Resurrection

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[1:22] . . Well, welcome everybody. Welcome to our Easter Sunday meeting here at Calvary Evangelical Church. My name is Jerome and I'm a member here of the church. A particular warm welcome to you if you are visiting us this morning. Do stick around at the end if you are able.

[1:48] We will be serving teas and coffees at the end of the meeting, so please mingle, get to know us. We'd love to meet you. And a very particular welcome to baby Elijah, who is with us for the first time. It's so lovely to see you. And I'm sure there'll be a queue at the end of the meeting for people looking for a cuddle. It's really great to see you, and Estelle and Angela. So thank you. Lovely to see you all. Notices this morning. So basically, we have an evening meeting this evening at 6.30. It's our communion meeting. So a really lovely time of fellowship and a lovely time of communion this evening. And if you are a member or a regular, we would urge you, if you can, do come along. It's great to come together and great to have communion together. So if you are able, do be among us this evening. That's here in the building at 6.30. Is that right, Phil? And Philip is leading this evening. We also are running a Hope Explored course. I don't know if it's up there, anywhere? Here we go.

[3:02] Hope Explored, 19th of April at 6.30pm. Is the 19th on Tuesday? So Tuesday evening at 6.30pm here. Hope Explored is, my understanding is, it's a course that's to help people get a better understanding of the Christian faith. The opportunity for people to ask questions.

[3:23] I'm not sure on the exact format. I hear it can be discussional, but you do not have to disclose anything about yourself. You can just come along and listen and participate as much or as little as you feel comfortable. If you are seeking, if you are, if you do have questions about the Christian faith, do come along, 6.30. Is it required that people speak to Mark beforehand?

[3:48] I'm sure he'd like to know. If you know you're coming, let him know. That'd be great. Yes, yes. And it's actually 7pm. Okay. Apologies. The slide is apparently incorrect. It's not 6.30pm. It's 7pm. If you are thinking of coming along, our gospel worker, Mark Rayfield, who's not with us this morning, has been organising this. So do speak to either myself or Philip or Annika at the end of the meeting, and we can give you his contact details to arrange for that.

[4:17] Just in terms of our meeting this morning, a little bit later, I will be declaring that Christ is risen. And what I would ask you to do is when I declare that with a nice, loud and joyful voice in response, if you could all say he is risen indeed. This is a tradition that we do every Easter. So that will be a little bit later after the call to worship. But I believe Anja, you've got some notices that you want to bring. Do you want the clicker?

[4:55] For those of you who attended Ukrainian meal last week and donated some money, and for those of you who didn't attend Ukrainian meal but still donated some money, I just have an announcement to make. So we raised 2,623 pounds. And I do believe this is not everything. There are still a couple more people who promised to donate money. So as time goes, we announced final sum.

[5:26] But I just would like to say thank you to all of you. And just want to encourage you, if you missed Ukrainian meal, don't worry. You can always come to my house and cook something Ukrainian for you. So I do understand it was a tricky weekend. I didn't realize it's collided with a marathon and all the things. But so we raised 2,623 pounds and there are 73 pence. I did not include that. So and just I would like to thank you from the minister from that church. You know, I had a presentation last week. Some of you missed it, you know, but we are supporting those Christians in Ukraine, families.

[6:03] They are working in one particular village in Ukraine. They have a church plant. They like have ministry with the old people. They had whole old people's home evacuated into their village. They have so many, at least 60 people now arrived into their village from cities which were bombed. And they also helping local people. And you saw presentation. But I have just a couple of things. I didn't send old some yet, because it was arriving still, but I sent 520 pounds just to see how it goes. It arrived within five minutes from England to Ukraine. It was perfect.

[6:41] And they just said, it's a miracle guys, because we have great need in here. But they are quite small church in the middle of nowhere, not known without support. And they said, we just prayed. We had so many needs and God just answered in this amazing way church in England. And they already were able to provide so much for those people.

[7:06] They prepared big food boxes, parcels to people in the village. And for those people who arrived, they also included gospel in every box. And also people who arrived from east of Ukraine, obviously they don't have anything. Sometimes they managed to get their passport. Sometimes they didn't manage to get even that.

[7:23] They managed to provide those necessities, like even blankets, some clothing, you know, like just toiletries, things necessary for beginning. So I have just a couple of slides. So this is like food parcels with the gospel inside. They were preparing just some of them. And it's thanks to your donations, thanks to things you've been giving. And this is also, they provided for old people. You know, I said whole old people's home was evacuated from Kyiv into their village. There's a moment in school, they have beds in classrooms where old people, they stay in Kyiv. Obviously it's not like individual rooms, they're all together, but they are cared for. They looked after and they had the chance. One lady was 88 this week and they had a chance to pray with her, to, you know, give her, they made cake for her, you know, and they had the chance to go there and have ministry for them. So they're just delivering those parcels.

[8:20] So this is just a couple of slides, you know, and those are people, this group, they evacuated from east of Ukraine and they're helping them as well. You know, so your support here is absolutely, it's an amazing blessing for those people, you know, like, and it's just, they thank, just big thank you.

[8:40] She just asked me, you know, please thank your church, thank people who donated. Just really, really grateful. So thank you everyone. Thanks. Thank you, Anya, for that really encouraging news. Okay, let's focus our hearts and our minds as we come before our great God in worship. And our call to worship this morning comes from two places in the scriptures. So I'm going to read from Acts 2 and Romans 6.

