Easter Sunday Big Idea of the Series: This is a one-week message designed to be used on Easter Sunday. There is room, in the organization of the sermon, to both be evangelistic and encourage those who are already Christians to further deepen their knowledge of God. Text: 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 Topic: Resurrection, New Life Big Idea of the Message: Jesus’ resurrection is a real, historical event, which ensures our future eternal life. Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1.   There is already protocol in place for when the Queen of England passes away. One of the more interesting details is that the BBC will suspend all comedy programing for 12 days after her death. There will be no laughing in England. Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/for-the-beeb-the-death-of-queen-elizabeth-will-be-no-joke-1.2244460 Application: If you love your leader, you’ll mourn their death. If you hated your leader, you’ll likely celebrate their death. However, with the death Jesus everything is backwards. Those who love King Jesus do not observe his death with mourning but with celebration. They know it’s not final. They know it means victory. Now, there is much joy around his death because we have his resurrection.

2.   Planned obsolescence is the idea of creating a product that will eventually need to be replaced. A company doesn’t want to build anything too perfect because there needs to be a reason for people to keep buying it. “A classic case of planned obsolescence was the nylon stocking. The inevitable ‘laddering’ of stockings made consumers buy new ones and for years discouraged manufacturers from looking for a fiber that did not ladder. The garment industry in

any case is not inclined to such innovation.” Source: http://www.economist.com/node/13354332 Application: You could say that Old Testament sacrifices had a planned obsolescence. One lamb laid at the altar would not cover your life with God. It was imperfect sacrifice and must be constantly renewed. When Jesus died on the cross he was perfect and complete. There would be no need for another sacrifice to ever be made.

3.   Facebook is full of videos showing soldiers coming home from overseas to surprise their family. Chances are, if you come across one of these videos, you will get sucked in, and you will cry. There’s something about someone returning victorious from war and the joy of the family member they’re surprising. Their joy is contagious. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoV4TWiXI0k Application: Jesus returns from war. He’s alive and he’s victorious. He’s defeated sin and death and he surprises his family. The joy is contagious. We celebrate the resurrection thousands of years later, and the joy is still hitting us.

4.   A magician makes their magic trick more impressive by making things more difficult on themselves. He or she will be blindfolded. They’ll have their hands tied behind their back. They’ll have a volunteer from the audience sign their name to a card so they’ll know it’s really the one. All of these obstacles make a successful trick that much more impressive. Application: Throughout time there have been psychics, mystics, and self-proclaimed prophets who have announced their predictions of the future. If you look closely at these predictions, you’ll notice just how vague they are. It would be easy to fit any big event into it and claim the prophecy came true. When God gives insight to Old Testament prophets about who the Messiah is going to be and what He is going to do it’s as if He’s a magician being blindfolded and having His hands tied behind His back. He is very specific. Not just anyone could claim to be the Messiah. This is what makes the story of Jesus so incredible. It’s Him! It’s the Messiah! He fits the prophecies perfectly hundreds of years later.

5.   Recommended reading on the resurrection: Josh and Sean McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection (Regal Books, 2009). Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates the Evidence for the Resurrection (Zondervan, 2004). Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett, Did the Resurrection Happen…Really? A Dialogue on Life, Death, and Hope (Moody Publishers, 2011). Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Kregel Publications, 2004). J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity (David C. Cook, 2013)