Alive With Christ: The Journey Beyond the Cross

Sunday Round Up: Pastor John Powell — 05/04/2026

1 Corinthians 15:13–21

This year’s Holy Week felt like a tapestry of God’s power, presence, and personal rescue. We gathered around tables on Resurrection Sunday for a feast that felt like a foretaste of the Kingdom — laughter, worship, and the joy of being together as a family made alive in Christ.

We witnessed the awesome victory of Jesus over death during the Joshua Voice Choir concert, where the sound of resurrection hope filled the room like a battle cry. Katie shared a moving poem that carried us into the full extent of Jesus’ suffering and triumph — a reminder that His death was not symbolic but total, and His resurrection not partial but complete. And Charlotte’s testimony shook us: a literal rescue from a death trap, a miracle that left us all in awe of the God who still saves, still intervenes, still pulls people out of the pit and sets their feet on solid ground.

With hearts already stirred, we came into Resurrection Sunday ready to hear the Word — and Pastor John brought us straight to the centre of it all.

The Resurrection: Not Proof, but Power

Pastor John reminded us that the resurrection is not a theological accessory; it is the hinge of history. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is empty, our faith is futile, and we are still trapped in our sins. Without the resurrection, Christianity collapses.

But Christ has been raised, and everything changes.

God didn’t raise Jesus to prove something — He raised Him to achieve something: to raise you. The same power that surged through the tomb is the power that now lives in you.

Without the resurrection:

• faith is empty

• life is futile

• hope is impossible

• we are spiritually dead

  
  

But with the resurrection:

• we are made alive

• we are united with Christ

• we are given purpose, dreams, and a future

• we are empowered to live a new life

  
  

Jesus is the first fruits — the beginning of a whole new creation. His resurrection is not just His victory; it is the doorway to ours.

Christianity Is Not About Being ‘Nice’

One of the most striking lines from the message was this: Christianity is not about nice people, rituals, or religion. It is about dead people being made alive.

The cross is the entry point, not the destination. It is the beginning of a journey — like the journey through the Tabernacle:

• washed

• prepared

• invited

• empowered

• led into deeper life

Jesus washed the disciples’ feet not as a sentimental gesture but as preparation for the road ahead. He does the same for us. The cross is not the end of the story; it is the doorway into resurrection life.

Alive With Christ

Romans 6:5–7 tells us that if we are united with Christ in His death, we are also united with Him in His resurrection. You were dead. Now you are alive. Your spirit is one with Him.

Religion often strips the resurrection of its purpose. It reduces faith to behaviour management, moral niceness, or spiritual retirement. But resurrection life is not about slowing down — it’s about waking up.

Alive means:

• fullness of purpose

• restored identity

• renewed dreams

• Spirit-empowered living

  
  

Death means:

• trapped by sin

• bound by fear

• stuck in cycles of hopelessness

  
  

The disciples understood this. Their earthly deaths were harrowing, yet they endured torture rather than deny the One who had made them alive. They knew the truth: the body may die, but Jesus is coming back for our souls, and we will be given new bodies. The veil has been torn. Heaven is open.

Ain’t no grave can hold your body down.

Resurrection Life Is For Now

Pastor John pressed this home: resurrection is not just the hope of life after death. It is the truth of abundant life here and now.

The same Spirit that raised Jesus is the Spirit that:

• quickens you

• stirs you

• strengthens you

• calls you out of the grave

And that led into John’s personal story.

Pastor John’s Story: “Come Out of the Cave”

While in South Africa, John found himself in a season that felt like death. Chaos was happening back home in the church. He felt like years of work were collapsing. He was cold, unprepared, sitting in a car in Johannesburg waiting for someone to buy a lightbulb for his room. He could easily have been at home in Cimla on bonfire night, shivering in 18° weather with no heating and only summer clothes.

He felt trapped, out of control and the last few years had all been for nothing.

And then — God spoke.

At a church he visited, he was called out in front of hundreds of people and given a prophetic word: “I have put a church in your hands.”

As he sat afterwards, the song “There Can Be Miracles” from The Prince of Egypt was playing. He felt like he was in a cave, and God was calling him out into the light.

He didn’t know what he would face when he got home. He didn’t know what the future held. But he knew this: If God says it’s time to come out of the grave, what are you waiting for?

He boarded the plane not knowing what was ahead, only knowing that obedience was the way out of death and into life.

Will You Follow Jesus or Your Own Plans?

John ended with a challenge: Will you be a follower of Jesus, or a leader of your own plans?

Judas had plans. They were clever, strategic, and ultimately worthless.

Rip up your plans. They are too small. They are too limited. They are too human.

God’s plans are resurrection-sized.

The Invitation

Resurrection Sunday is not a date on the calendar. It is a call:

• Come out of the grave.

• Step into the light.

• Walk in the power that raised Christ.

• Live the life He died to give you.

  
  

The tomb is empty.

The veil is torn.

The Spirit is alive in you.