Monday, March 25, 2013

Sunday Teaching • Mar 31, 2013

JESUS HAS RISEN SO YOU MIGHT LIVE!

“I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:17-18) "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live!" (Jesus in John 11:25)

Please join us this Sunday, March 31st at 10:00 am., as Calvary Bible Church hosts its weekly Bible Teaching and Fellowship Service in the front lobby of the U.S. Bank Building, 303 Crescent Avenue (near the corner of Crescent & Metropole), celebrating the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead with a Biblical study entitled: “Jesus Has Risen So You Might Live!" taken from the Gospel of John.  All are welcome to join us and hear this message of love and truth from God's Life-Changing Word! Please join us!


Just before Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead in His new, glorified body, He toke Peter, James, and John up to the summit of Mt. Tabor and there was "transfigured" before them into His "glorified" heavenly body. The three apostles tell us that they "were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18)  For 40 days following His resurrection, Jesus showed all of His disciples this new body, a body made of "flesh and bone," yet heavenly-transformed. (Luke 24:39)  This new "glorified" body, as we call it, could disappear from sight (Luke 24:31) and even pass through walls and locked doors! (John 20:19)  This is the new body which Paul tells us, we will have when Jesus returns to take us to His heavenly kingdom, and the same everlasting life promised by Jesus Himself. (Colossians 3:4 & John 11:25)

Jesus Himself confirmed that only He had the power to allow Himself to be killed, as well as the power to bring Himself back to life from the dead. (John 10:18)  He knew what His purpose here on earth was: to die on the cross for the salvation of each and every one of us.  This “appointment with destiny,” as it were, had a very specific timetable, and Jesus knew it. How many times in the Gospels do we hear Jesus tell His disciples, “My time has not yet come?” (John 7:6)  Finally, just before His arrest and execution by Pontius Pilate, Jesus announces to His own disciples in a plain and simple language that they would understand, that He MUST die and be resurrected from the dead. "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later, He will rise." (Mark 10:33-34)  The glorification of Jesus through His unselfish act of love enables all of us now to be glorified like Him. Alleluia!! (John 3:16)

The personal hope of a physical, bodily resurrection from the dead is based on the promise of Jesus Himself, when He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live!" (John 11:25) This promise from the one, true living God, Jesus Christ, is the entire foundation of Christianity. No other man-made religion on planet earth makes such a claim! Nor can they even suggest such a thing, for all of their founders are dead. Our founder, on the other hand, is alive! The Word of God guarantees the believer's resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ. Such hope and assurance results in a great song of triumph, as the Apostle Paul writes, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) This is our Hope. This is our Victory. Our hope and obedience in Jesus Christ makes it possible to triumph over death. So, with this kind of guarantee, shouldn’t you ask yourself, “Don’t I want to live forever?” I know that I do!

His Empty Tomb is Our Guarantee of Our Own Resurrection to Life!

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection in His new, glorified body, He told them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ (the Messiah King) to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations." (Luke 24:46-47)  This is the true "gospel," the "good news" that ministers of our Lord are commanded to preach: repentance of your sins with the promise of everlasting life with Him in heaven. Your faith in this promise "comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)  There is no other way to eternal life after you die.  Please join us this Sunday and learn what God has to say about your future, as written in His inspired Holy Word... the Bible. Become a REAL Christian... a true follower of Jesus Christ. He gave up His life so that we -- each and every one of us -- might have eternal life!

Paul, in his letters to the early Church, tells us that it is our friend, Jesus Christ, who saves us from sin and gives us a resurrected body and eternal life -- we do not save ourselves.  Trying to be "a good person" or doing good deeds does not lead to salvation.  To both Jews and pagans, Paul preached "repentance of sin toward God and faith commitment toward our Lord Jesus Christ."  (Acts 20:21)  It is only by our repentance of sin (turning away from it) and direct commitment to Jesus Christ -- not belonging to a particular religion, following a church denomination, or doing "good works" -- that changes in our life and our eternal salvation are assured.  Peter  tells us how easy it is to find salvation: "Repent and  be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)   Are you ready to receive the free gift of eternal life from your new-found friend, Jesus?

Join Us This Sunday On Beautiful Catalina Island!

Each week's study is taught by Pastor Jason Gant, bringing you the loving and living Word of God from the Bible, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse.  Everyone is welcomed, and transportation is happily provided.  Attendees at this Sunday's service will have the opportunity to ask their Bible questions and take part in a brief discussion period after the teaching.  Our "Coffee & Carbs Fellowship" follows immediately afterwards.  For more information, please call 310-510-3003 or visit our website at www.calvarybiblechurch.com.  If you need prayer. please call our toll-free 24-Hour Prayer Line 1-866-Holy-Word (465-9967).  Remember...  Read the Book, Learn the Truth!

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