Love's Unveiling — The Message of Easter

Over the next two weeks, to help us prepare for Easter, RZIM's Amy Orr-Ewing has recorded a set of online video Bible devotions that will take us day by day through the resurrection story all the way to Sunday, April 20, 2014.

Empty Tomb with an Angelic Explanation: (Luke 24:1-12) John MacArthur

(Luke 24:1-12) Well we come to a wonderful milestone today in our study of the gospel of Luke, we come to chapter 24 and the account of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus...the resurrection, long awaited. And I just want to give you a little bit of a sort of an introduction to the message this morning by telling you that preaching is a unique and wonderful adventure and because of the nature of the text itself, it changes, it ebbs and flows, it takes on different forms and different styles. And thats part of the adventure of it. http://www.gty.org

That's Easter: Life to Death & Death to Life

From St. Helen's Bishopgate in London.


THAT'S EASTER Life to Death from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.


THAT'S EASTER Death to Life from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.
Peter Williams and Peter Head of Tyndale House in Cambridge talking about the historical reliability of the resurrection.

FREE Easter Story-Audio Bible Max McLean Download

The Easter Story featuring narration by Max McLean. Is available for FREE download now.

Hear Max McLean recount scripture that describes the most important week in human history.

Tracks
1. Introduction - Max McLean
2. The Triumphal Entry of the Son - Mark 10:33-45; Mark 11:1-10, 15-18
3. The Anointing of the Son - Mark 14:1-9
4. The Betrayal of the Son - Mark 14:10-26, 32-50, 53-65
5. The Trial of the Son - Mark 15:1-20
6. The Crucifixion of the Son - Luke 23:32-43; John 19:25-27; Mark 15:33-35; John 19:28-30; Luke 23:46; Mark 15:38-39
7. The Suffering Son - Isaiah 53:1-12
8. The Resurrection of the Son - Luke 24:1-8
9. The Conversation with the Son - Luke 24:13-32
10. The Son's Startling Appearance - Luke 24:33-49; Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 24:52
11. The Son's Redeeming Power - Colossians 1:13-20

The Paradox of Christmas, Pt 4 of 6 (John MacArthur)

If you want a truly meaningful Christmas this year, you need to understand the true meaning of Christmas. And that starts with understanding the Person of Christmas: Jesus, Himself.

Easter Sermon Video - True Love by Phil Wickham

Music and lyrics by Phil Wickhem. Created by Shining Beacon. http://www.shiningbeacon.com

What Happened to the Twelve Apostles? How Their Deaths Evidence Easter

C Michael Patton @ www.reclaimingthemind.org has an overview of the deaths of:~

(1) The Apostle James

(2) The Apostle Peter

(3) The Apostle Andrew

(4) The Apostle Thomas

(5) The Apostle Philip

(6) The Apostle Matthew

(7) The Apostle Nathanael (Bartholomew)

(8) The Apostle James the Lesser

(9) The Apostle Simon the Zealot

(10) The Apostle Judas Thaddeus

(11) The Apostle Matthias

(12) The Apostle John

(13) The Apostle Paul

An Afterthought:

An Objection:

"At this point, you have only three options for explaining the Apostles’ belief: 1) Say that they died for a lie knowing that it was a lie, 2) that they were delusional or crazy, or 3) that was the truth, Christ did rise from the grave".

Here are your three options concerning the Apostles:

1. You would have to conclude that they died for a lie and knew it (unsustainable do to lack of any reasonable motive).
2. They were all delusional and crazy (but this would take more faith than any option since you would have to explain how they all had the same delusion and craziness—many being at different places and different times).
3. What they said was true. Christ did rise from the grave and is who He said He was.

To conclude, I want you to listen to the words of Ignasius, a second century church Father who’s beliefs were sustained by the reasoning of my current argument concerning the Apostles’ deaths.

“Mindful of him, do ye by all means know that Jesus the Lord was truly born of Mary, being made of a woman; and was as truly crucified. For, says he, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus.”11 And He really suffered, and died, and rose again. For says [Paul], “If Christ should become passible, and should be the first to rise again from the dead.”12 And again, “In that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.”13 Otherwise, what advantage would there be in [becoming subject to] bonds, if Christ has not died? what advantage in patience? what advantage in [enduring] stripes? And why such facts as the following: Peter was crucified; Paul and James were slain with the sword; John was banished to Patmos; Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews who killed the Lord? But, [in truth,] none of these sufferings were in vain; for the Lord was really crucified by the ungodly.” (Ignasius: The Epistle of Ignatius to the Tarsians, III)

Happy Crossmas! Why Easter stubbornly resists the commercialism that swallowed Christmas.

James Martin @ www.slate.com notes:
"Unlike Christmas, whose deeper spiritual meaning has been all but buried under an annual avalanche of commercialism, Easter has retained a stubborn hold on its identity as a religious holiday. This is all the more surprising when you consider what an opportune time it would be for marketers to convince us to buy more stuff. Typically arriving around the beginning of spring, Easter would be the perfect time for department stores to euchre customers into buying carloads of kids' outdoor toys, warm-weather clothes, and summertime sporting equipment. And while Christmas is forced to contend with Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, there is little holiday competition around Easter time. (Passover and Easter, despite their proximity in the calendar, don't seem to interfere with each other much.) All in all, the church's most important feast day comes at a terrific time of year for Madison Avenue."

Holy Week: Sunday

Paul Lamey @ http://expositorythoughts.wordpress.com notes:

Christ was resurrected from the dead (Matt. 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-8[9-13]; Luke 24:1-35). He is a type of the offering of the first fruits which was offered the day after the Sabbath (Lev. 23:9-14; 1 Cor. 15:23).

[Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 93]

Easter Is Near