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Well, first of all, good 
morning. 

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Everyone hath Easter. 
Hath Easter. 

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Is that loud? 
It's all all OK, All good. 

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Can you hear me? 
Good. 

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A warm a warm welcome to 
everyone here this morning. 

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Jesus is alive. 
Let's go. 

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He's conquered death. 
The tomb is empty and Jesus is 

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risen. 
Can I get a Hallelujah? 

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Amen. 
Well, let's pray. 

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Yeah. 
Father God, we welcome you here 

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this morning. 
And Lord, we thank you for for 

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your death on the cross and the 
three days later you gross 

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again, and then we are free by 
your name. 

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The Holy Spirit would just come 
this morning and we welcome you 

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in here. 
Lord, may the words I speak come

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from you. 
Amen. 

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Amen. 
Right. 

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Here we go. 
Lake Attalan, Guatemala, Easter 

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week last year in a small town 
called San Pedro. 

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I think we have a photo. 
Here we go. 

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Yeah. 
Honestly, one of the most 

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beautiful places that I've ever 
been in my life. 

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Volcanoes on every side, luckily
dormant. 

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Incredible stillness on the 
water. 

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I was there during Holy Week, so
there was some quite cool 

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processions that were going on 
during on. 

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I think we may have a video. 
There 

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we go. 
It was absolute chaos, absolute 

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chaos. 
Unlike they didn't mind, but 

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like when they were doing it as 
well, sometimes it'd be like 5 

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in the morning, I'd wake up and 
it'd be like this going on. 

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But it was, yeah, it was 
credible. 

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But it got me thinking that I 
don't speak these guys language,

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I don't share their history. 
And I've grown up in a 

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completely different world to 
them. 

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Culturally, economically, almost
in every measurable way, my life

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looks very different to theirs. 
But there was this moment when I

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looked around and his families 
praising, celebrating and 

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worshipping Jesus on the other 
side of the world. 

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These are my people. 
These are my my brothers and 

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sisters in Christ. 
I don't know their names. 

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We've never met. 
I have no way of communicating 

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to them, but we belong to the 
same thing. 

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And we're all here this morning 
like these guys in Guatemala, 

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Guatemala, to celebrate the 
gospel, the good news of Jesus 

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and the promise of God that 
there is hope, real hope, 

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resurrection hope, and 
availability of life in the 

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Kingdom of God. 
The story. 

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And this morning I just wanted 
to remind you of that gospel, 

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the story of God's redemptive 
plan for humanity, which is 

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centred on the deaf, the burial 
and the resurrection of Jesus. 

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So if you can, get all your 
Bibles, if you have them, and 

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turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 
There's some on the desk at the 

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back. 
If not, you can use your phone, 

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but the words should be on 
screen. 

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Now, brothers and sisters, I 
want to remind you of the gospel

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I have preached to you, which 
you received and on which you 

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have taken your stand. 
By this gospel you are saved if 

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you hold firmly to the words I 
preach to you, otherwise you 

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have believed in vain for what I
have received. 

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I passed on to you as of first 
importance, that Christ died for

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our sins according to the 
Scriptures, that he was buried 

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and He was raised on the third 
day according to the Scriptures.

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And then He appeared to Cephas, 
which is which is Peter, and 

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then to the 12:00. 
And after that he approached 

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more than 500 of the brothers 
and sisters at the same time, 

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most of whom are still living, 
as some have fallen asleep. 

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Then he appeared to James, and 
then to all the apostles. 

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And last of all he appeared to 
me also. 

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That's the one I'm normally 
born. 

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This is Paul speaking. 
Christ died, He was buried, he 

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was raised, and he appeared. 
And everything we're going to 

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talk about this morning hangs on
these four things. 

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But to understand why they 
matter so much as to, as Paul 

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says, as of first importance, we
need to understand the world 

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they arrive into. 
So let's and to do this, I'm 

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going to use a diagram called a 
chasm. 

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I think that's how it's 
pronounced. 

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I'm not too sure though. 
Has anybody heard of it? 

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It looks something like this and
it is a way that we look at 

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Scripture to help us see how the
the biblical narrative moves. 

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So we're going to start on the 
left hand side here and kind of 

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go back to the very beginning of
the story, back to creation. 

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So just keep in mind then four 
things as well. 

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Christ died, He was buried, He 
was raised and he appeared. 

