As we read through the founding of the church and disciples' ministries on earth, we can see that times were hard. Facing persecution, ridicule, and even death, the disciples cling to the hope of Jesus and his return to help them overcome these difficult times. We can also have this hope through our difficulties. Jesus gives his Holy Spirit to those who believe and follow him. We can have strength to overcome trials knowing that God is with us. We also know that one day Jesus will return and those who follow him will be united with him. These songs and hymns show how we can persevere in difficulty by focusing on the hope we have in Jesus and that one day he will return.

The faith of Christianity hinges on the resurrection. Did the life of Christ end on the cross, or is he still alive today? Without Christ's resurrection, we are left with a question mark regarding his divinity, which would negate anything he ever said. C. S. Lewis puts it this way in his book Mere Christianity: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.” Paul stresses the importance of the resurrection when he says, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith.” (1 Cor. 15:13-14) The resurrection is what proved Jesus was God. It's what proved the power of the cross. From heaven to earth our savior cameFor us on a cross he bled and diedAnd from the cross to an empty graveHe rose to life The truth of the resurrection means Christ is alive today, and he is alive in us. Galatians says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20) As Christians who believe in the resurrection, we believe that we have also died—died to sin—and are no longer slaves, but children of God, inheritors of His kingdom. (Gal. 4:7) We now live because of and for Christ. “You must make your choice,” continues Lewis. “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” Choose to believe in the power of the resurrection today, that Jesus reigns on his throne and he reigns in you. Based on the song He Lives by Chris Tomlin. Original post available on YouVersion based on the album Never Lose Sight.