On a perfect Florida Sunday we had the blessing of hearing pastor Pastor Justin Dailey deliver an inspiring sermon entitled “Old Made New” from the Winter Park location of The Action Church.  

We sang old-timey songs that were modernized with thundering bass and a contemporary worship twist. Vintage clips of the Reverend Billy Graham inspired all in attendance and began the “old made new” message with a poignant note. 

Pastor Justin led us through the following “church bulletin fails” to start us off with a laugh. 

• Due to the reeds illness, Saturday’s healing service has been postponed.

• Join us after the couple’s wedding ceremony as they bring their happiness to it’s conclusion. 

• Low self-esteem support group meets Thursday at 7pm. Please use the back door. 

• At the evening service this week, the pastor will talk about “What is Hell?” If you’re interested, come early and listen to our choir practice. 

• Weight Watchers will begin at 7pm, please use the large double-doors at the side entrance. 

• During the absence of our pastor, we enjoy the rare privilege of hearing a really good sermon. (This was in an email that he read this week.)

There are some old things that needed to be changed, like leather football helmets, or basketball players that needed to learn how to dribble with their left hands in the 1940s. There are some old things in our live that need to be changed too, but the good news of the Gospel is that it can. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The cross grants us forgiveness from our old life. When Jesus died in your place, you received grace, mercy and salvation. Jesus passed away in your place. Today, on Easter Sunday.  

The resurrection grants us access to the new life. It’s not just saying “goodbye” to the old, it’s receiving and welcoming the new that only comes when we believe that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 

The Apostle Paul, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, wrote this letter to the church in Corinth. He gives us three proofs that the resurrection is real, applicable and available for you. 

1 Corinthians 15:1—2 The Resurrection of Christ

15 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter[c] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[d] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

Paul’s backstory is that before he met Jesus, before his old became new, he was a person who persecuted the church. He killed Christians and had Christians martyred for the Gospel. His name was Saul, then Christ renamed him Paul. 

10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

1. The first proof that the resurrection is real is that Jesus changes lives.
2. The second proof is that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. There were 300 prophecies about the coming Messiah.  

An excerpt from the book “Science Speaks,” states that two guys studied the 300 prophecies and they concluded that we cannot fathom the probability that one person could fulfill 300 things that was said or written about them. So they picked eight things from the Old Testament and then compared them to the New Testament, and Jesus accomplished all eight of them, as well as all 300. The probability that one man could fulfill just 8 of the 300 prophecies, is 10 to the 17th power (or 100,000,000,000,000,000).

The eight that they found:

1. The Messiah would be born of a Virgin, Isaiah 7, fulfilled in Matthew 1.
2. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, Michah 5, fulfilled in Matthew 2.
3. The Messiah would come from the Tribe of Judah, Genesis 49, fulfilled in Luke 3.
4. The Messiah would be an heir to King David’s throne, 2 Samuel 7, fulfilled in Luke 1. 
5. The Messiah would spend a season in Egypt, Hoseah 11, fulfilled in Matthew 2.
6. A messenger, John the Baptist, would prepare the way for the Messiah, Isaiah 40, fulfilled in Luke 3.
7. The Messiah would be declared the Son of God, Psalm 2, fulfilled in Matthew 3.
8. The Messiah would be rejected by His own people, Psalm 69, fulfilled in 1 John 7

God fulfills His promises. He’s not going to stop now and He’s not going to stop with you. Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. It’s good news for those who receive it. We change our filters and perceptions based on what the Bible says. Not the other way around. 

Social justice without Spiritual justice is no justice at all. Clean water, more food and a better living situation doesn’t matter when we are dying, lost and spending an eternity away from God. 

3. The third proof that the resurrection is real is that people saw Jesus. They spoke with Him. They told people about what they saw and heard. 

It’s not just a few special people who saw Him, it was over 500. Four hundred years after His resurrection, is when the Bible was completed. Multitudes saw Him and testified. The church grew exponentially during this time. 

The old life has passed away. I’m not the person I once was. I’m different. Not because of anything I’ve done, but because of what He did. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is available for you today! You just have to believe and receive it!

Do you remember your old life? Maybe today is the day that you transition to your new life!

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