March 23, 2008
Resurrected
Relationships: ….between God and Us
Dr. Will Jones
First Presbyterian Church,
Matthew 28:1-10; 1 Peter 1:3-9
Summary: The Resurrection is a completely
unique event in history for which all our words and descriptions fall
short. Christians believe that Jesus’
resurrection was a precursor to our own resurrection in God’s Kingdom. Attaching ourselves to
Christ through faith means living with a “resurrection worldview.” We see our lives and relationships through
the meaning of the resurrection. The
resurrection brings us as God’s creatures into a new relationship with
Him.
Outline:
I. The Resurrection: how to comprehend
and describe this amazing event!
a.
Why
it’s not easy: completely unique & un-historical
b.
Limited
speech and analogies for the un-analogous
II. “Waking up”
a.
From
sleep
i.
Open
your eyes, get your bearings, shake off confusion
b.
From
death!?!
i.
Jesus:
opened his eyes and got his bearings?
ii.
Remembered
God’s own promises to him
III. Meaning of Jesus’ resurrection
a.
New
Testament Descriptions
i.
The
beginning of something so wonderfully different…
1.
“first-fruits”
of a harvest (1 Cor. 15: 20, 23)
2.
“first
born” of the dead (Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5)
3.
Something
eternal in the midst of time
4.
The
future kingdom made present in Christ
b.
Paul’s
interpretation
i.
1.
Crucified
and Buried with him
2.
Raised
to new life with him
IV. Christians have a “resurrection-shaped
worldview” (N. T. Wright)
a.
The
Resurrection changed everything for the earliest Christians:
i.
1
Peter 1:3: through the Resurrection of Jesus:
1.
See
God’s mercy (warm compassion)
2.
New
Birth, i.e. new life
3.
Living
Hope, i.e. death of despair
V. The Resurrection changes believers to the
core: Resurrected Relationships
a.
Who
are you?
i.
You
are your relationships
1.
(son/daughter, brother/sister, mother/father, friend…..)
b.
The resurrected relationship between God and us
through Christ
For a copy of this sermon, click
here …