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On Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the remission (forgiveness) of our sins, He was buried, and was raised from the dead by the power of God.
Easter translated means Passover. Easter (Passover) is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox, the date of Easter is between March 22 and April 23.

This Sunday School lesson is for your spiritual edification.

A Commentary On The International Sunday School Lesson for Sunday April 5, 2015

“Guaranteed Resurrection”

Scripture Text: I Corinthians 15:Verses 1-11; 20-22
Time of the Action: 55 A.D.
Place of the Action: Paul writes to the church at Corinth from Ephesus

Golden Text: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:22).

I. INTRODUCTION. In this week’s lesson, Paul explained the meaning of Christ’s resurrection to the Corinthian believers. He stressed that the glorious future resurrection of Christians is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection. This Easter morning, as we study this lesson we have the opportunity to glory in the understanding and blessings of Christ’s resurrection.

II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.As Greeks, the people of Corinth were most likely influenced by Greek philosophers, who scoffed, or made fun of the very idea of a resurrection (see Acts 17:32). While it is unlikely that the Corinthian believers doubted the resurrection of Christ, it was apparent from I Corinthians 15:12 that they had doubts concerning the future resurrection of Christians. This prompted Paul to write fully about the resurrection in I Corinthians chapter 15.

III. THE GOSPEL AND CHRIST’S RESURRECTION (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

A. The gospel and salvation (I Corinthians 15:1-2).
1. (Verse. 1). In our first verse Paul says “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” The word “Moreover” indicates a change from what Paul wrote in chapter 14 to what he was about to write now. Of course he called the Corinthian believers “brethren” because they were all members of the same family, the church of God (see I Corinthians 1:2). He went on to say “I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.” Paul was about to remind the Corinthian believers of the gospel that he had preached to them on his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1, 4). The word “gospel” means good news. Paul told them that the gospel he preached “ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” In other words, by faith they had accepted the message of the gospel, which included the resurrection. However, false teaching had entered in saying that there was no resurrection for Christians who had died, even though they accepted Christ’s resurrection (see I Corinthians 15:12). With the words “wherein ye stand,” Paul affirmed their faith as they stood firmly in that same gospel he preached.

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American Muslims are becoming thought, cultural leaders and reviving perspectives on religious inclusion

History is witness to a time past when the Islamic civilization produced globally unparallelled architecture, literature, science, philosophy, theological discourse, and cultural influences – influences so strong it made European nobles want to dress like Muslims. Critics of Islam and Muslims scoff at this romanticism, asserting that Muslims have not produced anything great since the Middle Ages and most likely will never again. The inherent bigotry and even fallacy of that argument aside, for those critics I have to say, look out, a new Muslim renaissance is upon us.

In the midst of growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the US since 9/11, or perhaps thanks to it, this generation of Muslims is abandoning the traditional professions expected from immigrant parents (doctors, engineers, business people) and entering fields we all once thought were closed to us. The last decade has seen a steady and sure emergence of American Muslims as artists, writers, performers, activists, media personalities and intellectuals (on a global scale Muslims rank as top intellectuals). Inside the DC beltway you see evidence of this shift as well. Young American Muslims are working in national security, public diplomacy, foreign policy, politics – we have our share of hacks and wonks now too.

In a climate where America still finds itself in an uncomfortable dance with Islam, the fact that Muslims themselves are becoming thought and culture leaders in America has tremendous prospects. Anti-shariah bills loom large across the country, violence against Muslims happens and is encouraged, the homeland security apparatus is still figuring out how to work with Muslims as partners and not suspects, and a large swath of the public cannot even stomach something as innocuous as Muslims being in a patriotic coca-cola ad. But instead of being cowed, young American Muslims have reacted by demanding to tell their own stories, become influencers, and claiming their rightful place in US institutions and discourse.

This dynamism hasn’t been limited to the intersection of American Muslims with the prevailing culture. In the past five years American Muslims are leading movements to revive or reform perspectives on religious inclusion, most notably the inclusion of women and LGBTQ Muslims in sacred spaces.

