1. Our Master said. (Matt. 18:6)

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea."

• Jesus warned it is a very serious thing to cause one of the little ones who believe on Him to stumble.

• It would be better to be drown in the sea than to cause such.

2. Ignoring this fact some time ago a very learned man try to destroy the faith of a little girl who believed in the Lord Jesus: AMy poor little girl, you don=t know whom you believe in. There have been many christs. In which of them do you believe?@ She answered, AI know which One I believe in. I believe in the Christ who rose from the dead.@

3. The child=s answer was excellent and I submit to you that this is the Christ to whom we should trust and commit our lives. This Christ is the One who is Lord of lords and King of kings. This is the Christ who is now seated at the right hand of God exalted.

4. With this thought in mind let us read together several sections of 1 Corinthians the 15th chapter. (1 Cor. 15:3-8, 12-23).

• In this passage we have read about the greatest fact of history - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nothing greater or more phenomenal has ever occurred in this world.

• It is the Fact of facts and the Miracle of miracles because of what it proves and because of what it means to the human race.

1. Jesus made astounding claims that only Deity could make. (Jno. 2:19-21; 10:30; 11:25; 14:1-3,6, 9).

• Consider these claims Christ made. He claimed to be Deity. He claimed to be the one and only way to heaven. He claimed He would be raised from the dead. He claimed to be able to raise men up at the last day.

• In order to be able to make such remarkable claims He had to be more than a mere man, and the resurrection proved conclusively that He was more than a mere man. It proved His Deity. God, by raising Jesus up, put His seal of approval upon every claim that Jesus made. God would not raise up a liar and an imposter.

• Paul said that Jesus Awas declared to be the Son of God with power...by the resurrection from the dead.@ (Rom. 1:4).

2. Suppose I said to you, AI can jump over a 7-foot fence.@ You most likely would not believe me. But suppose one day you saw me do the superhuman thing of jumping over a 25-foot fence. You would surely know then that I could jump a 7-foot fence. Jesus claimed to be able to do many things which seemed impossible. But when we see Him doing the unbelievable, unheard- of thing of rising from the dead, we know He can do anything and He must be the Son of God.

1. The first fact is Christianity is vitally bound up with a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

• You can be a good Buddhist and know little or nothing about Buddha. You can be a good Mohammedan and know nothing of Mohammed. These are religions of form and ritual.

• But you can=t be a Christian without knowing Christ. Christianity is Christ.

2. The second fact of Christianity which makes it different from every other religion is that its Founder still lives. No other religion can make this boast.

• You can go to Mecca and the Mohammedans will say, AHere is the grave of our founder, Mohammed.@

• But when you go the grave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem, you hear the angel from heaven saying,

3. Yes, our Savior is a living Savior. He is alive and will save, bless and keep those who follow Him.

1. In our text Paul said that Christ is the Afirstfruits@ of the dead ones. Jesus is the pledge or guarantee of our resurrection. He arose from the dead and we shall follow Him.

2. Years ago a preacher was lost in a rugged area of West Texas. He came to a farm house and knocked at the door. A freckle faced boy came to the door and the man asked how to get to a certain destination. The lad said, AMister, go right on down the road two miles. The road is pretty rough and sandy, but you will get through all right. Then you will come to a cemetery and on the other side you will find a smooth, paved road which will lead you to your destination. It=s a pretty rough road between here and the cemetery, but when you get to the cemetery, all of your troubles will be over.@

• Beloved, the Christian road is often rough and hard, but when we get to the cemetery all of our troubles will be over. Our bodies shall rest in the graves and our souls shall rest in Paradise until Christ comes again. Then we shall hear a great shout and the trump of God and then our bodies and spirits will reunited and the graves will be opened and we shall be raised with new incorruptible bodies. These bodies will never grow old or decay or suffer pain. They will be perfect.

• Listen to the words of Paul. (1 Cor. 15:35-38, 42-44, 51-57).

3. I read the story of a man who was a helper of the great chemist, Faraday. One day he accidentally knocked a silver cup into a jar of acid. It disappeared, being eaten by the acid. The chemist came in and put some chemical into the jar, and in a moment every particle of silver was precipitated to the bottom. He sifted it out a shapeless mass, sent it to a silversmith, and the cup was restored, shining brighter than before.

4. If feeble mortals can restore a cup that has been eaten by acid, we should never doubt, even for a moment, that the Almighty God of heaven can gather our scattered dust and raise us with glorious spiritual bodies.

1. Yes, the resurrection of Christ is the greatest and most phenomenal fact of history.

• It proved the Deity of Christ, it means we have a living Savior and it means that we will be raised with new spiritual bodies to live with Christ forever in the home He has prepared for us.

• This fact makes the Christian heart shout with joy. He can look down at the grave and say, AO death where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?@ He can look up the sun and moon and stars and say, AO sun, O moon, O stars, I will be living with Christ when you have been destroyed with all the universe.@

2. Yes, your heart can also shout with joy if you will accept Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior.

• Jesus says, APut your trust in me and be baptized. I will forgive your sins, I will help you through the present, I will give you hope for the future and a home in heaven.@

• Won't you come to Him now! Come as we stand and sing!