Rev. David Holwick L [Eastr89L.pco]
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
March 26, 1989
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
|
I. The Cross exposed.
(The dictatorship of Gen. Stroessner, the longest in South
America, was just recently overthrown.)
Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay.
The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military there and
its human rights abuses.
Local police took their revenge by arresting his teenage son and
torturing him to death.
Townsfolk wanted to turn the funeral into a huge protest march.
But the doctor chose another means of protest.
The father displayed him in the church as he had found him in the
jail.
The son was naked, his body marked with scars from the electric
shocks and cigarette burns and beatings.
It did not lay in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from
the jail.
It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on
grotesque display.
This is what happened on Good Friday.
The Cross exposed the world for what it is:
a breeding ground of violence and cruelty.
Good Friday demolishes the instinctive belief that this life is
supposed to be fair.
Something inside us can relate to Good Friday.
We know what it is like to be abused and wrongly condemned.
Even the most cynical atheist must admit that this life is cruel.
It's their biggest argument that a good God cannot exist.
But the Gospel does not stop at Good Friday.
That dark Friday is called Good because of what happened on
Easter Sunday.
The world's cruelty against Jesus was answered by a powerful miracle
from God.
Nothing in life is stronger than God - not even death.
Easter is much more than the transformation of one person.
Someday, God will restore the physical reality of planet Earth to
its proper place under his reign.
The miracle of Easter is the first sign of God's plan for the whole
world. #84
II. Many in Western society have lost confidence in the victory.
A. Newsweek article.
1) Dr. Doug Stuart: Many pastors no longer believe in real
resurrection. Or in any form of an afterlife.
2) Few deny the resurrection from the pulpit.
a) Silence instead.
b) Or reinterpretation - he lives on in our lives.
B. Is the resurrection credible?
1) Eyewitnesses were often relied on the past.
2) Today - Elvis Presley problem. #331
a) Same arguments as used in gospels:
- I saw him, he talked to me.
Variety of Arguments:
1. I saw his body in casket, and it had to be a wax dummy.
2. Body was an Elvis look-alike.
Was really a guy from California with a $20,000 makeover.
(Melvin Hanson in Columbus, OH, tried to pull this off.)
3. Louise Welling says she saw Elvis in a checkout line at
Felpausch's supermarket in Vicksburg, Michigan. He winked.
Others in nearby Kalamazoo have seen him, too.
4. Father Vernon Presley told fan club not to attend.
Death must have been staged.
5. Elaborate coffin has to be special-ordered. His "death" was
planned several weeks before his death was announced.
6. Death certificate has weight at 170 lbs.
Paramedics say he was at least 250 lbs.
Must have been two corpses.
And the first death certificate has disappeared. #331
C. Are Gospel accounts trustworthy, or on same level as supermarket
tabloids?
III. Examination of 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. #716
A. 1 Cor 15 is earliest account of resurrection. (Before Gospels)
1) Paul, enemy of Christianity, wrote it.
a) His conversion is a powerful testimony.
2) The message is prominent.
a) "first importance" 15:3
b) Athens: Paul preached "two gods": Jesus and resurrection.
c) Centerpiece of gospel.
3) The tradition is very old.
a) 1 Corinthians written in 54, Jesus crucified 30-33.
b) Goes back further: "delivered ... received" 15:3
1> Paul received it at his conversion, 33-35.
2> "Delivered...received" point to authorized
tradition, before Paul.
4) Source of tradition is Jerusalem, scene of events.
a) Peter and James mentioned.
1> Both met Jesus after resurrection 1Pet 5:1, 1Cor 15:7
2> Paul met them after conversion Gal 1:18
b) Elvis - people far removed (Michigan) see him, not medics.
5) Passage conveys conviction.
a) Most of events are in past tense. 15:4
b) Resurrection is in perfect tense: He rose, and is alive.
B. Historical evidence.
1) Paul's use of "that" indicates he's quoting an old document
a> Occurs four times 15:3-5
b> "that he was buried." Emphasizes bodily resurrection.
15:4
2) Evidence of resurrection appearances.
a> Peter 15:5
b> Twelve apostles
c> James 15:7
d> 500 brothers 15:6
e> All the apostles
f> Paul himself 15:8
1> Hint: changed lives
a: Each of above changed, with Corinthians (6:9)
2> Trustworthy witnesses.
a: Elvis people make money, don't risk anything.
b: Paul and others risked lives.
3) New movement of Christianity itself.
a) Something must have triggered it.
IV. Even some liberal scholars are turning around.
A. Wolfgang Pannenburg, German theologian.
1) Resurrection is not impossible.
2) Unique events can happen.
B. Modern physics has parallels.
1) Virtual particles. (Almost, potentially there)
2) Multiple dimensions.
a) Our galaxy has 4: height, depth, width, time.
b) Many others are possible.
V. What resurrection means for us. (It's not just for the future.)
A. Victory over injustice. (Good guys win in the end)
B. Abundant new life.
1) Salvation can be experienced right now.
a) Freed from sin, we can live for God.
b) This is only resurrection power others will see this side
of the grave.
1> Are we living as disciples of Jesus?
2> Is there transforming power in our lives?
2) Heaven later.
a) We become like Jesus.
1> Computerized faces of missing children. #638
(Newsweek, February)
Specialists have learned how to project what faces of young
children will look like in future.
They use computers and an understanding of facial growth
patterns.
Cathy and Debbi Hicks were abducted by their father 10 years
ago.
They were identified overnight after reconstructed photos of
their faces were shown on TV. #638
Christians do not know exactly what we shall look like in
heaven, but we can project from what we know from Bible.
Like Jesus, not just warmed over corpse.
(Elvis would look pretty pathetic right now.)
3) Not limited to us, but whole earth redeemed someday.
VI. In meantime, we live on Easter Saturday.
A. Suffering and injustice.
1) Promises not yet fulfilled.
2) It is a good thing to remember, when disappointment with
God hits, that we live out our days on Easter Saturday.
B. But we can show people we have hope in God.
1) Belief in a future life is not a cop-out.
Studies show that "those who believe in life after death
lead happier lives and trust people more.
The people who believe in heaven are just as committed to
this world as those who don't.
Belief in personal survival is not the coward's way out"
(Rev. Andrew Greeley) #718
2) No fear in death.
3) We can be confident right now that we belong to Jesus and
will go to be with him the moment we die.
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 84 "Injustice On Display," Philip Yancey, Christianity Today magazine,
March 18, 1988, page 64.
#331 "The Resurrection of Elvis," Ann Landers, Coshocton Tribune (Ohio)
newspaper, October 23, 1988, page 5.
#638 "Faces From The Future," Newsweek magazine, February 13, 1989,
page 62.
#716 "Why The Resurrection Matters," Michael Green, Christianity Today
magazine, March 17, 1989, page 28.
#718 "Heaven," Kenneth L. Woodward, Newsweek magazine, March 27, 1989,
page 52.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
245 present, two services
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easily create CHM Help documents