“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 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. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
1 Corinthians 15:12-17
Never in my life did I think I would find myself on Lake Erie at a Easter sunrise service in Canada. Check that off the bucket list.
Today we celebrated God’s endorsement of what Christ did on the Cross by celebrating an empty tomb. Christ paid the price, He absorbed our sin, He died for us the death that we could never die, and today we celebrate the truth that death couldn’t hold Him! God declares to the world the truth of what His Son did for us on the Cross and the truth that we are saved by grace through faith in Him! Happy Easter! He is Risen and today we celebrate that truth. Our greatest hope is found in that empty tomb. Without Christ our sin condemns us and without the empty tomb His death lacks the endorsement of God. Praise God He Is Risen!
From John Piper in “50 Reasons Jesus Came To Die”
“The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. The holy curse against sin was fully absorbed. The obe- dience of Christ was completed to the fullest measure. The price of forgiveness was totally paid. The righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the pub- lic declaration of God’s endorsement. This he gave by raising Jesus from the dead.
When the Bible says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17), the point is not that the resurrection is the price paid for our sins. The point is that the resurrection proves that the death of Jesus is an all-sufficient price. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his death was a failure, God did not vindicate his sin-bearing achieve- ment, and we are still in our sins.”
Camp in Canada is complete. Incredible group of gifted athletes. Lots of talent in the room this weekend and I believe some soon to be Games athletes. There are a couple things I learned about Canada that I didn’t know before:n
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- There are not Mounties riding around on horseback through town.
- Canadians are not big fans of guns… this certainly isn’t Texas.
- At the end of March there is no reason to come packed for a life-threatening blizzard.
- Evidently Hamilton, Ontario is the armpit of those who live in Hamilton… whatever that means.
- Crossfitters in Canada measure distance in kilometers, speed in kilometers per hour, temperature in Celsius and they measure weight… in pounds. Weird… they say it’s America’s fault.
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nEither way. Great camp with great athletes. Thank you Canadians for a great trip!
Lastly two of my favorite people finally are sealing the knot. Bout time Winchester decided to step up to the plate. Congrats Ingrid and Michael! Excited for your future together.n