Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 50-58 Raised: in victory

Over the past few days, the General Synod of the Church of Ireland met in Armagh. And among the many items of business, we discussed a new order of service for Morning and Evening Prayer for use on Sundays. The material was passed, so you can watch this space for when the service starts being used. But in the middle of the service there was one line that some people didn’t like. An amendment was proposed to take the line out.

It comes in one of the opening prayers, and says this: ‘In the fulness of time, you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.’ And the bit that some wanted to remove was ‘In these last days.’ It was suggested that we aren’t in the last days, that there’s no prospect of the Lord Jesus returning any time soon, and so we don’t need that line.

Now, that phrase is a quotation of Hebrews 1 ‘in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son’. And thankfully, the synod voted to keep it in. But it was the thought that we don’t need to worry about the last days because we aren’t in them that made me think of today’s reading. This morning, we mark the Sunday after the Ascension Day, when Jesus returned to heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father. But we also remember that he has promised to return. And it’s Jesus’ return that we focus on this morning, as we look forward to the full and final victory of Jesus - the victory we will share in.

Over these past few weeks, we’ve been seeing what the resurrection of Jesus means for us. And last week, we saw that when the dead in Christ are raised, they will be transformed - look back to verse 42 to remind yourself of the change. ‘The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.’

And in verse 50, we see why this new body is needed. Look at it with me: ‘I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.’ These flesh and blood bodies cannot survive in the kingdom of God. Our perishable bodies, bodies which fade and fail and fall ill - they wouldn’t be suitable for an imperishable existence. Our current bodies would be as useful as a chocolate teapot in the new heavens and the new earth. But don’t worry about that. As we were reminded last week, God has it all under control.

And the way God has it under control is seen in verse 51. Paul tells us ‘a mystery’ - something that has long been secret, but is now being revealed. And, when you look at it, it sounds like a warning or advice to new parents: ‘We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed...’

But Paul is revealing God’s word about what will happen on the last day. And when he says, ‘we will not all sleep’ he means that there will be Christians who are alive when Jesus returns. That some will not sleep - will not die - but will be alive to welcome the Lord Jesus.

And if we are alive when Jesus returns, we won’t die - but we will be changed. All change. It’s like the announcement on a bus or train. This one can only take you so far, after that, you need to get on another one to get to your final destination.

And when will this change happen? ‘In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.’ In a moment - in any moment! In the time it takes you to bat an eyelid, or blink, the Lord Jesus will return. It could happen at any moment. A friend was telling us that he recently talked to his 4 year old about how Jesus could return any day. So now, every morning, the first question he’s asked is - is it today, daddy?

Well, we don’t know when it will happen, but we do know what will happen. ‘For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.’ Notice that it’s immortality, not immorality!

So when the trumpet sounds, it’ll be time to be changed. And I was trying to think of what it might be like. So, think of when the factory hooter goes to signal the start of a shift. The workers have to get changed from their ordinary clothes and put on their special uniform which is suitable for their environment.

And did you notice that everyone will be imperishable by then - the dead are raised imperishable, and the living are clothed with the imperishable. Everyone who knows and trusts Jesus will be imperishable, never to spoil or fade or fall again.

Now, when that happens, verse 54, then will come the moment we’ve all been waiting for. ‘When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”’

When all God’s people are imperishable and immortal, then death will no longer have any say, will no longer claim any victories over us. Instead, we will share in Christ’s victory over death. And the long-ago promise will finally come true.

You see, right from the Garden of Eden, death has been our enemy. And slowly, but surely, death has claimed everyone. As someone once said, the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. Death is our great enemy. But God promised, back in Isaiah 25, that Death would be swallowed up in victory.

Will you turn there, briefly, to see what God had promised? P708. Verse 7 shows the universal problem - death is like a shroud, like a blanket over all peoples - full blanket coverage. None are exempt. But, ‘he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.’

God will swallow up death. He’ll wipe away tears. He’ll take away our disgrace. And where will this happen? ‘On this mountain.’ Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord, where Jesus was crucified, and rose from the dead, and swallowed death whole. Death does not have the last word. Jesus has triumphed!

That’s why Paul can mock death in those words of verse 55. ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ A good few years ago now, Northern Ireland beat England at Windsor Park, when David Healy scored the only goal of the game. Ever since, when lowly Northern Ireland were beating bigger and better teams like Spain and Sweden and so on, the fans would start singing ‘Are you England in disguise?’

Fans like to mock and make fun of the other team. Well here, we can mock death. Death, which for so long seemed so powerful, so mighty, has now been defeated. And on that day when sin no longer has any power to touch us or threaten us, we too will sing and shout and mock.

You see, for now, death has a sting in the tail. Just like a bee or a wasp, it has a stinger. And the sting of death is sin. The sharpness that gets into our skin and does the damage. Death comes as a result of our sin, and brings pain, and grief, and loss. And sin gets its power from the law - from God’s good standard. As we break God’s law, as we disobey and rebel, then that sin stings us, and we fall into the hands of our enemy.

Sometimes bee stings can be fatal, and can kill the person who has been stung. But with the sin sting, death is a certainty. But that is not now the end of the story. Why? Because of verse 57. ‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

Jesus has won the victory singlehandedly over sin and death. Back in verse 3, we’re told that Christ died for our sins - they are no longer counted against us. And because Jesus lives, death has been defeated. God gives us the victory, we can share in a triumph not our own, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a glorious future we have - whether we have died when Christ returns, or if we’re still living - we will all be transformed, made imperishable, and can share in Christ’s victory.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I almost want Paul to finish on the high triumphant note of verse 57. That note of thanks and praise as we clearly see the victory won, and how we will share in it. But that’s not where Paul ends. Instead he adds verse 58, as he draws out the implications of the whole chapter. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, and our resurrection; because of the world to come; because what we do matters, ‘therefore, my beloved brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ (58)

The doctrine of the resurrection will lead to two things - being firmly faithful, and fully committed. First of all, firmly faithful. Paul’s teaching on the resurrection is the answer to the Corinthian’s tendency to be blown about by false doctrine.

Some had listened to those who say there’s no such thing as the resurrection. (12). Others doubted the power of God or the promises of God. But now that they know the truth, they must stand firm on it. Not moving about, not being moved from it. Standing firm on the rock of Christ.

Isn’t that how Paul started this chapter? ‘Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.’ (1 Cor 15:1-2) Right doctrine - firmly faithful.

But they are also called (and we are called), to be fully committed. Because Jesus has died and been raised, and he has entrusted us with the work of the gospel, and because Jesus will return victorious, then we are to ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.’

Paul urges us to always gives ourselves fully. Not just on the odd occasions when it suits. Not just a half-hearted effort. But fully, always, doing the Lord’s work, whatever it is that he has called and gifted and equipped you to do for him. And why should we do that? ‘because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’

There are two ‘ins’ there - together, they summarise the whole chapter, and provide the motivation for doing the Lord’s work:

Our labour is in the Lord. It is done for his glory, with his power, and his blessing. To be in the Lord is to be united to him, one with him. And as we labour for him, our work for the Lord, and in the Lord is not in vain - just as our faith in Christ is not in vain.

Our faith is not empty because Jeus is alive. our work is therefore also not empty or useless. It’s productive, and fruitful, as we spread the good news of Jesus, the triumph of his victory over sin and death.

The English crickteter, CT Studd, played in the very first Ashes match against Australia. Yet he gave up his sport and his fame, in order to go to China as a missionary. He wrote these lines to show what really mattered in his life.

Only one life, twill soon be past,
only what’s done for Christ will last.

Victory is already secured, is already sure. we can celebrate now, as we stand firm in the truth of the resurrection, and spread the good news to others - Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 13th May 2018.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 35-49 Raised: in glory

Over the course of ministry, I meet lots of people. Some, in particular stick out. And one lady, F, stands out. You see, when I’d call to see her, we’d spend a bit of time chatting about her latest ailments. But sooner or later, I knew that she would have some questions waiting for me. F was a thinker. She would think carefully about her faith, then have all these difficult questions to hit me with. Where did God come from? Why did he make us in the first place? Why was he keeping her alive (by this stage in her late 90s)?

One of her favourite topics, though, was heaven. What will it be like? Will we know each other? How can God put us back together again? Will it really last forever? But the question that we came back to what - how will it all work?

Perhaps you’ve thought about those questions yourself. It’s good to think about them, good to ask those questions - and good to search the scriptures to see how they answer those questions. As we come to our reading today, the question comes in verse 35: ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’

Now that question comes in the middle of the chapter, in the middle of a sustained argument by the apostle Paul. In 1 Cor 15 he’s dealing with the theme of the resurrection - the resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us. And already he’s shown us that Jesus was raised according to the scriptures (and seen by the eyewitnesses); he was raised indeed (because we’d be pitiful if Jesus only gives us hope for this life); he was raised as the firstfruits (we too will be raised with him, when he comes again).

