Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome
in his time. Now for our community connection right here on K one,
the one you trust, and it's brought to you by Arnold Boyt Deecamp Funeral
Homes, Tall Grass Motors and Gatfield Ministries. We have a big event that's
coming up here in just a few days and we're speaking with doctor Mark Wheeder,
the Dean of the School Ministry and Christian Thought at Oklahoma Wesley and University.
Big question resurrection. Is it real? That's the question we're going to
talk about. Isn't it Yes, they'll enlighten us a little bit about this
event. Well, this Thursday in the Lion Hall in our chapel, we
have in a community forum on the facts of the Resurrection. Now, I've
been in ministry for around fifty years and probably preached forty Easter Sunday sermons.
But you know, on Easter Sunday, most of the people there are believers
and they're kind of there to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. And that's all
well and good. But this lecture series was developed up a little differently.
I was asked about eight or ten years ago to come over to Alva,
Oklahoma to Northwestern Oklahoma State University and do a lecture dealing with the resurrection and
what precipitated that was. Apparently there was a kind of a controversy going back
and forth between a student who was in charge of some kind of ministry on
campus and a biology professor in the school newspaper over the resurrection of Jesus and
whether that was possible or not. And of course the biology professor was taking
the scientific, secular view that you know, raising from the dead was impossible.
So I was asking him over and do a lecture. But I didn't
want a lecture just Christians. I wanted to talk to people who might be
skeptics, and so I developed this lecture series on the facts of the Resurrection?
Do we have to give up our logic, our reason? You know,
his faith and gullibility the same thing? And I don't, you know,
I don't think it has to be. And so I developed this lecture
series and will be presenting it on Thursday night. This is going to be
very interesting and it's a part of a lot of different events that we've been
having recently at Oklahoma Wesleyan University of Court Lion Hall is beautiful. If you
can't find to see you got a problem, it's a great place to witness
a lot of things, and it's a great time to come and hears a
good doctor and speak on this topic. Now, we were talking before we
got on the air that the world has changed a little bit since we wore
younger men's clothes, and our peers or folks our age, some of them
have kind of drifted away from the church, not kind of, but they
have been drifting away. And it just seems like we're in a very bizarre
timeframe these days, well even particularly since post COVID. If you look at
the data that with all the surveys, the percentage of people who identify as
Christians in America or as church members is the lowest percentage in recorded history,
and it's been going down every year. And you can look at a lot
of different rationales or reasons why. But I think, particularly with our secular
age and our scientific age, people are less inclined to want to take things
like we would just say by faith, and perhaps we have to remove some
philosophical barriers out of the road before we go listening to the gospel. Or
you can't just hit them overhead of the Bible because they don't believe the Bible,
don't understand the Bible. And so I think if we can remove some
philosophical obstacles, it can help them to hear the Gospel and come to faith.
Well, it's really kind of interesting, is some science is now reinforcing
a lot of things did happen as was mentioned in what I call the greatest
history book on earth, the Holy Bible. In this lecture I hit three
areas. Number one, I talk about the importance of the bodily resurrection of
Jesus. I mean, how important is that? Can we could we still
follow Jesus as a great moral leader even if he didn't raise from the dead
or was there like a spiritual resurrection out of bodied resurrection? So I talk
about that, and then the main portion deals with the facts. What can
we know factually not just on the scriptures but factually from history, but the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And then finally I talk about
objections to the resurrection. In other words, the tomb was empty. I
mean, we'll talk about that. Even secular history agrees that. So if
Jesus didn't rise from the dead, what are the other alternative theories, and
talk about objections to the body resurrection. So I hit those kind of three
areas in this lecture series. You know, the thing that gets me in
the Bible is the right there in front of the tomb, an entity says
he's not in there. That had to be a chilling thing to hear or
witness, and then to look in and he's not. He's not here,
he's risen. And again for those of us who take the Bible seriously believe
in in errancy and infallibility, uh the scripture, that's not a problem.
It's not you know, we we believe what the Bible teaches us. But
again for those who are more skeptical, you know, I think there is
evidence and there is facts that can help us learn about Jesus along with the
authority of scripture. And that's kind of what I want to share. Great,
you know, so we're inviting everyone, whether you're a believer and especially
if you're a skeptic, we'd really like to have you come in and take
take a listen, and uh, you know, just kind of let a
few things enter into your into your mind and let it ferment a little bit
and imagine you probably have more questions, but at least you got the ball
rolling and we will obviously it is a lecture, but I will be taking
time. Obviously there are questions and answers, and hopefully answers. At least
I'll take the questions and I'm sure you'll answer them. That's that's the best
we can. But yeah, we would love to have you. Know.
This series that we've been doing this year is we want to get community onto
our campus and we invite you to be a participate. It's a beautiful campus,
it's a beautiful school, and if you've not done anything but drive by
there, this is your opportunity to pull in, come inside and take a
look at what a what a great educational and spiritual resource we have here at
our community. Yeah, it's in the chapel, so right off of Silver
Lake if you turn right into that parking lot or the parking lot right behind
it. The Lion Hall is in the chapel, so you don't have to
go down deep into the campus or anything to get to the Line Hall.
Oh yeah, it's there, it's it's very there. Well, you've been
with the school for how long now, thirty eight years? Thirty eight years,
which says one of two things. Either I really love the place or
nobody else wanted me. So you can decide which one of that is.
Some people just say you had a good start, but you know this is
going to be great. It's called The Facts, the Fact of the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ. It is March fourteenth, seven pm, Lion Hall.
What's the admission? Nothing absolutely free? Absolutely wrong there no, the price
is absolutely right. So we'd like to see as many people as possible come
in and listen to the good doctor speak on this topic and bring an open
mind. Yes, bring a very open mind. And you know that's one
thing that's missing on college campuses around the world, not so much at Wesleyan,
but some of the bigger ones as the lack of diversity when it comes
to thought. You know, we don't want to doctrin eight people who want
to give people to think. We want you. Yeah, And if you're
a believer, you know it'll also give you some ammunition when you're talking to
your friends maybe who are not believers and they want to talk about this topic
and you can have somebody to share with them as well. Very good doctor,
Thank you for being here and we look forward to your presentation coming up
on the fourteenth. Thanks for inviting me, alrighty, thank you, and
we've got more coming up.