Pastor’s Blog

1 Corinthians 15:12 (NLV) We preached to you that Christ has been raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised from the dead. Why do you say this? 13 If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised from the dead. 14 If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing. 15 That makes us all liars because we said that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from the dead if the dead do not come to life again. 16 If the dead are not raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead. 17 If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins. 18 Then the Christians who have already died are lost in sin. 19 If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else. 20 But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow. 21 Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ. 22 All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life.

This year’s word for us is FAITH. This month we will celebrate Easter. In this article, let’s look at how the message of Easter has an impact on our faith and why and how our faith impacts our life. Using the above passage from 1 Corinthians, we will see at least three ways Easter has a positive impact.

1) Easter faith allows us to live confidently. 17 If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins. 19 If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else. 20 But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow. Having confidence in the promise that Jesus is alive today and has defeated sin and death will keep us on the right path.

2) Easter faith reminds us to live gratefully. 21 Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ. Our roots all trace back to Adam and Eve. Because of their sin, we were born with a sin nature with the consequence of death. Our sin nailed Jesus to the cross. Each of us deserve the penalty of death. But God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. And because of that love we should live each day with a grateful spirit.

3) Easter faith enables us to live hopefully. 22 All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life. My mother’s family just buried my grandma. Our hope is that we will see her and all our loved ones again. Death for believers is not the end. Doctors say that when a patient maintains hope, they often can continue to live. But when they lose hope they soon die. We must always keep our hope in heaven.

The question we should ask is, “Do I have Easter faith?” If so, we can live each day confident, grateful, and hopeful.

Praying in FAITH for You,
Tim

Filed under: Sermons by Tim Barker
Keywords: « 1 Corinthians - Christ Is Risen - Easter - Easter faith - faith »