But as Paul teaches all this, he’s aware that there might be a question arising in someone’s mind. Some of the Corinthians didn’t believe in resurrection at all - and so they might have been thinking to themselves, well, how does this all work, then? Will we be like zombies, like some horror movie? How are the dead raised?

Now, when F asked me questions, I wouldn’t have responded in the way Paul does in verse 36. As the introduction to Christianity Explored puts it - there are no silly questions. Yet Paul reckons that this question about the resurrection is foolish. Why does he think that? Well, because the answer is all around us.

Paul takes us to the garden, or the farm, to answer the question. He wants us to think about sowing and reaping. Because the way the world works, the natural order of creation points us to God’s work of re-creation. And in these verses he gives us two simple principles:

Principle 1 - dying brings life. We see this in verse 36. ‘What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.’ To reap a harvest, you first have to sow the seed. If you keep it sitting in the container in the shed, it’ll never grow. It must die to give. It’s only when the seed is buried, planted in the ground, that the seed will die and then spring into new life. Dying brings new life. Sowing leads to growing.

Principle 2 - you don’t sow what eventually grows. Verse 37: ‘When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else.’ If you look at a sunflower seed, you wouldn’t imagine that a big tall, colourful sunflower could grow from it. Or think of the phrase - big oaks from little acorns grow. The seed that is sown looks entirely different to the end product, to the thing that grows.

God gives each seed its new body, just as he has determined - whatever is just right for it. Just think how many different types of body there are. Paul gives us some of them in v39 and on. People, animals, birds, fish, all have their own sort of body. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies - each different, each with its own glory.

Paul is saying that God will give us the right sort of body for the new heavens and the new earth. God has got it all under control. It’ll be just right.

So we have these two principles - dying brings life; and you don’t sow what eventually grows. The way creation works shows us how God will work in our re-creation. So here’s how it will work in our bodies. Here is our great hope.

You see, we’re all getting older. Our bodies are wearing out or giving up. As someone once said, the sign of getting older was that when you bend down to tie your shoelaces, you see what else you could do while you’re down that far. And despite the anti-ageing creams or the ten years younger programmes, we’re still getting older. And perhaps you think to yourself - would I be able to manage eternal life if it’s just perpetually getting older? Could you go another 1000 years in the skin you’re in?

But remember what Paul has shown us from the creation. In verse 42 we see how it applies to our resurrection: ‘The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.’

Our earthly bodies are just the seed. When we have a funeral, it’s like a seed being planted. The Moravian church calls its graveyards ‘God’s acre’, God’s field, as they await the harvest, the resurrection.

Just think of that promised transformation. We lay our loved one to rest, perhaps having sat with them for weeks, watching as they go down, as their bodies fail. Even the best of us end up perishable, in dishonour, weakness, and all too aware of the frailty of our natural body. But these bodies will be transformed at the resurrection - raised imperishable, in glory, in power, a spiritual body.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re just a spirit, just a ghost. It means that we’ll have a body made alive by the Holy Spirit, empowered by heaven. You see, we won’t spend eternity in a dress on a cloud playing a harp, as some images of heaven would suggest. You won’t become an angel when you die. You’ll be you, raised to new life, in a new resurrection body. We’ll have the same kind of new body that Jesus has already, because he is the firstfruits - the first example of the new resurrection body.

So what was Jesus’ body like? He could appear in locked rooms with the disciples; he could be touched, his wounds inspected; he could walk along; he could cook breakfast for the disciples; he could eat. He’s not Casper - just a friendly ghost. He is raised to new life, real life, in a glorified, imperishable body.

If you remember last week, Paul gave us a comparison between Adam and Christ. In Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (22). He now continues to compare Adam and Jesus. Look at verse 45: ‘The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.’ Adam was given life, but Jesus gives life.

And that makes all the difference. We’re all born in Adam. V47: ‘The first man was of the dust of the earth.’ The life given to Adam is also given to us. But that life is temporary, all too short. And in the life, we bear Adam’s image and likeness. ‘As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth.’

And some day, those words spoken of Adam, will also be spoken over us - earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Our Adam-ness shows that we bear the image of our first father, Adam, the man of the earth.

But Jesus is from heaven. He belongs to a different sphere. And he gives us a different destiny. If we belong to him, then we will be like him. Look at verse 49: ‘And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.’

We are like Adam, we come from dust and return to dust. But as we trust in Christ, we become like him. We will share his risen life. And we will have resurrection bodies like his. This world is not the end. Death does not have the last word. And we will be raised in glory, to be like Jesus, in resurrection bodies like Jesus. That’s a truth to hold on to when we grieve for loved ones, or when we’re faced with our own mortality. Burial is a seed sown, as we wait for the harvest - you and me, personally raised, personally known, but in new bodies, just like Jesus’ own.

My dear friend F died recently. Her frail body finally gave up. But now she sees the Lord, face to face, even as she awaits her resurrection body. And what will it be like?

Look at the world around you - dying brings life, and you don’t sow what eventually grows. We’ll be raised imperishable, in glory, in power, a spiritual body, in the likeness of Jesus Christ himself. So let’s look forward in hope.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 6th May 2018.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 20-34 Raised: the firstfruits

I wonder if you’ve ever got a shock when doing the laundry. You’ve had a load of whites in the wash, you open the washing machine, and your nice white shirts or blouses are now a delicate shade of pink. One stray red sock made it into the pile, and everything else is affected by it.

We’re taking a few weeks to look at 1 Corinthians 15 - the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us. So far we’ve seen that Jesus was raised according to the Scriptures (as told by the eyewitnesses); and last week we thought about the consequences of Jesus not being raised - our preaching would be in vain, your faith is in vain, we’re telling lies about God, we’re still in our sins, and we’re to be pitied most of all.

But, Paul says, we don’t need to worry about those things - because ‘Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.’ So Jesus really was raised - we can be sure of that fact. From today on, we get to see what that means for us - both in the future, and in the here and now. And it all starts with v20. ‘But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Jesus is described as the firstfruits.

Out at the side of the rectory, there are a couple of apple trees. Right now, the leaves are just coming on the trees. But shortly, the apples will start to appear. And in due course, we’ll have the first apple that’s ready to be picked. That’s the firstfruit, the sign that the harvest is on the way. The sign that it’s almost apple tart season! The firstfruit has arrived, and the rest of the crop will follow, and it’ll soon be time to gather it in.

Jesus is the firstfruits (v20) - ‘of those who have fallen asleep.’ So Jesus’ resurrection is the first one, a pointer to our resurrection, if we’re linked to him. Do you see how verses 21-22 compare and contrast? ‘For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.’

Death came into the world through one man - Adam. That was in the Garden of Eden, when he took the forbidden fruit, when he disobeyed God’s command, and sinned. As Romans reminds us - the wages of sin is death - so Adam’s sin brought death into the world. But now through one man - Jesus - the resurrection of the dead has also come. Jesus has done all that was necessary to overcome death, through his perfect obedience and his sin-bearing death and his being raised to new life, so resurrection to new life is available to us.

We just need to be connected to him. That’s what v 22 shows us. By nature, all of us are IN Adam. You see, Adam wasn’t just acting on his own behalf in the Garden of Eden. He was acting as our representative, our head. The choices he made, the action he took affects us all. We see something like it all the time. For example, you might talk about how ‘we won’ or ‘we lost’ even though you weren’t playing on the field - how your team plays affects you, you are connected to their actions, for good or ill.

Or maybe your boss decides that everyone will have to work longer hours. Their decision affects you, whether you like it or not. Well, in the same way, we are all in Adam. He chose to disobey, and we all follow him in sin, and will also die. But the contrast is there again - ‘so in Christ all will be made alive.’ Being connected to Adam brings death, but being connected to Christ brings life.

So which one are you in? Or, if you’d like to put it like this - who is driving your bus? We all start in Adam’s bus; we all have the end destination of death - but have you got off his bus and got onto Jesus’ bus? Are you in Christ? It’s not automatic. The ‘all’ in Adam is not the same ‘all’ in Christ - as we see in verse 23. ‘But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.’ Those in Christ are those who belong to him.

The bus driver gets to the stop first, the passengers follow behind. The needle goes through the material, and the thread follows behind. The firstfruits are gathered in first, and then after a while comes the rest of the harvest. Christ has been raised. That has already happened. We can now be sure that those who belong to him will also be raised. So are you only in Adam, or are you also in Christ? Are you confident of this hope?

Jesus has been raised, the firstfruits. Our resurrection in him is assured. But Jesus’ resurrection is also the first taste of his kingdom rule. The Old Testament prophecies of Psalms 8 and 110 are fulfilled as Jesus reigns until all his enemies are under his feet. It’s maybe a sign that I’m getting old, but I have a footstool, which sits in front of my rocking chair. It’s so good to sit down and rock, but even better to rest my feet on the stool. Well Jesus’ enemies are what he rests his feet on, and Paul says that the final enemy to be destroyed is (26) death.