[9:22] Acts 2, Peter is addressing the crowd on the day of Pentecost. So hear the word of God. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God, with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because he, it was not possible for him to be held by it. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin, once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. People of God, our Lord and Saviour, Christ is risen.

[10:36] Amen. Amen. Let's sing our first song, which is 464, In the tomb so cold they laid him. And the word should come up on the screen.

[10:54] 564, In the tomb so cold they laid him, death his victim claimed to be the God's name. As of death they could not hold him, back to life he came. Christ is risen.

[11:37] 564, In the tomb so cold they laid him, death has been conquered. Christ is risen. 664, In the tomb so cold they laid him, death has been conquered. He has been conquered and 664, In the tomb so cold they laid him, death has been conquered. He has been conquered and 664, In the tomb so cold they laid him, death has been conquered and 764, In the tomb so cold they died. He died died. He died died. He died died. He died died. He died died. He died died. He died died. He died died died. He died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died

[12:54] Christ is risen. Death has become dead.

[13:06] Christ is risen. He shall reign forever. Praise to death, to heaven's ending, love's exalted king.

[13:30] Let the song of joy unending through the nations ring. Christ is risen.

[13:43] Death has become dead. Christ is risen. He shall reign forever.

[14:02] Please remain standing as we sing the next song, which is glory to Jesus. Glory to Jesus, risen, conquering Son, It blesses the victory of the death you are.

[15:02] Angels in its name, Romans, no, no way. Where the folded grave flows, Where your body lay.

[15:21] Glory to Jesus, His unconfirmed Son, It blesses the victory of the death you are.

[15:39] See, Jesus leads us, Raised from the tomb. Lovingly He freaks us, Scattered, sphere, and gloom.

[15:57] Angels in its splendor, Years of triumphs sing, For the Lord is living, Death has lost its sin.

[16:16] Glory to Jesus, Risen, conquering Son, And blesses the victory of the death you are.

[16:33] No more we doubt you, Glorious Prince of Life, Love is not without you, Aid us in our strife, Make us more than conquerors, Through your death-less God.

[17:01] Bring us safe through Jordan, To your hope above. Glory to Jesus, Greater, conquering Son, Amen.

[17:21] Thank you.

[17:33] We're now going to pray.

[17:56] After I've said a prayer, We'll pray together, The Lord's Prayer. You see the words behind me on the screen. Our gracious God and Father, We thank you so much for the resurrection.

[18:10] Thank you that your divine, supernatural power Has defeated death and the grave. That death has now been conquered.

[18:23] And we thank you, Lord Jesus, That you have confirmed your total victory Over sin and guilt. And you are now justified And vindicated as the saviour of your people.

[18:38] Spirit of God, We thank you for all the spiritual blessings That we can enjoy, That flow from the great news of the resurrection. Thank you that you have empowered And enabled us to overcome sin.

[18:54] That we can now, As your people, Live in faith. That we can live in hope. That we can look forward To a glorious day When we will be raised with you.

[19:09] Our triumphant God, We do pray that you would fill our hearts With joy this morning As we remember That death is disarmed. That sin is subdued.

[19:19] That the devil is crushed. And hell is conquered. We come and we confess our sins In confidence. We come in confidence Because we know you said those words.

[19:32] It is finished. We can come with boldness and confidence Because of the finished work of the cross. We thank you for the guarantee Of the resurrection.

[19:44] That we may know freedom. We can know joy. We can know peace. We can know righteousness. We can know justification. And we can know eternal and everlasting life.

[19:55] Because it is finished. We have the guarantee of our Lord and Saviour. Raised from the dead. And now exalted. Sitting at the right hand of the Father. Pouring out his love.

[20:08] And his spirit. Upon us. And within us. Lord we do pray for this world. And we pray for those at this time. That either experientially.

[20:20] Or in any way. Know of this hope. And this joy. We think of people. Who are particularly struggling. In war torn areas. We think of civil war in Yemen.

[20:31] We think of terror. We think of terrorist attacks in Nigeria. Lord. We think of Ukraine. And the possibility of further military incursions on Donbass.

[20:45] Lord. And oh Lord. We just cry out for you. To bring peace. To alleviate suffering. To work in the leaders of this world in their hearts.

[20:57] To not pursue the route of violence. And military incursions. And bloodshed. Lord. Please. Would you bring about peace.

[21:08] And would you please bring a restriction or limits upon the violence that people are experiencing. And the bloodshed. We pray for the refugees. Who are leaving their homes.

[21:20] And uncertain of their futures. Lord. Coming into a new life. In a strange country. A strange culture. Strange language. Lord God.

[21:31] Please be with them. And comfort them. We do think of Sri Lanka at this time. Lord. And the economic crisis there. And all that that entails. Father. We pray for your.

[21:42] Your hand of care. And mercy. And provision. Upon that nation. We commit our churches to you. Father. On this day. We pray.

[21:52] That your gospel of hope. And peace. Would be proclaimed. Across this city. We pray. That the good news. Of the gospel. And the resurrection. Would be declared. With power. And with boldness.

[22:04] And clarity. And we pray. That many. Would come to saving faith. As a result of this. We particularly. Think of churches. That we have. Closer fellowship with. We think of. Park Hill.

[22:14] Evangelical church. We think of. Grace Baptist church. We think of Ebenezer. As well. These smaller gospel churches. Be with them. This morning. But also. Be with the larger churches. We pray. Also.

[22:25] Father. And Lord. We do just commit. Philip. To you. As he comes. And brings your word. This morning. Pray that you would empower. And enable him.

