Surprise - good or bad?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: I Corinthians 15:51-58


TO CHEW ON: "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 will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." I Corinthians 15:51-52

How do you feel about surprises? Most of us like surprises that are good – wrapped parcels at Christmas, a surprise party on our birthday, an unexpected visit from a friend.

Someday there will be a surprise bigger than any Christmas or birthday. Jesus will return! The dead will be raised. We will transform into our new bodies.

"The angels sound their trumpets" - Artist unknown

Did you know this could happen at any time? It could happen today while you’re still alive (“We will not all sleep” means not everyone will die). Or it could happen at a time after you have died. If you have trusted Jesus for eternal life, His coming will be the most wonderful surprise ever.

If you have not trusted Him - you still can (“Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” Psalm 95: 7,8). Then you too can look forward to the surprise of Jesus’ return.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You have promised to come back. Please come soon. Amen.


MORE: Signs Jesus Will Come Soon
Though we don’t know when Jesus will come back, He told his disciples some things to watch for. They are things which tell us His coming is near.

Read what He said in Matthew 24:4-14.

Can you list at least six things Jesus told us to watch for?

Are any of these things happening in the world now?

ANSWERS

Death

TODAY’S SPECIAL: I Corinthians 15:12 -22

TO CHEW ON: "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." I Corinthians 12:22

Has death touched you? Perhaps you’ve had a pet that died. Maybe someone close to you has died. It could be you yourself have been near death.

Death was never God’s idea. His interest is in life. That’s why God sent Jesus. Though the penalty for our sin is death, Jesus paid that penalty.

"Christ on the Cross" by Eugene Delacroix, 1798-1863

When Jesus came back to life (we celebrate His resurrection at Easter), it proved God accepted this payment. Once Jesus paid the fine for sin, its penalty is canceled out.

When Jesus rose, He won the victory over death for everyone. Though those we love will someday die physically, death is not the end!

"The resurrection of Christ" by Carl Heinrich Bloch

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for winning over death. Help me to make choices that lead to life with You which lasts forever. Amen


MORE: Death - A Sad Time
Even though we know death is not final, it is a sad part of life on earth. It’s a good thing to admit and express our sadness when someone we love dies.

What do you know about death? Fill in the missing words. (Use your own ideas, or use the suggested answers in the Word Bank, below.)

1. What do we call a service for someone who has died?
___________________________ or __________ ___________.

2. What do we call the box or case in which a person’s body is placed? ____________________

3. What do we call the process of burning the dead person’s physical remains? ______________

4. What do we call a speech or reading that tells about the person who has died? _____________

5. What do we call the notice in the paper that announces the person’s death and tells about their life and the loved people they’ve left behind? _______________

Word bank:
**************
Cremation   Memorial service
Casket    Eulogy
Funeral    Obituary
**************

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Death to Death!

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 28:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "He is not here; he has risen just as he said ..." Matthew 28:6

Something mysterious happens when people die. The invisible but living part of a person – the moving, breathing, thinking, feeling, loving part – leaves the body. The body – the physical shell which did the breathing, talking, laughing and hugging – is still there. But it is empty - the real person is gone. We call them dead.

Physical death is final. Even the most clever doctor can’t capture the living part of a person and stuff it back into a dead body to make the person come alive again.

It was now three days after Jesus had died and been buried. Some of His women friends went to the tomb on the morning after the Sabbath.

When they got there, everything was different than they expected. The large stone that had stood in front of the cave tomb wasn’t there.

"The stone was rolled away" - Artist unknown

A shining angel greeted them. The angel said, “I know you’re looking for Jesus. He’s not here, He’s risen. Come and see where He was lying.”

"Women at the Grave of Jesus" by O. A. Stemler & Bess B. Cleaveland

When they stepped into the tomb it was true. The spot where Jesus had been lying was empty.

"Why seek ye the living among the dead?" Artist unknown

“Go and tell His disciples, Jesus has risen from the dead,” the angel told them.

"Go, tell His disciples, He is risen" Artist unknown

Jesus, God’s son, knew His death wouldn’t be final. For though people can’t make dead people come alive again, God can. Many times Jesus had told the disciples He would rise from the dead. But when the women told the disciples the wonderful news, they were shocked. Their surprise shows that either they didn’t hear Him, or they didn’t believe Him, or both.

Do we hear and believe the things God says to us:
- He loves and cares for us?
- He hears and answers prayer?
- Someday we too will have a new body?



PRAYER: Dear God, help me to hear and believe the things You say. Amen.

"Thomas feeling Jesus' wounds"
by O. A. Stemler & Bess B. Cleaveland

MORE: Jesus’ resurrection body was different from His body before death. Which statements about His new body are not true? Check the Scriptures below if you’re unsure.

1. Jesus’ new body glowed in the dark.

2. The resurrected Jesus could eat food.

3. The resurrected Jesus could appear and disappear miraculously.

4. After his resurrection, Jesus could only fly, not walk.

5. Jesus’ resurrection body was see-through or transparent.

6. Jesus’ resurrection body was solid - you could touch and feel it.

Scriptures to check:

• Matthew 28:9
• Luke 24:15
  
• Luke 24: 31-42
• John 20:26-27

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.