Random Historical Facts - Henry Knapp

*In March of 1843, John Quincy Adams became the first President to be photographed.

*England was the first country to popularize square dancing.

*More than 3,000 years ago, the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec peoples used the cocoa bean to produce a chocolate drink.

*The Colossal Squid, the largest known invertebrate weighing in at around 1,000 pounds, was first discovered in 1925.

*Following a three-year siege, the city of Carthage was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 146 BC.

*While filming The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland’s (Dorothy’s) best friend on the set was the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West.

*Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead.

 Of course, for many, the resurrection of Jesus is a challenge to embrace. Some want to spiritualize it (“still alive in the hearts of His followers”). Some want to turn it into a conspiracy (“He wasn’t really dead”). Some just deny it outright (“Oh, come on! No one can do that!”). But to Christians, Jesus’ resurrection is the bedrock of our faith, as historically accurate, as factually true, as anything in the world. Failure to embrace the truth of the historic bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead places you outside the Christian faith.

 Having said that, for many believers, the resurrection is often treated as no more than a quirky historical fact. The fact that Rome destroyed Carthage, or that J.Q. Adams was the first photographed President, makes very little difference in our daily lives. It appears that Jesus’ resurrection often strikes believers similarly—an interesting, true, historical fact that seems to have little impact on our daily lives. Of course, stating it like that, we quickly see the enormity of our error—How could anything be more important to us? Yet, how often do we dwell upon, or even consider, the resurrection?

 The centrality of the resurrection for our faith is not simply theoretical, not simply something to keep in mind; the resurrection of Jesus is to shape our everyday living. So says the Scripture.

 One of the great promises of the Bible—our eternal presence with the Lord—is built upon Jesus’ resurrection: “because He lives, we will live with Him.” It is hard to imagine a more powerful assurance; because He rose from the dead, we know that we will as well (1 Corinthians 15; Romans 6). Confident of this, a secure eternal life, we live every day with that promise near at hand.

 However, it is not simply for the future that the resurrection of Jesus dominates our experience as Christians. Paul writes that, “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead… will also give life to your mortal bodies” (Romans 8:11). That life the Spirit gives is not simply a life in the future, but a life now in the present. The Spirit of Christ empowers us to a life that basks in the power of the resurrection now. Every day the believer is to live in the resurrection by the power of the work of the Spirit, and that changes everything.

 I hope you will join me this Easter in our celebration of this pivotal event of our faith.

In preparation for Sunday, read Paul’s marvelous chapter 8 in Romans, focusing on verse 11.

 1. How does Paul’s argument lead up to verse 11? What is his overall point? What is the thinking that leads to a discussion of the Spirit?

 2. The Spirit is said to “dwell” within the believer. What do we make of that? How is that possible?

 3. Verse 11 is an “if/then” statement. What is the “if”? How can you know if the requirements have been met or not?

 4. What is the “then” part of the statement? What does that entail?

 5. Notice that the life which we have is connected to the Spirit. At the end of the verse, how does Paul connect the two? Can you have the one without the other? Where does the resurrection fit in?