Three of Two 🙂
Last week I started my talk by saying it was the second of a pair of sermons for kids. Basically two of two.
This week is three of two. 🙂
The reason we are going to have a third sermon aimed at children is because my heart was drawn to Noah and his family. If anyone is unfamiliar with Noah (for instance, our listeners on the Internet), he is a little boy who has brain cancer. The prognosis is not good, and although we’ve been praying for his healing…there is a really good chance that he will not make it into the new year.
Adults, if your child did not have long to live, what would you tell them?
Kids, if your friends…or their brothers or sisters…didn’t have long to live, what would you tell them?
Today, I will suggest what you should tell them.
And it makes sense that “Noah’s Sermon on Our Resurrection” be connected to “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” and “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming,” because the first explained exactly why we, including little boys sometimes, die…and the second one mentioned our resurrection as we learned three things we know for sure about the end times.
As a quick review:
In “Augie’s Sermon on the Cross” we learned we die because of cause and effect:
Cause: Sin.
Effect: Death.
And we also learned that Jesus had to die on the cross to make sure our death would only be temporary, not for eternity.
As for the three things we know for sure about the end times from “Augie’s Sermon on the Second Coming,” do you remember what they were?
- Jesus will return.
- Jesus will return visibly.
- Jesus will return when people don’t expect it.
Today, I will add a fourth thing we know for sure.
[ These are quick sermon notes…not cleaned-up…and missing the “extras” that come out in the audio (which is available here). All quotes are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted. ]
We Will Be Resurrected
The fourth thing we know for sure will happen during the end times is that we will be resurrected.
Wait! Before we continue. Kids, do you know what it means to be resurrected?
It means brought back to life.
But not like having your heart stop and doctors and nurses getting it to beat again. Like truly, fully dead…and brought back to life. Also, when we talk about “our resurrection” we are talking about the one at the end of times. I am convinced that God sometimes brings people back to life even now…but it is temporary on this earth. Those even God brings back to life on this planet end up back in the grave.
So, being resurrected is being brought back to life…and the one we care about…that Noah should care about…that Noah’s family will care about…is the one at Jesus’ return.
Now…back to what I was saying before. The fourth thing we know for sure will happen during the end times is we will be resurrected.
You may be thinking to yourself that I am saying that because I assume you are all saved…but that’s not the case. You will be resurrected whether you follow Jesus or not…whether you are saved or not.
Jesus says so.
Should you believe that because I said it? That’s right…no you shouldn’t! Let’s look at Jesus saying so together:
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26Â For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27Â And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28Â Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29Â and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:25-29).
How many in tombs will hear Jesus voice and come out?
“All.”
Is that just some? Many? Most?
No…it is “all.” Every one.
Every one will be resurrected. The good to the resurrection of life and the others to the resurrection of judgment.
Jesus had to die on the cross so that those of us who believe in Him could get the resurrection of life.
Let’s make sure we aren’t just misunderstanding Jesus and see what Paul says about the resurrection:
14Â But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15Â having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:14-15).
Will there be a resurrection of only the just?
No…of the just and unjust. Everyone.
And just how important is it to believe we will be resurrected?
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13Â But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14Â And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15Â 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. 16Â For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17Â And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Â Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
What Paul is saying is that if we will not be resurrected, then Jesus wasn’t resurrected, and what we believe is meaningless. That what Jesus did on the cross doesn’t help us out. That when we die it is forever.
However, Paul continues…
20Â But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21Â For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22Â For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23Â But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
But in fact Christ has been raised from dead! We will too!
Christ first, then those of us who belong to Christ.
Last week I told you not to believe people who said Christ has already returned. This week I am telling you don’t believe anyone who tells you you won’t be resurrected. The Bible tells you you will!
How about this kids? Last week I told you three things we know for sure about the Second Coming. How about this week I tell you three things we know about our resurrection?
Fair enough? 🙂
By the way, the reason I keep saying “our resurrection” versus “the resurrection” is because when we say “the resurrection” it can get confused with the most important resurrection that ever, ever, ever, ever happened. Do you know which resurrection that was?
Right! Jesus’!
And getting back to “our resurrection,” the first thing we know about it is…
We will be resurrected.
Whether we have done good or have done evil.
