Category: Time to Pray

  • 1 Corinthians 15 29-34

    (But now, Christ has been raised from the dead
    the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.)

    Otherwise what about those who have themselves
    baptised for the sake of the dead
    If actually the dead are not being raised
    why are they being baptised for them?


    And we, why are we in danger at each and every hour?
    Every day I am dying,
    I swear by my boast in you,
    in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    If according to a human point of view
    I have fought with wild beasts in Ephesus,
    what benefit could it to me?

    If the dead are not raised
    Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we will die,
    1
    Do not be deceived!

    Bad cliques ruin good morals.

    Sober up as you ought,
    and do not sin,
    for some people have no knowledge of God,
    I say this to your shame.

    1. Isa 22:13? ↩︎

    O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
    O Love, who redeemed me,
    fill up in me whatever part of your love
    has fallen into neglect within me.
    O Love, O God, who first loved me,
    grant that with my whole heart,
    and with my whole soul,
    and with my whole strength,
    I may love you.

    Gertrude the Great

  • 1 Corinthians 15 20-28

    But now, Christ has been raised from the dead
    the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

    For since through a human (was) death,
    so through a human (was) resurrection of the dead.
    For just as in (the case of) Adam all died
    so also in (the case of) Christ will all be made alive.
    But each in their own order:
    first Christ,
    then Christ’s
    at his coming.

    Then the end (will happen)
    when he hands over the kingdom
    to God, and (his) Father,
    when every rule , and every authority and power
    will be destroyed.

    For it is necessary for him (Christ) to reign
    until he put all the enemies under his feet,

    The last enemy being eliminated is Death.
    For he (God) has put in subjection all things
    under his feet.

    For when he (God?) said that all things have been put into subjection
    it is evident that
    (all things have been put into subjection to Christ)
    except for the One (God)
    who put everything in subjection to him (Christ)

    Moreover when all things are subjected to him (Christ)
    then the Son himself
    will be subjected
    to the one
    who subjected all things to him (Christ),
    so that God might be
    ‘the all’
    in all things.

    Teach us, good Lord,
    to serve thee as thou deservest;
    to give and not to count the cost;
    to fight and not to heed the wounds;
    to toil and not to seek for rest;
    to labour and not to ask for any reward,
    save that of knowing that we do thy will,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen

    St Ignatius

  • 1 Corinthians 15 12-20

    But if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead,
    –how can some of you say
    ‘ there is no resurrection of the dead’?

    —-and if there is no resurrection for the dead
    then neither can Christ be raised.
    and if if Christ has not been raised,
    our preaching is hollow,
    even your faith is hollow.

    Then we are found to be false witnesses concerning God,
    because we gave testimony against God,
    ‘he raised Christ,’
    whom he do not raise,
    if (it is true) Christ is not raised.

    For if the dead are not raised,
    neither has Christ been raised.
    For if Christ has not been raised,
    then your faith is futile,
    and you are still in your sins.


    Then those who fallen asleep in Christ are lost
    If in this life we have only been hoping in Christ
    we are to be pitied more than all other people.

    But now Christ has been raised from the dead
    the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

    Grant, Lord,
    that we may hold to you without parting,
    worship you without wearying,
    serve you without failing;
    faithfully seek you,
    happily find you,
    and forever possess you,
    the only God,blessed now and for ever.
    Amen

    St Anselm

  • 1 Corinthians 15 8-11

    Then, last of all,
    – just as if
    to one untimely born –
    to me.
    For I am the very least important of the apostles,
    I am not fit to be called an apostle,
    because I persecuted the church of God.
    But by the grace of God I am who I am,
    and his grace, towards me,
    has not been fruitless,
    rather
    I worked harder
    than all of them,
    though not I,
    but the grace of God
    which is (working) in me.


    So whether I or they,
    in this way
    we preach
    and in this way you believed.

    Thank you, dear Jesus,
    for all you have given me,
    for all you have taken away from me,
    for all you have left me.

    Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

  • 1 Corinthians 15 3-7

    For I as a priority
    handed onto you
    what I also received
    that:
    Christ died for our sins
    according to the scriptures
    that:
    he was buried
    and that:
    he was raised on the third day
    according to the scriptures
    and that:
    he was seen by Kephas
    then the twelve,
    then he was seen by more than five hundred sisters/brothers at one time
    the majority of whom remain until now,
    though some have fallen asleep.
    Then he appeared to Jacob (James)
    then to all the apostles.

    Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
    Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
    Where there is injury, pardon;
    Where there is discord, union;
    Where there is doubt, faith;
    Where there is despair, hope;
    Where there is darkness, light;
    Where there is sadness, joy,
    For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

  • 1 Corinthians 15 1-3a

    So I make known to you,
    brothers/sisters,
    the good news,
    which I preached to you,
    which you also received,
    in which you also stand
    through which you also are being saved,
    –for what reason did I preach to you? –
    if you hold fast?
    –unless you believed without consideration.

