“The Greatest Message”
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
April 5, 2026
What’s your most important possession? (Not your most important person, but possession.)
You might say, “My cash/wealth,” or “My job” (no cash without some kind of job), or “my car” (have to get to work somehow) or “my house,” or “my special collection — wedding pictures, art, stamps, baseball cards, coins, books, etc…”
My most important possession is my wedding ring. It’s a simple gold band, nothing particularly unique about it; it might be worth a couple hundred dollars or so. The value of this ring, however, is not in its intrinsic value, but in what it represents. This ring provides the motive for why I go to work each day. It guides my schedule and informs the choices I make with my time — why I don’t work late without calling and pay bills or mow the lawn in the evening instead of watching baseball or reading all night long. It directs my relationships — some I won’t have because of it (with other women) and some I do have because of it (with my children and other married couples). This ring represents the source of all my greatest earthly joys.
The value of my wedding band is not the gold in it; the value of my band is the relationship with Raye Jeanne that it represents. And that value was not only significant to me on my wedding day, but is valuable to me every single day of my life. It informs and guides everything I do.
There is a similar possession we have as believers in Christ. We tend to think of it as something that while good, is no longer particularly needed to us. Like a classic car, we pull it out periodically and look at it — maybe shining it up or taking it for a drive or showing it to a friend — but it is not something that we think is of particular importance to us day by day. I’m speaking of the gospel and the truth of Christ’s resurrection.
Like our wedding band on our wedding day, we know that we need the gospel for our salvation. It is what begins our lives with Christ. But we are prone to forgetting about its importance after our salvation or after Easter Sunday. The gospel and resurrection are important today. And tomorrow. And next week…
Paul says the gospel of first importance. It’s primary. It’s fundamental. You need the gospel. The true gospel is no more a one-time event than a true marriage is a one-day event. The gospel is most important. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 15 —
The greatest need for every person is to believe that Christ died and was resurrected for their sins.
This morning, as we look at the opening section to the longest section on the resurrection in Scripture, we will observe three reasons to believe the gospel and the resurrection —
- Believe the Gospel Because It is Your Life (vv. 1-2)
- Believe the Gospel Because it is Redemptive (vv. 3-8)
- Believe the Gospel Because it is Grace (vv. 9-11)
Download the rest of this sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
Words of Grace 