VICTORY: BELIEVE

Hallelujah! He is risen! We begin a new series on Easter entitled, Victorious When It Matters Most. Without this singular moment of resurrection, there would not be a Christian church. The hope of all humanity was buried with Jesus’s body, and the immediate hope of the earliest disciples was also in that tomb.  Easter morning, everything changed so radically that it was hard for the disciples to believe.  The empty tomb is the beginning of the morning, but Jesus encountered the disciples to convince them that it was real. This was difficult! Luke 24:36-49 is one of the last encounters of the risen Christ with his “inner” circle, and they were not immediately convinced!  Yet, what about us?  Jesus is still at work to convince all of us of the power of resurrection.  So many things have changed since that first morning, but the skeptical human spirit has not.  If anything, we are more skeptical than ever!  Luke tells us of this encounter, not to make the first disciples look bad, but to encourage our hearts to remember that if we hold on to our faith, then so many other things are possible!  In the sermon, Believe, we find the path to a glorious victory for our hearts and minds when it is most critical! We pray that you will experience the resurrection power that brought Jesus out of the tomb as you celebrate this Easter!

Luke 24:36-49: While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” ⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence. ⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NIV)