[22:35] And we pray. That adults. And children alike. Would be built up. Would be encouraged. And we'd be. Filled with the joy. Of the Holy Spirit. As they leave this place today.

[22:46] And these things we pray. In Jesus. Strong name. Amen. Amen. Let's. Let's say together. The Lord's Prayer. Our Father in heaven. Hallowed.

[22:58] Be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth. As it is. In heaven. Give us today. Our daily bread.

[23:09] And forgive us. Our sins. As we forgive those. Who sin against us. And lead us. Not into temptation. But deliver us.

[23:20] From evil. For yours. Is the kingdom. The power. And the glory. Forever. And ever. Amen. Amen.

[23:32] Okay. I'm going to invite Brenda. Up. Because she's going to read. The scriptures. For this morning's. Talks. Thank you. Brenda. John.

[23:49] 18. John 21 to 18. Okay. I'm reading.

[24:07] John chapter 20. Starting at the first verse. Early on the first day of the week. While it was still dark. Mary Magdalene.

[24:18] Mary Magdalene. Went to the tomb. And saw that the stone. Had been removed. From the entrance. So she came running. To Simon Peter. And the other disciple. The one Jesus loved.

[24:29] And said. They have taken the Lord. Out of the tomb. And we don't know. Where they have put him. So Peter. And the other disciple. Started for the tomb.

[24:39] Both were running. But the other disciple. Outran Peter. And reached the tomb first. He bent over. And looked in. At the strips of linen. Lying there.

[24:50] But did not go in. Then Simon Peter. Came along. Behind him. And went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen. Lying there. As well as the cloth.

[25:02] That had been wrapped. Around Jesus head. The cloth. Was still lying. In its place. Separate from the linen. Finally. The other disciple. Who had reached the tomb.

[25:13] First. Also went inside. He saw. And believed. They still did not. Understand. From scripture. That Jesus had to rise. From the dead. Then the disciples.

[25:25] Went back to where. They were staying. Now Mary. Stood outside the tomb. In crying. As she wept. She bent over. To look into the tomb.

[25:36] And saw two angels. In white. Seated where Jesus body. Had been. One at the head. And the other at the foot. They asked her. Woman. Why are you crying?

[25:48] They have taken my Lord away. She said. And I don't know where. They have put him. At this. She turned around. And saw Jesus. Standing there. But she did not realize.

[25:58] That it was Jesus. He asked her. Woman. Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? Thinking he was the gardener. She said. Sir.

[26:09] If you have carried him away. Tell me where you have put him. And I will get him. Jesus said to her. Mary. She turned towards him.

[26:20] And cried out in Aramaic. Rabboni. Which means teacher. Jesus said. Do not hold on to me. For I have not yet ascended to the Father.

[26:31] Go instead to my brothers and tell them. I am ascending to my Father and your Father. To my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news.

[26:43] I have seen the Lord. And she told them that he had said these things to her. We are now going to sing number one.

[27:02] It's you now, Phil. Okay, come to the front and preach to us, brother. That's what it's going to be.

[27:14] Well, good morning. It's really good to see everybody this morning. Happy Easter. Christ is risen. He's risen to you. Correct answer.

[27:25] I'm going to do the talk this morning for everybody, all ages, and I hope the boys and girls will be able to join in. So let's just, have we got any boys and girls this morning?

[27:40] I don't think there are any other. Ah, right, okay. Good morning, good morning, good morning. Anybody at the back that I need to make sure I'm looking at? So is Charlie, Charlie and Ralph?

[27:54] And, ah, all the way from Lewis. Right, nice to see you guys. We've been thinking about the events of, no, we'll pray first.

[28:05] Lord, please help us to think about these wonderful things with the help that you give, not just human power, but the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

[28:15] Come among us, Lord Jesus, by your Spirit, and show us the glory of these things. Amen. Amen. So we've been thinking about this, the things that we remember this week.

[28:32] We said there's some really defining moments, world-changing moments. We thought last week of Palm Sunday, when the King comes. We thought on Friday of Good Friday, when the Lamb dies.

[28:45] And we think of Easter Sunday, and I've done a little picture of that, with the stone rolled away from the tomb and the sun just coming up. And on Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead. These are crucial things.

[28:58] These are central to Christian faith. Without these, Christianity is a fraud and a waste of time. If these things are not true and real, we're wasting our time.

[29:13] I'm wasting your time. And many of us have wasted our lives. These things are absolutely essential. And that's what we're going to look at. I'm going to look at it in three parts, with the help of the boys and girls.

[29:26] The fact of the resurrection, so it really happened. Number two, the meaning of the resurrection, so it tells us something. It just happened. It tells us something.

[29:36] And thirdly, the challenge of the resurrection, how that affects us. Because the truth of the matter is that every one of us, whether you're a person of faith or whether you're not a person of faith, whether you're a regular here at the church, or whether you've just popped in or been dragged along by somebody, this affects you.

[29:57] It says something to you. And that's what I'd like us to look at in that third part. So, boys and girls, are you nice and awake? Because we're going to look, first of all, at the fact of the resurrection.

[30:08] Now then, fact means this. Can you see those words? So, we need to do this really quickly because we've got loads of these. So, it something, R, something, A, something, something, Y, H, something, P, P, something, N, something, D.

[30:25] Oh, come on. So, a fact means it. Is that correct? Yeah. Okay. Right. Well done. It really happened. It really happened. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to get little rounds of applause for this.

[30:39] And the it that really happened is that Jesus was really. Jesus was really.

[30:50] He didn't pretend to be this. He really was dead. Yeah. Okay. I'm not going to ask loads of people because there's lots of this to do. And he really, something, alive.

[31:02] So, he really did. He came alive. Well done. Okay. A little ripple there. He came alive. So, he really came alive.

[31:12] It wasn't just that people thought he did. It wasn't just that other people felt he came alive. Jesus himself came alive. So, it was for him and not just in the minds of others.

[31:23] And because it's a real fact, it has a place. Where did this happen? Boys and girls, where did this happen? Was it in Burgess Hill? No. Was it in Lansing? No. Was it in Brighton?

[31:34] Where did this really happen? Well done, Jerusalem. Yeah. Good. And when did it happen? Roughly speaking. Last week.

[31:45] Week before. Ten years ago. Roughly speaking. When did it happen? When did it happen? Two thousand years ago. Yeah.

[31:55] Right. Okay. So, we've got a time and a place for a fact that really happened. Now, what I'd like us to look at is how we know this. How we know this. And the Bible, and it was read to us, tells us God raised this Jesus to life.

[32:11] And Peter says on the day of Pentecost, we are all witnesses of that. Now, I want to look at that word, witnesses, and we're going to think about this, about the fact of the resurrection.

[32:22] So, witness. In English, we have a group of words, and they sound different, but they mean the same sort of thing, like witness, testimony, testify. Testimony is what you'd say in a court.

[32:35] If somebody says, did you see this person stealing that motorbike? And you say, yes, I did see that person stealing that motorbike. That is a testimony. You're saying what you, because you were a witness, and you can tell about it.

[32:48] But in Greek, they're all more or less the same word, but we have different words. Witness, testify, testimony. Right. Now then, what would make a good testimony?

[33:01] So, you've got to look at this up on the screen, boys and girls. Here is somebody saying, Christ is risen. There we go. And the question is, what sort of witness would we be prepared to trust?

[33:19] So, yeah, if your mom or dad, whoever looks after you, says it's 8 o'clock in the morning and time to get up to go to school, they're generally reliable, and you trust them, and you get out of bed.

[33:35] So, who would you trust to say, Christ is risen? So, I've got a number of things up there. So, we might need some grown-ups as well. Hopefully, I've got the stars in the right place.

[33:47] So, anybody like to start us off with any of those in the blue circles? Can you see them? Okay.

[34:01] Right. Should we try that one? So, somebody who is not stupid. Yeah. Okay. I think that's good. Somebody who's not stupid.

[34:13] Because people think, oh, nowadays, people wrongly think that the people who wrote the Bible were stupid, that they would believe anything, that they were silly.

[34:25] But they weren't silly, and they're not stupid. And they're just like, you know, sensible people like sensible people are. They didn't just believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead just because they thought it was a nice idea.

[34:39] They were not stupid. They were people who needed to be convinced, and Jesus convinced them. So, that's great. Thank you very much. So, they were not stupid. What do you want to do with this one?

[34:51] Nothing to gain by L-Y-something-something. What? Lying. Well done, Gracie.

[35:01] Yeah. So, have you ever seen on YouTube where people, younger ones might not have seen this, but on YouTube somebody might come on and say, I've tried this makeup, and it is really wonderful.

[35:18] Look what it's done for my complexion. I look so wonderful. No, it's not. I'm not. Thank you. I will get a refund. Yeah. And then at the end it says, this person was paid to say this by the people who made this beauty lotion.

[35:35] And you think, oh, well, I don't know if I'm going to believe them now. Well, so, we're thinking about witnesses who had nothing to gain by lying.

[35:48] Nobody was going to pay them to tell a lie about Jesus rising from the dead. And you might think, actually, it was the opposite. Anybody like to take that line?

[35:59] That it wasn't that they, so much they had nothing to gain by lying, but rather the opposite. Anybody like to tell us that? What happened to those first people who said Jesus was risen from the dead?

[36:12] What sort of life did they have in front of them? Lots of people wanted to kill them, and eventually they got killed. Thank you very much. Lots of people wanted to kill them, and eventually they got killed.

[36:25] That's well done. Well done. So here's a witness who says something, not because they're going to gain by it. Actually, they're going to risk a lot, but they're saying it because it's true.

[36:37] And that was the case for the apostles. So nothing to gain by lying. Now then, what that one, backed up by, now that might be a little bit difficult. The last one is a Y, and it's to do with these other ones here.

[36:50] So here's one of them, and here's some more, backed up by M something something Y. What do you think? Many?

[37:02] Many. Well done. Yeah. So if one person comes along and says a crazy thing, you know, I saw a man turn into a dustbin, and you think, well, it's probably a bit crazy.

[37:14] But if you had 12 people, or 20 people, or 100 people saying the same thing, then you might start to take notice. And the resurrection is not just something that one person saw, or even just 12, but many, many people.

[37:30] So we've got the fact that many people said the same thing. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says there are many witnesses. I can't remember how many he says. Did you specify?

[37:41] 500. As many as 500 at once, I think he says. So here's a good thing about witnesses, backed up by many. Now then, that one backs it up 100%.

[37:52] That letter there is an F. L something, F something. Ooh. L something.

[38:04] This backs up what they said. This backs it up over years and years. What do you think? Life.

