VBS 2006 4/5

#1 · August 30, 2006, 10:52 am

Quote from Forum Archives on August 30, 2006, 10:52 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
VBS 2006 4/5
ALIVE YESTERDAY; ALIVE TODAY; ALIVE TOMORROW
August 6, 2006

TEXT: John 20:1-9

As Vacation Bible School progressed this week, the daily lessons unfolded. The stories of the lame man lowered through the roof, Lazarus raised from the dead, and the choosing of the first disciples were dramatized for the children. The stories themselves were reinforced at each of the other stations the children went to. Thursday was the night that the most important lesson was taught: Jesus dies and raises to life again. The reference Scripture was from John 19:17-20:29, of which I am selecting verses 1-9 of John 20 [read Scripture]

Two Sundays ago, you might recall that the lesson was about the raising of Lazarus. Jesus gave evidence of the power of God by commanding Lazarus to get up and walk out of the tomb. Lazarus had been clearly dead, and now he was clearly alive. No one, not even Jesus opponents, argued or doubted that. What they took issue with was Jesus claim to be God Himself. For that, they sought to stop him no matter how much power from God he displayed.

I made the observation in that sermon that the lesson Jesus taught by raising Lazarus was not only that he had power over death, but also that death had no power over him. Jesus was preparing those who would come to believe for his death, burial, and resurrection. He was preparing them for the evidence that would point to his truth that Jesus was the Savior. We have read from John 20, familiar Easter verses that begin the testimony of the resurrection: They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Well, its easy to imagine how confusing those events must have been that morning. Mary doesnt know what to think; the disciples dont know what to think. As the day progresses, though, the reality of what Jesus has done is made more and more evident. The recognition that Jesus is alive - eternally alive - sinks in to those first witnesses. As the days went on, Jesus victory over sin and death became ever more apparent. The disciples and other followers knew that Jesus was alive yesterday, before the crucifixion. They knew that he was alive today because he remained with them. This witness filled them with certainty that Jesus would be alive tomorrow. Jesus gave them hope to face the future because Gods promises were completely fulfilled.

When Jesus invited his disciples to become fishers of men, he did so with the intent of them becoming his witnesses. Telling the story that Jesus is alive yesterday, today, and tomorrow became the mission of those disciples and, in turn, new disciples who continued to believe. Jesus told Thomas, from whom the term Doubting Thomas is derived, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed. (John 20:29) Then in John 20:30-31, we learn, Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Simply put, God wants to give us life. He wants us to celebrate the life He has given to us. We are not eternal, like God. We were created, so we cannot claim to be alive yesterday; that is, before the moment of our creation. But we are alive today, and we will be alive tomorrow, meaning eternal. God wants us to be alive with Him so much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son for our sake.

Unfortunately, there are those who reject that incomprehensible love. In fact, they not only reject it for themselves; they attempt to entice others to reject it as well. This is not a new phenomenon at all. We can see it unfold in the resurrection testimony of Matthew 28:11-15. While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

We can easily see, then, that there have always been those who seek to discredit the testimony of the disciples. In the end, though, none of them make any sense. Regardless of how much we may fail to understand certain portions of Scriptural instruction, one fact shines out: to my knowledge, no one has yet been able to conclusively discredit the disciples witness to the power of Jesus and his resurrection. There are those who deny it, but they cannot discredit it with any lasting, tangible evidence. It is easy enough to believe that if there was a way to do so, it would have been revealed by now.

In his book The Case for Christ, author Lee Strobel introduces his readers to Dr. William L. Craig, a scholar with degrees from the University of Birmingham, England and the University of Munich. He has taught at Trinity Divinity School and served as a visiting scholar at the Higher Institute of Philosophy at the University of Louvain near Brussels. At any of these universities, plenty of skeptics of the literal resurrection can be found. Yet, Dr. Craig has spoken and written extensively for the case of the resurrection. He has convincingly and soundly defended the case for the resurrection in live debates with atheist society representatives. He is one of the scholars who Strobel interviewed as he sought to discredit the Christian faith himself. Strobel asked, Why dont you give me your best shot? Convince me with your top four or five reasons that the empty tomb is a historical fact.

Dr. Craig responded, First, the empty tomb is definitely implicit in the early tradition that is passed along by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, which is a very old and reliable source of historical information about Jesus. Second, the site of Jesus tomb was known to Christian and Jew alike. So if it werent empty, it would be impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried Fifth [Im obviously not including all of his responses this morning], the unanimous testimony that the empty tomb was discovered by women argues for the authenticity of the story, because this would have been embarrassing for the disciples to admit and most certainly would have been covered up if this were a legend. Sixth, the earliest Jewish polemic presupposes the historicity of the empty tomb. In other words, there was nobody who was claiming that the tomb still contained Jesus body. The question always was, What happened to the body? The Jews proposed the ridiculous story that the guards had fallen asleep. Obviously, they were grasping at straws. But eh point is this: they started with the assumption that the tomb was vacant! Why? Because they knew it was! (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998, pp. 220-221)

Throughout his books, former atheist Lee Strobel interviewed dozens of well credentialed scholars who could have easily used their intellect to attempt to discredit, as many of their peers have done, the resurrection testimonies. Instead, they demonstrated over and over again how and why the resurrection testimonies proved to be authentic, accurate, and truthful. In spite of the same old, worn out arguments made to dispute the reality of the resurrection, an honest look at the evidence makes it convincingly clear that Jesus is alive yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The most important point to consider, then, is what do we do with it? Studying the evidence for the resurrection goes far beyond a mere academic exercise. This is all for a purpose. That purpose is for each person who hears the testimony to decide, Do I accept or reject the testimony? Do I accept or reject Christ?

