Walk in Victory

The Road to Victory Study Guide: Week Five: Easter Sunday

Message for Sunday April 1, 2018

This Week Reading:   1 Corinthians 15:20-28  

Inroduction

Easter or Resurrection Sunday is celebrated by millions of people around the world. Why is there such a celebration around this one day? Is it just a tradition, a time when people go to church? Does the resurrection have any significance for our everyday lives today or is it just an historical event? Did Jesus physically rise from being dead or was it just His spirit? Paul the Apostle to whom Jesus appeared to after being dead and rising from the dead (Acts 9:4-19) wrote the book of 1 Corinthians. This book has a lot to say about the Resurrection of Jesus especially in chapter 15. For Paul this was a belief that was central to the entire gospel. In chapter 15 verses 12-19 Paul argues that if Jesus has not actually risen from the dead then our faith is meaningless. He goes so far as to say that if Jesus has not risen from the dead then our sins are not forgiven.

Some Background Information

Paul records for us in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians verse 6 that Jesus appeared to over 500 people after He rose from the dead. He indicates that most of them were still living at the time he wrote 1 Corinthians. He mentions that they are alive so that people can ask them to validate what he says by eye witnesses. The accounts of Jesus resurrection appear in all four gospels (good news about Jesus). You can read the accounts in Matthew 28, Mark 16; Luke 24 and John 20. The first preaching by Peter on the day of Acts included the resurrection (Acts 2:24). The disciples themselves who were fearful and dejected suddenly became full of faith and became fearless because they had seen Jesus alive from the dead. The disciples called themselves witnesses of the resurrection in Acts 2:15 (see also 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The resurrection is seen as our hope and also as a source of power for us (Hebrews 2:14; Ephesians 1:19-20). It is because of the resurrection of Jesus that we have the power to live lives that please God.

Digging Deeper Questions:

1. Why is death an enemy? Why do people fear death?

2. What would the Christian faith be like without the resurrection? What is missing if Jesus was just a good teacher?

3. How does the fact of the resurrection of Jesus affect your life and faith?

4. Talk about all the implications you can think about that come from the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

5. Discuss all the ways that knowing that you will be resurrected affects your life and faith?

6. Who of the people who have died would you want to see when the resurrection occurs?

7. Write out some practical implications for the belief that death is not final for you.

This Week’s Victory Challenge: Pray as a group for the opportunity to tell someone the Good News of the resurrection this week. Follow up next week with a report.