Easter Sunday, 2004


"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith . . . if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."

1 Cor 15:14, 17


These words from the Apostle Paul say it best. There is not a lot of wiggle room when you come to the resurrection from the dead. Either it is true, or it is a cruel lie. There just aren't a lot of alternatives that stand the test of scrutiny and authenticity.

Death has a way of getting our attention. Just today I saw one of the competitors at the Masters Golf Classic giving an interview regarding the death of his long time caddy. Tom Watson was moved with great emotion as he decried the obscenity of the disease process that took the life of his friend.

"Jesus wept." It is one of, if not the, shortest verses in the Bible. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. Did Jesus weep because He had no hope? Or did He weep because in the death of Lazarus He saw what death does to sons of men? Did he weep because he knew this was not God's original plan for his children?

Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. Paul knew exactly what he was saying. And I know exactly what the issue is.

Let's get real. Denial doesn't work. Raging against death won't stop it. Making up fairy tales won't change the reality of it. What needs to happen is for it to be destroyed as an enemy . . . just like Jesus came to do.

CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN
HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Pastor Jim
April 11, 2004




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Copyright 2004 by Jim Jenkins. All rights reserved.

In God We Trust


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