He Is Not Here: The Tomb Is Empty
First B Jackson
2025-04-20

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

----
Right. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. He's risen. He's risen.

He's risen. He's risen. One more time. He's risen. He's risen indeed.

Amen. Would you stand with us? I I'd love to sing together. Right? And that before we do, here's here's why we're meeting.

Here's why we're here right now. Matthew 28. This leads us into worship. And on the morning of the third day when the women went to the tomb where Jesus was buried, it says, the angel said, don't be afraid. I know that you're looking for Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here. The tomb is empty. Just as he said, come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly tell the disciples he's risen from the dead, and that is what Easter is all about. I love your Easter colors. I love that Look at Tim and I right now.

He's got pink, and I've got blue, and it's so colorful, but even that's not even what Easter is about. It is about the empty tomb. It's that Jesus is alive, and the promise that because he lives, we also live. Would you join us in singing with enthusiasm, not because I said so, but if you really mean it, we'll sing, he lives. I serve a risen savior.

He's in the world today. He is living whatever some may say. I see his hand of mercy. I hear his voice of cheer. And just the time I meet him, a long life's narrow way.

He lives. He lives. Salvation to him. You ask me how I know he lives. He lives You know what I love about that song is the theology is great, but then it's the practical part about it.

You ask me how I know he lives. He lives in my heart. There is a personal relationship with Jesus, and and that's what I love about it. It's not just something that we know, but it is something that we have experienced that Jesus lives. Shall we keep singing and I'll stop talking?

Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. Nick's got a few announcements for us. Absolutely. Sure.

Hey.

Thank you very much. Hey, everybody. Welcome to First Baptist Church. Lovely to have you. Happy Easter.

Awana is on tomorrow. It's our kids program, and tomorrow is another special night. Carl, what's going on? I think we're doing derby races.

We just have three more left, and, we get to start on derby collars tomorrow. The a favorite of TNT.

It's super exciting. The kids just light up with joy. If you happen to be good with, saws and things, you're gonna need extra help doing

this stuff. And if you're not, please don't come.

Yeah. So I won't be there. That's good to know. I'll keep all my fingers. There there was no Sunday school, but to let you know that we do normally have a high school and middle school class down in the library.

So if you have high schoolers during the first service, they have Sunday school down there as well. And we have Bible studies and all kinds of other information on the church website. We would love to have you check anything out. Feel free to call the church office too if you need to get plugged in. And after the service, if you do us a favor and grab one of these Easter lilies, that'd be great.

They're there for you to take home as well. And we're just delighted to have you all here. Would you stand up, greet one another, and welcome each other, and we'll get bring you back with some songs.

Thank you, Nick. Shall we sing again? We're singing with conviction this morning, aren't we?

Oh gosh.

No, really, we are. It is a time to celebrate. I would love to see smiles and joy. Not because, again, not because I say so, but because you are truly experiencing the grace and the joy of Jesus this morning. Shall we sing again?

Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service, and I'll invite our ushers to come forward, and also Tim also Judy and Emily have a song to sing, but before they do, Tim, may I give you a microphone real quick, and I'd may I borrow yours? Absolutely. Thank you.

It's it's all. Okay.

Tim, one of our elders, would you pray for us? Sure.

Father, thousands of years ago, you made a point for us that's hard for us to understand, but you love and they still apply. When Samuel came and Jesse wanted to put his oldest and strongest son in the plate, but you chose David, the small, the insignificant, because you looked at his heart, not the outside. And, father, we we sometimes have a hard time with the plate wanting to look at the outside and not the heart, and we know that that's what you look at. So we wanna ask two things this morning. Will you right now adjust our hearts so that we lovingly give to you, we respond to what you want us to do this morning, and we give it to you freefully and joyfully.

And number two, that you use this money and this giving for your own good work, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Judy and Emily for singing that this morning. I could have just kind of soaked in that even in just for a few more minutes because it was so beautiful. And happy resurrection Sunday everybody.

Isn't it good to sing of it? Says the worship leader, of course, but I mean, and and we do, we do every Sunday, but this one is very, very special because it marks the day on our calendars when we look back on that great and glorious day when Jesus' disciples went to that tomb early on Sunday morning expecting to find Jesus' body, but instead they find an empty tomb with two angels, and and see if this clicker is working here, with two angels who gave this message. Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen.

And that is what this is all about. That's why we're here. That we serve a living savior. He's in the world today. I know that he is living.

Whatever some may say, I see his hand of mercy. I hear his voice of cheer in just the time I need him. He's always near. Sing it with me. He lives.

He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me. A long life's narrow way. He lives.

