"¹³ Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴ We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord´s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage each other with these words."

Introduction: All people will surely die one day. This is an inevitable law of the universe. Death is never a pleasant experience. People know that they must die sometime in the future, but they want to live a long life. No one wants to die early. Why do we fear death?


1. Death is the end of existence followed by an unknown world.
    - When we are in an unfamiliar place for the first time, we feel insecure and fearful.
       So it is natural to fear death, because death is beyond the boundary of our
       existence, which is a totally unknown world to us. (We will depart from our family
       and loved ones and all that we have been associated with in this world.)
    1) Will everything be nonexistent after death?    (Heb 9:27; 2Co 4:18).
    2) Do we really have a spirit that outlives our body?    (Ecc 12:7; 2Co 5:1).
    3) Is there really a heaven and a hell?    (Mt 4:17; Mk 9:47-49).

2. No one knows about the world after death except for one who died and
    rose again.
    1) Philosophy and logic cannot explain death.
    2) Religious explanations are unfounded.
    3) Jesus died and rose again the third day    (1Co 15:3-4).
        ① Fearing death, all the disciples denied Jesus and ran away. So what made
            them risk their lives to preach about the resurrected Jesus? Their lives changed
            when they witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus.
        ② No one knows about the things in heaven except the one who came from heaven
            (Jn 3:13).
    4) Testimonies from people who have been to heaven.
        ① The testimony of the apostle Paul    (2Co 12:2-4).
        ② The testimony of the apostle John    (Rev 4:1-3).

3. What will happen when we die?
    1) Jesus will come to take us with Him    (Jn 14:1-3).
    2) We will go to paradise.
        ① Jesus said this to the robber on His right    (Lk 23:42-43).
        ② It was the place where Lazarus, the beggar, went    (Lk 16:22, 26).
    3) We will go to our home, the New Jerusalem    (Rev 21:2-7).


Conclusion : (1Co 15:12-20).