Celebrating Easter’s Significance
Gregory T. Pouncey
John 20:1-9,15-18; 1 Corinthians. 15:3-6,20-22
Before the Session
For teaching plans and full explanations of all the verses in today’s lessons,
consult the Explore the Bible leader guide or commentary.
Make sure each learner has his or her own Explore the Bible learner
guide.
Marvel at the Empty Tomb (John 20:1-9)
Read the following eyewitness accounts to see if learners can guess what
important event each account describes:
The smoke and ash were so thick I was certain we would
die. Everyone headed south. People were scared to death. Some were crying.
But people were trying to calm each other down and help each other. Debris
was everywhere.
Me and my sister were near the port when we felt a sudden
movement beneath our feet. We then saw people screaming and running away
form the coast. There were huge tidal waves about two meters high crashing
against the port. We were really scared. It was as if the sea was swallowing
the land form every direction.
No laughing throng, but on either side [of the
staircases] stand quietly, bravely, the stewards, all equipped with the
white, ghostly life-preservers. Always the thing one tries not to see even
crossing a ferry. Now only pale faces, each form strapped about with those
white bars. So gruesome a scene. We passed on. The awful good-byes. The
quiet look of hope in the brave men's eyes as the wives were put into the
lifeboats. Nothing escaped one at this fearful moment. We left from the sun
deck, seventy-five feet above the water. Mr. Case and Mr. Roebling, brave
American men, saw us to the lifeboat, made no effort to save themselves, but
stepped back on deck. Later they went to an honored grave.
The streets were lined with people.- lots and lots of
people – the children were all smiling, placards, confetti, people waving
from windows. One last happy moment I had was looking up and seeing Mary
Griffith leaning out of a window and waving at me.
Then, almost at the edge of town, on our way to the Trade
Mart where we were going to have the luncheon, we were rounding a curve,
going down a hill and suddenly there was a sharp, loud report – a shot.It
seemed to me to come from the right above my shoulder from a building. Then
a moment and then two more shots in rapid succession. There had been such a
gala air that I thought it must be firecrackers or some kind of celebration.
"Slowly, desperately slowly it
seemed to us as we watched, the remains of passage debris that encumbered
the lower part of the doorway were removed, until at last we had the whole
door clear before us. The decisive moment had arrived. With trembling hands
I made a tiny breach in the upper left hand corner. Darkness and blank
space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay
beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared.
Candle tests were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and
then, widening the hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord
Caernarvon, Lady Evelyn [Lord Carnarvon's daughter] and Callender [an
assistant] standing anxiously beside me to hear the verdict. At first I
could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle
flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light,
details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals,
statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment - an
eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by - I was struck dumb
with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any
longer, inquired anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' it was all I could do to
get out the words, 'Yes, wonderful things.' Then widening the hole a little
further, so that we both could see, we inserted an electric torch."
Answers:
1-World Trade Center Attacks, 2-Tsunami of 2004, 3-Titanic, 4-Kennedy
Assassination, 5-Discovery of King Tut’s Tomb
Ask:
How does
reading eyewitness accounts change our perception of these events?
What personal
touches are often lost by recalling the facts of an event rather than by
reading the stories of eyewitnesses?
How are you
impacted by the eyewitness testimonies in John 20:1-9?
Listen to Witnesses (John 20:15-18)
Create five groups and give each group one of the
eyewitness accounts from the previous step.
Encourage each group to retell the event from the perspective of the person who
wrote the account they were assigned.
Enlist a volunteer to read John 20:15-18.
Ask:
What emotions
might Mary Magdalene have felt as she witnessed the resurrection of
Christ?
Why do people
who have witnessed a dramatic event rarely forget the details of that
event?
What does
Mary’s story tell us about the resurrection of Christ?
Recognize the Gospel’s Significance (1 Cor. 15:3-6)
Read the following excerpt of an article written by Bob Deffinbaugh
about Easter’s significance:
The Significance of the Resurrection
This week I found it necessary to do some of my
research and preparation for this Easter message in a nearby dime store. I
went there to learn how the average person attempts to celebrate Easter.
