86.4 Thanksgiving For Help And Victory

(Psalm 18:1-6, 16-27; 30-33, 46)

How I love you, Lord! You are my defender.
The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress.
My God is my protection, and with him I am safe.
He protects me like a shield;
he defends me and keeps me safe.
I call to the Lord, and he saves me from my enemies.
Praise the Lord!

The danger of death was all around me;
the waves of destruction rolled over me.
The danger of death was around me,
and the grave sets its trap for me.
In my trouble I called to the Lord;
I called to my God for help.
In his temple he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.

The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of the deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemies
and from all those who hate me-
they were too strong for me.
When I was in trouble, they attacked me,
but the Lord protected me.
He helped me out of danger; he saved me
because he was pleased with me.

The Lord rewards me because I do what is right;
he blesses me because I am innocent.
I have obeyed the law of the Lord;
I have not turned away from my God.
I have observed all his laws;
I have not disobeyed his commands.
He knows that I am faultless, that I have
kept myself from doing wrong.
And so he rewards me because I do what is right,
because he knows that I am innocent.

O Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you;
completely good to those who are perfect.
You are pure to those who are pure,
but hostile to those who are wicked.
You save those who are humble, but you humble those who are proud.

This God-how perfect are his deeds!
How dependable his words!
He is like a shield for all who seek his protection.
The Lord alone is God; God alone is our defense.
He is the God who make me strong,
who makes my pathway safe.
He makes me sure-footed as a deer;
he keeps me safe on the mountains.

The Lord lives! Praise my defender!
Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me.

86.3 Christ Rose First, We Will Follow

(1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death., as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ. But each one will be raised in his proper order: Christ, first of all; then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him. Then the end will come; Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, and will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father. For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet. The last enemy to be defeated will be death. For the scripture says, "God put all things under his feet." It is clear, of course, that the words "all things" do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ. But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.

86.2 Resurrection Christ Is The Basis Of Our Faith

(1 Corinthians 15:12-19)

Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised; and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe. More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death-but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then he did not raise Christ. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.

86.1 Christ Surely Rose From The Dead

(1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

And now I want to remind you, my brothers, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it -- unless it was for nothing that you believed.

I passed on the you what I received, which is of the greatest importance, that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of who are still alive, although some have died. Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.

Last of all he appeared  also to me - even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal.