ministry must be judged in the light of the resurrection, for if He did not rise from the dead, how can we trust the words He spoke? How can we believe the claims He made? How can we aspire to the standards He set? In other words, if Christ was not raised, then both our preaching and our faith are vain. But Christ is risen, and as a result, every single word Jesus spoke rings with authority and vibrates with life; we can trust Him implicitly. If Jesus Christ never rose from the dead, then Calvary means nothing at all; other men have been crucified, and Jesus must be numbered among them. On the other hand, if He truly rose from the dead, then Calvary represents the unique redemptive act of God, providing forgiveness and salvation for men and women like you and me. Because He rose we can say that Christ "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). There is forgiveness and redemption through the blood of Jesus because the resurrection elevates His death on the cross with great significance. Peter knew this from personal experience. That is why he could write that we are "begotten ... again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Click the link to listen to this inspiring message "The Message of the Resurrection – Part 2" on Bethel TV or iTunes Podcast. #TransformingLives, #TransformingLivesWithPastorObe, #BethelCityOfGlory, #ObadiahSwen, #Obelizswen, #BethelVA, #PastorObe.

"The Poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, met General William Booth of the Salvation Army, while both were out walking. 'General,' said Tennyson, 'what is the news this morning?' 'The news, sir,' replied Booth 'is that Christ died for our sins and rose for our justification!' 'Ah,' replied the poet, 'that is old news, and new news, and good news.'" Paul said: "If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain" (1 Cor. 15:14). In these words Paul emphasized the significance and value of the resurrection. Everything depends upon this central fact—a risen Christ. If Christ was not raised, then our preaching is empty, our faith is false, and we are in a state of abject misery. But since the resurrection of Christ is an indisputable fact, then it follows that the resurrection of Christ is an indispensable faith. Preaching represents the word of Christ. Everything that Jesus ever said during His earthly ministry must be judged in the light of the resurrection, for if He did not rise from the dead, how can we trust the words He spoke? How can we believe the claims He made? How can we aspire to the standards He set? In other words, if Christ was not raised, then both our preaching and our faith are vain. But Christ is risen, and as a result, every single word Jesus spoke rings with authority and vibrates with life; we can trust Him implicitly. If Jesus Christ never rose from the dead, then Calvary means nothing at all; other men have been crucified, and Jesus must be numbered among them. On the other hand, if He truly rose from the dead, then Calvary represents the unique redemptive act of God, providing forgiveness and salvation for men and women like you and me. Because He rose we can say that Christ "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). There is forgiveness and redemption through the blood of Jesus because the resurrection elevates His death on the cross with great significance. Peter knew this from personal experience. That is why he could write that we are "begotten ... again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Click the link to listen to this inspiring message "The Message of the Resurrection – Part 2" on Bethel TV or iTunes Podcast. #TransformingLives, #TransformingLivesWithPastorObe, #BethelCityOfGlory, #ObadiahSwen, #Obelizswen, #BethelVA, #PastorObe.

In John Masefield's drama, "The Trial of Jesus", there is a striking passage in which the Roman centurion in command of the soldiers at the cross comes back to Pilate to hand in his report of the day's work. After the report is given, Pilate's wife beckons to the centurion and begs him to tell how Jesus died. When the story has been told, she suddenly asks, "Do you think He is dead?" "No, lady," answers the centurion, "I don't." "Then where is He?" to which the Roman replies, "Let loose in the world, lady, where ... no one can stop His truth." And so it proved, for as soon as Jesus was risen and ascended, He empowered His disciples to make known the gospel of the resurrection throughout the whole of the world. The gospel of the resurrection is an indisputable fact, an indispensable faith, and an irresistible force. Nobody sets this out as clearly as the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Click the link to listen to this inspiring message "The Message of the Resurrection – Part 1" on Bethel TV or iTunes Podcast. #TransformingLives, #TransformingLivesWithPastorObe, #BethelCityOfGlory, #ObadiahSwen, #Obelizswen, #BethelVA, #PastorObe.

In John Masefield's drama, "The Trial of Jesus", there is a striking passage in which the Roman centurion in command of the soldiers at the cross comes back to Pilate to hand in his report of the day's work. After the report is given, Pilate's wife beckons to the centurion and begs him to tell how Jesus died. When the story has been told, she suddenly asks, "Do you think He is dead?" "No, lady," answers the centurion, "I don't." "Then where is He?" to which the Roman replies, "Let loose in the world, lady, where ... no one can stop His truth." And so it proved, for as soon as Jesus was risen and ascended, He empowered His disciples to make known the gospel of the resurrection throughout the whole of the world. The gospel of the resurrection is an indisputable fact, an indispensable faith, and an irresistible force. Nobody sets this out as clearly as the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Click the link to listen to this inspiring message "The Message of the Resurrection – Part 1" on Bethel TV or iTunes Podcast. #TransformingLives, #TransformingLivesWithPastorObe, #BethelCityOfGlory, #ObadiahSwen, #Obelizswen, #BethelVA, #PastorObe.

Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and it has cosmic implications.

The AWAKENED series is a preaching / teaching journey through the letters of Corinthians recorded during the Worship Gatherings at Eastgate Baptist. Pastor Jerome Taylor shares about the letter from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth which he dearly loved. In this letter is the heartfelt declaration for the church to wake up, open their eyes, and truly view the power of the Christ through the cross. Such an awakening brings life transformation like no other by the working of God's grace.

Paul's treatise in I Corinthians 15 gives the theology of resurrection and demonstrated that no resurrection = no salvation!

Because the resurrection of Jesus is a fact, we can be transformed by the reality of it.

Sermon in a Sentence: Jesus removes our limits, labels and liabilities.

Sermon in a Sentence: Jesus removes our limits, labels and liabilities.

Did Jesus truly raise from the dead? If Jesus truly raised from the dead, then what difference does that make in your life? The answers to these questions will stir our hearts to live the life not wasted...the life given fully to Jesus.