That’s right, the dime store. One of the best sources of material on the
theology of Easter is to be found in the “Easter” section of the greeting
cards. I found a fairly good sized selection of cards on display, the vast
majority of which were entirely secular. They ranged from the “thinking of
you at Easter” variety to the ones which had pictures of fuzzy teddy bears,
rabbits, and Easter eggs, and some kind of inane holiday greeting.
Frequently there was a “Spring is Here” motif with Easter somehow associated
with the coming of Spring, and the happy thought of leaving behind a dreary
winter and looking forward to the fresh new life which signals the coming of
Spring.
There were three or four cards which might loosely be
called “religious” cards. For example, one had a picturesque church on the
cover, another had “an Easter prayer,” and another had a religious word or
two. Not so much as one card contained a cross, an empty tomb, not even the
name of the Lord Jesus.
If the greeting card displays of most stores are like the
one I visited, we would have to agree that the resurrection of Christ is not
considered very significant by the marketplace. Easter bunnies and eggs have
won “hands down” over Christ, the cross of Calvary, and the empty tomb.
The significance of Easter is often
overlooked or distorted by churches in America. All too often, Easter Sunday
is more of a “coming out” ritual, a part of the celebration of the
commencement of Spring, than it is an observance and celebration of the
resurrection of our Lord. Ladies can show off their new hats and outfits.
Once a year church attenders can show up to shock the preacher, and to give
him his annual “shot” at them as they attend.
Typically, many evangelical preachers
take this occasion to give an apologetic sermon, seeking to show that the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a proven fact of history--and that
it is. I am convinced, however, that many of the non-Christians who attend
Easter Sunday services accept the resurrection of Christ as a fact. They
simply have not come to recognize and act of its significance. It is for
this reason that I am addressing this message to the religious unbelievers
who believe in the fact of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, but who fail
to grasp its significance in a personal way. I will seek to demonstrate the
significance of the resurrection of Christ by focusing on the uniqueness,
the necessity, and the urgency of the resurrection.
What value did Paul place the
resurrection of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6?
How does your Easter celebration
recognize the gospel’s significance?
What do the Easter festivities of your
community tell you about the primacy of the gospel in your area?
How can we emphasize the gospel more
during Easter?
Celebrate New Life in Christ (1 Cor. 15:20-22)
Read the following excerpt from
Discipleship Journal:
Celebrating the
Resurrection: How can we help our children understand that Easter is much
more than a time to get a new set of clothes?
Why do we give so much more attention to celebrating Christmas than to
celebrating Easter? For Christmas we bake cookies, buy presents, light
candles, count the days, display manger scenes, sing carols, and tell the
world "Christ is born!" We're talking major-league time, effort, and
expense.
Christmas is a
wonderful story: A baby is born to be a King who will bring joy, peace, and
love to the world. No unpalatable details here.
Easter is different. You can't get to the good,
joyful, wonderful part without first stepping through some pretty messy
stuff: betrayal, injustice, sorrow, death. But the greatest thing Jesus ever
did occurred in a tomb in Jerusalem, not far from where He died on a
hillside called Calvary. It was here that He rose again, victorious over
death, giver of life everlasting. It was here that He did what no man had
ever done, and in the doing provided the very cornerstone of our faith. "If
Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith"
(1 Cor. 15:14).
Just as we have
traditional symbols of the great truths of Christmas (giving gifts to remind
us of God's greatest gift to the world), we can develop family traditions
that symbolize what Easter—this most joyful of holidays—is really all about.
Source: Machat, Patricia.Celebrating the Resurrection: How can we help our
children understand that Easter is much more than a time to get a new set of
clothes? Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/1/1.62.17.html.
Ask:
Why does Christmas seem to get more attention, both
in the world and in the church, than Easter?
What practices of the celebration of Easter do you
hold dear?
In 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, why does Paul refer to
Christ’s death as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep?
How are you celebrating the new life that you have in
Christ?
Spend time praying for those who may not have experienced
the power of Christ’s resurrection in their own lives. Celebrate the
resurrection of Christ today with all the passion that it deserves.
EXTRA! is a supplement designed
to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by
LifeWay Church Resources.