Referring once again to Lee Strobels investigation, we learn from him that that is the exact choice he was confronted with making. At the conclusion of his interview with Dr. J. P. Moreland, a professor of philosophy and ethics at the Talbot School of Theology, Lee was caught off guard by this remark, Theres one other category of evidence you havent asked about. Failing to think of what that might be, Strobel asked, I give up. What is it?

Dr. Moreland responded, Its the ongoing encounter with the resurrected Christ that happens all over the world, in every culture, to people from all kinds of backgrounds and personalities - well educated and not, rich and poor, thinkers and feelers, men and women. They all will testify that more than any single thing in their lives, Jesus Christ has changed them To me, this provides the final evidence - not the only evidence but the final confirming proof - that the message of Jesus can open the door to a direct encounter with the risen Christ In 1968 I was a cynical chemistry major at the University of Missouri, when I was confronted with the fact that if I examined the claims of Jesus Christ critically but with an open mind, there was more than enough evidence for me to believe it. So I took a step of faith in the same direction the evidence was pointing, by receiving Jesus as my forgiver and leader, and I began to relate to him - to the resurrected Christ - in a very real and ongoing way. In three decades Ive had hundreds of specific answers to prayers, Ive had things happen that simply cannot be explained by natural explanations, and I have experienced a changed life beyond anything I could have imagined. (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998, pp. 255-256)

A changed life is clearly what we can have when we regard the meaning of the empty tomb. Jesus is alive. He was alive yesterday; he is alive today; he will be alive tomorrow. Jesus is our Savior. Our walk with him begins the moment we accept his invitation to believe that he has washed away our sins. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. There began the greatest triumph of Gods love for His creation. Those there that day, the disciples and the women, were finally able to comprehend both the event and the meaning of the event as they recognized that Jesus lived. Will you join the rejoicing that Jesus lives? All it takes is willing faith.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

VBS 2006 4/5
ALIVE YESTERDAY; ALIVE TODAY; ALIVE TOMORROW
August 6, 2006

TEXT: John 20:1-9

As Vacation Bible School progressed this week, the daily lessons unfolded. The stories of the lame man lowered through the roof, Lazarus raised from the dead, and the choosing of the first disciples were dramatized for the children. The stories themselves were reinforced at each of the other stations the children went to. Thursday was the night that the most important lesson was taught: Jesus dies and raises to life again. The reference Scripture was from John 19:17-20:29, of which I am selecting verses 1-9 of John 20 [read Scripture]

Two Sundays ago, you might recall that the lesson was about the raising of Lazarus. Jesus gave evidence of the power of God by commanding Lazarus to get up and walk out of the tomb. Lazarus had been clearly dead, and now he was clearly alive. No one, not even Jesus opponents, argued or doubted that. What they took issue with was Jesus claim to be God Himself. For that, they sought to stop him no matter how much power from God he displayed.

I made the observation in that sermon that the lesson Jesus taught by raising Lazarus was not only that he had power over death, but also that death had no power over him. Jesus was preparing those who would come to believe for his death, burial, and resurrection. He was preparing them for the evidence that would point to his truth that Jesus was the Savior. We have read from John 20, familiar Easter verses that begin the testimony of the resurrection: They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Well, its easy to imagine how confusing those events must have been that morning. Mary doesnt know what to think; the disciples dont know what to think. As the day progresses, though, the reality of what Jesus has done is made more and more evident. The recognition that Jesus is alive - eternally alive - sinks in to those first witnesses. As the days went on, Jesus victory over sin and death became ever more apparent. The disciples and other followers knew that Jesus was alive yesterday, before the crucifixion. They knew that he was alive today because he remained with them. This witness filled them with certainty that Jesus would be alive tomorrow. Jesus gave them hope to face the future because Gods promises were completely fulfilled.

When Jesus invited his disciples to become fishers of men, he did so with the intent of them becoming his witnesses. Telling the story that Jesus is alive yesterday, today, and tomorrow became the mission of those disciples and, in turn, new disciples who continued to believe. Jesus told Thomas, from whom the term Doubting Thomas is derived, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed. (John 20:29) Then in John 20:30-31, we learn, Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Simply put, God wants to give us life. He wants us to celebrate the life He has given to us. We are not eternal, like God. We were created, so we cannot claim to be alive yesterday; that is, before the moment of our creation. But we are alive today, and we will be alive tomorrow, meaning eternal. God wants us to be alive with Him so much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son for our sake.

