As the glow of autumn
fades into the long sleep of winter, there is real hope for the future
The certainty for all those who follow Jesus is that, like him they will
rise again -
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A time... .....to die... |
restored to life by Jesus at his return and liberated from sin, they will live eternally in a new world of beauty and peace, the Kingdom of God. God promised through the prophet Hosea:
"I will ransom them from the power
of the grave; I will redeem them from death" Hosea 13v14 Though grieving at the death of her brother Lazarus, Martha full of faith answered Jesus:
"I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day" John 11v24
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Notes for "a time to die" |
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Gen 2:16-17 Gen 3:19 Rom 3:23, 5.12 |
Death is the result of sin, a punishment from God for man's disobedience. | |||||||||||||||||
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1 Pet 1:18-19, 2:21-24 |
Everybody sins, and so everybody dies. There is one exception - Jesus did not sin, and so escaped from death to become our saviour. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Romans 6:23 | Eternal life will be God's gift to those who seek righteousness. | ||||||||||||||||||
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1 Thess 4:16 1 Cor 15:1-28 Isa 26:19 Job 19:25-26 Daniel 12:2 John 11:24 Acts 23:6 |
The original Christian hope of life after death is through the resurrection of the body to eternal life. This was the conviction of the faithful of the Old Testament (Job, Abraham, David, Daniel) as well as those of the New (Martha, Paul, Peter). | ||||||||||||||||||
| The idea of an inherently immortal soul that survives death is not based on scripture, but on pagan philosophy. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Tim 6:16 | Only God is intrinsically immortal. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Rom 6:3-5 Gal 3:26-29 |
Baptism is a symbolic burial and resurrection. It joins us to Jesus as his brothers and sisters, and links us to all God's great promises for the future. | ||||||||||||||||||