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So going back to all the way to 
the beginning, hopefully you can

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read that mighty glasses Joe. 
Going on the back to the 

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beginning, to the garden, we 
read and see of a beautiful 

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place, a perfect world with God 
present in the middle of it. 

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God creates man and woman and 
for humanity to steward over the

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earth. 
But then something happens. 

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Humanity made to walk with God 
and tend his world, turned 

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inward, chose self over 
relation, relationship, and as a

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result, humanity had been 
permanently fractured. 

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The effects of this poured out 
out onto creation, into 

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relationships, and into the 
human heart itself. 

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And what we see in the Old 
Testament, which is the time 

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before Jesus, is this long 
aching story of a people, a 

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humanity where that bond was 
broken, a people living in 

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exile. 
A bit later in Genesis, we read 

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about Abraham. 
He was called out of nowhere and

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given a promise. 
Through your offspring, all 

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nations on this earth will be 
blessed. 

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Abraham has a son, Isaac, who 
then also has a son Jacob, who 

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then also has twelve sons. 
But through jealousy and 

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betrayal all end up in Egypt. 
Egypt and what started as a 

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family over generations becomes 
a people, the Israelites, who 

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then become enslaved by the 
Egyptians. 

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But then God comes, he appears 
to a man named Moses in a 

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burning Bush and says, says in 
Exodus 37 to 8, I have indeed 

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seen your miseries, seen the 
miseries as my people in Egypt. 

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I've heard them crying out 
because of their slave drivers. 

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I am concerned about their 
suffering. 

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So I've come to rescue them. 
And he comes in this 

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extraordinary act of 
deliverance, putting his people 

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out of slavery through Moses. 
He sends the plagues, parts the 

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Red Sea, and leads them through 
the wilderness. 

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God is making a way where there 
was no way. 

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They're led by Joshua into the 
Promised Land. 

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You think the dust has settled 
on the story? 

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They're in the Promised Land, 
promised to them by God, and now

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they can live happily in 
freedom. 

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But it doesn't happen. 
Almost immediately, it starts to

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unravel. 
The death of Joshua brings 

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chaos. 
No king, no leadership is a time

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of violence, corruption, 
idolatry, The Israelite people 

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turning away from God, suffering
because of it, crying out to God

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and God rescuing in them and 
starting all again. 

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So then they asked for a king, 
entered Seoul. 

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Then they called David for the 
prophet Samuel, the greatest 

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king, whoever lived a man of 
after God's own heart. 

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After that Solomon, the writer 
of the Proverbs wisdom beyond 

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beyond a measure, but they all 
fall short. 

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The Kingdom is now split in two.
The people of God are now 

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divided over 400 years. 
And if you don't didn't think it

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could get any worse. 
The Israelites come back carried

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back into exile. 
So then God raises up the 

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prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, refusing to let hope 

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die. 
These these prophets weren't 

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just predicting the future, but 
they were keeping hope alive in 

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a community that had every 
reason to give up, holding out 

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for a vision of the world as God
intends it, even when everything

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around them said otherwise. 
And then we have silence. 400 

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years of it. 
Quite, quite a long time. 400 

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years of nothing. 
But then something happens. 

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A child was born in Bethlehem, 
and for 30 years he grows up in 

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obscurity. 
He steps out and teaches and 

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with authority that nobody has 
ever seen before. 

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He heals the sick and talks 
about the Kingdom of God as not 

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just this future hope, but 
something that's breaking into 

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the present right now. 
But he came to his own people, 

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and his own people did not 
receive him. 

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The religious leaders who knew 
the scriptures better than 

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anyone else, who had prayed for 
the Messiah their whole lives, 

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looked at Jesus and said, no, 
not him, not like this. 

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This isn't what we expected. 
He's from Galilee, he, he's with

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sinners, He forgives people that
have no right to be forgiven, so

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they plot to kill him. 
And yet this was not God losing 

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control of the story, but rather
his redemptive plan moving 

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exactly where it was always 
going. 

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Because Jesus doesn't just 
arrive as a good teacher with 

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helpful things to say. 
He arrives as one in whom the 

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whole biblical narrative reaches
its climax. 