The resurrection is like D-Day in World War Two. The victory is assured, but the war isn’t over yet. Death continues to claim us. We continue to have funerals, but not forever. Death will not have the final say. Death cannot have the final say. It too will be like my footstool, under the feet of Jesus. Death will be no more. The firstfruits shows us that. Just as Jesus rose, so we too will rise, freed from death, in new resurrection life, just like Jesus.

And knowing that this will happen in the future must change how we live in the present. The Corinthians seem to be aware of that, based on what might be one of the hardest verses of the Bible to understand. Verse 29, people being baptised on behalf of the dead. One commentator suggests there are 40 different possible interpretations.

So here we go... number 1... No, don’t worry, we’ll not look at them all today. It seems to be that someone had believed in Christ, but died before they were baptised, and someone else was baptised on their behalf. But why bother with that if the dead aren’t raised?

Or why would Paul bother putting himself in danger (v30), travelling round the known world to tell people about Jesus if the dead aren’t raised? No reason at all. He even describes the danger as fighting wild beasts in Ephesus. But there’s no point to all that, if the dead aren’t raised.

To sum it up, look at verse 32b: ‘If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’

Now, notice it doesn’t say, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we diet... Paul is quoting from Isaiah 22, where Isaiah speaks to people under siege. They reckon that God won’t be able to save them, that this is their last day on earth, so they might as well have a good time.

And we might be tempted to this sort of thinking as well. If this world is all there is, if this life is all we have, then we might as well enjoy it while we can. And that’s what the Corinthians had been told by the false teachers they were listening to, and by the society around them. If the rest of the world thinks that this life is all there is, it can be so easy to buy into their thinking. If the rest of the world thinks that the route to happiness is more stuff, it can be so easy to buy into their thinking.

But Christians are called to be different - because we know where we are going, and what lies ahead of us. So don’t be misled - maybe you were told that by your parents when you were younger. Asked who you were going out with, whose company you were going to be in. V33: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’

That’s where the Corinthians were - listening to the wrong voices, believing the wrong things. They needed to stop being deceived, waken up, and not keep on sinning. They needed to know who God is and what he has promised and what he is capable of.

Christ has been raised as the firstfruits. We too, if we are in him, will be raised. The life we have is not our own - it is Christ’s, for him to use us as he pleases. For Paul, it felt like dying every day, as he gave himself to share the good news of Jesus, in danger every hour. Of seeking to persuade people to move from being united to Adam, to being united to Christ. Of giving people a hope and a future.

There are only two sorts of people in the world. Those who are in Adam, connected to him; and those who are in Christ. Harvest time is coming. The firstfruits have already been gathered in. Christ is raised - will you be gathered with him to reign with him?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 29th April 2018.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20 Raised: or not?

Over the Easter holidays we started playing the card game Uno. Some of you are experts at it, and we should maybe start a church Uno tournament! But just in case you haven’t played it before, here’s how it works. You are given some cards, each of which have a colour (red, blue, yellow and green), and a number 0-9. There are some wildcards, so you can change the playing colour to whatever you want; and some trick cards, to change direction or to make the next player pick up two or four extra cards.

The idea of the game is to get rid of your cards by matching one of your cards to the card that’s in play on the table. So if it’s a red 2, you can put down any colour of 2, or any red number, because that’s a match. But sometimes, you have to watch your opponents carefully. You see, if you’re not watching, they might try to sneakily put down a green 4 on top of a red 2. But the green 4 doesn’t fit - it isn’t a match. It doesn’t go with what’s already there.

In our Bible reading this morning, Paul is dealing with a similar sort of mis-match in the church in Corinth. There’s something that they believe that doesn’t fit with something else that they believe. The two things don’t fit together. And as Paul tackles this issue, he helps us to see why it matters that Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Last week, we began looking at this chapter on the resurrection. And we saw that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing that we can know about - it was Postman Paul’s first class post. And the epic Jenga game reminded us that the resurrection of Jesus is what we build on. If it isn’t there, then our whole Christian faith will fall. But we can be sure that Jesus is alive, because of all the eyewitnesses who saw him - the people the Corinthians could have gone to ask, ‘is it true?’

So the first card that’s on the table is the resurrection of Jesus. Anything else that we do needs to line up with this. But some of the Corinthians were trying to play a different sort of a card. One that didn’t match at all. One that was out of place. We see it in verse 12:

‘But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?’

Some of the people in the church didn’t believe in any sort of resurrection. They didn’t think that anyone would be raised to new life in a new body. For the Greeks, they thought that the body was just a kind of container for the real you, your soul, and that when you died, then your soul could go free, finally escape from the confines of the body.

And, when you think of it, that sounds very like what people around us believe as well. So we might hear (or even say), he’s free. She’s become an angel. She’s a star now. She’s looking down on us. Some maybe even thought that this life is all there is (yolo - you only live once).

Do you see how it doesn’t match? Christ has been raised, but there’s no such thing as anyone being raised. It doesn’t make sense! And, if there’s no resurrection, then not even Christ has been raised. (13) And so, as we work our way through these verses, Paul will show us what the future would be like if there’s no such thing as the resurrection; and especially if Jesus hasn’t been raised from the dead.

The passage breaks down into several sections; each showing the implications of there being no resurrection. Simply put, Paul is saying, ‘If Christ has not been raised ...’

We see the first in verse 14: ‘If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.’

Without the resurrection, then it’s pointless to preach, and it’s pointless to believe. I wonder if you ever heard about the wee boy who was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said he wanted to be a preacher. Why’s that? he was asked. Well, if I have to go to church, it looks like it’d be more fun standing up shouting than sitting down listening...

And if any of you want to have a go, just let me know on the way out! Paul says that his preaching is all useless, pointless, a waste of breath and a waste of time - if Christ has not been raised. If we have no message of a risen Jesus, then it’s all for nothing. Worse than useless. We might as well pack up and go home. If - a big if - Christ has not been raised.

And if preaching is useless, then so also is your faith. To trust in a still-dead Jesus would be absolutely pointless. Sometimes people put their hope in a sports team, and they always only ever find disappointment. But to believe in a Jesus who isn’t alive would be even worse. Pointless. He wouldn’t be able to help or save or do anything for you. Worse than useless. That is, if Christ has not been raised.

In verse 15, we see another consequence of Jesus not being raised. ‘More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we testified that he raised Christ from the dead.’ Paul’s preaching wouldn’t just be useless - it would be positively criminal. He would be telling lies about God and what God had done! To say that God raised Jesus, when God hadn’t done that would be a massive lie, a fearsome false witness against the God who tells us not to bear false witness.

In verse 17 we see another implication of their thinking. ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.’ Last week we celebrated the fact that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day... But if Jesus only died and stayed dead, then he wouldn’t have paid the price for our sins. We would still bear them ourselves when we die. And so believing in Jesus would be pointless. Futile. Without the resurrection, we have no salvation; no forgiveness; and no hope.

That’s what Paul comes on to in verse 18: ‘Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.’ If Christ has not defeated death, then we will not overcome death either. And that means that the people from Corinth who have already died trusting in Christ are also lost. It’s all over - if Christ has not been raised.

And that brings us to the last of the implications. We see it in verse 19:

‘If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.’

If the hope that Christ gives us only lasts in this life, then it’s worth nothing. If Christ cannot help us beyond death, then there isn’t any hope in the first place. And so for us to hope in Christ is pitiful.

Recently in the news there was a warning about holiday scams. Last year, it seems, some 4,700 travellers fell victim to these, losing on average £1,500 each. They had made their booking (or so they thought), sent off their money, in some cases even arrived at the airport, but there was no booking; no holiday; the scammers had taken the money and ran.

So is Jesus a bit like that? Says all the right things, it all looks to be in order, but when our time comes, he’s no help at all? If he hasn’t been raised, if we only have hope for this life and not for what comes after, then we are to be pitied most of all!

I hope that you’re beginning to see just how important the resurrection of Jesus is for us. It wasn’t just something that happened one day two thousand years ago, but doesn’t really impact us. Rather, it affects us here and now, today. It’s a bit like the river Lagan flowing through Dromore. In the town park, there are a couple of bridges over the river. We used to have stick races, to see whose stick made it from one side of the bridge to the other first. But my favourite thing to do was to find a stone. As big a stone as I could find. And then I’d go to the bridge, and drop the stone into the river. The ripples would spread out, from the stone itself out and out, so that the whole width of the river felt the ripples.

So if Jesus hasn’t been raised - what does Paul tell us it would be like? Our preaching is useless. Our faith is useless. Paul has lied about God. Our faith is futile. We are still in our sins. Those who have fallen asleep are lost. And we are to be pitied most of all. That is, if Christ has not been raised.

All this, because the Corinthians were out of step with the Bible. Their thinking wasn’t matching up to God’s truth. And so, they were in danger of experiencing all these things, of being mis-matched with God’s word. And this is where we would be as well, if Christ has not been raised.

