Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, ² by which you are saved, if you hold it fast -- unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Summary and Function

Summary: When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved that He was God in the flesh and able to pay the penalty for all of our sins. In this way, He conquered sin, death and evil on our behalf. It’s important to remember that this was done for all people. Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus brought salvation to everyone. God loves all people and wants an intimate, love relationship with all people. This means that there is hope for all people. The Apostle Paul persecuted Christians and even sent them to their deaths. After his conversion, however, he became the greatest evangelist to the Gentiles (non-Jews). If God can use someone as horrible as Paul, He can use anyone who repents and places his/her trust in Jesus. There is hope for everyone. With this in mind, we must welcome all people into God’s Kingdom. We must welcome people we would not normally associate with and let them know about God’s love. May this Easter be the time when we actively seek to welcome every person we come across into the Kingdom of God.

Function: To encourage the congregation to reach out to all people with the love of Christ.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Most people tend to associate only with people who are like them

A. We see this most clearly in a high school setting. Kids tend to form cliques

· Smart kids hang with other smart kids

· Jocks hang with other jocks

· Head bangers hang with other head bangers

· Church going kids tend to hang out with other church going kids

B. This tendency to only hang out with people who are like us continues into adulthood

· White collar workers tend to hang out with other white collar workers

· Blue collar workers tend to hang out with other blue collar workers

· People with the same educational background tend to socialize with each other.

C. Because of this tendency to associate with people who are like us, we tend to look down on people who are different from us. We tend to judge people who are different from us.

· This is what is at the root of racism, classism, sexism and all the other

‘–isms;’

· This is seen, even in church congregations. Most congregations tend to be homogeneous in terms of race, social status and education level. When people who do not belong to their social groups visit, they are not always welcomed with open arms.

II. This human tendency to look down on people who are different from us should not

apply to Christians.

A. The commands of Jesus

· “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”

· Who is my neighbor? Anyone that needs help. (Luke 10:25-37)

B. The example of Jesus

· He was a Jewish son of a carpenter but hung out with…

· Pharisees, tax collectors, prostitutes, women and Roman soldiers and sinners. He treated them all with dignity and respect

III. Today we are celebrating the resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus.

A. On this day, we reflect on the significance or benefits of the resurrection.

· As we do this, we should remember that the benefits of the resurrection apply to everyone, regardless of ethnic background, social status, education or any other social standard.

· Just as the sun rises on everyone, the Son of God rose for all people.

B. We all need salvation and God provides us all with salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

· We are all sinners and deserve hell

· God, however, loves us all and doesn’t want to see any of us get what we deserve. So,….

· God came to this earth as a human being to live a sinless life and become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. With our sins wiped away, we have a re-stored love relationship with God. Instead of hell we get eternal life.

· On the third day he rose from the dead.

1) Proving he’s God in the flesh

2) Conquering sin, death and evil on our behalf.

C. Jesus doesn’t look down on anyone, but through His life, death and resurrection, provides everyone with Hope!!

IV. This is clearly seen when you look at the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul makes this point about his own life in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

A. First, he describes how the resurrected Jesus appeared to the Apostles, then to 500 people and then to himself. “Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, ² by which you are saved, if you hold it fast -- unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. “(1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

B. Second, he explains why he was not worthy to see the risen Christ. “For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15:9)

C. Lastly, he explains that, despite his unworthiness, God’s grace enables him to be an apostle. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:10-11)

IV. What this means for us

A. There is hope for you! It does not matter where you come from or what you have done. Easter is the holiday of regeneration and new beginnings. In the same way Paul received a new beginning, we all can have a new beginning.

B. Through faith in Jesus, we get to start our lives over again. This time, however, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do it right!

C. The cross represents this hope for a new life that is available to all who trust in Jesus. The Romans used the cross as an inhumane way of executing enemies of the state. God, however, transformed this tool of state execution into a symbol of life. We now look at the cross and remember the love of God!

D. As we take communion, we’ll decorate this cross with flowers. Let this be a visual reminder of how God can take something bad and use it for good. Let it be a reminder of how Easter can give us all a new start.