He lives. Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know he lives. He lives within my heart. You know, I just love sometimes when it's just the voices.

Just to hear one another, to see one another, sing these songs because it's not just an individual thing. This is a a it's a together thing. It's a corporate thing. We are hearing one another, and there's something in that too, that when maybe somebody is down and another person is up here, they get this person, this person down here gets to hear this person and be encouraged. That's why we're here as the body of Christ.

And so I'm just Can I just say first that I'm so glad to be a part of the body of Christ? I really am. That I need you, and and I love you, and I'm thankful for you, and and I'm thankful for new life in Christ. But may we never lose that sense of awe and wonder of the resurrection. I'm happy to be sharing John's account of the resurrection from chapter 20 verses one through 18.

Ray, if you're going, where where's Ray this morning? Ray was asked to officiate a wedding in Georgia for his family, and he's also preaching at his hometown church today, a little church in in Shiloh, Georgia, and his message last week was this, the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. And we said it again, and again, and again, and again, because I think we need to remind ourselves of it again, and again, and again, and again. And in light of the resurrection, I could not get away from this right here. That God's steadfast, loving kind, merciful, loyal, faithful love, it endures forever.

Why? Because God is love and he is eternal. He is forever, and the resurrection proves it. But I need to back up here because if someone has never heard that message before, like I can't presume that everyone has heard the gospel before, and that everyone's a believer who steps in these doors. The account of the resurrection when we sing these songs, like imagine you're walking to a church for the first time and you've never heard the gospel before.

And you hear everyone singing these songs about Jesus' life and death and resurrection and ascension over and over again, and you're just standing there going, what is the big deal? Why are they why you do what is why is there so much hype about Jesus' life and death and resurrection and ascension? What does that mean for me? What does it mean for all of us? So if I may just lay it out simply here.

Okay? Can I just give the the gospel presentation? This is the cookies on the bottom shelf right here, so that it can be understood by all. This is why the good news is such good news. And you know I like acronyms.

You know I do. I do. They're simple there. You can remember them. G o s p e l, God our sins, paying everyone life.

It starts with God. In the beginning, God, Genesis says, the eternal, self existing one who always has been and always will be in love, but really, let's catch this, pause, think on it, meditate on it, highlight bold underline, in love, God created us to be with him. Just think about that. Do you know that? That in love, God made you, not an accident.

He made you in his image, in his likeness, in love, and he gave us life, and he gave us breath, and he gave us meaning, and he gave us purpose, and it was good. I love in Genesis that says, he walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. So good. That shows the relationship, this loving relationship, and of course, in love, he also gave us free will because love does get to choose. We could choose to trust him.

He gave us he gave us a lot of yeses and he gave us one no, and we could choose to trust him. And when we didn't, that's when sin entered the world and it fractured our relationship with God, and it's never been the same since. Our sins separate us from God. That is what's true, that we've missed the mark, and we've fallen short of God's glorious standard, and and thought, and and word, and indeed, and our conscience tells us still, the scripture tells us so, the broken world tells us so. I don't think I need to do any convincing of it.

It's just that's what is. There's there's sin. I'm a sinner. There's a way that seems right to us, but in the end it leads to death, that eternal separation from God, and those sins cannot be removed by good deeds, like we tried and tried and tried, and God gave us the law, and he gave us the sacrificial system. You see that all there in the old testament to atone or make right our wrongs, but it was just a temporary thing.

Just a temporary system. We missed the mark again and again. That's the bad news. Right? There cannot be good news if there isn't bad news.

Right? So you've heard the bad news. The good news is that in love, God said, I got this. Humanity, humankind, I will do this. I know that you can.

I will do this for you. I will send my son. He'll be that perfect, spotless, blameless sacrifice once for all time. The righteous, that's him. For the unrighteous, that's us.

He died in our place for our sins so that we could permanently have right standing with God. So paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. That is no no small thing church, and may we never lose that sense of awe and wonder and belief that Jesus has done this for us. Everyone, e, everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life, and everyone means everyone. You know the verse that, so God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

It is by faith, trust, belief that we will pass from life to life. And here's the proof. It was just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. So this is just like a week earlier, right, in Jesus' own resurrection. And Lazarus' sister is so upset.

Jesus, if you're here, he wouldn't have died. And she's so so upset. She's grieving. And Jesus gives her this news. He says, I am the resurrection and the life, and that I am statement that Jesus makes there when he talks to her is a declaration of his divine and eternal nature.

From the beginning, I am. I'm the self existing one, and I give life. I'm the resurrection and the life, and anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. And then of course, Jesus himself raises from the dead, and because he's risen from death, will rise from death too. And I'm not making this up.