[38:16] What were you going to say? What were you going to say? Yeah, and I was going to say life as well. So well done. The people who saw Jesus risen from the dead didn't just go along, didn't a few years later say, oh, I can't be bothered, and I'm not going to, you know, that was all a fib.

[38:34] But their lives backed it up 100%. This is very impressive. So their lives were changed. Let's see, what about this one? A witness, a good witness, if they're going to have a witness for a long time, can WR something, something, something, it all down.

[38:55] So anybody in the back compartment, this witness can WR, yes? Write? Write?

[39:07] Write, okay, well done. A witness can WR, yes. Write it all down. And actually, that's what the Bible is. Jesus said to his, particularly his apostles, I'm going to tell you everything.

[39:22] The Holy Spirit will come, and you can remember it, and it can be written down. And so that's a really good, strong testimony. What have we got here? Alright.

[39:33] CHO something, something, something. And TR something, something. N something. D. Especially by the central person.

[39:44] So CHO something, something, something. And TR something, something. N something. D. So this is, the central person is Jesus.

[39:57] So he did something about these witnesses, and he, what do you think? Wow, yeah.

[40:12] Well, I think a shared round of applause for, yeah. Chosen, because remember Jesus said, you are my witnesses. And he chose these people.

[40:25] Peter says, he didn't show himself just to people at random. He chose us to be his witnesses. And they were with Jesus, and he taught them things so they would understand, so they could explain it and proclaim it.

[40:37] So it wasn't just random. You know, if you were going to do something remarkable, I don't know, one thing you might do is leave a will, and you would actually choose people who say, I want you to be in charge of making sure that other people know about this.

[40:54] So they don't get the wrong end of the stick, and I'm going to tell you how to do it. And this is what Jesus did with the apostles. He chose them, and he trained them to be his witnesses. Now then, what about this?

[41:07] A, somebody who's going to testify, it would be nice if they were an I, lots of dots there, which means that they saw it themselves. Somebody in the back?

[41:18] What do you think about this one? A good witness who saw it would be a... Anybody in this bit?

[41:32] Yeah? An eyewitness. Yeah? You can say the same thing. Yeah, good. Well done. Yeah. An eyewitness. And you'd also like somebody who actually loves...

[41:47] T-R-U-T-H. We'll let our summer have a go at this one then. Loves truth. Loves truth. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And we get all this in the Bible.

[41:59] These are people who are described here. And God himself is behind this and with it and testifies to it by the Holy Spirit.

[42:12] And when we hear or read the apostolic words about the resurrection, God whispers in our hearts, this is right. This is actually true.

[42:23] Believe it. So we've got a combination of witness to the fact. So here is one of the apostles writing. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, and which our hands have touched.

[42:43] This we proclaim concerning the word of life. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

[42:56] We write this to make our joy complete. And the apostles say, we saw it. We know it. We walk with God. We have God in our lives.

[43:06] We are in the life of God. And we want you to share this too. And you share it by believing our testimony. So this is about testimony. The fact of the resurrection, he was raised according to the scriptures.

[43:19] And we'll just say this and then we'll sing a song in a moment. And God has given us his own testimony in the... Well done.

[43:35] Yes, well done. Yeah. In the Bible. We've got what the apostles wrote in the New Testament. We have the Old Testament prophecies. And the whole Bible testifies to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[43:48] The fact that he really lived and really died. He came alive from the dead in a physical body. And we believe because of convincing testimony of eyewitnesses and the testimony of scripture, which comes from God.

[44:01] And here is a fact which, whether you or I like it, or whether you or I believe it, it is a fact. It is a true fact.

[44:12] Jesus rose from the dead. It is something that really happened. And I suppose we have two options. We can either say, it's a fact. I will yield to it.

[44:24] And I will adjust my life to fit with that fact. Or we deny it and say, I'm going to live my life unrealistically as escapism because I'm going to refuse to acknowledge the relevance of this fact.

[44:41] Now, which are we going to do? A sensible person would yield to that fact and bring their life into line with the fact of Jesus' resurrection.

[44:51] So let's sing something. We're going to sing in Christ alone and then we'll go a little bit further. So let's get ready to sing. Please stand.

[45:31] Please stand.

[46:01] This soul in ground. Down through the fixedness, ground and stone. The hearts of love, the depths of peace.

[46:15] When fears are still, breaks striving seas. On down the turn, why o'er go?

[46:26] Here in the love of Christ I stand In Christ alone, the truth of flesh Come is the Lord in helpless pain This gift of love and righteousness For one of us He came to save Till on that cross where Jesus died The wrath of God He filled despite The red for sin of Him was made Here in the death of Christ I live

[47:28] Here in the night is종ing lay I tell the world by God this day That God has deported for this day From the guilty rose again And as he stands in victory Strange gas has lost its grip on me For I am his and he is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ The wounds in life, the feeling dead

[48:42] This is the power of Christ in me From Christ's time to final breath Jesus demands my destiny No power of heaven, the speed of time Can ever drop me from his hands Till he returns, oh, close behold Here in the power of Christ I'll stand Here in the power of Christ I'll stand Right boys and girls, we're going to think about the meaning of the resurrection

[49:47] So I need you to be nice and wide awake How many people have got a hand here? At least one, raise one please And grown-ups two Grown-ups two No, grown-ups one hand as well Okay, right, hands I just want to think about meaning Meaning of things So, boys and girls Anybody else who feels that they'd like to participate Let's try some hand movements So, first of all Hand in that position And then you're going to go back and forward No, backwards first Backwards first Like that Okay Try that one Okay, another one Out sideways Rotation You're going to be so fit after this, aren't you?

