Jesus' Death And Resurrection - What It Means For Us And To Us
Sam works in human resources in the NHS and worships at Christ Church Summerfield.
1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV —
‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile…’
This past weekend, we’ve united with all Christians in the Easter celebration to thank and praise God for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events that are universally held to be central to our faith as Christians.
And yet when Easter arrives a variety of attitudes prevails. For some seasoned believers the story is so familiar, there may be a tendency to 'switch off' from an Easter sermon, perhaps yearning instead for an exposition of Ecclesiastes! Some not-yet disciples of Jesus may think that while Easter is claimed to be good news, they have questions about why the execution of God's human son means salvation for us now. Meanwhile, for the children (and adults), they're impatient to get stuck into the Cadbury’s chocolate Easter egg, or favourite vegan cacao orb.
OK that's an exaggerated roundup, but we can be tempted to rest comfortably in what we think we know of the Good News or distract ourselves from going deeper.
We could choose to learn more about the overall story of the gospel by studying the Old Testament, as encouraged in Romans 15:4 'for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. We could focus on the teachings of Jesus, to flourish in our everyday living through obedience to him.
But, without the death and resurrection of Jesus our religion becomes a half-finished ancient story and our Saviour a wise, but dead, human teacher.
This week, we'll reflect on the irrefutable significance of Christ dying and being raised to life, and its meaning for our lives. Verse 14 of this chapter is paraphrased in the Mirror Bible, ‘If Christ is not raised from the dead there is nothing left for us to preach and nothing left for you to believe.’
Prayer - Lord, I praise your name. Thank you for your sacrifice. Holy Spirit, challenge me where I have stayed comfortable and reveal to me what the death and resurrection of Jesus mean for our lives and the kingdom of God.