Each day read the Gospel passage
for the day and the Psalm passage for the day (you can read them all at once or
do one reading in the morning and one in the evening) and use the reflection
questions to help process the passage.
Easter Sunday
1st
Corninthians 15
The Resurrection of Christ
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to
you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By
this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and
that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he
appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same
time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he
appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church
of God . 10But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was
with me. 11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach,
and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can
some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And
if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More
than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have
testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise
him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not
raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has
not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for
this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all others.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a human
being, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a human being. 22For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But in
this order: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to
him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God
the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For
he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The
last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything
under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it
is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under
Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made
subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for
the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And
as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I face death
every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If
I fought wild beasts in Ephesus
with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34Come
back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are
ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will
they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless
it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but
just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives
it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39All flesh is not the same: Human beings have one kind of flesh,
animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are
also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the
heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars
another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it
is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it
is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So
it is written: “The first Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a
life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the
natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the
dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48As was the earthly
man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are
those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the image of
the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God , nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed— 52in 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. 53For the perishable must
clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When
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.”
55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But
thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that
your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version.
2005. Grand Rapids , MI : Zondervan.