Pani Twardowska is a story about people who eat, drink, and carouse while the devil holds them in his hawk-like claws. Today those claws are often money, comfort, the internet, and work, so that we stop asking where our life is really headed. This scene opens a sermon on the truth that the resurrection is not only about the future (1 Cor 15). Paul reminds the Corinthians that without Christ’s resurrection faith is in vain, and that the living Jesus changes the way we treat time, people, suffering, and temptation. Listen if you want to see whether your choices yesterday and today show that you believe in the living Jesus, or whether you only say so.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 about the consequences of Christ not being raised? Why, according to him, would faith be in vain?
- Why was it hard for some Christians in Corinth to believe in the resurrection of the body? What might this say to us today?
- According to the sermon, what is the difference between speaking the truth about the resurrection and living by it? Where do you see that difference in yourself?
- Philip Neri's question was: "And then what?" How do you answer it in relation to your plans and what you pour your energy into?
- Which of the areas described in the sermon (work and money, hardship, relationships, time, temptation) most needs to be looked at in you in light of the resurrection? Why?
- What small, ordinary decision can you make this week, giving up your own benefit, because you know that death does not have the last word?