On the issue of women’s leadership, inclusion, and status in Islam, there is a clear call to revive the traditions of female scholarship, leadership, and open mosque spaces. It’s no small thing that the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shaykh Ali Gomaa has acknowledged the permissibility of women leading men in prayer in the Western context after the persistence of female North American Muslim activists and scholars on the issue. A movement to explore the spaces allotted women in American mosques has lead to a larger discussion on what it means to be “Unmosqued”, or be part of a generation that feels little relevance and connection to any place of worship. “Muslim feminism” is being taken seriously by Western Muslims as the antidote to patriarchal expressions of Islam. The long standing idea, from the colonial period onward, that mosques and religious leadership are male spaces is finding its match not in a global Muslim arena, but in a Western Muslim one.

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Most religions state that when a person dies, his/her soul/spirit/consciousness leaves the body which decays. However, they differ in what they believe happens to that soul, etc., which continues to exist after the experience of death.

The Abrahamic religions, that is, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach that, after death, the soul is faced with a fixed permanent state, either heaven, where there is eternal happiness, or hell where there is eternal suffering and damnation. This final state is determined by the way one lives one's life on this earth, prior to one's death. A life filled with goodness and kindness towards others will be rewarded with heaven. However, “good” actions alone are not sufficient but also a belief in a divine being or God as advocated by that religion. In this regard, a philantrophist who may spend most of his/her life in doing “good” to others, or helping them, unless he/she believes in God as prescribed by that religion, will not make it to heaven and eternal happiness. It does not matter if the “good' actions part of his/her life exceeded that of a believer. The believer will be rewarded with heaven whereas the philanthropist will not.

Several Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism do not accept that the soul is faced with a final permanent state after death. They teach the doctrine of reincarnation instead. They say that, after death, the soul/ spirtit/ consciousness will be reincarnated and born into a new human body, and live a new life right here on this earth. The actual “quality”of life that one experiences, after rebirth, in the new life will be influenced by the measure of "goodness", or lack thereof, that one did in the previous life. Thus, if there are some persons who appear to be suffering a lot in their lives here on this earth, despite the fact that they may be kind and good towards others, according to reincarnation, they are paying for their misdeeds in their previous life. This process of reincarnation or rebirth will continue until one has attained a “sufficient” or adequate quantity of goodness in this life here on earth. Upon doing so, one will break the cycle of rebirth and would not return to a life here on earth but will enter into a permanent state of union with God or the Divine.

There are others who advocate that when a person dies, in addition to the fact that the physical matter of that person's body decays, there is total annihilation of everything that was initially referred to as that person; this includes the soul, spirit, consciousness or whatever. Absolutely nothing is left after death.
Personally, I find such a view difficult to accept. According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It may be changed from one form to another, but not annihilated. Whatever it is that drives us when we are alive, whether we refer it as soul, spirit, consciousness or whatever, is certainly some form of energy, psychic or otherwise. Then, according to the Law of Conservation of Energy, total annihilation of this energy is impossible. It may be changed to another form but it can never vanish into nothingness.

In his Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam states :

"Strange, is it not? that of the myriads who
Before us pass'd the door of Darkness through
Not one returns to tell us of the Road,
Which to discover we must travel too."
- Omar Khayaam

What do you think will happen (to you) after you die?

Will it be:

1.Permanent Location?
2.Reincarnation?
3.Annihilation?
4.Other?

If other, please describe briefly.

Thanks for your responses.

I'm not sure how to deal with it? Its so Sureal. We were never very close. its as if there was some kind of animosity or Jealousy he had towards me? It was always very unfortunate. Blood clot took him out at 60. I guess you never really know when its your time unless it terminal cancer? There was 7 of us, now there is 6..I hear death comes in 3s

Life is so Profound (Sigh)

Pastor Caspar McCloud returns to SGT Report to discuss the mark of the beast vaccine and the end which for many, will come like a thief in the night.

It's just a question! If you have any thoughts, please comment.

“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”

“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you,
none can make you spiritual.
There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. ”

“In a day, when you don't come across any problems - you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path”

“In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. ”

“Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.”

