Matthew 22:36–40 (KJV)
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 28:16–20 (KJV)
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...’”
Acts 1:9–11 (KJV)
“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel...”
— John 14:6 (KJV)
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
The resurrection is not a "nice story"; it is a historical claim. If Jesus rose from the dead, He is the Lord of life. If He didn't, Christianity is a lie.
The historical evidence for the resurrection is remarkably strong: the empty tomb, the sudden transformation of the terrified disciples, and the hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw Him alive.
Skeptics have tried for 2,000 years to explain away the empty tomb, but the physical resurrection remains the most robust explanation for the birth of the Christian faith.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."
The resurrection is the "receipt" that Jesus' sacrifice was accepted and that death has been defeated.
If the resurrection is true, then Jesus has the authority to lead us. But what does it mean to follow Him? This leads us to understanding "The Way."