Appeal to the heart
John 20:8-10
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Islam
Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with an estimated 1.8 billion followers. Muslim is the term for people who follow the Islamic religion. This religion is believed to have begun in the 7th century B.C. in what is now Saudi Arabia. There are seven countries where more than 90% of the population is Muslim (Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan). Some places follow Islamic (Sharia) law. Key facts about Islam include:
The Islamic faith is monotheistic, believing in Allah as the one true God.
Islamic places of worship are referred to as mosques.
Those who follow Islam commit to living life in submission to the will of Allah.
The Islamic faith teaches that the prophet Muhammad is Allah’s final messenger, who continued to receive messages from Allah to share with the people.
After Muhammad’s death, other leaders rose in his place under a system called the caliphate, with the individual leaders being referred to as caliphs.
There are two major sects within Islam: Sunnis and Shiites. The majority (90%) of Muslims are Sunnis.
Muslims pray at five specific times throughout each day, following a specific prayer ritual.
Followers of Islam are required to fast during the month of Ramadan.
Muslims are expected to complete a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lives.
The Quaran is the holy book of Islam.
Mohammed is dead and buried
When Muslim’s die they don’t know if they were good enough.
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Hinduism
Hinduism began in India around 2300 B.C. and remains prevalent on that subcontinent. As of 2018, about 94% of those who follow the Hindu faith live in India. It is third largest religion in the world, with fewer followers than only Christianity and Islam. As with all religions, there are multiple sects of Hinduism, each with some variations in their practices. Core beliefs of Hinduism include:
Hinduism teaches that God’s presence exists in all of creation.
In the Hindu faith, god goes by many names and manifests in infinite ways.
Brahman is the recognized supreme deity (God) responsible for creating everything in the universe. Brahaman has no gender and is all-knowing and all-present.
Shiva and Vishnu are the other primary Hindu deities (gods).
There are many other deities (called devis), demi-gods (called devas) and goddesses, with significant variations among specific sects.
The divine essence (called atman) dwells within each person.
Hindus believe in reincarnation, with a constant cycle of being born, living and dying on the path to enlightenment.
A person’s karma, which refers to the net of their good and bad deeds in the last life, determines the level into which they’ll be reborn.
Rather than a single religious book, Hinduism has a number of sacred texts.
Ghandi is dead and buried..
When Hindus die they don’t know if they were good enough.
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Buddhist much the same.
When Buddhist die they don’t know if they were good enough.
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Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities.Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.
The first individuals to identify themselves as atheists lived in the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment. The French Revolution, noted for its “unprecedented atheism”, witnessed the first significant political movement in history to advocate for the supremacy of human reason.
Arguments for atheism range from philosophical to social and historical approaches. Rationales for not believing in deities include the lack of evidence, the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, the rejection of concepts that cannot be falsified, and the argument from nonbelief. Nonbelievers contend that atheism is a better position than theism and that everyone is born without beliefs in deities therefore, they argue that the burden of proof lies not on the atheist to disprove the existence of gods but on the theist to provide a rationale for theism. Although some atheists have adopted secular philosophies (e.g. secular humanism) there is no ideology or code of conduct to which all atheists adhere
The 19th-century German political theorist and sociologist Karl Marx called religion “the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people”. Lenin said that “every religious idea and every idea of God is unutterable vileness … of the most dangerous kind, ‘contagion’ of the most abominable kind. Millions of sins, filthy deeds, acts of violence and physical contagions … are far less dangerous than the subtle, spiritual idea of God decked out in the smartest ideological costumes”.
Lenin, Marx, Stalin, Mao. – all dead and buried
When atheists die they don’t know if they were good enough and frankly think it’s just the end…nothingness, so why would they care.
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Important!!
1 Corinthians 15:14-17
[14] And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15] 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. [16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
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John 20:1-18
[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. [2] So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” [3] So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. [4] Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. [5] And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. [6] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, [7] and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. [8] Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; [9] for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. [10] Then the disciples went back to their homes.
[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. [12] And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. [13] They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” [14] Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” [18] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
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New Creation
New Start
New Beginning
Genesis 1:31
[31] And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
—— then the fall
Jeremiah 31:31-34
[31] “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, [32] not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. [33] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Revelation 21:1-5
[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
[5] And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
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But you can’t prove it (resurrection) to me Pastor. You can’t show me.
I can’t show you gravity but it’s real.
I can’t show you oxygen but it’s real.
I can’t show you George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, but they were real.
I can’t show you how memory works, but it’s real.
How do we know? We see the evidence. The evidence of love or hunger or anger or compassion are there, just “look”.
What about Jesus? The most important person in history. Everything even our calendar and holidays, revolve around Him.
Still……How do I know He rose from the dead?
My life is changed
I’m new
I had a change of heart.
I’m not perfect but I’m different
Ask my wife…she’s right here.
2 Corinthians 5:17
[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
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Their gods and holy men all wait for us to rise up to be good enough to maybe make it to the afterlife.
Our God, our Lord, came down for us so we could go back with him.
Jesus was dead and buried….but He rose again.
When Christians die, we know where we are going.
You see it’s a matter of the heart.
If you don’t know him….come today.
If you aren’t living like you know…be reconciled today.
