The Difficulty of Faith - Matthew 28:16-20

I plan to preach on two facets of Jesus's resurrection which tie into the narrative of our community.  First, through our study of Genesis, we've seen that faith is difficult (Genesis 15:2, 16:2, 18:12).  When it comes to the resurrection of Christ (the pivotal miracle of redemptive history) we see in Matthew 28:17 that some of the earliest eyewitnesses struggled to believe it.  So, we'll consider some of the historic factors that allay our doubts and strengthen our faith in Jesus' triumph over death.  

A second facet in the narrative of our community is that these last few months have been challenging for many of our households.  There's been professional frustration, financial anxiety, health problems, and relational strain.  The resurrection of Christ isn't merely an event in history or a future hope, but it is also a present reality.  The normal Christian life is one of death and resurrection.  Everytime Christ by His indwelling Spirit strengthens us to persevere through loss, disappointment, and suffering with joy and peace, we're experiencing the power of Jesus's resurrection today.