Now, we could end here. Hopeless, helpless, lost and pitiful. We could leave you dangling on verse 19 for a week, but you’ll be glad to know that I’m not going to do that. All those things would be true, if Christ has not been raised.

Verse 20: ‘But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.’

If you’re trusting in Christ today, then you’re not hopeless, or helpless; you’re not lost or pitiful. Why? Because Christ has indeed been raised. As the stone rolled away from the tomb, the ripples still roll out to us today. Life, hope, joy, purpose, peace. They are all yours, if you are in Christ, trusting in him, connected to him.

But if you aren’t in Christ; if you don’t know him; then you’re still without hope. Your only hope for this life and beyond is the Lord Jesus. He is the only one who could walk out of the tomb; he is the only one who gives us hope in this life and beyond.

Take some time to ask the hard questions - is Jesus really alive? how can I be sure? how do I get to know him? It really will be worth it, because Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. Match up what you believe with what has happened in the life of Jesus.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 22nd April 2018.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11 Raised - according to the Scriptures

I wonder if you can guess what one of my favourite TV programmes was when I was a boy. It featured someone called Patrick Clifton. Anybody know? Mrs Goggins was in it as well. If that doesn’t help, then what about a line from the theme song; ‘Maybe, you can never be sure, there’ll be knock, ring, letters through your door.’

You’ve guessed it by now - I loved to watch Postman Pat! With his black and white cat (Jess) he would go around Greendale delivering the post - bringing what he had been given and delivering it to people.

This morning, in our reading, we don’t have Postman Pat, but we do have Postman Paul. Look at verse 3. ‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.’ Paul had received something, he had been given it, and then he passed it on - he delivered it, just like Postman Pat does. He brought it to the people in the city of Corinth.

If you’ve posted a letter recently, you’ll know how much a stamp costs. Anyone know? Second class is 58p and first class is 67p. So, for the sake of 9 pence, you have to decide, is it really urgent, or can it take a wee while longer to get there?

Do you see how Paul described his delivery? Was it something that didn’t really matter? No! ‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.’ It would need a first class stamp, or even the guaranteed next day signed for delivery service. What could be so important? What is of first importance?

‘That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared...’ (3-5)

You might recognise those lines from the creed we use at the Family Services. And the reason we use it as a creed is because it tells us what Jesus did - he died, he was buried, he was raised, he appeared. This is the very heart of the whole Christian faith, the things that happened that first Easter weekend.

Postman paul tells us that he received this - he didn’t make it up. He was told it, he received it, and then passed it on to the Corinthians. He says that Christ died - that Jesus was crucified. But notice that we’re told why Jesus died. ‘Christ died’ is history, ‘Christ died for our sins’ is the reason, the theology for Jesus’ death. He died ‘for our sins.’

And to help us see how important these statements are, I want to play a quick game of Jenga. Do I have four volunteers? We’re going to take it in turns to move a brick to build up the tower higher and higher... (Play game)... Eventually, the tower falls. When one brick was removed, the whole tower collapsed. That one brick was needed to hold everything else up. And the cross and the resurrection of Jesus is that one brick. It’s the one thing that everything else is built on. If that didn’t happen, then there’d be no Christianity, no church.

But in those verses you might have noticed that there’s one phrase that is repeated. It comes twice in a couple of lines. Can anyone spot it? It says twice: ‘according to the Scriptures.’ It says that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...’

I used to think that this meant that was talking about the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which tell us about the crucifixion and the resurrection. According to the scriptures. But Postman Paul doesn’t mean that! He means that Jesus died and was raised in accordance, matching up with what it says in the Old Testament scriptures. The promises were there beforehand.

It’s like a game of snap - when you see the same thing twice, it’s a match. What the Old Testament said long beforehand, it all happened to Jesus. He died on the cross, and he was raised to life.

Postman Paul says this is of first importance. But how can we be sure that it happened at all? At the start of verse 5 he says: ‘and that he appeared to...’ Jesus appeared to Peter, then the Twelve, then five hundred brothers at the same time, then James (his brother), then all the apostles, then Paul himself. And Paul is the most surprising of all. Paul actually persecuted the church. He hated Christians, and tried to arrest them. Until he met with the risen Jesus for himself. He received God’s grace, his undeserved favour, and became a believer for himself.

Paul gives details of all these eyewitnesses because the people in Corinth could go and ask them what they had seen. They could check out the details, make sure that Postman Paul was indeed telling the truth. All of those different people met Jesus and saw him alive after he had died. We can believe because of what they saw and experienced.

But why is it important for us to know this, and to be sure of all this? Why does Postman Paul want to deliver this to us as of first importance?

We see the reason in verses 1-2. He wants to remind us. We can so easily forget about this, or get caught up on all sorts of other things that aren’t as important. So we need to remember what’s most important of all.

We need to remember the gospel - that just means the good news - the good news that Paul preached, which you received, on which you have taken your stand. Why?

‘By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.’

This good news of Jesus is the way we can be saved - as we hold on tight, we hold firmly to the word about Jesus.

So what about you today? Have you received this first class word from Postman Paul? Can you say that Jesus died for your sins? When you receive it, and believe it, then you are saved. You can know this today!

But if you have received it, you need to make sure that you don’t forget, that you don’t get caught up on other things that aren’t as important. You need this reminder of the first importance things - the base of your whole Christian life - that Christ died, was buried, and was raised.

Sometimes the real postperson can bring letters we’d rather not receive. Bills, summonses and all sorts of things. But Postman Paul brings us good news - that Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised on the third day, just as the Scriptures said would happen. We can be sure that Jesus is alive - and over the next few Sunday mornings we’ll see what that means for us as well.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 15th April 2018.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31 Church is... the body of Christ

Thursday nights when we were growing up was always an exciting night. After dinner, we would go to get the big grocery shop. And that meant that it was new cereal night. We didn’t tend to get the same cereal week after week. Instead, we’d pick whichever one had the best toy inside, or the most unhealthy E-numbered filled cereal. Most weeks, my brother and I would agree, but on the odd occasion, when he wanted Frosties and I wanted CocoPops, our eyes would suddenly light on the genius of Kellogg’s cereals - the Variety pack.

Eight little tiny boxes of cereal, each different, and a solution to all our troubles! Each morning you could try a different one, and you wouldn’t have to eat the same cereal all week. Mr Kellogg knew what he was doing when he made the Variety pack. Cereal for everyone, and all different.

I was reminded of Kellogg’s Variety when I read our New Testament passage for this evening. But rather than small cereal boxes, Paul has in mind the great variety of spiritual gifts God gives us, and the ways in which we use them. The church at Corinth had asked Paul about spiritual gifts, and so this part of 1 Corinthians answers their question.

Incidentally, sometimes you hear people say that they want to get back to the New Testament way of doing church. But which kind? The Galatian church (which, as we’ve seen this morning, was turning to a false gospel)? The Corinthian church, which had all sorts of issues and problems and difficulties? There were problems in the churches, but this led to the writing of most of the letters in the New Testament.

In the New Testament we find lots of different pictures of the church, and over the next few Sunday evenings we’re going to look at a few of them. This evening, we’re looking at the church as the body of Christ. But to get to that picture, we need to go through spiritual gifts. This is the context that gets Paul to that picture. Over the next few minutes, we’ll think about God the giver, God’s gifts, and God’s good design.

In verses 4-6 we see God the giver. And that’s a really important thing to remember as we begin to think about spiritual gifts - they are gifts, given to us by God. Listen out for the common words as we read those verses again:

‘There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.’

Three times we’re told there are ‘different kinds’ or ‘varieties’ (ESV), and three times we’re told there is the ‘same’. Do you see what Paul is saying, underlining and putting in bold? There is one God, and he loves variety. It’s not just that there is one spiritual gift available; there are many. It’s not just that there is one kind of service (and he’s not talking about Morning Prayer or Holy Communion there), there are many ways of serving the Lord.

Do you remember Henry Ford’s words when the Model T was first launched? You can have any colour, so long as it’s black. There was no diversity or variety there! But God doesn’t work on a mass production line - he shapes us and makes us individually - no two of us are the same!

Now if you were following closely during the reading, you might have noticed a clue as to why this variety is available. It actually goes to the heart of God’s nature and being. Look again at the verses - ‘different kinds... but the same Spirit... different kinds... but the same Lord... different kinds... but the same God.’ Paul shows that God is, in his very nature, variety in unity - three persons in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just as the three are totally united in purpose and love, so God showers his gifts on his people.

Do we recognise and remember that our spiritual gifts are gifts - given to us by God the giver? That, in the words of the children’s song ‘I just thank you Father, for making me me’? Or do we claim the credit as our own? When someone thanks us or praises us for something we do, do we keep it to ourself, or do we give the praise and thanks to God the giver?

God the giver gives... gifts. Coming up to our wedding, we spent several afternoons in Debenhams and Smyth Pattersons (Lisburn), compiling our gift list. We went around the shops, writing down the things we would like to receive as gifts from our wedding guests (so that you didn’t end up with six toasters and twenty cutlery sets).

In verses 8-10, we find a gift list - we’re told some of the gifts God gives. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking and interpreting tongues. Later in the same chapter (28) he mentions a few more. Helping others, administration, teaching. And as we’ve seen, there are even more varieties of gifts.

Just think of the gifts God has given to each one of you, to equip you to serve him - in music, in drawing alongside people, in praying, and in so many ways. Perhaps as you read this list, or come across the other gift lists in the New Testament, you might discover a gift that you realise you have; you realise that actually, you have been given wisdom. Or maybe someone else will come up to you and say, you know, I think that you have this gift or that gift, because we’ve seen how you can do this or that. Or maybe this gift list can be like the one we had in Debenhams - and something stirs in you to desire a particular gift.

These are all God’s gifts, given to us, just as the Spirit determines. But they aren’t for us to be the centre of attention, for everyone else to go, oh, look at how gifted they are. No, the Spirit gives these gifts (v7) ‘for the common good.’

What gifts has God given you? Take some time to think about that this week. Pray through the list, and ask God to show you how he has made you, the gifts you have been given. But then - how are you using them for the common good, to build up others? How can others benefit from your gifting?

This comes into sharper focus when we consider God’s good design. When we think of word pictures of the church, perhaps the one that is used most often is the one we find here - the church as the body. Just think of your body, made up of many different parts, each of them different. But together, they make you you. And it’s the same with the body of Christ, the church. Each of us is different, but we come together, baptised by one Spirit into one body, made one in Christ.

At this point, we get closer to the reason Paul wrote about spiritual gifts to the church in Corinth. As I said earlier, they were a church with lots of problems - which Paul has been dealing with and answering in this letter. And spiritual gifts were a particular problem. Everyone wanted to have the gift of speaking in tongues, because it was a loud, everyone noticing you type of gift. Those who didn’t have it wanted it; those who did have it thought that everyone else wasn’t a real Christian without it.

But the picture of church as a body shows us how our gifts work together. Look down at your foot. Wiggle your toes. Then look at your hand. So imagine your foot says, well, I’m not a hand, so I don’t really belong. That’s nonsense! You need hands and feet both, to do their own particular thing, to pick things up, or to walk. Or your ear pipes up and says, well, I’m not an eye, I don’t really belong. But you need your ear to hear as well as your eye to see.

Paul then gets into horror science fiction movie images, of a whole body of just an eye. You might have great sight, but you couldn’t walk, or talk, or do anything else. So what’s that all about? We’re not to look down on ourselves, thinking that because we aren’t upfront, or aren’t noticed, that our gifts don’t matter. But neither should we look down on others, thinking that their gifts don’t matter as much as ours. Imagine that one part of your body picked on another. The eye saying to the hand, I don’t need you! Or the head to the feet, I don’t need you! We all need each other.

God’s good design is seen in the human body, with each part doing its own job to make you you. And that same design is seen in the church - many parts, but one body.

Your role and gifts are important, in fact, they’re vital - but so are everyone else’s too! So how are you using the gifts God has given you, fulfilling his purpose and design as we serve him in this church, this body of Christ, and grow together in love?

Verse 26 takes this theme of unity one step further. My granny would have always said that if her feet were cold, she was all cold. Or you know the way, if you have a sore finger, then you just don’t feel right? That’s the way we’re meant to be in the church, the body of Christ: ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.’ Are we suffering and rejoicing together? Are we growing closer together in love?

God is the giver of all our gifts. He gives the great variety for the common good, to build each other up, according to his good design of the church, the body of Christ. How will you use your gifts to serve him?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 3rd September 2017.

Sermon Audio: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-20

On Sunday evening we hosted a Commissioning Service for members of the Select Vestries* in our Rural Deanery** of Clogher. Sadly our visiting speaker wasn't able to join us, so I preached on God's gifts for ministry from 1 Corinthians 12. You can listen in here.

(Explanations for my non-Anglican friends:
* Church committee charged with the running of the parish, particularly the 'Three F's' of fabric, furnishings, and finance.
** A clump of local parishes together under the leadership of the Rural Dean. Ours includes the parishes of Aghavea, Tempo & Clabby, Colebrooke & Cooneen with Mullaghfad, Fivemiletown with Kiltermon, and the Clogher Cathedral group (Clogher, Augher, Errigal Portclare and Newtownsaville). )

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-20 God's Gifts

Thursday nights when we were growing up was always an exciting night. After dinner, we would go to get the big grocery shop. And that meant that it was new cereal night. We didn’t tend to get the same cereal week after week. Instead, we’d pick whichever one had the best toy inside, or the most unhealthy E-numbered filled cereal. Most weeks, my brother and I would agree, but on the odd occasion, when he wanted Frosties and I wanted CocoPops, our eyes would suddenly light on the genius of Kellogg’s cereals - the Variety pack.

Eight little tiny boxes of cereal, each different, and a solution to all our troubles! Each morning you could try a different one, and you wouldn’t have to eat the same cereal all week. Mr Kellogg knew what he was doing when he made the Variety pack. Cereal for everyone, and all different.

I was reminded of Kellogg’s Variety when I read our New Testament passage for this evening. But rather than small cereal boxes, Paul has in mind the great variety of spiritual gifts God gives us, and the ways in which we use them. I thought it would be good to focus on them, as we come together this evening to commission churchwardens, glebewardens and select vestry members from our Rural Deanery. Over the next few minutes, we’ll think about God the giver, God’s gifts, and God’s good design.

In verses 4-6 we see God the giver. And that’s a really important thing to remember as we begin to think about spiritual gifts - they are gifts, given to us by God. Listen out for the common words as we read those verses again:

‘There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.’

Three times we’re told there are ‘different kinds’ or ‘varieties’ (ESV), and three times we’re told there is the ‘same’. Do you see what Paul is saying, underlining and putting in bold? There is one God, and he loves variety. It’s not just that there is one spiritual gift available; there are many. It’s not just that there is one kind of service (and he’s not talking about Morning Prayer or Holy Communion there), there are many ways of serving the Lord.

Do you remember Henry Ford’s words when the Model T was first launched? You can have any colour, so long as it’s black. There was no diversity or variety there! But God doesn’t work on a mass production line - he shapes us and makes us individually - no two of us are the same!

Now if you were following closely during the reading, you might have noticed a clue as to why this variety is available. It actually goes to the heart of God’s nature and being. Look again at the verses - ‘different kinds... but the same Spirit... different kinds... but the same Lord... different kinds... but the same God.’ Paul shows that God is, in his very nature, variety in unity - three persons in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just as the three are totally united in purpose and love, so God showers his gifts on his people.

Do we recognise and remember that our spiritual gifts are gifts - given to us by God the giver? That, in the words of the children’s song ‘I just thank you Father, for making me me’? Or do we claim the credit as our own? When someone thanks us or praises us for something we do, do we keep it to ourself, or do we give the praise and thanks to God the giver?

God the giver gives gifts. Coming up to our wedding, we spent several afternoons in Debenhams and Smyth Pattersons (Lisburn), compiling our gift list. We went around the shops, writing down the things we would like to receive as gifts from our wedding guests (so that you didn’t end up with six toasters and twenty cutlery sets).

In verses 8-10, we find a gift list - we’re told some of the gifts God gives. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking and interpreting tongues. Later in the same chapter he’ll mention a few more. Helping others, administration, teaching. And as we’ve seen, there are even more varieties of gifts.

Just think of the gifts God has given to each one of you, to equip you to serve as churchwardens, glebewardens, select vestry members, secretaries and treasurers. And even if you’re not on a vestry, you too have gifts given by God - in music, in drawing alongside people, in praying, and in so many ways. Perhaps as you read this list, or come across the other gift lists in the New Testament, you might discover a gift that you realise you have; you realise that actually, you have been given wisdom. Or maybe someone else will come up to you and say, you know, I think that you have this gift or that gift, because we’ve seen how you can do this or that. Or maybe this gift list can be like the one we had in Debenhams - and something stirs in you to desire a particular gift.

These are all God’s gifts, given to us, just as the Spirit determines. But they aren’t for us to be the centre of attention, for everyone else to go, oh, look at how gifted they are. No, the Spirit gives these gifts (v7) ‘for the common good.’

What gifts has God given you? Take some time to think about that this week. Pray through the list, and ask God to show you how he has made you, the gifts you have been given. But then - how are you using them for the common good, to build up others? How can others benefit from your gifting?

This comes into sharper focus when we consider God’s good design. When we think of word pictures of the church, perhaps the one that is used most often is the one we find here - the church as the body. Just think of your body, made up of many different parts, each of them different. But together, they make you you. And it’s the same with the body of Christ, the church. Each of us is different, but we come together, baptised by one Spirit into one body, made one in Christ.

