Worship Service March 23, 2008
Call to Worship
Welcome
Invocation/Offering
Songs of Praise and Worship
Today’s Message: “Our God Is Alive”
Pastor Jeff Wiesinger
Benediction
1 Corinthians 15 (The Message)
Resurrection
1-2Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I'm assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you're in this for good and holding fast.)
3-9The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don't deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God's church right out of existence.
12-15Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ. And face it—if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.
16-20If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.
21-28There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. He won't let up until the last enemy is down—and the very last enemy is death! As the psalmist said, "He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them." When Scripture says that "he walked all over them," it's obvious that he couldn't at the same time be walked on. When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending!
30-33And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be the end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there's no resurrection, "We eat, we drink, the next day we die," and that's all there is to it. But don't fool yourselves. Don't let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. "Bad company ruins good manners."
34Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these. Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have?
35-38Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
42-44This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!
45-49We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. Physical life comes first, then spiritual—a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends.
50I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end up in the Life kingdom?
51-57But
let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully
understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You
hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up
and blink your eyes—it's over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the
dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to
die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we'll all be changed. In the
resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken
off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the
immortal. Then the saying will come true:
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now?
It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its
leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life,
all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Thank God!
For more information regarding any of the following, please contact the ABC Office at (907) 562-3238.
Dayn Arnold Film: You are encouraged to attend the showing of “Bible Camp: The Story of Kokrine Hills” being shown at Abbott Loop Community Church on March 28th at 7pm. This is an encouraging and informative family event about God’s working in the heart of Alaska. Cost: $3 suggested donation.
Get-To-Know-You Social: If you are a new attendee of Alliance Bible Church, and would like to have a chance to get acquainted with other ABC attendees, you are invited to the Sexauer home (3401 Halyards Circle) on April 6th from 3-5pm for a time of fellowship and fun.
Ladies Retreat: Ladies, do you need fellowship, both physical and spiritual?
Then don’t miss the April 25th – 27th ladies’ retreat at Solid Rock Bible Camp. Tuition is $85, and includes lodging, meals, and activities. Partial and full scholarships are available. Carpooling is also an option.
Conference for Men: Alaska Men’s Ministries is sponsoring the Every Man Conference on April 11th and 12th at ChangePoint. The speaker is Kenny Luck, author of Every Man, God’s Man, and Men’s Minister at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Learn how to strongly connect with God and with godly men to produce the character of Jesus Christ. The Friday session is 7pm-9pm; the Saturday session is 8am-1pm. The cost is $50 (or $45 if your register by March 25th). Online sign-up is at www.akmensministries.com, or contact the ABC office. Brochures are available.
Kidz Klass: A financial stewardship class for kids (K-6), “In God We Trust,” is being offered on April 13th and 20th, and May 5th and 12th. Each session is 90 minutes long, and will begin immediately following the worship service. Lunch will be served.
Praise Dance Fundraiser: The Praise Dance team is hosting a fundraiser to provide backpacks filled with Bibles and healthy snack food for the Gospel Mission. The fundraiser will be at the church on Friday, April 11th. There will be a family movie, and a silent auction bake sale. The bake sale silent auction will begin at 6pm; the movie starts at 6:30pm. Admission is by donation.
What’s happening this week…
TODAY 23rd 8:30 am Prayer
9:00 am Sunday School
10:15 am Worship Service
12:30 pm Truthseekers will not meet today
Mon. 24th 6:30 pm Women’s Care Group, 3rd floor church prayer room
Tue. 25th 7:00 pm Worship Team
Wed. 26th 7:00 pm Youth Group
Thurs. 27th 7:00 pm Wiesinger Care Group, Bedwell’s house
Ø Visit our website…www.alliancebiblechurchak.org to learn more about our church, upcoming events, youth activities, ministries, listen to sermons, and more.
Ø Sermon on CD or Tapes… Request your copy of Sunday’s sermon on the sign-up sheet at the information table or listen via the internet at our website.
Ø Encouragement Cards…Communicate your appreciation and support to others who attend Alliance Bible Church. Please be sure to sign your name, put the recipient’s full name on the front, and drop it in the basket on the informational table. We’ll supply the address and cover the postage.
Ø Weekly Prayer lists…If you have a prayer request during the week, please notify the Church office or Prayer Chain.