The Risen Way

Northway Church

The Risen Way

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• Small Group Discussion Guide – Download HERE

The Risen Way

Text(s): Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18

Biblical Basic: Personal God: God is involved in and cares about our daily lives. Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Sermon in a Sentence: No matter the trials or struggles we face, even in moments of doubt, we must never forget the many promises of Christ, continuing to walk in The Risen Way.

KEY POINTS:

• The Story
  • Mary and the other ladies are going about “business as usual,” returning to the tomb with spices for burial, doing what they would do when a loved one passed away.
  • The “sharp dressed men” met them to remind them of the words of Jesus.
    • “Why are seeking the living among the dead?”
      • We too are sometimes guilty of looking for life in all the wrong places—looking for answers in all the wrong place instead of looking to the one that has all the answers.
    • “Remember how He spoke to you…”
      • They remembered his words! Even more than just the words about his resurrection – perhaps they even began remembering all the incredible things he had said and promised.
  • The women run to tell the disciples of what they’ve seen.
    • The words seemed like nonsense to them. They did not believe. They were still mired in the awful facts of the past weekend.
      • We too are often mired in our own facts that seem to point to despair.
  • Peter and John run to the tomb. When they see the evidence for themselves, their belief and faith begins to build.
    • Our challenge is to look at a new set of facts determined by the God of the Resurrection!
  • Once Peter and John head back to tell what they’ve seen, Mary is left behind and encounters Jesus, who she thinks is just a gardener at first until she hears him call her name…”Mary.”
    • Hearing him call our name makes all the difference!
       
• Three Quick Lessons from this Easter Story
  • Remember His Reassuring Words.
    • Regardless of what you’re facing, the facts you have before you, reflect on the many promises of God in his word.
  • Believe in His Resurrection Power.
    • Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
    • “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
  • Walk in His Risen Way!
    • Do you just believe in an incredible event that happened long ago, or are you experiencing the power of the resurrection in your everyday life?
    • Has your belief become a way of life?
    • “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
      • He’s not just the resurrected, that’s a powerful thing in and of itself. But he IS the resurrection. He’s not just the one who has been raised to life – He’s the one who does the raising! He IS the resurrection.
    • If you are a follower of Christ, then that same resurrection power didn’t just raise Jesus from the dead 2000 years ago – it resides within you today!
      • And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11 CSB
         
• What Jesus meant when he used the word “BELIEVE.”
  • It includes a measure of confidence in the facts, but it also calls for action.
  • You believe in a way that affects your behavior.
  • He’s not JUST asking you to believe that He was an actual person that lived and died and was resurrected some 2,000 years ago. That’s the evidence that He’s the Son of God, so it is a first step. But it’s also even more of an invitation to believe His message and His teachings and His way of life to the point where you trust Him to lead your life – altering your behavior as you go along. 
  • When Jesus says, “Believe in me,” He also means, “Come Follow Me.” Walk with me, work with me, watch how I do it.
  • Believing in the facts alone won’t do you much good. But believing in a way that surrenders your old way of walking through life to His way of walking through life, that’s more the point.