Willow Creek Church/ DuPage
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
Spent the late morning and early afternoon travelling to the Chicagoland area. Northwest Flight 932 touched down at O'Hare International Airport one hour behind schedule. I had expected to arrive at 4PM with plenty of time to fight Chicago's rush hour traffic in order to attend a Willow Creek New Community service in Wheaton at 7PM. Could I make it to Wheaton Academy the location of Willow's satellite church service by 7PM?
Fighting rush hour traffic made worse by road construction, I made it to the service at exactly 7:20. Upon entering the Wheaton Fine Arts Auditorium, I heard the praise band. I thought to myself, "This is going to be an awesome experience!" The lobby was pulsating with the energy of the praise music spilling out of the worship center. I was shocked as I rounded the corner to see 3 huge screens and 3 massive speakers serving as the conduits for the music. The praise team was wrapping up their final song as I was getting settled into my seat.
The screens went blank and the music stopped as a gentleman took the stage. I don't know who he was. He had some announcements and he walked the people assembled through the Thanksgiving Holiday schedule. Speaking of the people assembled , there were about 75 in attendance. This satellite church with a budget of 1.6 million dollars, had at most 100 people in the midweek service designed to teach devoted followers the Scripture. The man talking finished up, by saying, "Here's Randy Frazee, let's listen"
All at once the screens and the speakers came back to life projecting the image and the voice of Randy Frazee, a Teaching Pastor at Willow. He wasn't with us. He taught this message last night at the main campus. We were watching a recording. I found my mind momentarily racing with questions, but I took a mental pause and asked God to speak to me through His word and His messenger. "Thank you Father that I have no responsibilities in this place. They're all being taken care of by someone else. Quiet my heart, teach me." And, He did!
The title of the lesson was " Full Out: Run with Passion and Purpose" and the text 1 Corinthians 15:38-58.
Randy opened his talk with the questions posed by Paul in verse 35, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” In order for a plant to grow, Paul explains, A seed must first be placed into the ground. From that seed a new and living plant grows! When we die, our bodies are placed in the ground! . . . . to be continued.35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”[h] But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[i] the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,[j] this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.[k]
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?[l]”56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
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