What is Your Toward Regarding Death?
From time to time I have the privilege of preaching in my home church. Our lead pastor is away for the weekend to minister to family members who lost a loved one recently. He asked me if I could take the text for this Sunday for the series of sermons from 1 Corinthians this summer. As Pastor Jeremy said last Sunday, I was given one of the best texts from this letter to the church in Corinth.
Tomorrow the text for our time in God’s Word is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. Very early this morning as I was waking up, Cindie’s iPhone was playing an instrumental version of a great hymn. The hymn was “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” by Charles Wesley. What caught my attention were the words “Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia.” Those words are stored somewhere in my brain, and I recognized them immediately as 1 Cor. 15:55.
The words Paul wrote are quotes from two of the Old Testament prophecies. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) As one commentator, Andy Naselli, said, “Death itself will be dead!” “Death shall be no more” (see Revelation 21:4). Isaiah 25:8 says: “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” Hosea 13:14 “I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?”
Notice The Lyrics of Wesley’s Hymn
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!
Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!
King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!
In Any Language: Alleluia!
What I also find interesting is that when this song is sung in Kyiv, I don’t understand most of the words, but there is one word that echoes in many languages: “Alleluia.” Even if you don’t know the Ukrainian language, you will recognize the melody and a couple of words. Someday every nation and tongue will worship the King of kings. We can look forward toward that day.
Listen to the song here: Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Conclusion: Let eternity inform your decisions and your hope.
Do you have hope beyond the grave? If not, we can talk. There is hope.
“You are not living in the final chapter of the story. What is broken will be fixed, what has been bent will be straightened, and what has decayed will be restored. Eternity will give you a reason to continue, be thankful, and find joy, even when nothing right now seems as if it is working.” – Paul David Tripp
How to Identify a Follower of Jesus
They press toward something. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Five Minute Friday
This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.
All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.
Know Your Flocks & Herds 
I used to work in palliative care and think we should all talk more about death. So glad to see you doing this here.
The Wesley hymn and Bible quote reminded me of one favourite poems: John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 10:
‘Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.’
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I am not a complex man,
Barb says I am quite thick,
made of cement, stones and sand
like a concrete brick,
but that is quite all right with me,
I am a lucky guy,
for in the Bible I can see
that I will never die,
and so I’m jiving through the days,
a fearsome disco dancer,
bobbing, weaving through the maze
of failing heart and cancer,
not worrying what is in store;
I have so much! and will have more!
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oh, now you have me imagining those alleluia’s in so many languages…. that will be so cool FMF14
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