If I Ever Preached on Easter

As I begin to wind down a long and enjoyable career of preaching, one of the regrets that I have looking back over my time in the pulpit is the fact that I missed preaching on Resurrection Sunday. There is so much good music, but it is such an assumed standard that Easter is not a preaching day. I have rarely preached on this most important Sunday of the year. There has always been a cantata or musical program. For this reason, I have decided to start a new practice of preaching my Easter sermon one week early. From now on, I’ll skip Palm Sunday and raise Jesus one week early. One of the practical benefits of this will be that the choir can practice one of their numbers one week early, and it will fit nicely.

If I were to ever preach on Easter, I would take as my text the fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians. It is, beyond all arguments, one of the greatest chapters in the entire Bible. Paul begins the chapter by explaining that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the gospel. Many have argued concerning the definition of the gospel. There is good reason for this, as we shall see to today. Whatever your concept of the gospel might be, it cannot omit the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without a resurrection, we have no gospel!

Today, we are going to look at the first paragraph of this most wonderful chapter, and in our study of it, we shall see that the gospel is larger than the minds of men. It is stronger than the forces of creation. It is God’s work and not ours. Nonetheless, it is activated by the response of men. It is inseparably connected to history, yet it goes beyond time and space.

It is large enough to stand on, yet small enough to fit within the heart. It is large enough to cover all of our sin, yet small enough to hold in our convictions. It comes in a variety of different packages and appears at the most unexpected times and places. The gospel brings life; without it there is no life. The gospel is a cross and a tomb, both once occupied, but now eternally vacant. The gospel is resurrection!

The gospel has been called good news, but it is much more than news. The gospel empowers dead men to live. It fills the hopeless with purpose, and it turns pain and suffering into stepping-stones toward rewards that lie beyond the grave and the human imagination. The gospel is a nail-pierced hand. It is the face of Jesus. It is a voice that says, “Welcome home!”

If I Ever Preached on Easter

INTRODUCTION

1. Textual problem

2. Method of affirmation

A.

B.

C.

D.

3. Clarification of value

INSTRUCTION

The Outline of Paul's’ Argument

I. I Corinthians 15:1-35

II. I Corinthians 15:35-51

III. I Corinthians 15:51-57

The content of the gospel

I. Christ

II. Christ

III. Christ

The miracle of the gospel

I.

II.

III.

IV.

A. Believe

B. Believe