Who passed the resurrection on to you — by name, if you can? And who's next?

Paul opens his most famous resurrection chapter with an unusual phrase: *For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.* *Received* and *delivered.* Paul is naming a chain of custody. The resurrection wasn't a private inspiration. It wasn't something Paul made up. It was something he received from the people who saw it — people he names a few verses later, by the hundreds — and what he received he passed on, as a sacred trust, to the next generation. And then they to the next. And then to the next. Until eventually it reached you. James opened 1 Corinthians 15 yesterday and made the historical claim plain: this is something a real apostle wrote to a real church about real witnesses who were really stil

What stones in your life have been sealed — and you're waiting on the morning?

*And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.* If you've read the Easter story, that sentence sounds familiar. Daniel 6 is more than a children's story about a man and some lions. It's a small picture of something larger God was going to do later. A man condemned by the powers of his day. A pit that everyone thought was final. A stone rolled across the mouth. A royal seal — meaning *no one tampers with this; the case is closed.* And then a morning that found him alive. Centuries later, another condemned man was sealed in stone. Another seal — Roman this time. Another morning. Another body that didn't stay where the powers of the day had put it. Dani

When Jesus stood before the high priest and quoted Daniel 7, what was he claiming about himself?

*I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom...* Hold onto that phrase. *Son of man.* When Jesus stood before the high priest at his trial — moments before he was condemned to death — the high priest demanded, *"Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"* And Jesus answered with a quotation. Not from Genesis. Not from the Psalms. From Daniel 7. *I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.* The high priest tore his robes. Why? Because he knew exactly what Daniel 7 said. Anyone in that room who knew the Hebrew Scriptures knew Jesus had just claimed

If the resurrection didn't happen, what changes about your Sunday?

Paul writes one of the most uncomfortable sentences in the New Testament: *And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.* A lot of modern Christianity tries to escape that sentence. *Even if the resurrection didn't literally happen, the message is still meaningful, the community is still good, the moral teaching is still wise.* Paul disagrees. Paul says — bluntly — if Christ hasn't been raised, all of it is futile. Wasted. You're not saved. You're not forgiven. You're still where you were before any of this started. That's a hard sentence. But it's also a strangely clarifying one. It means Christianity is not a feel-good ethic that happens to mention Jesus. It's not a self-improvement program with religious decoration. It is, at its core, a hist

What in you needs *everlasting* righteousness — not temporary improvement?

*Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.* Daniel 9 is one of the most concentrated messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. In one sentence it predicts the cross AND names what the cross would accomplish. *To finish the transgression. To put an end to sin. To atone for iniquity.* That's the work of the cross — Christ bearing what should have been ours. *To bring in everlasting righteousness.* That's the resurrection's scope. Not righteousness for a moment, not righteousness as long as you keep up the streak. Everlasting. Permanent. Settled. James preached Sunday that the resurrect

What stood out to you in James's Easter message? Was there an angle on the resurrection you hadn't considered before?

Paul stakes the whole faith on a single event in history.

Paul lists witnesses to the risen Jesus and emphasizes that 'most of whom are still alive' — go and ask them. Why does Paul name witnesses by name and number? What is he assuming about how truth claims get tested?

Paul stakes the whole faith on a single event in history.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 together. Paul says if Christ has not been raised, faith is 'in vain.' Does that strike you as overstatement — or does the whole gospel actually hinge on this one event? Why?

Paul stakes the whole faith on a single event in history.

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Sermons in English

Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

James Drake Sunday, April 12, 2026

Icebreaker

What's something you believe is true that you've never personally verified — the moon landing, the existence of atoms, that Antarctica is real? What makes you trust the witnesses?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Discussion Questions

1
What stood out to you in James's Easter message? Was there an angle on the resurrection you hadn't considered before?
2
Paul lists witnesses to the risen Jesus and emphasizes that 'most of whom are still alive' — go and ask them. Why does Paul name witnesses by name and number? What is he assuming about how truth claims get tested?
3
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 together. Paul says if Christ has not been raised, faith is 'in vain.' Does that strike you as overstatement — or does the whole gospel actually hinge on this one event? Why?
4
Most of us have moments when faith feels thinner than usual. What role can the historical claim of the resurrection play in those moments — versus the experiential claim of feeling close to God?
5
Paul's pattern is 'received… pass on.' What have you received about Jesus that you'd most want to pass on? Who's next on your list to pass it to?

Closing Prayer

Thank God for the witnesses who passed the resurrection on to you — by name if you can. Then pray for one person you'd like to pass it on to, and ask the Father to open a door this week.

Leader Notes

Easter sermons sometimes get treated as a celebration without examination. James's angle was historicity — so meet the historical claim with historical questions, even if some feel uncomfortable. If anyone in the group is wrestling with doubt, this is the week to make doubt safe to name. Question 4 specifically opens that door — don't slam it shut with a tidy answer.