Embracing the Transformative Power of the Resurrection

"We believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but we don't believe Jesus rose from the dead because the Bible tells us so. It's actually the other way around. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, there would be no Bible, there would be no church, and I would have no job, okay?" [00:40:56]

"The reason we believe is because the men and the women who were there in the moment for this, and the men who spent time with Jesus after he rose from the dead, talked about it. And then they wrote about it. And those documents were so valuable in the first century that they were protecting people, protecting these documents with their life." [00:59:06]

"Easter addresses and answers the two questions that every single person wrestles with at some point in their life. And you may not have wrestled with these yet, but you will wrestle with these two questions at some point in your life, but most of us already have. The two questions are, is there a personal God? And if there's a personal God, what does that mean for me personally?" [04:46:29]

"Before Jesus, there were just hints and shadows that perhaps there's something beyond this life. The world and every ancient civilization was left guessing. And maybe you're guessing even now. Now if I were to talk to you over at coffee, you have a theory. If I were to say, how do you think this whole thing works? You've got an answer, everybody has some sort of an answer." [06:11:41]

"Paul was not sharing the parables of Jesus, he wasn't sharing the narratives from Jesus' life, he wasn't going over The Sermon on the Mount, he wasn't quoting Jesus, his message was focused on the resurrection of Jesus, not even love one another. And the reason he focused on the resurrection is this." [13:02:43]

"Paul's point was, he's not just another god with another altar, he has come to replace all the gods and all the altars, because God has done something new in the world for the world, and he punctuated the claim by raising this man, Jesus, his son from the dead. A resurrection of a human who claimed to be more than human in their lifetime?" [13:36:11]

"And God did this, now he's gonna give them the point, the purpose. He says, 'And God did this so that they, the peoples of every nation would seek Him.' This is amazing. In other words, Paul says, look, I understand your sacrificial system, my people had one as well. I understand that all over the world, every single people group have their own gods, and they're doing their best to figure out how the world works." [21:14:57]

"And perhaps this is the best part, 'And perhaps reach out for him.' And maybe this is the message for you today. 'And find him because God wants to be found.' Paul leans in and he adds this, and this made no sense to them with their way of thinking. And he talking about God and his son Jesus. 'And he is not far from any one of us.'" [22:22:41]

"Paul was right, if you reach out, you'll find Him, because he is not far from many of us, and he is not far from you." [32:42:93]

"Does Easter matter? Yes, it matters, because it validates the claim of Jesus' first century followers who said, Hey, we sat across the table from God in a body. And if God in a body is anything like God in heaven, and God is love, and God loves you. And the resurrection of Jesus provides us with that assurance." [31:18:80]

"God is love. And God has revealed Himself because he loves you. Paul was right, if you reach out, you'll find Him, because he is not far from many of us, and he is not far from you." [32:39:22]

"That's why Jesus came and spent three and a half years walking among us being one of us, to fill in the gap, to remove some of, not all of, to remove some of the mystery and to add some personality to who God is like, who God likes, what God cares most about. This is why, and that is why the resurrection of Jesus absolutely matters." [07:45:39]