Surprised by Hope

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

...but what does this mean for today?

The Resurrection of Jesus is the centerpiece of the Christian faith. It is the zenith of the Gospel stories - their narratives all working towards it. It is the foundation of the New Testament - energizing the spread of Christianity throughout the greater Roman world, inching ever further towards "the ends of the earth." As prolific New Testament author N. T. Wright has said: "Get rid of the Christmas Story and you lose a couple chapters in Matthew and Luke. Get rid of Easter...and you lose the entire New Testament."

There's no story to tell without it! As Paul said elsewhere: "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15:19). Yes, new life exists - beyond this life.

But what does that life look like? What is the hope that the disciples of Jesus were clinging to that Easter morning and beyond? And is it a hope only for the future...or does it have implications for today?

We're going to be exploring all this (and more!) in our next sermon series: "Surprised By Hope." This sermon series runs from April 13th - June. 

We look forward to unpacking the Resurrection with you and discovering all that it means...for the future and for today!

Surprised by Hope Sermon Archive

Resources

Lutheran Response to the Left Behind Series

View Here: This article was written as a Lutheran response to the popular book and movie series, "Left Behind." 

A Study on the End Times and Millenialism

View Here: This is a theological paper, written from a Lutheran perspective, which explains all of the different positions that are held regarding the end times and millennialism

Heaven and Hell

Read Here: An article with Biblical references to how the Scriptures talk about Heaven and Hell. 

Care of Creation

Read Here: An article about Christian Stewardship of Creation with ideas to get started.