Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1095763
ENGAGE 23 When I was a small boy, my father occasionally took me to Brooklyn Dodger baseball games at Ebbits Field in Brooklyn, New York. On one of those outings, the Dodgers played poorly, and by the end of the 7th inning, the visiting team was ahead by seven runs. Ripping his score card in half, my father said to me, "Come on, son. Let's go to the car. This game is over." My father's Christian life always took a beating when the Brooklyn Dodgers were losing. Reluctantly, I followed my dad from the ballpark. If he thought the game was over, who was I to argue? Our car was parked 10 blocks away from Ebbits Field, and as we walked in that direction, we began to hear a rising crescendo of cheers coming from behind us. Reaching the car, my father switched on the radio, and we learned that the Dodgers had rallied and were now ahead in the game. They would go on to win while we sat in the car listening to the game on the radio. That was the day I learned the meaning of a comment popularized by Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's all over." Which also describes the way I feel about the resurrection of Jesus. Publicly executed on a cross, sealed in a tomb, guarded by military personnel to prevent grave robbing, it would have been easy to conclude that Jesus' life was over. At least this is what the enemies of Jesus assumed. And it offered them great comfort, something to feel triumphant about. But the story wasn't over until God said it was over … three days later. Resurrection! I call the Resurrection the story's second ending. You hear a lot about that second ending when you spend time at Denver Seminary. BENEDICTION Gordon MacDonald, DD CHANCELLOR Because He is risen, we can be freed from the effects of the Fall, freed from death, freed into life in both spirit and body. And that life into which we are freed is eternal life— life with the Father, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Dr. W. David Buschart Because Christ has died, sin does not have the final word. Because Christ is risen, death does not have the final word. And because Christ will come again, evil does not have the final word. Dr. Mark Young The Resurrection helps us see Jesus more clearly and accurately, and the Resurrection helps us see each other and ourselves more clearly and accurately as members of a community of faith. Dr. Lynn Cohick The Resurrection is at the core of the Christian faith and the Christian life. Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no gospel message, no future hope, and no new life in Christ. Dr. Douglas Groothuis WORD FOR WORD