Alive again...

As Christians we have some special prayers which remind us about our God and what He has done for us.  We call them creeds because they are our words to live by and believe.  Our motto, our creed.

One of them is the Apostles' Creed and in the section that talks about Jesus - it contains the phrases:

• He suffered under Pontius Pilot,
•   Was crucified, died and was buried.
• He descended into hell.
• On the third day he rose again.

The order is important - because that's the order that things happened in.

This past Sunday - pastor unpacked 1 Peter 3:18-22's meaning and illuminated the creed words that we say so often - but don't stop to think about.  You can watch or listen to it at "Sermon: Evil is defeated.  You are not." 

What pastor reminded us was that there is a moment not mentioned in the creed that most certainly occurred.

It's that Jesus became alive again.  

• He suffered under Pontius Pilot,
•   Was crucified, died and was buried.
• [Jesus became alive again]
• He descended into hell.
• On the third day he rose again.

Why did he descend into hell after becoming alive?  The 1 Peter passage says "he went and preached to the spirits in prison" (that is, all of the condemned souls in Hell - including the Devil himself).  It wasn't a sermon of comfort that he preached - because there is no comfort in Hell - but rather to state loudly and clearly that He was alive again and death is defeated.

Death is defeated.
For Jesus.  For all time.  
For you, too.

And if death cannot defeat you, what else can?

Are you living like its Good Friday (...with your Jesus crucified, died and was buried)?
Or like it's Easter Sunday (...with your Jesus alive)?

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Sunday's coming...
Amen.

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