GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF LIFE AND IT’S VERY GOOD

Genesis 1:27, 31 (NIV) – So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them… God saw all that he had make, and it was very good.

Genesis 2:7 (NIV) – Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
GOD GIVES CHOICE. CHOICE RESULTS IN SIN. SIN EQUALS DEATH.
• God is love, love is a choice, and love is expressed and reciprocated in relationship.
• God gives us choice in our relationship with him to choose him or not.
• Choosing God, his truth, and his commands result in life as he intended.
• Rejecting God and the things of God results in sin. The consequences of sin are death.

Romans 5:12 (NIV) – Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS RESULTS IN VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH!

1 Corinthians 15: 55-57 (NLT) – O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Having victory over sin doesn’t mean we never sin, it means we are no longer slaves to it and we can overcome its consequences – death.
• All will die here on earth but eternity is determined by what we do with this life.
• Eternal death is conquered by Christ and those who believe.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS RESULTS IN AN OFFER OF RESURRECTED AND ETERNAL LIFE FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

John 3:16 (NIV) – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

• Eternity is a guarantee, but your destination is your determination.

Romans 6:4-5 (NIV) – We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

• We are to be united with Christ in the death of our old self and sin-ruled life via baptism and untied with him in a new and resurrected life.

THE RESURRECTED LIFE

2 Corinthians 5: 14-20 (NIV) – For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ behalf: Be reconciled to God.

• The loving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross should compel us to live for him.
• In Christ, we can live a new life!
• As God reconciled us back to himself through the sacrificial life of Jesus, we are to live a sacrificial life sharing the message of reconciliation with others as ambassadors for Christ.
• God does not require us to sacrifice our life via physical death, but instead calls us to a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1(NIV) – Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship.

THE RESURRECTION CHANGES EVERYTHING. HAS IT CHANGED YOU?

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT AND DISCUSS:
Passages to consider: Ephesians 1:17-19; 1 Peter 1:8-9; Colossians 3:1-2, Philippians 4:8

Icebreaker: What brings joy and delight – when do you feel most alive?
Sermon Reflection – from the sermon, share what was meaningful or thought-provoking to you?

Questions:
1. Read Luke 24:1-12 and Acts 2:14, 22-39. What do you see in these passages about Jesus, God’s activity and resurrection?
2. What impact did Jesus’ resurrection have on different people in these passages?
3. What have you experienced because of Jesus’ resurrection?
4. Look at Ephesians 2:1-5 & Hebrews 9:11-15. What did Jesus’ death and resurrection do for those who believed and trusted him?
5. In what areas do you need to experience resurrection life? What is your next step?
6. Who, in your relationships, needs resurrection life? How can you be a part? Be intentional.