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John 14: 1-6
Jesus said: 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in
me. In my Father's house there are many places of rest; if it were not
so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you
to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the
place where I am going.'
Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we
don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?'
Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.'
1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 35-38, 42-44, 50-58
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits 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, so in Christ all will be
made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when
he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands
over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority,
and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
But someone may ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body
will they come?' How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless
it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed,
perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined,
and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. 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.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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. For
the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality. 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.'
'Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?'
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear 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.
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Thessalonians 4: 13-18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or
to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died
and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who
have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you
that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will
certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with
he Lord for ever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. |