At this point, we get closer to the reason Paul wrote about spiritual gifts to the church in Corinth. You see, they were a church with lots of problems - which Paul has been dealing with and answering in this letter. And spiritual gifts were a particular problem. Everyone wanted to have the gift of speaking in tongues, because it was a loud, everyone noticing you type of gift. Those who didn’t have it wanted it; those who did have it thought that everyone else wasn’t a real Christian without it.

But the picture of church as a body shows us how our gifts work together. So imagine your foot says, well, I’m not a hand, so I don’t really belong. That’s nonsense! You need hands and feet both, to do their own particular thing, to pick things up, or to walk. Or your ear pipes up and says, well, I’m not an eye, I don’t really belong. But you need your ear to hear as well as your eye to see.

Paul then gets into horror science fiction movie images, of a whole body of just an eye. You might have great sight, but you couldn’t walk, or talk, or do anything else. So what’s that all about? We’re not to look down on ourselves, thinking that because we aren’t upfront, or aren’t noticed, that our gifts don’t matter. But neither should we look down on others, thinking that their gifts don’t matter as much as ours.

God’s good design is seen in the human body, with each part doing its own job to make you you. And that same design is seen in the church - many parts, but one body. Tonight we commission those involved in vestries, but everyone has gifts to use as we build up the body. Perhaps, Maurice, when we come to it, we need one final commissioning question, asking everyone to stand, asking if we will use the gifts God gives us in his service.

Your role and gifts are important, in fact, they’re vital - but so are everyone else’s too! How are you using the gifts God has given you, fulfilling his purpose and design as we serve him in our parishes, and grow together in love?

Many years ago, I served as Rector’s Churchwarden in the parish of Dromore Cathedral. In the cathedral there are three doors. The Peoples’ warden welcomed at the tower door; there was a rota for the middle door; and the Rector’s warden was at the organ aisle door. And almost every Sunday, behind the door, so no one else really saw it, was a tiny stained glass window. It’s of the boy Samuel, with the inscription ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ I wonder is that our prayer this evening? It’s often as we step out to serve the Lord that we hear the Lord calling us on, to use our gifts as he chooses, to be obedient to him.

God is the giver of all our gifts. He gives the great variety for the common good, to build each other up, according to his good design of the church, the body of Christ. How will you use your gifts to serve him?

This sermon was preached at the Clogher Rural Deanery Select Vestry Commissioning Service in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 29th May 2016.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 50-58 Raised: in victory

When was your greatest victory? When did you enjoy your finest triumph? Maybe it was playing for the school team in a final, or a solo sports performance. Maybe it was that one time you managed to beat your brother or sister in Ludo or chess or tiddliwinks as a child. Perhaps it was in an argument, or even in a fight... There’s something about us, that we all like to recall times of victory, no matter how small. We can celebrate.

As we come to the end of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul spells out the implications of a great victory that we can celebrate, both today, and for all eternity.We’ve been studying what the Bible says about the resurrection of the dead - and Paul now looks to the end, and declares in verse 57 ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ We’ll look at the victory Christ has won, the change that it will bring in us, and then what that means for us today.

So first, the victory Christ has won. For there to be a victory, there must be an enemy, an opponent, someone who is defeated. As we gather here today, it is all too clear who our enemy is. As you walked into church, the headstones around the building are silent reminders of the onward march of death. Or look around. Saints who were faithful members of the congregation for many years are with us no longer. Or drive around and see the number of funeral directors and undertakers, whose business is death. Or spend a moment reflecting on your own loss - death is all around, our great enemy. As someone once said, the only certainties in life are death and taxes.

Our enemy is death. Death is painful for those left behind, who mourn the loss of loved ones. But the Bible goes further and says that there is a sting to death - like a bee or a wasp. There’s a sting to death, and that sting is sin - the needlepoint that threatens and does the damage. Death comes as a result of sin, and grieves us so. Sin gets its power from the law, from God’s command. As we break God’s law, as we disobey and rebel, then that sin stings us, and we fall into the hands of our enemy.

Sometimes bee stings can kill, but with the sin sting, death is a certainty. (The wages of sin is death - Romans 6:23). What shall we do? What can we do, in the face of such a powerful adversary? Our enemy will triumph.

Or will he? Faced with our enemy, how can Paul taunt death in verse 55. Look at it with me: ‘O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?’ Come on Paul, you almost want to say - death wins every time. Death wins, its sting is stung.

Yet Paul has been writing about the resurrection of Jesus, and how Jesus’ resurrection affects us, so that he can burst out into the shout of praise in verse 57. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Death affects us because of sin, but Jesus has dealt with our sin - as verse 3 reminded us - Christ died for our sins. He died the death we deserve, and has been raised again - he has won the victory over death - Jesus didn’t stay dead in the grave, but lives forevermore!

This victory will be completed and consummated when he returns, and brings the great change of verses 51-54. So far, Paul has been writing about those who have died, those who have fallen asleep - Christians who have died. As he describes what will happen on the last day, he is revealing a mystery - something hidden that is now revealed, a special apostolic revelation for the encouragement of the brothers and sisters. Not all Christians will die - some will be alive when Jesus returns, but no matter whether dead or alive, ‘we shall all be changed.’

All change - like the announcement on a bus or train. This one can only take you so far, after that, you must get on another one for your final destination. We see this in verse 50, where perishable flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God, we need a new imperishable and immortal body. The trumpet will sound - the music of festivity, celebration and triumph - and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye - in the time it takes to bat an eyelid, the Lord will appear and everything will be changed.

But what will the change be like? Verse 53 helps us - this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (not immorality, but immortality!) As I said last week - our bodies now are weak and falling apart. Our bodies are prone to die, but they will be made new and will never die or fail or fade.

It is when this change takes place, when we are clothed with immortality, that ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ That line comes from Isaiah 25 - and I want to go there briefly to see the glory of the victory as prophesied in the Old Testament: (p 708). Verse 7 in Isaiah 25 shows the universal problem - death is like a sheet or a veil, a blanket over all peoples - full blanket coverage, as you might say. None are exempt. But, ‘he will swallow up death forever; and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.’ Where? On this mountain - Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord, where Jesus rose from the dead and swallowed death whole. Death does not have the last word, Jesus has triumphed!

That’s why Paul can taunt death in those words of verse 55 - O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? Yes, you may take loved ones from us, but you will not triumph - they merely sleep, and they will be freed from your grasp as they rise and we rise with them, and we are together changed and clothed in the power of Christ and made like Christ’s resurrection body, never more to die.

This is our future hope as Christians, as those who trust in the death of Christ for our sins and his resurrection for our victory over death. I’m sure you know that when a bee stings someone, it soon dies - Death stings Jesus, and he draws its poison, so that we are saved and aren’t stung. What a glorious future - no wonder we rejoice as we look forward, so that even our mourning is transformed so that, as Paul says elsewhere ‘you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.’ Death hurts us as we lose loved ones, but we can look forward with certainty to that reunion through Christ’s resurrection. Death is not the end, death does not have the final say.

I don’t know about you, but I almost want Paul to finish on the high triumphant note of verse 57. That note of thanks and praise as we see clearly the victory won and how we will share in it. But that’s not where Paul ends. Instead he adds verse 58, as he draws out the implications of the whole chapter. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, and our resurrection; because of the world to come; because what we do matters, ‘therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’

The doctrine of the resurrection will lead to two things - being firmly faithful and abundantly fruitful. First of all, firmly faithful. My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable. Paul’s teaching on the resurrection is the corrective to the Corinthians’ tendency to be blown about by false doctrine. Some had been listening to people who said there was no such thing as the resurrection. Some doubted the power of God, or the promises of God. Now that they know the truth, they must stand firm in it, be steadfast, and not moving about, shifting , but standing firm on the rock of Christ. Wasn’t that how Paul opened the chapter? ‘Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you’ (1 Cor 15:1-2) Right doctrine, firmly faithful.

But they are also called (and we too), to be abundantly fruitful. Because Jesus has died and been raised, and he has entrusted us with the work of the gospel, and because Jesus will return victorious, then be ‘always abounding in the work of the Lord.’

Always abounding - Can any of us say that our work for the Lord is abounding at any time, never mind always abounding? We’re often so slow to speak for Christ, or serve Christ, or progress in godliness. Yet Paul gives us the motivation for pressing on, for abounding in the work of the Lord. Why? ‘Knowing that in the Lord, your labour is not in vain.’ We have two ‘ins’ here - not too pubs (inns), but two ins - in the Lord, and not in vain. These two ins summarise the chapter and provide the motivation for doing the Lord’s service:

In the Lord: Those in the Lord, in Christ shall be made alive (22), we have this sure hope, a hope that is not in vain. Our labour, our work for the Lord and in the Lord is not in vain - just as our faith in Christ is not in vain (v14). Our faith is not empty, because Jesus is alive. Our work is therefore also not empty or useless, but productive, fruitful, as we spread the good news of Jesus, the triumph of victory over sin and death.

