08/22/2026
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week's Study: 1 Corinthians 15; Luke 24:44-47; Rev. 20:5-6; Col. 2:12; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Thess. 4:13-17
Memory Text: "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. . . . And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:14-17, NKJV).
How fascinating that, even in his time, Paul had to deal with those who denied the resurrection of the dead. After all, people back then saw what death did to the human body. They knew how the co**se liquifies, then dries up into dust, and then becomes almost nothing. And they knew that people have been dead for a long time, too. In fact, most people have been dead a lot longer than they were alive.
The resurrection of the dead seemed no more plausible to them back then than it does to us now, at least from a human standpoint. And that must have been an issue that Paul was addressing.
And it was crucial, too. If Jesus is not risen, He is not who He said He was, the Cross had no effect, and our sins have not been paid for. Despair is really all we would have remaining. But our Lord is risen, ascended into heaven, and will return to take us home!
This week we will focus on 1 Corinthians 15 and its teaching on the resurrection of Christ. Influenced by the surrounding pagan worldview, some in Corinth were saying that there is no resurrection. In response, Paul affirms the resurrection of Christ as our only hope of salvation.
* Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 22.
