Steve Cree spoke to us from 1 Corinthians 15:12-34. If Christ didn’t rise from the dead then we’re wasting our time being Christians: no forgiveness, no hope, no future. But Christ did rise – and so we will also – and that future changes everything about how we live now.
Key Verse
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Outline:
1. pitiful Christians? 15:12-19
2. conquering Christ! 15:20-29
3. come back to your senses 15:30-34
You can play the podcast using the “Play in Pop-Up” link below the player which will allow you to visit other pages while listening.
A broadband connection is recommended to listen to this talk from the web.
Subscribe to this Podcast in iTunes (Free)
If you have any questions about this talk please leave a comment or email the speaker.
Thanks Steve for another great talk. May we as a church and as individuals take up these challenges that are coming up in the talks, listen to what God is say put into action what we learn not just for our own benefit but also for those around us.
Let Gods word permeate all that we do, not leaving Him at the church door when the talk is over.
I would like to encourage people to arrive at church at 9.00 or earlier instead of the 9.28 am rush it allows you more time to talk to others and helps set the putting God first.
thanks Trev. And agree very much with the ‘come early’ (and stay late) sentiment. As we build into connect09 it’s simple things like that which make all the difference as we seek to be an outward looking church.
Steve, do you have any good genealogy websites you could direct us to?
Gday Steve – thanks for another ripper talk.
I have a question that relates partly to Graeme’s questions about genealogies…
Our Bible study group is wondering if you can shed any light on verse 29 – the ‘baptism for the dead’ bit? What’s all that about? Paul seems neutral when he mentions it – he doesn’t say anything either for it or against it, just that people do it – but then there’s nowhere else (I know of) in the New Testament that mentions baptism for the dead.
Any ideas? Thanks Steve…
And PS…
Trev – thanks for the encouragement to get to church early – that’s a great idea. It’d be great to see some more people around before the service starts – eager to encourage each other, and together, to welcome newcomers. Especially as we head toward Connect 09, with a big focus on inviting non-believers to church every week.
Thanks guys for the question (or in Graeme’s case, cheeky allusion) re 1 Cor 15:29. Despite the comments below, let me make clear at the outset that ultimately all I can usefully say about this verse is what I said about it in the talk on Sunday: nothing! It’s the sort of verse you can read 8 pages about in the commentaries, complete with 17 possibilities, but the invariably disappointing conclusion: “we don’t know”. The only people who claim to know are the Mormons, who are madly tracking all our genealogies in order to do pseudo baptisms for every soul. Everything else we know about salvation in the Bible, along with the particular rebukes in Titus 3:9 and 1 Timothy 1:4 should be enough for us to see that’s NOT what Paul is talking about. The problem is that we just don’t know what he IS talking about. We don’t even know if he’s approving the practice. The Corinthians knew. But we don’t. And that’s OK. In reality the little phrase “baptised for the dead” could mean something very plain. For example, it might have been that at believers’ funerals there was a common appeal to family and friends who weren’t yet believers to trust in Jesus and be baptised in order to see their loved one again in the resurrection. Maybe early Christian funerals always turned into baptisms. There’s an idea! But we just don’t know. The point is that there are lots of possibilities that could be quite plain rather than weird, but we’ve lost what the expression is referring to. In the end, whatever it was, Paul uses it to strengthen his appeal to belief that we will rise in Christ and so to come to our senses and stop sinning and to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord (verse 58).
Thanks Steve. That was essentially what we decided in bible study (that it could be something very plain and not too hang big fat hairy doctrines off it). Good to focus on what the outcome was and not spend too much time scratching our heads over the crazy verse.