[50:40] Okay And then we'll do another one Which is slightly in front Like that Right, so the ones that we did was this one And this one And this one Now, boys and girls Generally speaking, of those three hand movements Only one of them has a meaning Of those three hand movements Yeah, you got the idea Yep Only one of them has a meaning So, if you went out somewhere and you went Or if you went Or if you went Only one of those Other people would know what you meant Which one of them is it?

[51:23] Which one of those movements is it? Oh, Ralph's got the idea Yeah At the back Yeah Shall we do it? Which one has a meaning? Which we think has a Yeah Okay What's the meaning of that one?

[51:36] It can mean a few things But what generally What does it mean? To say hi to someone? Hi Or it could be You could say other things Bye It could be Bye The queen does that Yes The queen does that So Some things are just things Don't mean anything But some things mean something And this one You're just moving your hand But you're actually saying I'm interested in you Hello Nice to see you Or you might be saying Goodbye I'm going to miss you You're saying something And you might be saying something About what you really feel inside I'll give you another one Which is Stop Who might do that one?

[52:33] Who might do that one? A police officer And that would be a show of authority Wouldn't it? You'd be saying I You should stop Because I'm telling you to stop So there's all sorts of Things that Can Be meanings of things And the resurrection of Jesus Is not just a fact It is a fact With a meaning It means something Some meanings can be obvious Some meanings You have to learn Now then Let me just tell you this one Boys and girls Watch this So this Is In Sri Lanka This means something Do you know what it means?

[53:19] She doesn't know what it means Or it could be this one as well Yeah That one would mean It means yes Which In our culture It doesn't Does it?

[53:31] If you're doing that You think Well that person's head Is about to fall off But That one would Mean yes And that could I've seen that mean Yes Can we go through?

[53:42] Yeah I've seen that Some meanings You have to learn You have to get them From somewhere else Some is obvious Some you have to get From somewhere else And the resurrection Of Jesus Is Jesus himself said Everything must be fulfilled That is written about me In the law of Moses The prophets And the Psalms And in the bit That Brenda read It said They didn't know From scripture That Jesus must Rise from the dead So there's We're taught The meaning I mean Obviously It's really impressive That Jesus rose from the dead But we're taught Other parts of the meaning From scripture So I've got some Meanings here So Can you do this one One meaning Of the resurrection God A P Something R Something V Something S Of Jesus God Did I spell that right?

[54:38] Have I got it right? Yes I think I spelled that right Yeah Always have these moments Of angst What does that What does that say? Whoops Yeah We've got Jesus So we've got God Oh I shouldn't have put the S Should I?

[54:55] Should I? Should I just put God Something God You think approves? What do you think? You think approves? Approves? Yeah Okay That's right Well done Yeah And this is important Because when Jesus Died on the cross The cross is something That people do To other people To show they disapprove You're a bad person You're on that cross Because you're a nasty person You're on that cross Because you've done Something really bad And we're going to give you The worst possible punishment We can think of And crucifixion Is a horrible way To kill somebody And you are condemned And bad And nasty And that's what we say About you And when Jesus Rose from the dead God said Jesus is not bad And nasty He has not He has not done Terrible things He is great He is brilliant

[55:57] He is wonderful And I will raise him From the dead Therefore God Exalted him And gave him The name that is Above every name That at the name Of Jesus Every knee should bow And every tongue Confess him Lord Peter in the In the Sermon on Pentecost Said You guys I think it was that Maybe No it's a bit later Isn't it You killed him By hanging him on a tree But God Exalted him To his right hand To be a prince And saviour So one thing Is that it shows Jesus Is great Yeah It does It shows Jesus is great And God Thinks Jesus is great And God Shows that Jesus is great By raising him From the dead And he's Lifted up To be God's Right hand man It says there Doesn't it Exalted him To his own Right hand It shows That he's God's son And he's Jesus

[56:57] God has only Done this For one person In the whole world He hasn't done it For Tony Blair He's never done this For President Trump He's never done this Well President Trump Isn't dead is he Neither is Tony Blair So that was a bit Of a silly illustration But let's think Of some dead people Who stayed dead Which is everybody Apart from Jesus Only Jesus Has been marked out By this He is the one He is the key Figure in the cosmos He is to be Honored and glorified That at the name Of Jesus Every knee Should bow And every tongue Confess that Jesus Christ Is Lord And God Raised him From the dead To say I approve Of this Jesus And I wonder If there's anybody Here who says I approve Of him too Yeah He is great That's where He ought to be He shouldn't be In the grave He should be At the right hand Of God He should be Worshipped and praised

[57:57] And a second meaning Here There's lots of meanings So I'm just going To do this one Death is defeated Death is nasty Death is not normal Death is not nice Death is not something We should just accept Human beings Were not built To die Death is unnatural And I know Evolutionary scientists Will say It's just part of life But God never made it To be like that And when we are Affected by death We are affected By an enemy And it's not nice And it's not right And up on there Is the reason Why death comes The wages of something S Something N Is death This is why there is Such a thing as death Yes Sin Hold that thought Sin Sin Yeah that's right The wages of sin Is death And because we live In a race

