EASTER @ EASTSIDE 2017
PREACHER - DAVE HASTINGS
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE – Multiple Texts
PRIMARY OUTCOME
 That we would choose to embrace a life of following Jesus so that we could have
the hope of resurrection ourselves.
FOUR LARGEST RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD
 4th - Buddhism. 400M people. Tomb partly occupied.
 3rd – Hinduism. 1B people. No tomb.
 2nd – Islam. 1.6B people. Tomb occupied.
 1st – Christianity. 2.3B people. Tomb empty.
THE EVIDENCE OF RESURRECTION
 The Body.
 Last record of the body is in Matthew 28:57-60.
 No one has ever found the deceased body of Jesus.
 The Appearances.
 Forty days of appearances in I Corinthians 15:3-7.
 News of resurrection continually passed on to generations.
 The Cover-Up.
 Guards claimed they fell asleep.
 Their story was ridiculously flimsy.
 The Day of Worship.
 For 1500 years the day of worship was Saturday.
 First Christians began to worship on Sunday in commemoration of
the resurrection. See Acts 20:7 and I Corinthians 16:2.
 The Courage of the Apostles.
 Many faced trials and death because of their message.
 No one chooses to die for a lie.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Ice Breaker – Growing up, what did your family do for Easter?
2. Name a Bible story that is hard to believe from purely a human perspective.
3. Which of the evidences of the resurrection are most convincing to you, and why?
4. Read Matthew 28:1-10. Describe what you think the emotions of the women
must have been throughout this story.
5. If Jesus’ claim of resurrection is actually true, it means everything else he
claimed is true. List some things Jesus claimed that are somewhat hard to
believe and accept (from a human perspective), but we can believe to be true
because of the resurrection.
6. Read I Corinthians 15:19-20. There is more to life than just this earth. We will
follow in the steps of Jesus’ resurrection. What does that mean to you and how
does it make you feel?
7. What do you envision life to be like in heaven?
8. Read II Corinthians 1:9. Apparently some “bad things” happen to us so that we
can learn dependency upon God. The phrase, “who raises the dead” is added
suggesting God can take care of anything. Have you been through rough
patches in your life that required the resurrection power of God?