He is risen!

[He is risen indeed!]

[Hold up a large stone.]

Is this stone alive?

I think most of you would say, “no.”

[Hold up a plastic lobster or insect or another object.]

Is this lobster alive?

[Trust me. It’s not alive, or I wouldn’t be holding it! It’s plastic. It’s not alive. It looks like it could be alive. It looks exactly like a lobster. But it’s an inanimate object.]

If you remember back to science class, we strike a difference in our world between what is animate and inanimate.

Plants, reptiles, mammals, amoebas, cells, even bones are animate objects. They are alive.

Hair, fingernails, rocks, the rug, this pew. These are inanimate objects. They are not alive. They do not grow on their own. Hair and fingernails are pushed out and appear to grow. But they themselves are…