20260405 CTK Arlington He Is Risen

He is risen. The women arrived at the tomb at dawn, found the stone rolled away and the body gone, and encountered two dazzling figures who asked why they sought the living among the dead. The empty tomb forced a slow remembering: Jesus had foretold his death and third-day rising. The account shows both faithful witnesses and skeptical disciples—some proclaimed the news, others called it nonsense—while Peter inspected the linens and went home marveling. A clear map of Holy Week emerges: the journey from Bethany across the Mount of Olives, the view of the temple, the upper room, Gethsemane, Calvary, and the places tied to Peter’s denial. Geography anchors theology; the physical places carry prophetic and historical weight.

Doubt appears as a recurring human reality in the Scriptures: disciples wavering even after resurrection sightings, Old Testament heroes who faltered, and the questioning of Pilate who asks, “What is truth?” The sermon digs into the grammar of doubt and the biblical examples that normalize hesitation while refusing despair. The resurrection stands as the decisive, public, attested event: Paul’s summary in 1 Corinthians 15 lists appearances to Peter, the twelve, five hundred at once, James, and many others. Competing explanations—conspiracy, spiritualized accounts, or cover-ups—cannot erase the testimony recorded and remembered.

A contrast sharpens between religion and relationship. Religion offers rules, rituals, and safe distance; relationship demands costly discipleship—deny self, take up the cross, obey the Father. The Bible calls for active hearing: read, memorize, and do the Word rather than shelve it as theory. Personal appropriation changes the facts into faith: “He died for me” transforms doctrine into daily allegiance and sends believers back into the world to witness, disciple, and love. The invitation remains simple and urgent: receive Christ, repent, and begin a life shaped by the risen Lord.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Doubt does not disqualify faith Doubt appears repeatedly in Scripture and often precedes deeper trust. Standing between belief and unbelief can prompt honest questions that drive people back into Scripture and prayer rather than away. Rather than hiding doubt, the faithful can bring it before Christ, who meets wrestlers of faith and reshapes their trust. [25:02]
• 2. The resurrection is objective truth The empty tomb anchors history with eyewitness testimony and public appearances recorded in the early church. Paul’s inventory of witnesses treats the resurrection as verifiable fact that demands moral and theological response, not private interpretation. Accepting the resurrection reorients ethics, hope, and mission because it declares death defeated and God active in history. [33:01]
• 3. Relationship over religion, not ritual Ritual structures can protect hearts from vulnerability while offering a counterfeit peace that avoids transformation. True relationship with Christ removes safety nets: it calls for surrendered obedience, costly discipleship, and the daily work of becoming like him. Selecting relationship means accepting disturbance, sanctification, and the surgeon’s work that heals by cutting away sin. [35:14]
• 4. Live the Word; be a doer Hearing Scripture must lead to concrete obedience; knowledge without practice breeds self-deception. Practical obedience forms spiritual character, trains affections, and roots truth in daily choices more than in abstract assent. Communities grow as individuals translate text into action—prayer, mercy, confession, and courage in witness. [40:46]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:31] - Opening Worship and Prayer
• [13:01] - Call to Attentive Hearing
• [14:29] - The Women at the Tomb (Luke 24)
• [15:09] - Mapping Holy Week Journey
• [18:36] - Mount of Olives and Prophecy
• [20:40] - Temple, Upper Room, Gethsemane
• [24:32] - Women’s Testimony and Skepticism
• [25:02] - Doubt in Scripture: Examples
• [33:01] - Resurrection Witnesses and Evidence
• [35:14] - Relationship vs. Religion
• [40:46] - Hearers and Doers: Practical Faith
• [47:06] - Personalizing the Gospel: “He died for me”
• [49:20] - Invitation to Receive Christ
• [54:03] - Benediction and Closing

Bible reading:
Luke 24:1-12 (ESV)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the earth, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Observation questions

1. What specific details did the women find at the tomb that morning?
2. How did the apostles initially react to the women’s report of the empty tomb?
3. What was Peter’s reaction after he ran to the tomb and looked inside?
4. What question did the two men in dazzling clothes ask the women?

Interpretation questions

1. Why do you think the disciples were so quick to dismiss the women’s testimony as “nonsense” even though Jesus had told them repeatedly what would happen?
2. The angelic figures asked, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” What does this question reveal about the nature of Jesus’ resurrection and where our focus should be?
3. In what ways can doubt, like that of the disciples, actually serve to drive someone deeper into Scripture and prayer rather than away from faith?
4. How does the physical, historical reality of the resurrection (the empty tomb, the grave clothes) provide a foundation for our faith, as opposed to a merely spiritual or symbolic belief?

Application questions

1. Doubt is a normal part of the Christian journey and doesn’t disqualify faith [25:02]. What is an area of your faith where you currently have questions or hesitation? How can you bring that doubt honestly before Christ this week?
2. The resurrection is an objective, historical truth supported by many witnesses [33:01]. Who is one person in your life with whom you could gently and graciously share this evidence?
3. Choosing a relationship with Christ over religious ritual means accepting his “surgeon’s work” of cutting away sin [35:14]. What is one area of your life where you have been comfortable with religious habit but resistant to the deeper, more personal transformation Jesus wants to do?
4. Hearing Scripture must lead to concrete obedience; knowledge without practice is self-deception [40:46]. What is one specific, actionable command from Scripture that you know you should be “doing” and not just “hearing”?
5. The gospel becomes personal when we say, “He died for me” [47:06]. How does personalizing Christ’s sacrifice change the way you live for yourself versus living for him today?
6. How can you move this week from simply studying the truth to actively obeying it in a relationship, perhaps through prayer, showing mercy, or having the courage to witness?