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Every promise, every covenant, 
every act of deliverance, every 

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cry of the prophets, all points 
here to him, to this moment, to 

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the cross. 
God's redemptive plan for 

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humanity unfolding right now. 
And I thought it was just quite 

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important to explain that. 
Because we get cool, and this is

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where we get to the heart of it.
Jesus died, He was buried, he 

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was raised, and he appeared. 
So you've been a Christian for 

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50 years, or this is actually 
your first time coming to church

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this morning? 
This is it. 

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Like this is the thing. 
Every song we've sung this 

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morning, every prayer we've 
prayed, every act of kindness 

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done in the name of Jesus, it 
all flows from this. 

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Like this is the foundation, the
cross, the resurrection are not 

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just some important moments in 
the Bible, but they are rather 

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rather the thing that holds it 
all together. 

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This is the thing at the very 
center. 

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And what Paul describes in these
verses is important to notice 

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that this gospel is not some 
insightful teaching or some some

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good some good advice. 
At the core of the gospel are 

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things that actually happened, 
actual real historical events. 

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And so why is this important for
us? 

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Because if the facts point to 
the if the facts point to the 

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fact that there is no 
resurrection of Christ, there is

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no Christianity full full stop. 
It's really that simple. 

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Paul himself says a little 
further down in chapter 17 verse

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chapter, the same chapter, verse
17, if Christ has not been 

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raised, your faith is futile and
you're still in your sins. 

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He doesn't soften it here. 
Even the tomb is empty and the 

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resurrection happened. 
But we're all just wasting our 

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time. 
There's no middle ground where 

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you can appreciate Jesus as a 
great moral teacher because as 

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we read in verse, in verse 20, 
that Christ has indeed been 

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raised from the dead, the first 
fruits of those who have fallen 

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asleep. 
But since death came through a 

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man, the resurrection of the 
dead also comes through a man. 

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I think this is really 
important, really important. 

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So I just want to sip the 
evidence for a bit because I 

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think some of us very much, 
myself included, need evidence 

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to believe this stuff. 
And it was definitely a part of 

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my journey very early on because
it is kind of crazy when you 

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think about it. 
Like there was this man, but he 

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wasn't just a man. 
He was God in human form. 

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Like 100% man, 100% God. 
And then he got put to death on 

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a cross. 
He didn't die a normal death. 

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He died for the sins of the 
world. 

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And then he was buried in a 
tomb. 

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And then three days later, he 
write rose from the dead and 

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appeared to over 500 people. 
Like, I get it. 

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Like it's a crazy claim. 
It's a pretty crazy claim, but 

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it is the claim. 
And this is not me trying to 

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prove it to you, but to show you
that our hope, the person who 

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we've put our hope in, is 
grounded in truth. 

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So what Paul writes here is a 
starting point because what was 

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written in bold you can't really
see on there. 

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I'll read it probably easier. 
Christ died for our sins 

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according to the Scriptures, 
that he was buried and that he 

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was raised on the third day 
according to the Scriptures, and

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00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,480
that he appeared to Cephas and 
then to the 12. 

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00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,240
After that He appeared to more 
than 500 people, 500 of the 

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brothers and sisters at the same
time. 

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00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,040
Then he appeared to James and to
all the apostles. 

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What is written there in bold 
isn't very well. 

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It's one of the earliest, if not
the earliest creed that we have 

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of the resurrection. 
So what is a creed, you ask 

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Drew? 
Well, a creed is a a formal 

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statement of beliefs or 
principles, A concise, 

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authoritative summary of what a 
person or community holds to be 

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true. 
And scholars place this one 

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within just a few years of the 
resurrection itself. 

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It's not legend that grew over 
centuries. 

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People could walk down the 
street and find the eyewitnesses

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themselves and ask them about 
the resurrection. 

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Paul is literally saying here 
that most of the 500 people are 

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still alive. 
Like go and ask them for 

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yourself. 
So let's just start with the 

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crucifixion itself, that Jesus 
died. 

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00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,520
This is not seriously disputed 
among any historians to be 

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00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,920
honest, Christian or non 
Christian, the Romans were the 

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00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:07,120
most efficient executioners of 
the time and we actually get the

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00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,800
word excruciating out of the 
Latin word. 

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Here we go excruciatus. 
There we go which? 

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00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,480
But it literally means out of 
the cross. 

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00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,520
Like they had to invent a new 
word for the pain of the cross 

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00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:26,600
dealt. 
These are not men who who made 

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00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,720
mistakes. 
The question of Easter has never

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been wherever Jesus died, but 
always what happened next. 