EXTRA! is produced by Publishing
Services and Multimedia, LifeWay Church Resources, Copyright 2007, LifeWay
Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
SPECIAL NOTE: Some Internet
addresses given in EXTRA! are outside the LifeWay Internet domain. Because of
the changing nature of the Web, EXTRA! editors cannot be held responsible for
content on pages outside their control. At the time of this posting, the
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have changed. Links from the specific page addresses referenced in this material
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Bible Studies for Life
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March 23, 2008
Living 3:16—Alive with Power
Dana Armstrong
Ephesians 1:18-21; 2:4-9; 3:16-21
Before the Session
For teaching plans and full explanations of all the verses in today’s lesson,
consult any of the Bible Studies for Life leader guides or
commentaries.
Make sure each learner has his or her own learner guide.
Ephesians 1:18-21
Enlist a volunteer to read Ephesians 1:18-21. In these
verses,Paul prayed that believers might
realize the vast power available to those who know God—power demonstrated when
God raised Jesus from the dead. By understanding that God raised Jesus from the
dead, people can realize God is able to give a new, hope-filled life to everyone
who believes in Jesus.
Read the following excerpt from an Easter sermon by
Calvin Whittman:
What Does Jesus Do for Us? Jesus Lives for Us
Scripture tells us the reason Jesus went to the cross
was to pay the price for our sins. His resurrection assures us of His, and
ultimately our, victory over death. Simply put, Jesus died so we would not
have to experience eternal death; He rose again so that we could experience
eternal life.
That is what Easter is all about. It’s about having
come to a point in our lives where we understand that we are sinners in need
of a Savior. It’s about recognizing that nothing can save us from the
penalty of our sins except the blood of Jesus. And coming to that
recognition, we must accept the forgiveness of sins Jesus offers and place
our lives under His control, that’s what it means to be saved.
Many people have a superficial understanding of what
it means to be a Christian. They think that holding to a certain moral or
ethical code will get them into heaven. Others think that joining the church
or being baptized will do it, but Scripture tells us we must be born again,
we must be made new in Jesus, we must pass from the death of trespasses and
sins into the new life found only through a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. That’s what Easter is all about.
But not only is
it a time to celebrate the new life we have in Jesus because of His
resurrection, it is also a time for us to reflect upon what the resurrection
means in our everyday experience.
Belonging to Jesus means you are no longer of the
world. You may be in the world but you are no longer of the world and thus
you will ever be at odds with the world.
The world hates us because our new life in Christ is
such a contrast with the life they live. When we are surrendered to the
point that the life of Jesus is seen through us, our lives serve to convict
the world around us of their sin. Our lives force them to see themselves for
what they really are and it’s not something they want to see.
We who were dead in trespasses and sins have been made
alive in Christ, we have been born again, we live in a realm the lost world
cannot understand and because we have this new life, because we have been
spiritually raised from the dead, and our life is different from that of the
world. The one distinctive which we should possess that makes us different
is love.
If you really know Him, if you’ve really trusted Him,
then live like Him. Don’t be a hypocrite. Don’t profess one thing and
practice another. If you have really trusted Him, then your actions will
demonstrate it.
Do you know Him? Is the evidence of His love visible
in your life? Have you ever trusted Him? Are you walking in obedience to
Him, or are claiming to be a Christian without any substantiating evidence?
Source: Whittman, Calvin. What Does
Jesus Do for Us? Jesus Lives for Us. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
www.lifeway.com.
Ask:
How would you
share the hope you have found in Jesus with others?
How do people
know you really know Him?
Say:We know what
love is because of God’s love through His sacrifice of His own son for us at
Calvary. According to Whittman, “Love is more than words, or God could have just
said He loved us but done nothing about it. Love is more than a feeling,
or God could have just felt sorry for us and we would still be headed to hell.”
Because of this love we can have confidence in new life, confidence that He
knows us, and confidence that He hears us.
Ephesians 2:4-9
Enlist a volunteer to read Ephesians 2:4-9.Paul emphasized that people receive God’s gift of salvation
by faith in Jesus and that salvation results in believers being made alive with
the Messiah.People can
receive God’s gracious gifts of forgiveness and new life by trusting in Jesus
Christ as their Savior.
Refer readers to the "A Step of Faith" feature on the
inside front cover of any of this quarter’s periodicals. Provide a
clear explanation of how one can become a Christian and invite members to
receive Christ or to take steps in that direction by talking with a trusted
believer, the teacher, or a minister.
