Psalms 146; Psalms 147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

1 Praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord.

2 I will praise the LORD all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

3 Don't put your trust in human leaders. Don't trust in people. They can't save you.

4 When they die, they return to the ground. On that very day their plans are bound to fail.

5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help. Blessed are those who put their hope in the LORD their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean. He made everything in them. The LORD remains faithful forever.

7 He stands up for those who are beaten down. He gives food to hungry people. The LORD sets prisoners free.

8 The LORD gives sight to those who are blind. The LORD lifts up those who feel helpless. The LORD loves those who do what is right.

9 The LORD watches over the outsiders who live in our land. He takes good care of children whose fathers have died. He also takes good care of widows. But he causes evil people to fail in everything they do.

10 The LORD rules forever. The God of Zion will rule for all time to come. Praise the Lord.

1 Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God! How pleasant and right it is to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the scattered people of Israel.

3 He heals those who have broken hearts. He takes care of their wounds.

4 He decides how many stars there should be. He gives each one of them a name.

5 Great is our Lord. His power is mighty. There is no limit to his understanding.

6 The LORD gives strength to those who aren't proud. But he throws evil people down to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD and give thanks to him. Make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds. He supplies the earth with rain. He makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle. He provides for the young ravens when they cry out.

10 He doesn't take pleasure in the strength of horses. He doesn't take delight in the strong legs of men.

11 The LORD takes delight in those who have respect for him. They put their hope in his faithful love.

12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord. Zion, praise your God.

13 He makes the bars of your gates stronger. He blesses the people who live inside you.

14 He keeps your borders safe and secure. He satisfies you with the finest wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth. His word arrives there quickly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool. He scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He throws down his hail like small stones. No one can stand his icy blast.

18 He gives his command, and the ice melts. He stirs up his winds, and the waters flow.

19 He has made his word known to the people of Jacob. He has made his laws and rules known to Israel.

20 He hasn't done that for any other nation. They don't know his laws. Praise the Lord.

1 Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you. You received it and have put your faith in it.

2 Because you believed the good news, you are saved. But you must hold firmly to the message I preached to you. If you don't, you have believed it for nothing.

3 What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would.

4 He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be.

5 He appeared to Peter. Then he appeared to the Twelve.

6 After that, he appeared to more than 500 believers at the same time. Most of them are still living. But some have died.

7 He appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles.

8 Last of all, he also appeared to me. I was like someone who wasn't born at the right time or in a normal way.

9 I am the least important of the apostles. I'm not even fit to be called an apostle. I tried to destroy God's church.

10 But because of God's grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn't do the work. God's grace was with me.

11 So whether it was I or the other apostles who preached to you, that is what we preach. And that is what you believed.

12 We have preached that Christ has been raised from the dead. So how can some of you say that no one rises from the dead?

13 If no one rises from the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

14 And if Christ has not been raised, what we preach doesn't mean anything. Your faith doesn't mean anything either.

15 More than that, we would be lying about God. We have given witness that God raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if the dead are not raised.

16 If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn't mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven.

18 Those who have died believing in Christ are also lost.

19 Do we have hope in Christ only for this life? Then people should pity us more than anyone else.

20 But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first of all those who will rise.

21 Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did.

22 Because of Adam, all people die. So because of Christ, all will be made alive.

23 But here is the order of events. Christ is the first of those who rise from the dead. When he comes back, those who belong to him will be raised.

24 Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rule, authority and power. He will hand over the kingdom to God the Father.

25 Christ must rule until he has put all his enemies under his control.

26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

27 Scripture says that God "has put everything under his control."(Psalm 8:6) It says that "everything" has been put under him. But it is clear that this does not include God himself, who puts everything under Christ.

28 When he has done that, the Son also will be under God's rule. God puts everything under the Son. In that way, God will be all in all.