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Then there's the empty tomb. 
Not the Romans, not the Jewish 

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00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:45,240
leaders who had every reason to 
want Christianity strangled at 

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00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:48,160
birth. 
At his inception, nobody ever 

253
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,720
produced a body. 
If there was a body, they would 

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00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,680
have produced it. 
The movement would have been 

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00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,440
over before it even started, and
none of us would be sitting here

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00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,440
today. 
The silence of the opposition is

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00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,440
almost as loud as a testimony of
the witnesses themselves. 

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And then finally we have the 
disciples. 

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These are men who on the Friday 
are hiding behind locked doors, 

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terrified and finished. 
Look at Peter. 

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00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,319
He'd just denied Jesus three 
times, but after the 

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00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:29,360
resurrection, he and others are 
standing in the same city Jesus 

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00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:33,440
was crucified, publicly 
declaring that he is risen. 

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00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:39,000
And they never stop. 
Most of them die for what they 

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00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:46,400
for what they believe. 
Now people people die for things

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00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,120
they believe to be true all the 
time. 

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00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,400
But people don't die for things 
they know to be a lie. 

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I'm just going to say it again. 
People would die for things they

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00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:06,040
believe to be true all the time.
But people don't die for things 

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00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:10,800
that they know to be a lie. 
These men were not spinning a 

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story. 
They were reporting something 

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00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,400
that actually happened and 
something that actually happened

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00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,680
to them. 
Has anybody heard of Sir Lionel 

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00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:21,320
Luck? 
Who? 

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00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,120
No, here he is. 
So Lionel Luck, who was a 

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00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:30,720
renowned defence attorney, 
listed in the Guinness Book of 

277
00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:36,800
World Records for having 247 
consecutive murder trial 

278
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:39,600
acquittals. 
Yeah. 

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00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,480
And he famously stated regarding
the resurrection. 

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00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,280
I say unequivocally that the 
evidence for the resurrection of

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00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:52,360
Jesus is so overwhelming that it
compels acceptance by proof, 

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00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:55,200
which leaves no absolute room 
for doubt. 

283
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,760
The evidence is there. 
The resurrection isn't just some

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00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,520
wishful thinking to make us feel
better. 

285
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,520
It is the most historically 
attestable miracle in human 

286
00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:14,040
history. 
But here's the thing. 

287
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:17,200
Evidence can only get you to the
edge. 

288
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,440
Evidence. 
Sorry, evidence can only get you

289
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,840
to the edge, and it can show you
the empty tomb. 

290
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,400
But what it can't do is tell you
what it means for you today, 

291
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:42,560
right here, right now. 
The hope of the resurrection is 

292
00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,640
that Jesus is who he really says
he is. 

293
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:51,640
Death has been defeated and the 
Kingdom of God is breaking into 

294
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,520
the present. 
So here's the thing I wanted you

295
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,160
to see this morning. 
The resurrection isn't the end 

296
00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,280
of the story. 
It's not God saying I've done my

297
00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,560
part now Goodbye, rather is the 
beginning of another. 

298
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:14,480
As we see on the diagram, it 
doesn't just collapse inward, 

299
00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:20,800
but rather it explodes outward. 
Out of the resurrection comes 

300
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,600
appearances by Jesus to Peter. 
To the 12, then to the 120 in 

301
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,920
the upper room, and then 3000 
added to the number at 

302
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:33,160
Pentecost. 
And the number just continues to

303
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:37,440
grow and grow and grow. 
The church explodes throughout 

304
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:43,000
history. 
And finally, the same hope that 

305
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,360
we carry stretches forward all 
the way to the renewal of all 

306
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:52,080
things and the renewal of 
creation, a new heaven and a new

307
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,520
earth. 
God has come as He promised He 

308
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,240
would, and He has come to renew 
all things. 

309
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,840
And this is what the 
resurrection sets in motion. 

310
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,840
That middle point there at 
Jesus, not just forgiveness for 

311
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,880
our sins, which I want to add is
incredible. 

312
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:14,600
It is wonderful, profound, super
important that Jesus paid the 

313
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:20,640
penalty for our sins, that God 
made He who had no sin be sin 

314
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:25,320
for us so that in him we might 
become the righteousness of God.

315
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,960
Second Corinthians 521 Like it's
super, super important. 

316
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,640
Like super important. 
I'll get that. 