Ephesians 3:16-21
Enlist a volunteer to read Ephesians 3:16-21.Read or paraphrase the following article about how we can have
confidence in God:
Living a Solid Rock Faith
EL CAJON, Calif. (BP)--Almost everybody knows how the
Jeopardy game on TV works: I’ll give you an answer, and you give me the
question that goes with it.
Here’s the answer: “The geographical landmark,
standing like a sentinel where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean
Sea, that a major financial services company has used as a logo for years.”
If you said, “What is the Rock of Gibraltar?” you are
correct. The Rock of Gibraltar stands guard over the Strait of Gibraltar,
the eight-mile-wide neck of water that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the
Mediterranean Sea. The Strait of Gibraltar was the only way into or out of
the Mediterranean Sea prior to the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869.
In what location would you have the most confidence
building a house -- on top of the Rock of Gibraltar or clinging to the side
of the California coastline? You’ve seen news footage of million dollar
homes sliding into the Pacific whenever we have heavy rains. I’ll take the
Rock any day. My confidence would be unshakeable living on that kind of
foundation.
Jesus talked about living with confidence when he drew
a comparison between a house built on bedrock and one built on dirt (Luke
6:46-49). The houses Jesus referred to actually represented two different
kinds of life. The life built and lived with confidence is the life built on
the teachings of Jesus. The shaky life is one built while ignoring the Son
of God and the eternal truths He came to reveal.
When your faith is challenged by disturbances or
detractors, how high is your confidence level: at rest on a solid limestone
foundation, or holding on for dear life as the mud and rocks erode from
beneath you?
When King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to burn Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego to death in a fiery furnace, here is what they said:
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if
not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor
will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).
Now that’s confidence -- not arrogance, sarcasm,
rebellion or insubordination, but confidence.
First, “our God ... is able.” Our God is able. Do you
have that kind of confidence in God? Note that they didn’t presume to know
whether God would deliver them. But they were 110 percent confident that He
could.
Second, “we do not serve your gods.” No panic, no
alarm, no insecurity, no fear -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were three
confident young men.
At a bare minimum, a rock-solid faith is built on
these four realities:
1. You will never be confident if you don’t know the
Word of God. The Bible is full of “great and precious promises” which tell
us we are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
2. You will never be confident if you do not know your
heavenly Father intimately. Jesus said that eternal life was to know “the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom [He has] sent” (John 17:3).
3. You will never be confident if you don’t invest
your time, talent, and treasure in pursuing the kingdom of God. Paul lived
with such confidence because he “[pressed] on ... toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12, 14).
4. You will never be confident unless you prove to
yourself that you really believe. The more you hear yourself sharing Christ
... the more you’ll realize, “Hey, that’s me out there living confidently
for Christ.”
Know the Word, know the Father, invest yourself and get
in the game. Practice those principles, and you will become a confident,
Gibraltar-like Christian.
Gibraltar has been standing tall for
centuries, but you’ll stand tall for all eternity when your faith becomes as
solid as a rock.
Source: Jeremiah,
David. Living a Solid Rock Faith. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
www.lifeway.com.
Ask:
According to
this article, what must we do to have confidence in Christ?
What steps will
you take to know the Word of God better? How will you develop a deeper
relationship with God?
What does it
mean to pursue the kingdom of God? How will pursuing God's priority
impact your life?
Remind learners that believers can
depend on the Holy Spirit to fortify them spiritually and remind them of Jesus’
amazing love. Close with prayer.
EXTRA! is a supplement designed
to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by
LifeWay Church Resources.
EXTRA! is produced by Publishing
Services and Multimedia, LifeWay Church Resources, Copyright 2007, LifeWay
Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
SPECIAL NOTE: Some Internet
addresses given in EXTRA! are outside the LifeWay Internet domain. Because of
the changing nature of the Web, EXTRA! editors cannot be held responsible for
content on pages outside their control. At the time of this posting, the
specific pages mentioned have been viewed and approved by the EXTRA! editorial
staff. However, at the time of your viewing, the information on these pages may
have changed. Links from the specific page addresses referenced in this material
possibly could link to inappropriate material.
