Join me Resurrection Sunday for my Sunday Message "I Am the Resurrection and the Life."

Perhaps no other doctrine of Christianity has both historically and currently been at the center of controversy than that of the reality of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Historically the Greeks never embraced the possibility of any rescue from death and its permanence. People today still stumble over the resurrection, perhaps choosing to embrace the “idea” of Jesus as a great teacher and maybe even anointed by God to do good works but fail to embrace Him as the “Lord of life.”

Jesus encounter with the sisters of Lazarus after his brief sickness and subsequent death was in itself a revelation of the power of Jesus over death, that which the Apostle Paul describes as the "last enemy." Martha, in her comments, expresses hope in the coming resurrection at the "eschaton" but falls short of faith in Jesus as having power over death itself. "If only you had been here my brother would not have died." Her hope had been for a rescue from the immediate threat of death rather than putting her hope in the one who had power over death.

Today we find the church, especially the evangelical church, focused on the "parousia" or coming of Jesus because we want to be rescued from the evils and hardships of the culture. But the "rapture" was never supposed to be about rescue. Instead, it is all about resurrection and therein lies our hope, a sure and certain hope, a hope that will not disappoint, the blessed hope that when our Lord returns the dead in Christ will rise and we who remain alive will all be caught up together to meet Him. Because He lives, we shall live also!