1 Corinthians 15:20-54

"Dear Father, rewarder of all who diligently seek you, Thank you for the lessons in nature that teach truths about your kingdom. Help me to learn..."

"Dear Follower, Resurrection is coming. I will return for those who belong to Me. At My coming, everyone who belongs to Me will be given an immortal....."

"Dear Father, rewarder of all who diligently seek you, Thank you for Jesus, whose life not only taught us how to live, but whose resurrection proved....."

"Dear Father, keeper of every promise, Thank you for making the first man, Adam, a living soul. Thank you even more that by your power the last man,....."

"Christ has indeed been raised, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also..."

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet....."

"But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye,...."

"Dear Father, worthy God, You have declared that just as death came through the sin of one man, so life comes through one man's resurrection from the...."

Inspirational illustration of 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 -- 20   Christ has indeed been raised, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die

Is there room beyond the cemetery plot for you? Patrick Odum compares the lack of vacancy in a French cemetery and a law forbidding people to die to the hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus.

"Dear Father, keeper of every promise, Thank you for disclosing to us the mystery of what is to come! Keep us looking forward to that moment when we....."

"For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

"Dear Father, my everything, May I learn from Christ's subjection to you, for when all things are subjected to him, your Son himself will also be..."

Inspirational illustration of 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 -- For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

"Dear Precious One, The writer of the "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22) that you call the book of Hebrews wrote this:When God spoke from Mount..."

"For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our....."

Who has the final say in our lives? Death has been defeated by Jesus' resurrection so we need to only ask whether or not we belong to him.

What are you going to do on the next day? We all face the let down of failures on the next day; how will we handle the next day?

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

"Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power."

"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..."

"The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit."

"We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit."

"Dear Father, destroyer of every enemy, Help me to look to the outcome, to the end of things, when Christ will deliver the kingdom to you after..."

"Jesus is the federal head of his elect. As in Adam, every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and..."

"The head and members are of one nature, and not like that monstrous image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. The head was of fine gold, but the..."

"The whole system of Christianity rests upon the fact that "Christ is risen from the dead;" for, "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain,....."

Inspirational illustration of 1 Corinthians 15:24 -- Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

Inspirational illustration of 1 Corinthians 15:54 -- 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."

1 Corinthians 15:51 - We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

Go ahead, plant a seed. See it disappear into the dirt. But, don't forget! Phil Ware continues his four week series on seed, towel, promise, and torchlight focusing on the power of the Seed to overcome dirt, darkness, and death.

Is your life actually going to be very short? Patrick Odum tells about a guy who thought he had pancreatic cancer and lived it up his last year of life and then found out the cancer diagnosis was wrong.

When Luke wrote his good news story about Jesus, he wants us to know that as much as we may resent and resemble Adam 1.0, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into Adam 2.0! Phil Ware leads us in exploratory devotional thoughts about the first and second Adams and what they mean to us and that Jesus came as Adam 2.0 to bring us a better future and life eternal with and like Jesus.

It is simply not true that your best is always good enough; there are countless people every day who could witness to that. Patrick Odum reminds us that sometimes our best isn't good enough, it doesn't count, unless our focus is on the Lord Jesus and his work, then his resurrection ensures our work is not in vain!

We will exchange our mortal bodies for immortal bodies that are made for eternal glory! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to glorify God as we remember the encouraging future and forever-change we have in Jesus at his return in glory.

He knew that people were fickle. They could cry out, “Hosanna!” one day, then cry out, “Crucify him!” a week later. Phil Ware continues his series on CRUCIFORMED focusing on the events of Jesus' last week from his Triumphal Entry to his resurrection.

"Dear Precious Child of the Father, My people have had to face hostile trials for their faith all throughout history. I'm not talking about the..."

What difference does one twinkling star really make? Phil Ware reflects upon the star the Magi saw and puts it in its context of astrologers from Iran who recognized Jesus as King of the Jews and the religious leaders among the Jews who tried to kill him.

Get this and don't be misled. We cannot over-estimate the importance of seeing the truth.

Where did a bunny with eggs come from? Easter can be and should be on our hearts everyday and we should use Easter as a time to help our kids know about the Lord's resurrection and not just bunny eggs.

What are your habits, patterns, and companions communicating to others? Russ Lawson reminds us that the habits, patterns, and companions of our lives leave a message in the hearts of all who see us and know us.

So do I really become like them or they like me? Rubel Shelly reminds us that the friendships we form shape us and change us.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this meal, but be reminded that Jesus makes simple things glorious! Phil Ware reminds us that though the bread and wine of this meal are simple, so were Jesus' words to Jairus' daughter, and those words changed everything.

Should this interfere with us being intimate? Joe Beam answers a question about low sexual desire after a heart attack and what a wife should do in this situation.

Are we awake or have we chosen to fall asleep? Russ Lawson talks about events that shocked us and awakened us from our lethargy, but reminds us that we often just sink back into our old habits.

How often do you celebrate it? Phil Ware shares with us the real meaning of Independence Day and how we can celebrate it every week.

You have anything more going for you than just living to pay taxes? During tax season it is always important to be reminded that life is a whole lot more than living to pay taxes, in fact, God wants us to have life that is full of purpose and meaning.

"Dear Father, confirmer of truth, Strengthen me against all that Satan and the world can bring against me. Confirm my understanding of what you did in..."

Yes you are going to die. So what? Death means the end of everything if you are not a Christian. It is the beginning of everything if you are.

Could the story be true? The crucifixion and resurrection are at the heart of the good news of Jesus. He came to this world, was rejected and killed, then overcame death and the grave. One day he will come again, and God will judge the world through him. Those who have put their

What do you most fear? Phil Ware continues his 7 sayings of Jesus on the Cross with the meaning of the line today of "you will be with me in paradise" and talks about the hope it brings in the face of death.

As followers of Jesus, the clouds hold a message of hope for us, not just a warning. Phil Ware continues his series on Resurrection 2.0 and focuses this week on Jesus' return in the clouds which is guaranteed by his resurrection from the dead.

"Dear Precious One, Yesterday I talked to you about the importance of My grace leading you to forgive those who have wounded you. That is hard. Today...."

Who's afraid of the big bad grave? The fear of death is instinctive, but Jesus came to free us from living as slaves to that fear

It was a haunting sound, carried by the wind It was a haunting sound, carried by the wind as it seemed to float around those of us gathered there. The lone bugler sounding Taps

"Dear Disciple, Paul's words in your verses today are as beautiful as they are powerful. They can help you deal with an inescapable reality of your..."

Is death always an intrusion and a tragedy? Mike Barres reminds us that death, like the falling of leaves in autumn, is a natural part of our world and we need to make sure we honor God when that time comes.

What do these words mean and whose words do we trust? Phil Ware weaves in the 7 sayings of Jesus on the cross with the sense of forgiveness and mission that should be ours in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.