Unfortunately, there are those who reject that incomprehensible love. In fact, they not only reject it for themselves; they attempt to entice others to reject it as well. This is not a new phenomenon at all. We can see it unfold in the resurrection testimony of Matthew 28:11-15. While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

We can easily see, then, that there have always been those who seek to discredit the testimony of the disciples. In the end, though, none of them make any sense. Regardless of how much we may fail to understand certain portions of Scriptural instruction, one fact shines out: to my knowledge, no one has yet been able to conclusively discredit the disciples witness to the power of Jesus and his resurrection. There are those who deny it, but they cannot discredit it with any lasting, tangible evidence. It is easy enough to believe that if there was a way to do so, it would have been revealed by now.

In his book The Case for Christ, author Lee Strobel introduces his readers to Dr. William L. Craig, a scholar with degrees from the University of Birmingham, England and the University of Munich. He has taught at Trinity Divinity School and served as a visiting scholar at the Higher Institute of Philosophy at the University of Louvain near Brussels. At any of these universities, plenty of skeptics of the literal resurrection can be found. Yet, Dr. Craig has spoken and written extensively for the case of the resurrection. He has convincingly and soundly defended the case for the resurrection in live debates with atheist society representatives. He is one of the scholars who Strobel interviewed as he sought to discredit the Christian faith himself. Strobel asked, Why dont you give me your best shot? Convince me with your top four or five reasons that the empty tomb is a historical fact.

Dr. Craig responded, First, the empty tomb is definitely implicit in the early tradition that is passed along by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, which is a very old and reliable source of historical information about Jesus. Second, the site of Jesus tomb was known to Christian and Jew alike. So if it werent empty, it would be impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried Fifth [Im obviously not including all of his responses this morning], the unanimous testimony that the empty tomb was discovered by women argues for the authenticity of the story, because this would have been embarrassing for the disciples to admit and most certainly would have been covered up if this were a legend. Sixth, the earliest Jewish polemic presupposes the historicity of the empty tomb. In other words, there was nobody who was claiming that the tomb still contained Jesus body. The question always was, What happened to the body? The Jews proposed the ridiculous story that the guards had fallen asleep. Obviously, they were grasping at straws. But eh point is this: they started with the assumption that the tomb was vacant! Why? Because they knew it was! (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998, pp. 220-221)

Throughout his books, former atheist Lee Strobel interviewed dozens of well credentialed scholars who could have easily used their intellect to attempt to discredit, as many of their peers have done, the resurrection testimonies. Instead, they demonstrated over and over again how and why the resurrection testimonies proved to be authentic, accurate, and truthful. In spite of the same old, worn out arguments made to dispute the reality of the resurrection, an honest look at the evidence makes it convincingly clear that Jesus is alive yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The most important point to consider, then, is what do we do with it? Studying the evidence for the resurrection goes far beyond a mere academic exercise. This is all for a purpose. That purpose is for each person who hears the testimony to decide, Do I accept or reject the testimony? Do I accept or reject Christ?

Referring once again to Lee Strobels investigation, we learn from him that that is the exact choice he was confronted with making. At the conclusion of his interview with Dr. J. P. Moreland, a professor of philosophy and ethics at the Talbot School of Theology, Lee was caught off guard by this remark, Theres one other category of evidence you havent asked about. Failing to think of what that might be, Strobel asked, I give up. What is it?

Dr. Moreland responded, Its the ongoing encounter with the resurrected Christ that happens all over the world, in every culture, to people from all kinds of backgrounds and personalities - well educated and not, rich and poor, thinkers and feelers, men and women. They all will testify that more than any single thing in their lives, Jesus Christ has changed them To me, this provides the final evidence - not the only evidence but the final confirming proof - that the message of Jesus can open the door to a direct encounter with the risen Christ In 1968 I was a cynical chemistry major at the University of Missouri, when I was confronted with the fact that if I examined the claims of Jesus Christ critically but with an open mind, there was more than enough evidence for me to believe it. So I took a step of faith in the same direction the evidence was pointing, by receiving Jesus as my forgiver and leader, and I began to relate to him - to the resurrected Christ - in a very real and ongoing way. In three decades Ive had hundreds of specific answers to prayers, Ive had things happen that simply cannot be explained by natural explanations, and I have experienced a changed life beyond anything I could have imagined. (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998, pp. 255-256)

A changed life is clearly what we can have when we regard the meaning of the empty tomb. Jesus is alive. He was alive yesterday; he is alive today; he will be alive tomorrow. Jesus is our Savior. Our walk with him begins the moment we accept his invitation to believe that he has washed away our sins. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. There began the greatest triumph of Gods love for His creation. Those there that day, the disciples and the women, were finally able to comprehend both the event and the meaning of the event as they recognized that Jesus lived. Will you join the rejoicing that Jesus lives? All it takes is willing faith.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org