Whether we are within the just or within the unjust.
We will be resurrected.
It’s great we know one thing about our resurrection for sure, but you have to admit that the first one isn’t too comforting given that some humans will face the “resurrection of judgment.”
I don’t know about you kids, but I am hoping my sermon improves from here. 🙂
We Will Be Resurrected When Jesus Returns
Now, the second thing we know for sure about our resurrection was already revealed in what we read from the Bible last week and this. Do you recall reading in 1 Thessalonians last Sunday about Jesus’ very visible return? Let’s look at part of it again:
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16Â For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16).
When do the dead in Christ…those who died believing in Jesus…
When do they rise? [At Jesus’ return.]
And don’t forget what we read earlier in John:
27Â And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28Â Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29Â and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:27-29).
Jesus is “the Son of Man.” The hour that is coming when we will hear His voice is his Second Coming.
Oh, and let’s not overlook how Paul said this in the verses we just discussed from 1 Corinthians about our resurrection:
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 15:23)
Jesus first, then us when?
“At his coming.”
The second thing we know for sure about our resurrection is…
We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
Oh, and just in case…
I told you to not believe anyone who tells you Jesus has already returned.
And not to believe anyone who tells you that you won’t be resurrected.
In 2 Timothy 2:16-18 Paul also tells us not to believe anyone who says the resurrection of the dead has already happened:
16Â But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17Â and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18Â who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
How did Hymenaeus and Philetus swerve from the truth? [By saying the resurrection already happened.]
It has not.
We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
Does that mean that God couldn’t resurrect anyone sooner than that? No…God can do whatever He thinks…what He knows…is best, and if you take a look at something we adults call the transfiguration in Matthew 17, Mark 9, or Luke 9…you can see that two men of God, Moses and Elijah, may have been resurrected. Just like you shouldn’t let people tell you the resurrection of the dead has already happened, don’t let them confuse you by bringing up potential exceptions to how our Lord is going to normally handle it.
We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
Okay, we now know:
We will be resurrected.
We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
Ready for the third and final one?
We Will Be Resurrected Forever
To understand that third one, how many of you kids have been to King Soopers?
I kind of figured you all have. 🙂
King Soopers is a grocery store, and in grocery stores they sell perishable items and imperishable ones.
Do you know what the difference is?
Perishable items are like fruits, vegetables, and meat. If you keep them too long…what happens?
The go bad.
Gross bad. Stinky bad.
That is perishable.
Imperishable items are often boxed, canned, and so on. They last a very, very long time.
But, to be honest, all food sold by a grocery store is perishable. Don’t believe me, go ahead and eat some 100 year old canned food. 🙂
Regardless, do you understand the difference between perishable and imperishable? Perishable means it can go bad and imperishable means it will not go bad.
With that in mind, let’s read a little later than we already were in 1 Corinthians. To be exact, 1 Corinthians 15:42:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
What Paul is saying there is that we are perishable. We die…and when we die we decay like old King Soopers fruit, vegetables, and meat.
But when we are resurrected we are what?
Imperishable! We will last forever. We will never die again.
The third thing we know for sure about the resurrection is…
We will be resurrected forever.
At this point I should mention that that promise is only for those who follow Jesus. I don’t want to confuse this sermon diving into how the resurrection of the wicked differs from ours…but just understand that it does. There is no promise for bad people that, after they are resurrected, they will not die again.
How are we sure that “imperishable” means we won’t die again? Let’s take a look at Revelation 21:4:
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.
What shall be no more?
Death.
When God wraps up everything He gets rid of death. We will be not die again after we are resurrected.
Good News for Noah, Good News for You
When little Noah dies…even if God steps in and heals him so it’s many, many years in the future…
And let’s continue to pray that be true.
When little Noah dies, there will be tears, mourning, crying…and pain.
Anguishing pain.
But the three things we have learned today about our resurrection.
About Noah’s resurrection.
Are good news for Noah.
Are good news for you.
- We will be resurrected.
- We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
- We will be resurrected forever.
Ready kids? Let’s say them again together:
- We will be resurrected.
- We will be resurrected when Jesus returns.
- We will be resurrected forever.
Pray for Noah.
Remember those three things.
And praise God!