GBC Community Update: more thoughts on Jesus' resurrection

Good morning!  I hope you’re making this a great week. We’re back from our trip, which was amazing. Thanks to those of you who prayed for us. It was nice to get away.  I’ll be away again though this Sunday as I’m in New Brunswick speaking at a conference on behalf of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. But I’m excited to be back and be able to share Easter weekend with you all. May we all be inspired and encouraged by the cross and the empty tomb!
 
 
Good Friday Breakfast and Service
Please plan to join us for a breakfast on Good Friday, April 7 at 8:30 a.m. at the Guelph Bible Conference Grounds located beside Guelph Bible Chapel.  There will be a sign up sheet in the church foyer for the next two weeks.  Please consider inviting family and friends to join us for breakfast and the church service to follow.  
The Good Friday communion service will be held at GBC at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 7 and will include music led by Jamie Iles, communion and a Good Friday devotion from Ken Tamminga.    
 
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we prepare for Easter
We shift focus from our series on Romans to the essence of the firm foundation our faith stands on- what happened that first Easter weekend nearly 2000 years ago.
This year we will be sequentially following several key elements of the Easter story culminating in our celebration service on Easter Sunday, April 9.
This Sunday Pastor Dan will be speaking about Palm Sunday and how it ties to Easter. 
If you’d like to prepare, you can read John 12
If you can’t make it you can connect through our website:  
www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE.
 
 
Thought for the Day:  Who’s Got the Body? Part 3
                                     …an examination of evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.
Tuesday, we spent some time looking at the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. As a reminder, things like this are used to strengthen our faith and answer questions that may arise.  So, here’s the last one, and perhaps the most powerful:
The Appearances of the Risen Christ
For 40 days after His death, Jesus was reported to be seen alive on earth. It was reported in the scriptures and also in extra-biblical sources like Josephus, who I’ve mentioned before.
How do we explain this?
Some say these were hallucinations, but do the accounts show that?  Only certain high-strung and imaginative types of people usually have such psychic experiences. Yet a woman, a tax collector, several fishermen and more than 500 people at one time claimed they saw Him. Hallucinations are very individualistic– contrasting with the fact that over 500 people saw the same thing at the same time and place.
Two other facts undermine the hallucination idea. Such imaginations are usually of expected events, yet the disciples had lost hope after the crucifixion. Also, psychic phenomena usually occur in cycles, but the appearances came in no set pattern.
Attempts to explain away the appearances run into a brick wall of facts. The facts point to one conclusion: Jesus is risen.
Of course, the above is not exhaustive proof, but rather a reasoned examination of the evidence. For us now, we must each consider and evaluate the evidence ourselves to determine the truth of the resurrection claim. If the facts support the claim, then we can conclude that He arose. In any case, a mere intellectual assent to the facts does nothing for one’s life, we need to do something with it.  So yes, we take this on faith but its also supported by facts. I believe this, do you?
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris