This is the title of a beautiful song we sing – but do we believe this? Can we defend and prove this statement? You see if Christ has not been raised then (1 Corinthians 15:13–19):

• Our preaching & faith is worthless

• We are misrepresenting God

• Our faith is futile, and we are still in sin

• And of all people we are most to be pitied

Lee Strobel, a Yale Law School graduate, and legal affairs reporter for the Chicago Tribune, was an atheist. For him, belief in God required too many leaps of “faith”. But in 1980, when his wife unexpectedly converted to Christianity, he decided to prove it a lie. A religious reporter, Kenny London, advised him to start with the resurrection. If it were proven to be false, then everything would fall like a house of cards. By the end of his book, “The Case for Christ”, Lee had also converted to Christianity.

Friend, I know that my redeemer lives because:

1. The tomb was empty

2. His post-resurrection appearance to 500 people at the same time

3. The testimony of “hysterical” women – a hoax would not use the testimony of women during that time

4. The transformed lives of the disciples – no one will die for a lie

5. The birth of the church of Christ