“When the Sabbath was past Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.” - Mark 16:1 "And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ "And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back — it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.'"" - Mark 16:2-6a Can we trust that the Resurrection happened? Why does the Resurrection matter? How does the resurrection change my life? “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” - 1 Corinthians 15:14 1 Corinthians 15:3: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…” “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” - 1 Cor. 15:4 After Jesus rose from the grave, “He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” - 1 Cor. 15:5-6 You are out of your mind, Paul!' he shouted. 'Your great learning is driving you insane.'" “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner." “Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?'” Acts 26:24-25 “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.” - Acts 26:31 Why does the resurrection matter? “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.' He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, 'The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.' Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'” - Genesis 3:8-12 Sin causes us to hide from God. Sin causes us to cover our shame. Sin causes relational fracture. Sin causes Death. Sin causes us to hide from God → The resurrection means we can access God Sin causes us to cover our shame → The resurrection means that our shame has been covered by Jesus. Sin causes relational fracture → The resurrection means that we can forgive because we’ve been forgiven. Sin causes Death → The resurrection means that Death has been defeated. How does the resurrection change my life? Romans 8:11, “11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Through faith in Jesus, the power of the resurrection becomes active in your life.