Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
March 31, 2024

      • Luke 19:36–38NASB95

  • Because He Lives
  • I Will Rise

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–4NASB95

  • He Lives
  • Christ Is Risen
  • How Great Is Our God
  • Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26
    Introduction:
    1025 Aristeides Observed The Christians
    About the year 125 A.D. a Greek by the name of Aristeides was writing to one of his friends about the new religion, Christianity. He was trying to explain the reasons for its extraordinary success. Here is a sentence from one of his letters:
    “If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and they escort his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    Look with me at 3 important truths that show the importance of Christ's Resurrection.

    I. It Secures Our Resurrection (20-22)

    1 Corinthians 15:20–22 NASB95
    20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
    ​
    1 Corinthians 15:17–19 NASB95
    17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
    ​

    A. Our bodies will be like His

    1 Corinthians 15:45–49 NASB95
    45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
    1044 Benjamin Franklin’s Epitaph
    When Benjamin Franklin was about to die, he asked that a picture of Christ on the Cross should be so placed in his bedroom that he could look, as he said, “upon the form of the Silent Sufferer.”
    He wrote in advance the epitaph to be on his gravestone: “The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here … Yet the Work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979

    B. What was Christ's body like?

    ● It was real

    Luke 24:38–39 NASB95
    38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
    ​

    ● It was free from the laws of physics as we know them

    Acts 1:9 NASB95
    9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
    ​

    ● It could eat food

    John 21:12–14 NASB95
    12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
    ​

    ● It was eternal

    1 Corinthians 15:50–53 NASB95
    50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
    [1039 Faraday Rested On Certainties – When the great Christian and scientist, Sir Michael Faraday, was dying, some journalists questioned Him as to his speculations for a life after death “Speculations!” He said, “I know nothing about speculations. I'm resting on certainties. I know that my Redeemer livith, and because He lives, I shall live also.”]
    If your body will be raised to be like Christ's for all of eternity, Why would anyone want to worship this corrupted body of death that we have now? [new nfl uniforms The jersey itself—dubbed the Elite 51—contains nine different materials to help combine everything from thermal cooling to rip-protection. Todd Van Horne, Nike’s global creative director, says that as more teams embrace all the performance options afforded them, more might open up to an aesthetic change, too. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell echoed that sentiment, saying he expects to see more visual changes coming. The Elite 51 NFL uniform actually starts with Nike’s Pro Combat base layer, a system that comes in three forms, 5 percent drier, 8 percent lighter and 22 percent cooler than the NFL previously used. Athletes can choose a warm-weather choice (Hypercool) that wicks sweat away from the body for rapid evaporation; a cold-weather option (Hyperwarm) that wicks sweat away, but traps heat in by keeping the cold out (Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher says he is especially looking forward to using this option); or a protective-centered choice (Hyperstrong) that adds lightweight, flexible deflex padding into “critical hit zones” and comes with an optional carbon-fiber plate for added lightweight protection.]
    Will you commit yourself again to live for eternity and not for for the fleeting pleasures of this life? Acts 24:15–16 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

    II. It Secures the Order of Our Resurrection (23)

    1 Corinthians 15:23 NASB95
    23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

    1. Christ

    Luke 24:1–8 NASB95
    1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words,
    ​

    2. Rapture of Church Saints

    1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 NASB95
    13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
    ​

    3. Rest of the Saints

    Revelation 20:4–6 NASB95
    4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
    ​

    4. Ungodly

    Revelation 20:13–15 NASB95
    13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
    ​

    III. It Secures the Defeat of Our Enemies (24-26)

    1 Corinthians 15:24–26 NASB95
    24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
    ​

    1. Satan

    Revelation 20:10 NASB95
    10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
    ​
    ​

