HE IS RISEN

          Text: Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

 ²And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

 ³And they said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

 ⁴And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

 ⁵And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

 ⁶And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

          The Christian faith stands or falls on this event. The resurrection of our Lord. Did Jesus really come back to life? What if he didn't?

          1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

 ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

 ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

 ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 ⁵And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

 ⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

 ⁷After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

 ⁸And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

          1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

 ¹³But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

 ¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

 ¹⁵Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

          If the dead do not rise, the Christian religion is a fraud.

 ¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

 ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

 ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

 ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ( If Christ didn't rise).

          If there is nothing beyond the grave, our religion has no meaning.

 ²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

          There was no resurrection before Jesus rose.

 ²¹For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

         

 ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

          Before the fall in the garden, there wasn't any death.

 ²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

         

          1 Corinthians 15:51-58 Behold, I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

 ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

 ⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

          There is a decaying process taking place in our bodies in this life. At the resurrection we will be changed. No more pain, sickness or growing old. We will have a spiritual body.

 ⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

 ⁵⁵O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

 ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

 ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 ⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

          John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.