Proof of Purchase

Website Editor • April 7, 2021

1 Corinthians 15:12-49


All of Christianity hinges on the resurrection.


Without the resurrection, everything Jesus claimed about Himself would have been a farce. If we put our hope in a Jesus never rose from the grave, we are wasting our time and, as Paul declares, others should feel sorry for us and we should be pitied.





The good news is that we have many very good reasons to believe that Jesus did indeed rise from the grave.


One of the most compelling arguments is that the story of the resurrection is built on eyewitness accounts (more than 500!) from people who claimed to have seen the risen Christ. Among them were those who had followed Jesus; seen Him crucified; saw Him rise again; and were literally willing to go to their deaths for this belief.


If Christ hadn’t risen from the dead, why would anyone die for this message?


Instead, these martyrs held fast to what they saw with their own eyes and knew to be true.


The resurrection also serves to validate Jesus’ work on the cross.


On Sunday, Pastor Ky said that it would be impossible to overstate the significance of the cross. Everything we know about God is revealed and culminates at the cross.


Numbers 14:18 says, “The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation.”


In this, we have good news, bad news, and great news when it comes to the character of God.


Good news: God in His very nature is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”; He is bent and postured toward us.


Bad news: He is just God who will by no means clear the guilty. Because we (man) have rebelled against His authority and fallen short as image bearers, we rightly deserve the wrath of God.


Great news: Because God loves us and because we separated ourselves from Him, He intervened and made a way for us to go back to Him.


As Pastor Ky said on Sunday, “from the moment man sinned, the cross was inevitable.” The cross was God acting in accordance with both His great love and great justice. It was both the result and display of the nature of God Himself.


God laid the wrath and condemnation upon Himself, that He might be both the Just and the Justifier for those who have faith in Jesus.


The cross was the work of our salvation. The resurrection was the signature that sealed it. 


In addition to being (1) the proof of Jesus’ claims; and (2) the proof of the work at the cross; the resurrection is also (3) the proof of our comfort in Jesus.


One of the greatest comforts God extends to us as Christ-followers is that this life is not all there is. When we consider the things that make our lives difficult or sad, the comfort we have is that these things are all drawing to an end.


One day, we have the guarantee that God will restore us back to Himself.


Paul writes that if this life was all there was, we should eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves.


But, take Paul’s life for instance -- he endured a life of extreme hardship and pain; he was forced to fight with beasts; he was imprisoned; harassed; and eventually martyred.  Why would he spend his life this way? - Paul knew that his hope wasn’t in this life, but the one to come. He knew that Jesus did rise from the dead and that one day he would too. More than that, Paul knew that any comfort or things he gave up on earth would be rewarded a hundred-fold in heaven.


As Christians, we believe that when we die, our souls depart from our bodies and go to be with God in heaven.


But that’s not what we talk about when we talk about the resurrection. We believe that there will be a point in history where Jesus is going to come back to earth -- not in a meek way, but in a victorious, military-type way. When this happens, He will put an end to Satan, sin, and death and our souls will be reunited with our bodies in glory.


--


Because we indeed believe that Jesus indeed rose from the grave, everything in our lives should tell this story. How we spend our time, use our money, invest our energy  --  our hope is not in this life, but in the one to come.


On Easter and everyday we rejoice in our Savior who gives us proof of His claims, the cost, and our comfort.

We celebrate Him because the resurrection is true.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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