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Worship, Equip, Proclaim

Sunday Morning and Evening Worship

10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Sunday School Classes

9:30 a.m.

Church Address

5000 Stewart Mill Road,

Douglasville, GA 30135

Phone: 770.489.6758

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Meditations for Troubled Times

Hope in the Resurrection

Last week our family began reading I Corinthians 15 on the resurrection of Christ. I particularly have been encouraged by Paul’s words in verses one and two: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Here Paul focuses on the doctrine of the resurrection. He reminds us of the gospel he has been preaching, the gospel:

In which we stand;
By which we are being saved;
To which we hold fast.

We also see Paul’s concern that some of the Corinthians do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. John Calvin provides a good explanation of this in his commentary on I Corinthians. He refers to Hymeneus and Philetus, who were among those who had a false view of the resurrection. Calvin states: “And what if the impiety of Hymeneus and Philetus had extended thus far, who said that the resurrection was already past, (2 Timothy 2:18,) and that there would be nothing more of it? … that they were carried away by some delusion, which took away from them the hope of a future resurrection, just as those in the present day, by imagining an allegorical resurrection, take away from us the true resurrection that is promised to us.”

We must believe in a true resurrection. It is the gospel. It is the truth. It is our hope. It is our promise. We cannot allow the principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world to draw us into earthly thinking. We must put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). We have the promises of God—we will be resurrected with Christ. Our hope is in the resurrection, and our hope is built on nothing less.

I Corinthians 3:10-11 tells us that “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

In 1834, Edward Mote penned the hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”

Verse One

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain:

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

In these uncertain times, as we remember the death of our Savior on the cross and his resurrection, may we cling to the Rock, our Savior, and put all our hope and trust in him.