317
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:39,080
I'll get that across. 
Like it brings freedom and it 

318
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,240
brings grace. 
But the thing I want to think 

319
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,160
about you guys with the 
resurrection and the Kingdom of 

320
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,720
God is to think about it this 
way. 

321
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:52,080
In the ancient world, when a 
king won a battle, he didn't 

322
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,680
just win the battle, he 
established a new reality. 

323
00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,240
And that is what the 
resurrection is. 

324
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:06,160
Jesus has won, and in winning, 
he has established a new 

325
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,640
reality, a new Kingdom. 
And that Kingdom is not 

326
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,920
somewhere else. 
It's not there in the sky. 

327
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:19,920
It's here, right here, right now
where life in the Kingdom, 

328
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:26,000
forgiveness, healing, restored 
relationship with God, and hope 

329
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,120
in the face of suffering and 
death. 

330
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,360
It's not something you have to 
wait for. 

331
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,240
It's something that's readily 
available to us. 

332
00:22:40,620 --> 00:22:43,020
And some of you guys already 
know this. 

333
00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:47,700
You felt forgiveness land in a 
way that actually sets you free,

334
00:22:48,860 --> 00:22:53,140
or you found hope in a season 
we've had no business, had no 

335
00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:56,600
business of surviving. 
You've experienced the peace 

336
00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:01,960
that makes no sense, and it's 
peace that makes no sense. 

337
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,600
And yet it was real. 
That wasn't a coincidence. 

338
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:13,680
That wasn't positive thinking. 
Were you manifesting that that 

339
00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,840
was the Kingdom of God breaking 
in? 

340
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:23,720
That was the risen King, King 
Jesus making known a new reality

341
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,760
in your life. 
And that's not if that's not 

342
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,640
something you've experienced 
yet, that's not because it's not

343
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,800
available to you. 
The Kingdom of God is not 

344
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,960
reserved for people who have it 
all together. 

345
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,720
I think I'm a testament to that.
It's not a reward for the 

346
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,440
faithful few who've earned their
way in. 

347
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:48,640
Jesus didn't rise from the dead 
to establish a Kingdom with a 

348
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,480
guest list. 
He rose from the dead to blow 

349
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:58,720
the doors wide open, to make 
forgiveness, healing, restored 

350
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,760
relationship with him available 
to everyone who was willing to 

351
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,560
receive it. 
This idea that Christianity is 

352
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,080
some ticket system where you get
your ticket at the cross, you 

353
00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,000
wait in line, and eventually you
get to cash it in when you die. 

354
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,640
That's not what Jesus announced.
He didn't say the Kingdom will 

355
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,680
be near. 
He said the Kingdom is near 

356
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,600
present right now and that's 
what the resurrection holds. 

357
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,840
So maybe this morning, there's 
some people here this morning 

358
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:35,680
who are unsure what they 
believe. 

359
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:43,120
Maybe a family friend or just a 
friend dragged you here along 

360
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:46,200
this morning and you weren't 
quite sure what you're walking 

361
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,600
into, but you've been asking 
questions about God and faith 

362
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,440
for a bit of a time now. 
Or actually, maybe the whole 

363
00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,360
thing feels a bit too good to be
true. 

364
00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,680
First, I want you to let you 
know that you guys are so 

365
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,120
welcome here this morning. 
You really are. 

366
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:07,600
And I want you to. 
I want to ask you not to dismiss

367
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:15,120
all this too quickly. 
Don't just file it away as a new

368
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:21,600
story, as a nice story until 
next year, but sit with it, Look

369
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,160
at the evidence, ask them hard 
questions. 

370
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:31,080
I'm sure Libby would be happy to
to answer them so that she's not

371
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:35,440
here. 
But it's super important because

372
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:40,280
if Christ is not risen, nothing 
else matters. 

373
00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:46,320
But if Christ is risen, nothing 
else matters. 

374
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,000
And I believe with everything in
me, He is. 

375
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,720
And it is the most important 
thing you'll ever encounter. 

376
00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,680
Or maybe you're someone that's 
been following Jesus for years 

377
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,000
now. 
You've grown up in the church, 

378
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,200
you know the story. 
But somewhere along the line, 

379
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,240
it's got a little routine. 
And when Easter comes around, 

380
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,320
it's more than when Easter comes
around. 

381
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:14,200
It's become a date in the 
calendar. 

382
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,680
A bit of leg and lamb in the 
oven. 