Only one life, twill soon be past,
only what’s done for Christ will last.

What is your greatest victory? If you’re in Christ, then those sporting achievements or arguments pale into insignificance, and our greatest victory is just around the corner - just a heartbeat away, when the Lord returns and we share in his victory over death. How will you respond now?

Leicester City are on cloud nine, having won the Premier League, the first time in their 132 year history. Will they win it next year, and the year after? Probably not.

Our victory is complete, and forever! No replays, no rematches, no appeals, Jesus has won and we share in his victory. The result is sure, and we can celebrate now, as we stand firm in the truth of the resurrection, and spread the good news to others - Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 8th May 2016.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 35-49 Raised: in glory

One of the topics that generates the most questions has to be heaven and what it’s like. Will we know each other? What age will we be in heaven? What will we do all day for all eternity? And maybe these are some of the questions that you’ve thought about as well. But as Paul teaches about the resurrection of Jesus and what it means us for us, he reckons that someone will be asking how it all works.

Look at verse 35. ‘But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’’ That’s the question we’re thinking about today. What will our resurrection really look like? When we are raised on the last day, what will it feel like? What kind of body will we have on that day?

Now hopefully if you ask me a question, I’ll not follow Paul’s line here and say ‘You foolish person!’ So why does Paul think this is such a silly question? Why would this be a foolish thing to ask? Well, the answer is really all around us. As he answers, Paul takes us to the garden, or the farm, and the idea of sowing and reaping. The way the world works, the ‘natural order’ of creation points us to God’s work of re-creation.

Principle 1: Dying brings life. Look at verse 36. ‘What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.’ To reap a harvest, you first have to sow the seed. If you just keep the seed sitting on your kitchen table, it’ll never grow. It must die to live. It’s only when it is buried, planted in the ground, that the seed will die and then spring into new life. It’s what Jesus says in John 12 - ‘unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ Dying brings new life. Sowing leads to growing.

Principle 2: The thing that grows isn’t the thing that’s sown. Or at least, it’s not exactly the same. Everyone knows that if you plant apple seeds, you’ll not grow pears. What’s sown is what grows, but it’s not exactly the same. It’s the same, but different. Just look at a seed, and then look at the fruit. They’re entirely different! ‘And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.’ (37)

But when the seeds are planted, God gives them the body he has chosen, each type of body unique and special and different. So imagine you go to a garden centre, and there’s a big kind of pick-n-mix stand. Lots of seeds, and you took one of each sort and had them in your hand. The seeds might all look the same, but the plants would each be different.

Imagine if everything in the universe only had one and the same type of body. Humans, animals, fish, birds, they all had our body shape and skin. It would be a bit weird! But Paul says, look at the world around you - ‘For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.’ Or look up - the glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of stars, each different. Each created thing has its own kind of body, the right kind of body for it. God’s got it all under his control. It’ll be just right.

So take those two principles - dying brings life; and what is sown isn’t the same that’s grown. And now Paul takes what we know from the world around us, and applies it to our bodies. And here is great hope.

You see, every day, we’re all getting older. Our bodies are wearing out or giving up. Someone once said that the sign of getting older was that when you were bending over to tie your shoelaces, you see what else you could do when you’re down that far. And despite the anti-ageing creams or the ‘ten years younger’ programmes, we’re still getting older. Maybe I'm feeling it this week - at a meeting with colleagues, some thought I was older than I am - maybe I need the Oil of Olay! And perhaps you wonder how great eternal life would be if you were to keep going in your body? Could you go another 1000 years in the skin you’re in?

But remember what Paul has shown us from the natural world. And we see him apply it to the resurrection. ‘What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.’ Our earthly bodies are just the seed. When we have a funeral, and there’s a burial, it’s like a seed being planted. The Moravian church calls its graveyards ‘God’s acre’, God’s field, as they await the harvest, the resurrection.

Just think of that transformation of the resurrection - we lay our loved one to rest, perhaps having sat with them at home or in hospital. We’e watched as they go down, as their bodies fail. Even the best of us end up perishable, in dishonour, weakness, and all too aware of the frailty of our natural body. But they’ll be transformed at the resurrection - raised imperishable, in glory, in power, a spiritual body. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re just a spirit, just a ghost. It means a body made alive by the Holy Spirit, empowered by heaven.

This isn't a spirit in a dress sitting on a cloud playing a harp, as some images of heaven would suggest. This isn't that we become an angel when we die - you don't become someone or something else. You're still the same person, raised with a new, resurrection body. Remember last week, when we saw that Jesus is the firstfruits? His body is the prototype, the first example of the resurrection body.

So what was his resurrection body like? He could appear in a locked room with the disciples. He could be touched, his wounds inspected. He could walk along. He could cook breakfast for the disciples on the beach barbecue. He could eat broiled fish. He’s not like Casper, a friendly ghost. He is raised to new life, real life, in a glorified imperishable body.

If you remember last week, Paul gave us the comparison between Adam and Christ. In Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Well here, he continues the compare and contrast. Look at verse 45. Adam became a living being, but Jesus (the last Adam, the second ‘first man’) became a life-giving spirit. Adam was given life. But not so with Jesus - he gives life.

And that makes all the difference. You see, we’re all born in Adam. ‘The first man was from the earth, a man of dust.’ The life given to Adam is also given to us. But that life is temporary, all too short. Our frail bodies fail, and those words are said of us - earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, echoing Genesis 3:19 ‘By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it were you taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ We bear the same image of Adam.

But Jesus is from heaven. He belongs to a different sphere. And he gives us a different destiny. If we belong to him, then we will be like him. Look at verse 49, as Paul summarises what we’re looking at today: ‘Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.’

We are like Adam, who come from dust, and return to dust. But as we trust in Christ, so we become like him. We will share his risen life. And we will have resurrection bodies like his. This world is not the end. Death does not have the last word. And we will be raised in glory, to be like Jesus, in resurrection bodies like Jesus. That’s a truth to hold on to when we grieve for loved ones, or when we’re faced with our own mortality. Burial is a seed sown, as we wait for the harvest - you and me, personally raised, personally known, but in new bodies, just like Jesus’ own.

What kind of bodies? Look at the world around you - dying brings life, and what’s sown isn’t the same as what’s grown. John puts it like this: ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.’ (1 John 3:2)

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 1st May 2016.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 19-34 Raised: The Firstfruits

I wonder if you’ve ever got a shock when doing the laundry. You’ve had a load of whites in the wash, you open the washing machine, and your nice white shirts or blouses are now a delicate shade of pink. One stray red sock made it into the pile, and everything else is affected by it.

We’re taking a few weeks to look at 1 Corinthians 15 - the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us. So far we’ve seen that Jesus was raised according to the Scriptures (as told by the eyewitnesses); and last week we thought about the consequences of Jesus not being raised - our preaching would be in vain, your faith is in vain, we’re telling lies about God, we’re still in our sins, and we’re to be pitied most of all.

But, Paul says, we don’t need to worry about those things - because ‘in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.’ So Jesus really was raised - we can be sure of that fact. From today on, we get to see what that means for us - both in the future, and in the here and now. It all starts with v20. ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Jesus is described as the firstfruits.

The farmers and gardeners will know what this is straight away. After you’ve planted your seed there’s a bit of a wait. You might wonder if anything is happening. But eventually, you’ll see the first shoots appear, and then the very first apple or tomato or ear of corn. That’s your firstfruit - the first fruit of the plant, the sign that the harvest is on the way. The rest of the crop will follow, and it’ll soon be time to gather it in.

Jesus is the firstfruits - ‘of those who have fallen asleep.’ So Jesus’ resurrection is a pointer to our resurrection, if we’re linked to him. Do you see how verses 21-22 compare and contrast? ‘For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.’

Death came into the world through one man - Adam. That was in the Garden of Eden, when he took the forbidden fruit, when he disobeyed God’s command, and sinned. As Romans reminds us - the wages of sin is death - so Adam’s sin brought death into the world. But now through one man - Jesus - the resurrection of the dead has also come. Jesus has done all that was necessary to overcome death, through his perfect obedience and his sin-bearing death and his being raised to new life, so resurrection to new life is available to us.

We just need to be connected to him. That’s what v 22 shows us. By nature, all of us are in Adam. You see, Adam wasn’t just acting on his own behalf in the Garden of Eden. He was acting as our representative, our head. The choices he made, the action he took affects us all. We see something like it all the time. For example, you might talk about how ‘we won’ or ‘we lost’ even though you weren’t playing on the field - how your team plays affects you, you are connected to their actions, for good or ill.

Or maybe your boss decides that everyone will have to work longer hours. Their decision affects you, whether you like it or not. Well, in the same way, we are all in Adam. He chose to disobey, and we all follow him in sin, and will also die. But the contrast is there again - ‘so also in Christ shall all be made alive.’ Being connected to Adam brings death, but being connected to Christ brings life.

