The Story of the World (and Us) according to the Bible (6)

Jesus Is Alive!

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At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earth-quake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.His appearance was like lightning, his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

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The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here! He is risen, just as he said!Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples; He has risen from the dead.So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

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On the evening of the first day of the week, the disciples were together. The doors were locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.Jesus came into the room, stood among them, and said Peace be with you! He showed them his hands and side.

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Then Jesus said it again: Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you! Jesus said: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And you can be sure that I am with you to the very end!

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If Christ has not been raised, what we preach doesnt mean anything.If Christ has not been raised, your faith doesnt mean anything, your sins have not been forgiven, and those who have died believing in Christ are lost.

If we have hope in Christ only for this life, then people should pity us more than anyone else.

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But Christ really has been raised from the dead! He is the first of all those who will rise!Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did.Because of Adam, all people die. Now, because of Christ, all will be made alive!

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Death, where is the battle you thought you were winning?Death, where is your sting?Let us give thanks to God! He wins the battle for us through our Lord Jesus Christ! -1 Corinthians 15

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When I saw Jesus, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.But he put his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I was dead. But look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and Hades. -Revelation 1:17-18

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After his resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days with his disciples. He talked with them about Gods kingdom.Then Jesus was taken up to heaven. They watched until a cloud hid him from their sight.While he was going up, they kept looking at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothing stood beside them. Why do you stand here looking at the sky? they asked. Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go. -Acts 1:3,9-11

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1. I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. It was sealed with seven seals.I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice, Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it.What is this scroll?What has sealed it?

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I cried and cried because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.Then someone said to me, Dont cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll! Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if he had been put to death. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne.

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Then I heard a new song:You are worthy to take the scroll and break open its seals. You are worthy because you were put to death. With your blood you bought people for God. They come from every tribe, language, people and nation. You have made them members of a royal family, priests to serve our God. They will rule on the earth. -Revelation 5:1-10

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Jesus breaks the seven seals, allowing Gods plan for us and for his creation to become the beautiful, life-filled place he always wanted it to be.All heaven breaks into song: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. He will rule for ever and ever! -Revelation 11:15

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2. If God is on our side, who can be against us?Who can bring any charge against Gods chosen ones? God makes us right with himself. Who can condemn us? Christ Jesus? Hes at the right hand of God praying for us! Romans 8:31-34

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Jesus knows what its like to be human: he experienced our temptations; he wept at the death of a good friend; he became angry at what bad religious leaders did; he was betrayed by a friend; he was persecuted for his beliefs; he suffered torture and execution.Jesus is talking to his Father about what we human beings face every day.

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Is Jesus talking to God about you and me specifically?My sinsMy loved-onesMy decisionsMy neighborsMy concerns

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The Son of Man is going to come in his Fathers glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. -Jesus, Matthew 16: 27Jesus is the one God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. -Paul, in Acts 10:42

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Blessed are those who follow the way of the Lord. They are like trees planted next to a stream of water. Everything they do turns out well.Sinful people are not like that at all. They are like straw that the wind blows away.The Lord watches over the lives of the righteous but the lives of the wicked will go nowhere. -Psalm 1

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I almost lost my perspective; I almost gave up on God. For I saw that proud and sinful people were doing well. They dont have any troubles. Their bodies are healthy and strong. They dont suffer as other people do. They laugh at others and speak words of hatred. They say, How can God know what were doing? Does the Most High God really know that much?Here is what wicked people are like: they dont have a care in the world. They keep getting richer and richer. -Psalm 73

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Arise, O Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high; let the Lord judge the peoples.O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.-Psalm 7:6-9

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Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.Say among the nations, The Lord rules! Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad.Let the ocean and everything in it roar.Let the fields and everything in them be glad.Then all the trees in the forest will sing for joy.They will sing to the Lord because he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his truth. -Psalm 96:1,10-13

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The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. -Jesus, in John 5:22 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned. -John 3:16-18I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned. -Jesus, in John 5:24

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