HOLY WEEK RESURRECTION SUNDAY: JESUS IS ALIVE!!!

Read Matthew 28:1-20 On this Sunday, nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus rose from the dead!!!!!!! This is the climax of Holy Week! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is THE #1 most important event in the Christian faith! It makes or breaks everything I believe about Jesus. Oh and, by the way, the Apostle Paul said the same thing too (1 Corinthians 15:17-20). Early Sunday morning several women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome are all mentioned in the Gospels) went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering the tomb's entrance had been rolled away. Then – how cool is this, an angel tells ‘em “not to freak out.” (HA – too late!) "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen." (Matthew 28:5-6) On the day of his resurrection, the first person to see him was Mary Magdalene. Jesus also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas (while they were gathered in a house for prayer) and to 500 others gathered at the same time! And according to Acts 1, He was here on earth for 40 days! This was no mirage, no magic trick or even their eyes playing tricks on them. Jesus REALLY was and IS alive! The eyewitness accounts in the Bible provide undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened. And Jesus is just as ALIVE today as He was then! SO WHAT?!~ - How do you treat Jesus? As an impersonal being, a “force” or as the Living God who deeply desires a relationship with you and me?!~ - Last words mean a lot. Jesus last words before He left this planet are recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:7-8! Read them over again now and ask yourself: How am I making disciples and how am I being a witness for Jesus? The one thing we have the privilege of doing here that we won’t do in heaven is make disciples and witness. So let’s be all about it here and now!~