So which one are you in? Or, if you’d like to put it like this - who is driving your bus? We all start in Adam’s bus; we all have the end destination of death - but have you got off his bus and got onto Jesus’ bus? Are you in Christ? It’s not automatic. The ‘all’ in Adam is not the same ‘all’ in Christ - as we see in verse 23. ‘But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming, those who belong to him.’ Those in Christ are those who belong to him.

The bus driver gets to the stop first, the passengers follow behind. The firstfruits are gathered in first, and then comes the rest of the harvest. Christ has been raised. That has already happened. We can now be sure that those who belong to him will also be raised. So are you only in Adam, or are you also in Christ? Are you confident of this hope?

Jesus has been raised, the firstfruits. Our resurrection in him is assured. But Jesus’ resurrection is also the first taste of his kingdom rule. The Old Testament prophecies of Psalms 8 and 110 are fulfilled as Jesus reigns until all his enemies are under his feet. It’s maybe a sign that I’m getting old, but I’ve invested in a footstool, which sits in front of my rocking chair. It’s so good to sit down, but even better to rest my feet on the stool. Well Jesus’ enemies are what he rests his feet on, and Paul says that the final enemy to be destroyed is (26) death.

The resurrection is like D-Day in World War Two. The victory is assured, but the war isn’t over yet. Death continues to claim us. We continue to have funerals, but not forever. Death will not have the final say. Death cannot have the final say. It too will be like my footstool, under the feet of Jesus. Death will be no more. The firstfruits shows us that. Just as Jesus rose, so we too will rise, freed from death, in new resurrection life, just like Jesus.

And knowing that this will happen in the future must change how we live in the present. The Corinthians seem to be aware of that, based on what might be one of the hardest verses of the Bible to understand. Verse 29, people being baptised on behalf of the dead. One commentator suggests there are 400 different possible interpretations. We’ll not look at them all today. It might be that someone had believed in Christ, but died before they were baptised, and someone else was baptised on their behalf. But why bother with that if the dead aren’t raised?

Or why would Paul bother putting himself in danger, travelling round the known world to tell people about Jesus if the dead aren’t raised? No reason at all. To sum it up, look at verse 32b: ‘If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ If this world is all there is, if this life is all we have, then we might as well enjoy it while we can. And that’s what the Corinthians had been told by the false teachers they were listening to, and by the society around them. They needed to stop being deceived, waken up, and not keep on sinning.

Christ has been raised as the firstfruits. We too, if we are in him, will be raised. The life we have is not our own - it is Christ’s, for him to use us as he pleases. For Paul, it felt like dying every day, as he gave himself to share the good news of Jesus, in danger every hour. Of seeking to persuade people to move from being united to Adam, to being united to Christ. Of giving people a hope and a future.

Harvest time is coming. The firstfruits have already been gathered in. Christ is raised - will you be gathered with him to reign with him?

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 24th April 2016.

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11 Raised - According to the Scriptures

I wonder if you can guess what one of my favourite children’s TV programmes was? Mrs Goggins featured in it, as did Patrick Clifton. If those names are too obscure, perhaps a line from the song will help. ‘Maybe, you can never be sure, there’ll be knock, ring... letters through your door.’ You’ve guessed it by now - I loved to watch Postman Pat. He and his black and white cat Jess would go around Greendale delivering the post - bringing what he had been given, and delivering it to the people.

In our reading today, we get the idea of Postman Paul. Look at verse 3. ‘For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.’ Paul had received something, he had been given something, and now he has passed it on. He delivered it - just like Postman Pat. He brought it to the people in the city of Corinth.

If you’ve posted a letter recently, you’ll have realised that the price of a stamp has gone up again, on the 29th March. So when you have a letter to post, and you come to the Post Office counter, you have a choice to make - is it really urgent to justify 64 pence for first class, or will it do second class at 55 pence? Did you see how Paul described his delivery? Was it something that didn’t really matter, something that could take its time? Not at all - ‘For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received...’ Of first importance - it would need a first class stamp, or maybe even the guaranteed next day signed for delivery service. And what was so important? What was of first importance?

‘That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared...’ (3-5)

If you come along to the Family service, you’ll recognise this as one of the creeds we use regularly. And the reason we use it is because Paul says it is of first importance, this little summary of what Jesus did - he died, he was buried, he was raised, and he appeared. If you’re looking for a summary of what Christianity is all about, then this is it. This is the very heart of the Christian faith - historical truth about what happened that first Easter weekend.

Postman Paul tells us that he received this - he didn’t make it up, he was told this, and passed it on, delivered it to the Corinthians. He makes clear that Christ died - that Jesus was crucified, and really died. But notice that it isn’t just a historical explanation, it’s also a theological explanation. ‘Christ died’ - that’s history. ‘Christ died for our sins’ - that’s theology. This is why Jesus died - for our sins. He died to take the punishment we deserved. He died the death we deserved. But there’s more. ‘Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.’

In a wee while we’ll say the Apostles’ Creed, which follows the same pattern - died, buried, raised. But it’s the Nicene Creed which we say at Holy Communion which uses the full phrases from this passage - in accordance with the Scriptures. But as I was growing up, and the BCP/APB said Jesus died and was raised ‘according to the Scriptures’ I always thought that meant, as we find in the gospels - we know this because according to the Scriptures of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But Postman Paul says that Jesus died ‘in accordance with the Scriptures.’

Jesus died in the way the Scriptures (the Old Testament) said he would. And Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. The promises were there beforehand. The story was already told. Psalm 16 is just one example - ‘You will not abandon my soul to Sheol (the place of the dead), or let your holy one see corruption.’

The Scriptures had already set out the blueprint, the plan of what Jesus would do. Postman Paul says that he did it all, and this is of first importance. But maybe you’re not so sure. You put up with Easter Sunday each year while on the inside you’re thinking, but dead men don’t rise. Was this how the disciples coped with the death of Jesus, by focusing on how he lived on in their thoughts and memories? Did they just make up the story that he was alive? Isn’t it just a fairy tale? Has Paul been led up the garden path by someone telling him tall tales?

But included within the first importance is also the last bit - died, buried, raised, and appeared. So who did he appear to? Cephas - that’s Peter, the one who denied knowing him on the Thursday night (and the one specifically mentioned in Mark 16:7); the twelve; more than five hundred brothers at one time; James, all the apostles, and finally... me, (Paul).

All these eyewitnesses testify to the fact that they saw the risen Jesus, met with him, ate with him, some even touched him. Jesus really was raised to new life. His closest friends, then a huge group of people - so it couldn’t be a hallucination (they’re always individual), and most of them could be interviewed, or asked what they saw. And the last two individuals names on that list were probably the best witnesses. James, the brother of the Lord - just think, what would it take for you to become sure that your brother was really God? (Throughout the gospels, Jesus’ family had tried to take him home, stop his ministry etc - but now James believes, convinced by the resurrection). And Paul - Paul who was persecuting the church, who hated Jesus and the Christians, yet God’s grace worked in his life, he met the risen Jesus, and his life was turned around, now a witness to the resurrection, an apostle, and a new mission.

Now you might be thinking - we know all this! Why have we spent this morning thinking about something we already know? Well, over these next few weeks we’re thinking about what the resurrection of Jesus means for us. But before we get to that, we need to see what Paul says is of first importance. We can’t enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ resurrection without making sure that Jesus really did rise.

You see, as Postman Paul brought this special delivery, this first importance first class post, as he preached this message, the Corinthians believed. They accepted the testimony, they believed that Jesus really did die, and that he really did rise. But more than that, they believed in Jesus - that he died for their (our) sins. Have you done that? Have you heard the testimony and believed in Jesus? Have you received this first importance delivery? Perhaps today could be the day the post arrives, you receive it for yourself. Make this the most important thing you know.

But maybe you’re already a Christian. And you’re thinking, but I know all this! Surely I can move beyond the cross and the resurrection now? But Postman Paul says we can never move beyond this. He was writing to Christians, and he needed to remind them of it. Reminded of - the gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done.

And we’re in the same boat. We too easily forget. We too quickly try to please God by our own efforts, or trying to pay back God for what Jesus has done. Paul seeks to remind us - so that we are in that chain of verses 1-2. The gospel preached, ‘which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain.’

If you have received this gospel, this good news, whether today, or fifty years ago - stand in it (don’t move away, don’t potter about, stand firm on the only solid rock), because it is our only hope of salvation, our only way of having our sins forgiven; as we hold fast to the word. Don’t let it go. Don’t drop it for anything else.

The gospel doesn’t start with us. It’s something that we receive; something that’s delivered to us. And even if Postman Pat brings some post we would rather not open, Postman Paul brings us good news, great news - that Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised on the third day - all in accordance with the Scriptures - and he appeared to witnesses, who saw, and passed on the message. We can be sure that Jesus is alive, he has been raised - and as we’ll see in coming weeks - we too will be raised with him. Let’s pray.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 10th April 2016.