    3. Death

    1 Corinthians 15:54–57 NASB95
    54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
    Does your heart revive when you think of your Lord's resurrection? I hope so because our destiny is intertwined with the Lord Jesus. If it weren't for His resurrection, then this life is all that we would have. But because He lives, His reality will be our reality, so let's praise Him for the incredible power, that He demonstrated by raising from the dead. Let's also look with anticipation for the coming of our Lord Jesus and the redemption of our bodies that will accompany His return.
    [William Carey the great missionary said, “When I am gone, speak less of Dr. Carey and more of Dr. Carey's Saviour.”]
    5021 Christ And Funerals
    As a young man, D. L. Moody was called upon suddenly to preach a funeral sermon. He hunted all through the Four Gospels trying to find one of Christ’s funeral sermons, but searched in vain. He found that Christ broke up every funeral He ever attended. Death could not exist where He was. When the dead heard His voice they sprang to life. Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life (John 11:25).
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    5029 Socrates’ Uncertainty
    Four hundred years before the birth of Christ, Socrates, the renowned Greek Philosopher, drank the poison hemlock and lay down to die.
    “Shall we live again?” his friends asked. The dying philosopher could only reply, “I hope so, but no man can know.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1001 Epigram On Deaths
    •A New York writer, wanting to will his body to science, selected Harvard as the recipient—”because my parents wanted me to go there and this is the only way I could get in.”
    —Time
    •In Washington, D. C., a friendly undertaker closes all his correspondence with “Eventually yours.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1018 “You Need Not Tell Me”
    Sir Francis Newport, the head of an English infidel club, said to those gathered around his dying bed, “You need not tell me there is no God for I know there is one, and that I am in His angry presence! You need not tell me there is no hell, for I already feel my soul slipping into its fires! Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1021 Stalin’s Terrible Death
    Quoted in Newsweek is Svetlana Stalin’s description of her father’s death. We quote: “My father died a difficult and terrible death … God grants an easy death only to the just. … At what seemed the very last moment he suddenly opened his eyes and cast a glance over everyone in the room. It was a terrible glance, insane or perhaps angry and full of fear of death … Then he lifted his left hand as though he were pointing to something above and bringing down a curse on us all. The gesture was full of menace … The next moment … the spirit wrenched itself free of the flesh.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1026 Moody More Alive
    Realizing that he would soon be gone from this world one day, Moody said to a friend, “Someday you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of Northfield is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it.
    “At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone higher, that is all—out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal, a body that sin cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned into His glorious body. I was born in the flesh in 1837; I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die; that which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1039 Faraday Rested On Certainties
    When that great Christian and scientist, Sir Michael Faraday, was dying, some journalists questioned him as to his speculations for a life after death. “Speculations!” said he, “I know nothing about speculations. I’m resting on certainties. “I know that my redeemer liveth,” and because He lives, I shall live also.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    1044 Benjamin Franklin’s Epitaph
    When Benjamin Franklin was about to die, he asked that a picture of Christ on the Cross should be so placed in his bedroom that he could look, as he said, “upon the form of the Silent Sufferer.”
    He wrote in advance the epitaph to be on his gravestone: “The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here … Yet the Work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    •William Carey the missionary—”When I am gone, speak less of Dr. Carey and more of Dr. Carey’s Saviour.”
    Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
    The Importance of Christ's Resurrection
    1 Corinthians 15:20-26
    Look with me at 3 important truths that secure the importance of Christ's Resurrection.
    I. It __________________ Our Resurrection (20-22)
    1 Corinthians 15:17-19
    A. Our bodies will be like His – 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
    B. What was Christ's Resurrection body like?
    ● It was real – Luke 24:38-39
    ● It was free from the laws of physics as we know them – Acts 1:9
    ● It could eat food – John 21 12-14
    ● It was eternal – 1 Corinthians 15:50–53; Acts 24:15–16
    II. It Secures the ___________ of Our Resurrection (23)
    1. Christ –Luke 24:1-8
    2. Rapture of Church Saints – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
    3. Rest of the Saints – Revelation 20:4-6
    4. Ungodly – Revelation 20:13-15
    III. It Secures the ____________ of Our Enemies (24-26)
    1. Satan – Revelation 20:10
    2. Ungodly System
    3. Death – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
    The Importance of Christ's Resurrection
    1 Corinthians 15:20-26
    Look with me at 3 important truths that secure the importance of Christ's Resurrection.
    I. It __________________ Our Resurrection (20-22)
    1 Corinthians 15:17-19
    A. Our bodies will be like His – 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
    B. What was Christ's Resurrection body like?
    ● It was real – Luke 24:38-39
    ● It was free from the laws of physics as we know them – Acts 1:9
    ● It could eat food – John 21 12-14
    ● It was eternal – 1 Corinthians 15:50–53; Acts 24:15–16
    II. It Secures the ___________ of Our Resurrection (23)
    1. Christ –Luke 24:1-8
    2. Rapture of Church Saints – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
    3. Rest of the Saints – Revelation 20:4-6
    4. Ungodly – Revelation 20:13-15
    III. It Secures the ____________ of Our Enemies (24-26)
    1. Satan – Revelation 20:10
    2. Ungodly System
    3. Death – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20–22NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:17–19NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:45–49NASB95

      • Luke 24:38–39NASB95

      • Acts 1:9NASB95

      • John 21:12–14NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:50–53NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:23NASB95

      • Luke 24:1–8NASB95

      • 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17NASB95

      • Revelation 20:4–6NASB95

      • Revelation 20:13–15NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:24–26NASB95

      • Revelation 20:10NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 15:54–57NASB95

Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
pastorethan@lvgbc.net
8028883339
http://www.lvgbc.net
25 members