Easter 2023
Because He Lives
1 Corinthians 15
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17, ESV)
If Jesus Was Not Raised From the Dead…
- Our message is Meaningless (14)
- Our witness is Worthless (15)
- Our faith is Foolish (17)
- Our existence is Empty (32)
Our existence is not empty because the tomb was empty!
Because He Lives…
- I can be set Free from my past
“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12, ESV)
Some people can’t get on with the present or the future because they are Stuck in the past
In some ways you may be a Product of your past, but you do not have to be a Prisoner of your past
Jesus Christ has the power to set you free from your past!
- I can be Empowered to meet all of life’s demands
“and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:19–20, ESV)
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV)
Wisdom is when you realize that you can’t manage all that life is going to send you, But God Can
“We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, “I set you up as father of many peoples”? Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples.” (Romans 4:17–18, The Message)
What we need is God to show us what to do and then to give us a Power greater than ourselves to do what we should
- I can face my future with Confidence
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV)
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2–3, ESV)
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Corrie Ten Boom
All of the benefits of the resurrection can only be ours if we personally receive Jesus Christ into our lives!
How Do I Experience Easter Personally?
- Recognize
- Renounce
- Rely - To depend on with full trust and confidence
“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13, ESV)
Ready to take your Next Step?
- Text Next to 803-637-8484
- Go to FBCFM.COM and click “Next Steps”
Making It Personal:
- Have I genuinely experienced the life changing power of the resurrection in my life through renouncing my sin and relying totally on the finished work of Jesus Christ?
- Where in my life do I need to experience a fresh touch of God’s Easter power?
- How will the assurance of Christ’s presence with me and the hope of eternity impact my day by day living and the priorities of my life?
- Who can I share these truths with?