Grow. Pray. Study. Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Friday, 10 January 2014 – "Most of them are still
alive to this day"
Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians The Resurrection of Christ
15: Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,[a] of the good
news[b] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you
stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the
message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn
had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance
with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters[c] at one time,
most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[d] 7 Then he appeared to
James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he
appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called
an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God
I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary,
I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that
is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have
come to believe.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Gk brothers
b. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Or gospel
c. 1 Corinthians 15:6 Gk brothers
d. 1 Corinthians 15:6 Gk fallen asleep
Reflection Questions:
As the apostle Paul moved farther and farther into the
Greco-Roman world, he spoke with Greek philosophers who found the idea of
resurrection from the dead absurd (cf. Acts 17:32). He knew his converts in
Corinth would face that skepticism. In support of their faith, he referred
them, not to vague "spiritual" claims, but to living witnesses who'd
met Jesus after his death. In effect, he was saying, "You can check this
story out—it's really true."
First-century people knew death, and knew dead people did not
come back to life. They knew about ghosts and apparitions, and did not view
that as coming back to life. The Jerusalem authorities, Roman and Hebrew, could
have stopped the Christian apostles they hated by simply producing Jesus' dead
body. Given all that, how do you think Paul's confidence in directing people to
living witnesses who said, "Jesus died—and then I met and talked with him
alive again" energized the spread of the Christian faith?
At times, people want to say, "Jesus and the early
Christians taught some beautiful ideas, but they were mistaken about Jesus
being God." In verses 3 and 4, Paul identified the concrete events of
Jesus' life, death and resurrection as "most important," rather than
any set of abstract ideas. To what extent is your faith grounded in history, in
the facts of Jesus' life? How closely have you investigated the credibility of
the first-century witness to those facts?
Today's Prayer:
O God, I live two millennia after the events Paul and the early
Christians witnessed. That distance in time can become a barrier to belief. I
thank you that you moved your people to record their confident witness to speak
to me, too. Amen.
Friday, 10 January 2014 – Insight from Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is Resurrection’s Director of Group Life. He is the author of several books, with an
extensive background in applying principles of spiritual growth to real life.
He, his wife Gina and their family have been attending Resurrection since 2008.
Our Scripture reading for today has to captivate you. After all,
it is expressly concerned with the gospel. The gospel is meant to be for us
just what it actually was for Paul—the core of his existence. Paul’s entire
life was driven by his passion and calling to share the gospel wherever he
went. He was absolutely committed to actively living in a way that announced
the story of Jesus as King and Messiah, Lord and Savior.
Even if we combined all of the wonderful teachings, events and
stories from and about Paul found throughout the New Testament, I’d still be
convinced that nothing could have impacted the lives of those Paul came into
contact with more than the story of his personal conversion (read Acts 9:1-19).
This has certainly been true for me. My personal story of conversion (I am
still being converted to this day!) has as much or more influence on people’s
openness to explore the gospel and the validity of Jesus and the resurrection
than any verse, book, set of assumed facts, apologetic arguments, or the like.
People are most interested in how the gospel has shaped me personally, and how
it continues to shape me into the person I am becoming. Verses, books,
apologetics, etc. are extremely important and helpful to some, but I contend
the story your personal life is telling is, in the end, the most influential
force to get skeptical people seriously considering Jesus’ authenticity.
I believe this is what Paul is getting at (the power of the
personal story of conversion) in today’s Scripture reading. He tells of actual
people (some alive and some dead) who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul’s approach to helping skeptics believe in Jesus and the truth of the resurrection
was to point to the personal stories of eyewitnesses, and in Paul’s case
specifically, to the great grace of God that helps Paul believe and trust. In
what ways does your life make the story of Jesus as King and Messiah, Lord and
Savior real for the curious? How does the story of your own conversion and
belief help make the resurrection reasonable for others to believe?
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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