    For I as a priority
    handed onto you
    what I also received
    that…

    O Lord Jesus Christ,
    stay beside me to defend me,
    within me to guide me,
    before me to lead me,
    and above me to bless me,
    that with you and in you,
    I may live, and move and have my being,
    for ever and ever.
    Amen.

    (unknown)

  • 1 Corinthians 14 33b-40

    …as in all the churches of the holy ones,

    let the women be silent in the churches.
    For they are not permitted to speak,
    but to be subject
    as the ‘Law’ also says.

    Moreover if anyone (of them) wishes to learn,
    let them ask their own husband
    at home.
    For it is disgraceful
    for a woman to speak in church.
    Did the Word of God
    originate from you (fem)
    or
    did it reach you (masc/fem) alone?

    If anyone thinks they are a prophet,
    or a spiritual person,
    let them recognise that what I am writing to you
    is a commandment from the Lord.

    If anyone disregards (it/me?)
    then they are to be disregarded.

    So then, my brothers/ sisters
    seek to prophesy,
    and do not forbid to speak in tongues,
    So act in all things
    properly
    and
    in order.

    Eternal God and Father,
    you create us by your power,
    and redeem us by your love,
    guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
    that we may give ourselves in love and service
    to one another and to you;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen

  • 1 Corinthians 14 26-33

    So what is it, sisters.brothers?
    Suppose whenever you come together,
    each one has a song of praise,
    has a teaching,
    has a revelation,
    has a tongue,
    has a interpretation,
    let all these things be for building up (of the church).


    If someone speaks in a tongue
    – (it should) two or at the most three times,
    – and one after the other
    then let one interpret.
    But if there is no interpreter
    let them remain silent in the church,
    Let them speak to themselves
    and to God.
    Let two or three prophets speak
    and the others sift (what is said).
    And if someone sitting is given a revelation,
    let the first one be silent.
    For you can all prophesy one at a time,
    so that all might learn, and all might be encouraged.
    And the spirits of the prophets
    are subject to the prophets,
    for God is not of disorder but peace.

    O Lord, in whom is our hope,
    remove far from us, we pray thee,
    empty hopes and presumptuous confidence.
    Make our hearts so right with thy most holy and loving heart,
    that hoping in thee we may do good;
    until that day when faith and hope
    shall be abolished by sight and possession,
    and love shall be all in all.

    Christina Rossetti (1830-94)

  • 1 Corinthians 14 20-25

    Brothers /sisters
    do not be children in thinking,
    instead be an infant with regard to wickedness,
    but be ‘grown up’ in thinking.


    For it has been written in the Law:
    By foreign languages
    and by the lips of others,
    I will speak to this people,
    but not even then will they listen to me.
    1
    says the Lord.
    So then, tongues are a sign,
    not for the believers,
    but the unbelievers,
    or
    prophecy is
    not for those with unbelief,
    but for those who believe.

    If the whole church has come together,
    in the same place,
    and everyone speaks in tongues,
    and a seeker or unbeliever comes in,
    will they not say that you are raving / out of your minds?

    But if all prophesy,
    and a unbeliever or seeker comes in,
    they will become convicted of sin by everything,
    they will be called to account by everyone.,
    the hidden things of their heart
    will become evident.,
    and in this way falling upon their faces
    they will worship God
    declaring:
    ‘God is truly among you.’

    1. Isaiah 28:11-12 ↩︎

    Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth,
    in a serious seeking after thee,
    and in an affectionate walking with thee,
    every day of our lives;
    that when thou comest,
    we may be found not hiding our talent,
    nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished,
    but waiting and longing for our Lord,
    our glorious King, for ever and ever.

    Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

  • 1 Corinthians 14 13-19

    Therefore let the one who speaks in a tongue pray
    that they might interpret.
    For if I pray in a tongue
    my spirit prays,
    but my mind is fruitless.

    So what is it?
    I will pray in (my) spirit,
    so also I will pray with (my) mind.
    I will sing in (my) spirit,
    so also I will sing with (my) mind.

    Otherwise if you are blessing in spirit,
    the [one who fills the place of the (seeker)] –
    how can they say the Amen to your thanksgiving,
    – when they do not know what you are saying?

    For you bless beautifully,
    but the other one is not strengthened.
    I thank God
    that I speak in tongues more (often) than all of you.
    But
    in church
    I would rather speak five words with my mind,
    so that I might also instruct others
    than thousands of words in a tongue.

    Lord God,
    you feed us with the living bread from heaven;
    you renew our faith,
    increase our hope,
    and strengthen our love.

    Teach us to hunger
    for Christ who is the true and living bread,
    and to live by every word
    that comes from your mouth,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen.