Easter Sunday

First of all, if you haven't watched the movie "Narnia", go rent it or borrow it and watch it! Our lesson Sunday began and ended with a reference to Narnia, and I'm going to give you the notes here for those of you who missed or are interested in checking out our class.
Towards the end of the book "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", the white witch appears victorious as she kills the great Lion, Aslan. All hope for good was lost, and evil reigned victorious. That is how the Easter story starts out. Jesus is crucified, the people that wanted Him dead got their wish. The middle of the day became pitch black. The people that followed Jesus saw him lifeless on a cross of torture and despair. His own mother saw a broken, bloody, corpse of a man who was promised to be the Messiah What was going through their heads at this time? Did what they were seeing replace the promise of the words that Christ shared with them over the last three years? What if that was it for us? This life is it. God created us to become subject to the forces of evil. Who or what would we turn to for hope? What would be the implications if Jesus did not rise from the dead? (The answers Sunday included- he would have been considered a liar and a lunatic.)
Most adults want to improve their lives. They turn to plastic surgery, self-help books, and seminars hoping to find power for living fully, when God offers the awesome power that raised Jesus from the dead to all who believe in Him. The evidence for the resurrection of Christ is compelling. The power God has made available through Jesus is immeasurable. That is our focus today. We are going to see perhaps from a fresh perspective the power He has made available to us through the risen Christ.
Ephesians 1:18-21 says "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
Value is an interesting thing. Something might be valuable right now that at one time was commanplace, even a piece of refuse. I remember gas was 75 cents a gallon ten years ago, but now it's approaching $4.00 in some areas. One thing that adds value is age. The Mona Lisa is considered priceless, but some of put a $500 million value on it. Mostly because it is unique. It's uniquieness is what gives it vaue. The resurrection of Christ is the mark of uniqueness that separates Christ from the founders of every other religion. They are dead. Mohammed is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. Buddha is dead (trust me- we have a nice Buddha statue in our basement and he's just that- a statue. If your wondering why and don't know us well, our son is adopted from China and the Buddha is a gift from his orphanage.)
Jesus left an empty tomb in His wake. It is vital that we not only believe this to be true, but tap into what is behind the truth- the all-surpassing power of God. The resurrection is the authenticating mark of that power.
Think about these questions:
What is the significance of our lives because of the resurrection?
Why is it important that God's power was demonstrated in this way?
Why do you think it is vital to realize the power inside of the resurrection?
What difference can that power make in your life?
How can the resurrection change the way you approach life?
Considered how much of our energy, time, and resources are spent trying to evade death. Some people go to great means, like freezing themselves in time or having increasingly complex cosmetic surgergy to avoid getting older and ultimately death. And somehow, we got a little side-tracked with dental health this week and learned that allegedly flossing daily adds seven years to your life. But back to the lesson:
How can the resurrection change the way your approach death?
It should give us hope. The burial of Jesus' body, the empty tomb, the angelic declaration, and Jesus' bodily appearances all point us to the victory of the power of God. That power gives us hope!
Ephesians 2:4-9 says "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Answer these questions:
How did Paul describe people who are resistant to the gospel?
Why do you think his language is signifigant?
Do you think that the lost (unbelievers) know they're lost?
What in your life makes you forget your need for God?
How have you seen the grace of God at work in your own life?

The greatest evidence of grace in our lives is salvation. Becky shared her testimony on Sunday and with her permission we will post it in a separate blog entry.

Ephesians 3:16-21 says "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

The ocean comprises about 71 percent of the world, an area of about 139, 400,000 sq. mi, an average depth of about 12,230 ft, and so on and so forth- those are just facts- figures on a page. But if you were floating in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight- you would be overcome by the sheer volume and intensity of what you were bobbing up and down inside of. Maybe we can have a similiar feeling about the love of God. For most people who have followed Christ, the love of God is something that we tend to move past because we consider it elementary. We learn about it as children and simply take the love of God as a given. Why waste time talking about God's love when we can talk about predestination, the purpose of Israel, and the last days prophecies?
Answer these questions:
How is that attitude (above) different than the attitude of Paul in this passage? What did he pray for the Ephesians in terms of God's love?
It is the love of God that roots and establishes the followers of Christ and enables us to grow in our understanding of Him. How does this happen?
Why do you think it's so important to have a growing sense of God's love?
What kind of affect does God's love have on our lives?
How does that love give us spiritual power?
Because of this love, believers can be confident that God continues to work in and through them in ways they can't imagine.
Have you ever seen this at work in your life?
How have you seen God work in or through you in a way you could not understand?

If you think back now to the movie or book we referenced at the beginning, the white witch says right before killing Aslan- "so much for love". We studied Sunday that is all about love- God's love- that allows us to live with eternal hope. Watch the movie or read the book and find out what happens to Aslan.

Jesus is alive! Here are a few more questions to reflect on as you continue to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Christ.

Are you doing anything that might hold back the power of God in your life?
Is God's power evident in your life?
Does having the power that raised Jesus available to you make sense?
Does it have any impact on how you live?
What are some things you can do in your life to make sure your experience with the Lord is growing?