383
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:24,960
I don't know. 
And yeah, becomes more of a date

384
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,160
in the calendar than a 
declaration that changes 

385
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,280
everything. 
I just want to say to you this 

386
00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:36,240
morning, let it land again. 
Don't just nod at it. 

387
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,880
Let it actually hit you. 
The story you have given your 

388
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:46,000
life towards the devotion 
towards is true. 

389
00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:51,440
It happened. 
Romans 811 says the same power 

390
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,440
that raised Jesus from the dead 
lives in you. 

391
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,000
The risen Christ is is not done 
with you yet. 

392
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,920
I have to say, well, actually, 
you're someone that's carrying 

393
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,640
something very heavy right now 
and you feel like there's no way

394
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,400
through it. 
And you came this morning and 

395
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,480
you're exhausted. 
They might not even be sure why 

396
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:17,280
you're here. 
Jesus doesn't pretend that pain 

397
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,200
isn't real. 
He doesn't offer you a quick fix

398
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,120
or a neat theological answer to 
the mess you're in. 

399
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,760
But what he does offer you is 
this, that God looked into the 

400
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:35,560
darkness of the sealed tomb on 
the Saturday, and on the Sunday 

401
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,240
morning He made a way through 
it. 

402
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,760
He has not forgotten you. 
He sees the mess you're in and 

403
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,040
is concerned about the suffering
that you hold. 

404
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:53,320
Those were His words to Moses. 
As I said earlier, these are the

405
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:59,280
his words to you. 
I have seen your misery, I've 

406
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:03,920
heard you crying out, and I've 
come down to rescue you. 

407
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:10,120
The resurrection is God's 
loudest and clearest declaration

408
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:15,760
that darkness does not get the 
final word, Not then, not now, 

409
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:22,920
not ever. 
The hope of the resurrection is 

410
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:28,400
that Jesus is who he says he is.
Death has been defeated. 

411
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,320
So I just want to start. 
I just want to finish where I 

412
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,760
started, Lake Atatlan, 
Guatemala. 

413
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,600
Processions, moving through the 
streets, families worshipping 

414
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:46,120
Jesus in a language that I don't
know, a people with a history 

415
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:51,000
that I share, I don't share, and
a world that looks very 

416
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,240
different to mine. 
That moment there, that is what 

417
00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:01,040
resurrection does. 
It creates a people and a hope 

418
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,560
that transcends every border, 
every background, and every 

419
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,760
broken story. 
We're a part of something that 

420
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,080
has been in motion since the 
very beginning. 

421
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,120
It's not a New Hope. 
It's not something new. 

422
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,760
It's been in motion since the 
start. 

423
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:26,000
We as followers of Christ, a 
part of a global body that 

424
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,520
stretches back 2000 years and 
stretches forward all the way to

425
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:37,880
the renewal of all things. 
And yeah, I just want to finish 

426
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:39,120
that. 
There is hope. 

427
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:48,520
There's real hope, resurrection 
hope, not just one day in the 

428
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:53,200
future, but right now the tomb 
is empty. 

429
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:58,720
The death, death is defeated. 
Christ is risen. 

430
00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:06,280
He is risen indeed. 
I will just finish saying that 

431
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,120
that creed over again. 
I think it was. 

432
00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,440
It's one of the main ways that 
they obviously communicate, 

433
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:17,800
communicated back back then. 
So I'll just repeat it for you 

434
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,360
guys. 
Christ died for our sins 

435
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,960
according to the Scriptures, 
that he was buried, that he was 

436
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,520
raised on the third day 
according to the Scriptures. 

437
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,360
And he appeared to Cephas and 
then to the 12:00. 

438
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,720
And after that he appeared to 
more than 500 of the brothers 

439
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:40,720
and sisters at the same time, 
most of whom are still alive, 

440
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:45,560
that some have fallen asleep. 
Then he appears to James, then 

441
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,920
to the all the apostles, and 
last of all, he appears to me 

442
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:59,680
also as one abnormally born. 
So if you've kept one thing from

443
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,720
today, that'll be it. 
The God is risen. 

444
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,920
He is risen indeed. 
I think now we're just going to 

445
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:14,720
enter into a bit of time and 
ministry to yeah, to sit in 

446
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,240
that. 
So I'm going to find Graham or, 

447
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,000
and I'll invite you to stand and
we'll pray.