The Power of the Resurrection

The Gospel is a very, very big story. The story is so big we cannot fully grasp it. It is like a diamond and our cultural perspective provides the tilt and angle by which we view the diamond. We cannot see all the facets at once; but, a good idea is to shift and reshift our tilt. This series of sermons was to try to shift our tilt to that of first century Christians. 

If Jesus died a bloodless death, would we still be saved? Yes, the point is the resurrection, as Paul said, if Christ has not been raised, then our belief is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). 

Sin is the problem with things. It is the force of death and destruction and entropy. The Resurrection is the solution. God solves the problem of sin relationally. The Covenant is not a condemnation, but rather an assurance of salvation. God as Christ fulfills both sides of the Covenant. 

How do you know this story is true? Yes, there's logical arguments and archeological evidence, but there's something else too. It's a knowing - or unknowing - it is the Holy Spirit in us. It is the experience of the Spirit - funny that, just what I was thinking about during the music. Whether nuerotheological or genetic or both or neither, I am wired to experience God in me and in the Cosmos. No matter how atheistic my arguments, that Presence is always there. 

Evidence of the Spirit is Life and Peace. It's a new mindset. 

Evidence of the Spirit is Assurance. What about my habitual fear, worry, and anxiety? I would like to let go of those burdens. 

Romans usually adopted adults to carry on a family name. In the ceremony, old records were burned and you became a new person legally. This is what Paul and his original readers thought about when they thought about adoption. 

Evidence of the Spirit is an ongoing connection with the Spirit. It is that feeling of compassion and love that overwhelms us. Paul may have been writing about tongues in Romans 8:24-27. 

Evidence of the Spirit is the Love of God. We cannot be separated from this Love (Romans 8:31-39). God wants all of us - no matter what we have done or what has been done to us - to experience that Love. 

This is the present day experience of the Resurrection. We too often settle for far less. Why? The overwhelming nature of this Love can be terrifying perhaps. Fear of losing ourselves? Are we misers afraid to spend our money (which is only an illusion) for something Real?