“The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.”

“Feel nothing, know nothing, do nothing, have nothing, give up all to God, and say utterly, 'Thy will be done.' We only dream this bondage. Wake up and let it go.”

“Learn Everything that is Good from Others, but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.”

“Was there ever a more horrible blasphemy than the statement that all the knowledge of God is confined to this or that book? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him within the covers of a little book!”

- Vivekananda -

What makes a man, believe so much that he kills kids, not one or two but dozens, It seems these killers spoke Arabic, we have yet to discover their identities.

These men were once kids, had mothers,brothers or sisters... what is going through their minds. Its obvious these men are brainwashed, by other men that have been brainwashed. But even so, I'd love to know their background.

Now, with the indiscriminate bombings by armys that kills innocent kids and women, are they justified ?..This attack is in revenge for villages being raised to the ground by military bombings. So they may have seen their own kids killed.

I truly despair now to what is going on in the name of religion..and thats why religion has, is and will continue to be a reason to kill others. ...But I wonder if there was religion, what other excuse would we have to slaughter thousands....what does god have to say about this..can anyone tell me ?

The truth about Muslims in America is perhaps surprising -- but not in the way Trump and his supporters might think.

A look at polls and studies conducted in the last few years shows that Muslims have been crucial in helping law enforcement find terror suspects in the United States. Many have served in the military protecting the country against terrorists. And in many ways, they're a lot like other everyday Americans.

Here's the reality of Muslims in America -- and how it smashes stereotypes:

They are a minuscule portion of the U.S. population
It's difficult to come by hard numbers because the U.S. Census doesn't collect religious data. But the fear of Muslims taking over and imposing Sharia law is unfounded. By some estimates, Muslims make up less than 1% of the U.S. adult population. By 2050, their numbers will grow -- to 2.1%. Of all the Muslims in America, 63% are exactly the kind Trump wants banned -- immigrants.

They're better educated than most Americans
U.S. Muslims have the second-highest level of education among major religious groups in the country; Jews have the highest. And a greater proportion of them have college degrees than the general U.S. population.

They have more gender equality
While in many parts of the Muslim world, women are confined to second-class status, that's not the case among American Muslims. Virtually all of them, 90%, agree that women should be able to work outside the home. American Muslim women hold more college or postgraduate degrees than Muslim men. And they are more likely to work in professional fields than women from most other U.S. religious groups.

They've been here since the birth of the nation ...
Scholars estimate about a quarter to a third of the Africans brought to the United States as slaves were Muslims. Most were then forced to convert to Christianity.

... and they're not just clustered in big cities
American Muslims live in cities big and small all across the United States. The first mosque built in America was in, of all places, Ross, North Dakota, back in 1929.

They're as religious as Christians ...
The general perception of Muslims has one thing right: Most Muslims are very religious. About half say they attend the weekly Friday prayers. But that makes them similar to Christians: About 70% of Christians say religion is important in their lives, and about 45% go to a weekly service.

... but they're not as dogmatic as they are portrayed
Much has been made about fundamentalist Muslims and their strict interpretation of the Quran. But most American Muslims are different. A Pew religious landscape survey found that 57% of American Muslims say there is more than one way to interpret Islam's teachings. A similar number say many different religions can lead to eternal life.

There have been Muslims involved in terrorism ...
From September 11, 2001, until the end of 2014, 109 Muslim-Americans plotted against targets in the United States. And terrorism by Muslim-Americans killed 50 in the same time period. Contrast that with the deaths from other mass shootings just last year: 136 -- more than twice as many as all the deaths from 13 years of Muslim-American terrorism.

... but they've also spoken out against it
After every terrorist attack at home and abroad, the refrain rises, "Where is the Muslim condemnation?" American Muslims have spoken out -- and done much more. A Duke University study found more terrorism suspects and perpetrators were brought to the attention of law enforcement by members of the Muslim-American community than were discovered through U.S. government investigations. And a Pew survey found that roughly half of U.S. Muslims say their religious leaders aren't speaking out enough against Islamic extremism.