Hey, we're glad you're here. This is Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren.

Well, we're going to begin a special Easter series called He Is Risen.

Now today Rick is going to start sharing six major benefits that the

resurrection of Jesus brings to people who follow him. Okay here's part one of a

message called how the resurrection changed everything.

You know, in 33 AD, when Jesus was still walking around on the planet.

There were about 120 followers of Jesus Christ.

Not that many.

Less than 200.

Jesus started with the original 12.

He called them his disciples

disciple just means learner that's all it means follower or learner

and Jesus chose 12 and they multiplied during his three and a half year

ministry and about 120 people not that many people were following Christ

while he was here on the planet Earth. Today, 2,000 years later, 2.3 billion followers of Jesus Christ. 2.3 billion people say, I believe Jesus

Christ is who he said he was. He was the son of God. He died for my sins.

He rose three days later on Easter. He's coming back one day. 2.3 billion Christians.

That's one out of every three people on the planet. What happened? How did

something grow from a little small group of 12 backwoods peasant Jewish fishermen to the largest

organization on the planet Earth. Now let me just put to this perspective with 2.3 billion members of the Christian Church

The church is larger than China.

The church is larger than Europe and China. The Church is larger than Europe and China put together.

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