His Resurrection is Evidence of His Return and Reign

·35 min·3 clips

How did the resurrection transform petty, argumentative fishermen into powerful proclaimers of the gospel?

The episode is a sermon from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Billings, Montana, delivered by Pastor Eddie on Resurrection Sunday (Easter). It begins by referencing a video clip from Pastor S.M. Lockridge's famous 'It's Friday, but Sunday's coming' sermon, setting the stage for reflecting on the resurrection's impact. The pastor contrasts the disciples' behavior before and after the resurrection, noting their transformation from prideful and argumentative to humble and servant-hearted. He emphasizes that the resurrection closed the chapter on the Old Testament and the old covenant, as illustrated by Jesus' encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. In that encounter, Jesus explained how the Old Testament scriptures pointed to him, fulfilling offerings like the burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offerings described in Leviticus. The sermon then explores how the tabernacle's furniture—such as the altar of sacrifice, laver, lampstand, showbread, altar of incense, and Ark of the Covenant—all prefigured aspects of Jesus' ministry and presence. Pastor Eddie highlights that the resurrection not only ended the old but began the new, marked by the early church (ekklesia) meeting on the Lord's Day (Sunday) instead of the Jewish Sabbath. This new community broke societal norms by uniting Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, slaves and free as brothers and sisters in Christ, a phenomenon unprecedented in ancient civilizations. The church's missionary zeal (euangelion) led to rapid growth, with figures like Barnabas and Paul spreading the gospel person-to-person, turning the world 'upside down'. The pastor engages the congregation by asking those who have been on mission trips, sponsored children, or given to missions to stand, demonstrating ongoing missionary passion. He then discusses modern missionary tools, noting that 6 billion people have cell phones and 1 billion have the YouVersion Bible app, available in 2,400 languages, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24:14 about the gospel reaching all nations. The sermon concludes by asserting that the resurrection guarantees Christ's return to the Mount of Olives and his future reign, as foretold in Acts 1:11 and Zechariah 12. An altar call invites listeners to commit to Christ, embrace resurrection power, and join the missionary endeavor, ending with a prayer for transformation.

As heard by us

An Easter sermon carries resurrection from a remembered event into the shared weekly life of the church.

The sermon treats Easter as the turning point between what has ended and what has begun, moving from S.M. Lockridge's Friday-and-Sunday frame into resurrection as both the last chapter of the old and the first chapter of the new.

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Why you'd press play

You get a Resurrection Sunday sermon that treats Easter as more than an annual memory: a weekly worship pattern and a daily way to live.

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