[58:58] Of sinful people That's why Death's here And that's affected The whole cosmos Really That's what the Bible Teaches I have to get A heads around that But if somebody Rises from the dead It shows that sin Not only that death's Been defeated But sin has been defeated The wages of sin Is death Sin and death Have been dealt with And defeated And there's a great Comfort here Because the fact that Jesus rose from the dead After bearing the whole Weight Of human sin The whole weight Of it All Dealt with All All All Removed All Paid for And This Tells us As we're sitting here And as we might be Watching at home There is no sin So great That the Cross

[59:58] Has not dealt With it There is no sin Too deep That the cross Of Christ Has not dealt With it Be it an outward Embarrassing Noticeable sin Or an inward sin That nobody knows But you and God No sin Is too bad That the cross Cannot wipe it all away I think that's That's worth an amen Yeah There is a song That says My sin Oh the bliss Of this glorious thought My sin Not in part But the whole Is nailed To his cross And I bear it No more Praise the Lord Praise the Lord Oh my soul Though our sins Be red as scarlet They shall be white As wool As far as the east Is from the west So far has he removed Our transgressions

[60:59] From us Gone Gone Gone Gone Yes my sins Are gone That's what the power Of Christ does And the resurrection Proves it Sin is defeated And death is defeated Let's sing another song And then we'll Just come back For one more Session So what are we going to sing I'll try not to drop your voice Because we can't hear Okay Please stand One Two Three Four One See what a glory

[62:08] Glorishly bright With the glory Of hope In Jerusalem Folding the great Bloods to the light As the angels And as Christ is risen Seek the salvation plan Brought in love Born in pain Made in sacrifice Fulfilled in Christ's love Born in this Christ's risen From the dead See where weep Where is the light As each sorrow She took From the empty tomb Hear some voice Speaking Calling a name Tis the master Of hope Raised in life again

[63:10] See our joy Satisfied The years Thick in life Full in love When it's Raised in life His mercy Appears For he lives Christ has risen From the dead And with the Father Patient of days Through the spirit Through Joel's Faithful certainty Honor and blessing Glory and praise To the faith Revered power And authority And we are raised Within Land of the love As the love Has conquered And we shall reign Within For it is Life is risen

[64:11] From the dead Right boys and girls The ones at the very back might like to come up to the front here Because I brought with me I brought a set of my socks Which Is If you're a visitor I always do this Each week I always bring my socks Meetings never complete Without a few socks So Would Charlie and Ralph Like to come up And the The muddles You don't have to But if you If you want to be involved You You can I've got I've got quite a A number of them Some of them are clean But But not to worry Because I I change my socks Every three months Whether I need to or not

[65:11] So And I just Want to So Oh I better tell you What's happening Haven't I So this is The challenge Of the resurrection And just saying that Some Things Demand Action Some Things Aren't just things They demand Action Right So Some things Demand Action Do you want to Come and help me So Charlie Would you just like to Stand Stand up So we can See you Right Some things Demand action So I'm going to Throw My sock At you And you Can either You've got a Choice You can Catch it Or dodge it Or just Stay and let it Hit you Okay Let's try Let's try this one Shall we Okay Well done Right Thank you Right Okay Ralph Do you want to

[66:12] Try So you can Catch it Dodge it Or just let it Hit you Oh Right Well done Right Well done Let me Come over Let me Come over Here Do you want To have a Go as Well You've got Catching Hands No Right I'm going to Throw it Hard this Time Okay You can Catch it Well let's Give you a Practice first Catch it Dodge it Or let it Hit you Right Which one do You want to Do Oh Right Okay Right Here we Go Oh I Thought he Might flinch You can Do it To me Now You go Over there And throw It at Me Right You can Oh Oh There was Real venom In that Wasn't there Yeah Well done Good Right Anybody Else want To be Thrown A sock At Or throw A sock Yeah Okay Right I've got Two

[67:12] One each Right You You ready Well caught You can Throw it Back at Me Now Ah Dodged Right Ready Whoa Oh Too high Right Okay Thanks very much Boys and girls Thank you for Your help With that And they Were all Clean I have to Tell you That Once Yes Where's the Clicker Some facts Are facts Something About Action So once The sock Is thrown You have A choice You can Either Just let It hit You Or you Dodge It Or you Catch It And doing Nothing Well I Suppose doing Nothing Is an Option The sock Will hit You But the Resurrection Sets up A situation Whereby We have To react Doing Nothing Is not A sensible

[68:12] Option And I Want to Say as the Resurrection As it were Aims Towards us We have People respond In different Ways So the Resurrection Of Jesus So the First Challenge Is a Warning That the Resurrection Of Jesus Says he is The person Whose word Will decide Your final Destiny That's Who he Is He is The key Figure Of history He is The key Figure Of the Cosmos And one Day We will All meet Him And his Word Will decide The final Destiny Of each One of Us He will Have us As it Were Lined Up And he Will say Of each Of us Come You Blessed Of my Father Inherit The kingdom Prepared From you Before the World Was made Come Or he Will say Depart From me I never Knew you That's

[69:14] What the Resurrection Says about Jesus That's What it Says about How important He is That his Word Will decide Where you Are Forever If he Says come You will Never be Cast away If he Says Depart You There is No coming Back And there Won't be Any Avoiding This Word A lot Of people Say About Christianity Well I don't Need It I don't Feel The Need I'm Fine Actually I've Got a Very Comfortable Life Nothing Really Makes Me Feel That I'm Going To Need Anything Sort of Spiritual Or Religious I don't Feel The Need For It And I'm Not Going To Dispute That Perhaps You Don't Feel The Need For It But You Will Meet Jesus Whether You Like It Or Not Whether You Feel The Need For It Or Not And You Will Have To Face Him And He Will Either Say Come Or He Will Say Depart And

