BE CERTAIN: Defined by Easter | PART 3

In a world of uncertainty following Jesus’ death, the disciples never expected resurrection. So what could convince them that Jesus was alive? Listen to this Easter message to discover how you can “Be Certain” that Jesus is alive and discover his resurrection life for yourself. Series: UNCERTAIN: Discovering Who We are Through Difficult Times, Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge, Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:14-19, John 20:1-8, John 14:9, John 20:19-31, John 3:16,, John 20:2, John 20:6-7, John 20:8, John 20:19-20, John 20:25, John 20:31, Video: https://www.facebook.com/avalonchurch/videos/1086234075082459/, Sermon page: https://podcast.avalonchurch.org/sermons/be-certain-we-are-defined-by-jesus-resurrection/, Sermon Notes: 2020-04-12_be-certain_pastor-don-doge.pdf, Discussion Questions: 2020-04-12_uncertain-part-3_discussion-questions.pdf, Notes: Jesus died on Friday. For his original followers, …The world ended. The only thing worse than Friday… Was Saturday. …They felt betrayed. …Every hope they had… disintegrated. It was on Saturday when the realization sunk in, …Everything they had believed about Jesus, …was wrong. They had believed Jesus was sent from God. That he was God’s long-awaited Messiah, Israel’s promised King from the line of David. But Messiahs are supposed to rule, …They’re not supposed to be crucified as a criminal. Saturday was a day of Uncertainty. All was still not right in the world. This COVID-19 crisis reminds us that we are still connected to Saturday. Watching on video rather than being together on this holiest holiday, …Reminds us that we live in Saturday. But Church, Saturday was not the end, And Saturday is not the end. Because Sundays are about resurrection. Sundays are about new life. On Saturday, few even dream of resurrection. Jesus’ disciples sure didn’t. Sometimes Saturdays seem hopeless, But they’re not. Because Sunday is just a few hours away! You see, the resurrection is what convinced Jesus’ followers …that he was Messiah, …the Son of God, …God in a human body. It wasn’t his teaching or the miracles that convinced people of this. …The power of all that was lost when Jesus was hanging on the cross. It was the resurrection that convinced them. And it is the resurrection That has been convincing people for the last 2000 years. That’s why the Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor.15, And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God…. [And] if your faith is useless, you are still guilty of your sins… [and] we are to be pitied more than anyone in the world. –1 Cor.15:14-19 (NLT) If Jesus did not rise from the dead, …If this story didn’t really happen, …if the resurrection is NOT history, …It’s time to get all you can, …Make all you can, …Experience all you can in this life because when we die, it’s over. But if Jesus is alive, If he rose from the dead like he said he would… Well now… …That changes everything! But how did we know? How can we be sure this really happened? …How did Paul know? …How did the disciples know? I’ll tell you one thing, it was a surprise for them, too. God Because none of them expected a crucifixion, …And none expected a resurrection. Jesus never did what was expected. On Palm Sunday, As Jesus entered Jerusalem to the praises of the crowd, …the disciples probably thought, “Finally! He’s acting like the king he has declared himself to be! But then on Good Friday, He declared himself a sacrifice, Nothing fit their expectation. And on that Saturday, …As his body laid in that tomb, Jesus disciples mourned, Stunned… confused, …And they expected Jesus to do what all dead people do; … stay dead. In their minds, …This was the end. …Three squandered years of wasted hope. What now? But then, John, one of those in the room, would later write, that Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. –John 20:1 (NLT) Soon after, …Mary was banging on the door Where the other disciples were all hiding. Peter and John answered. Mary Magdalene was panicked and sobbing. She says, She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” –John 20:2 (NLT) She wasn’t expecting a resurrection. She was confused. Scared. And uncertain. The body was gone, and there is only one logical conclusion. Someone took it. In vs.3 ...