[70:14] That You Have To Factor That In May I Just Give A An Illustration If You Park Your Car Wrongly You Will Get A Penalty Charge Notice And I Guess You Can Pay It Or You Can Put It On One Side And Say Oh That Doesn't Matter But After A While Somebody Will Come And Say What About That There Is Something A Bill Owing Which You Need To Pay And Even Even If You Put It On One Side That Doesn't Stop It Happening And With Jesus Even If You Put Him Off And Put Him To One Side And Say Deal With That Another Time You Will Have To Deal With Him Sometime So There's A Warning In The Resurrection And There's An Encouragement In The Resurrection Jesus Stands The Risen Jesus Has

[71:15] Not Yet Got To The Point Of Calling In All Debts And Judging Everyone At The Moment The Risen Jesus Is Saying Now Is The Opportunity To Sort Everything Out Now Is The Opportunity To Find Eternal Life Now Is The Opportunity To Have Your Sins Forgiven Now Is The Opportunity To Put Everything Right With God It Can Be Done It Can Be Done Today That Way Is Open Take That Way Take That Way In Our Family We've Been Looking At Possibilities Of Buying Houses And A House Comes Up On The Market And The Bid's Put In And It Doesn't Happen And Somebody Else Buys It And Well Another One Will Come Along There Will Be Another Opportunity Later With Jesus He Is The Only Opportunity He Is The Only Way There Won't Be Another Saviour

[72:15] Coming Along Later And If The Saviour Is Offered To You Today Take The Opportunity The Saviour Is Offered To You Today Don't Say Oh I'll Think About It And Maybe I'll Come Back To It In A Year's Time Here Is The Opportunity Take That Opportunity!

[72:33] Today You Won't Regret It And Here Is A Third Challenge For Patience So Believing People You Who Believe In Jesus You Believe His In His Person You Love Him You You Given Your Life To Him And You Are Waiting!

[73:02] And In This Waiting Period There Is Frustration Because You Are Not In Heaven Yet There Is Frustration Because Indwelling Sin Is Still There There Is Frustration Because God Doesn't Answer Prayers Immediately And We Cry How Long Oh Lord But Be Patient Because One Day Soon His Resurrection Will Guarantee Your Resurrection It's Just A Matter Of Time Before Each Of His People Shares The Glory That He Has As The Risen Savior It's Just A Matter Of Time We Will Not All Sleep Says Paul But We Will All Be Changed In The Twinkling Of An Eye At The Sound Of The Trumpet Christ Returns And He Will Make All Things New It's Just A Matter Of Time Before His Resurrection

[74:03] Guarantees Our Resurrection And The Writer C.S. Lewis Said And I Think This Was An Insightful Thing To Say The Person Sitting!

[74:15] To You Is Either On The Way To Hell And Becoming The Most Appalling Abhorrent Creature That You Could Imagine Or The Person Sitting Next To You Is On The Way To Heaven And If You Could See Now What They Will Be Like You Would Just Be Amazed At The Glory That Is Yet To Be Revealed In The Person Sitting!

[74:35] Next To You Will Shine! Like The Son In The Kingdom Of Our Father And The Resurrection Guarantees That United With Him Through Faith In This Life Means We Will Be United With Him In His Bodily Resurrection One Great Day And I Would Like To Proclaim That Great Day To Us Now There Is A Great Day Coming When His Resurrection Will Be Ours And The Sky Will Fill With His Glory And Every Knee Shall Bow To Him And Every Tongue Confess Jesus Christ Is Lord There's A Great Day Coming Christ Is Risen Should We Do This A Bit Better Christ Is Risen He Is Risen Indeed Amen Let's Sing Our Final Song And Then Jerome Can Close In Prayer For Christ The Lord Is Risen Today And

[75:53] Thank you Boys and Girls For Your Help Thank you Boys and Girls For Your Help Please Stand One Two Three Four Christ The Lord Is Risen Today Hallelujah All Creation Roined To Say Hallelujah Praise Your Toys And Triumphs Fight Hallelujah Sing New Homes And Earth Reply Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

[76:56] What's Redeeming Work Is Done Hallelujah For The Fight The Battle Won Hallelujah Family desde Family Alleluia Christ has burst the gates of hell Alleluia

[77:59] Every faithful bits in Christ Alleluia Christ has opened paradise Alleluia It's again a glorious King Alleluia Where of death is now your skin Alleluia Those who gain our souls to say Alleluia Where's your victory most ingrained Alleluia Alleluia

[79:01] So we now where Christ has led Alleluia Who bring our exalted head Alleluia May God live life live with light Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia As we cross the greatless light Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia.

[79:58] Praise to you by both be given. Alleluia. Every need to you shall bow.

[80:15] Alleluia. For the Lord of Christ, I am found out. Alleluia.

[80:36] Going to close in prayer. Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, we thank you so much for the way that you have spoken to us today.

[80:53] Thank you for these wonderful truths of the resurrection. Lord, we do pray that as we leave this place today, that our hearts would be filled with joy, with expectation and the fullness of Christ, and looking forward to that glorious hope of when one day we will be raised with him in eternity, glorified.

[81:19] Yet in the meantime, Lord, let us be people that are joyful, that are expectant, that are filled with that desire to know you more and more.

[81:30] And I will just speak a blessing from God's word over us. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

[81:45] Now to the only wise God, be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[81:55] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[82:34]