This is from Jesus mouth in John fourteen nineteen. He says, because I live, you will also live. Does that not give us hope? Many of us have lost loved ones and recently, but we know the promise of the resurrection that we will see them again. This is such good news, and it comes by believing, believing in him, and by doing that we have life in his name, and life with Jesus, it starts now and goes into eternity.

So it's not just the sweet by and by later on, but even right now, even in trials, even in sorrow, we can have a full and abundant life. It's true. So this is why the resurrection is so important because it gives us hope and it gives us a future. Bright hope for today and hope for the future. And we can choose.

Again, love gives a choice. We can choose to accept or reject. My prayer my prayer is this right here, that this eyewitness account, right, of the resurrection recorded by John, that will affirm, that it will stir our affections for Jesus, so that the purpose for which he wrote it will sink in. That it will truly be our reality, that we might believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the son of God, and that by believing in him, have life in his name. So this is why it's so important.

And, how about we get to the scripture? Are you ready? John 20 verse one. Here's the account, the resurrection verse one. Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark.

And so we know the story. On Friday, Jesus was crucified. He was declared dead. He's placed in the tomb. It's Friday night, all day Saturday.

Now this is the third day, just like Jesus said, Thursday, Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, and I I I don't want to just we could listen and go, oh, okay, Mary Magdalene, sure. I don't know who she is, you know, those kind of things, but we every person, every believer has a story. Everyone has a history here in this story with Jesus. And Luke chapter eight records her story when Jesus casted seven demons from her, And we could quickly pass over that and go, yeah, yeah, cast a demon. Can you imagine?

Let's just pause there for a second. Can you imagine what that have been like? I mean, terrifying. This these these not just one, but multiple evil spirits that are tormenting this poor woman, and Jesus cast these demons from her, and then she experiences peace and liberation after being healed by him. I mean, is a powerful story.

This is the kind of story that invokes love, and trust, and devotion for Jesus, and she was a follower after that. Every one of these followers have a has a story, and since Jesus, every believer has a story too, who we were before him, and who we've become since he's entered our lives. And and may I may I just ask you today to think of of your story. Sometimes we just forget it or we we just move on and we hear the story again and again and again. Keep going to church, all that stuff, but but really, what was it like the day that you met Christ, and how has he changed your life since?

My my story is is one of peace and joy. I just did not have that kind of peace and that kind of joy before Christ. I didn't. I just felt miserable, and when I tried to walk away, by God's grace, by God's grace he was he pursued me, even when I when I walked away, but boy was I on unhappy Carl. And then after Christ, I'm I was filled with joy and peace.

Do I have bad days? Of course, I do. But how about your story? Who were you before Jesus, and who are you since? Will you consider that?

And you know what else? I'd love to hear your story sometime. I do. It's so encouraging to me. I think we need to remind ourselves, remind one another.

So Mary's story is one of peace and freedom because of Jesus. She was there at the crucifixion. Now, she's the first to arrive at the tomb. This is a devoted, devoted follower. And, she found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

Now, this would have been a very large stone. So not just like a little boulder or something, but this could have weighed up to 4,000 pounds and rolled in place by multiple people. So how Mary thought that she was going to move this stone when she came to the tomb to finish anointing Jesus' body with the burial spices that she had? I don't know, but that's what love does, it just goes. It just goes, no matter what.

And as it turns out, she didn't have to move the stone anyway, because it had already been moved. Matthew 20 eight's account tells us that there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord rolled the stone away, and he sat on it. I love the little detail that he adds. He sat on it like, no big deal. There's that.

Two, and what does she do? She she runs and she finds Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loves. She runs to find Peter and John. Now John's referring to himself here as the one whom Jesus love. And we might smile and go, oh, John, you.

Yeah. But but this isn't said in a in a braggadocious way. This is a humble self effacing way of saying, my identity is not my name. My identity is being loved by Jesus. That's his identity.

That's how he refers to himself. I think that's really sweet, by the way. And these guys have a story. Think of John, like I think of John, remember in that upper room reclining against Jesus. You don't recline against somebody and sit near them if you don't love and trust them, right?

I think of Peter being called by Jesus, and he's at work. You know, he's just doing his job. He's a fisherman, and Jesus is yelling out to him, hey, Pete. I'm gonna make you a fisher of men. And Peter's so intrigued by Jesus, and he saw the miracle that he goes, I think this guy's worth following.

And so he follows Jesus, and then from then on, I mean, you got Peter stepping out of the boat when Jesus is walking on water, and Pete Peter's going, well, I'll be I'll walk out there too, and Jesus will come on. And then Peter starts to sink, and he's got to be, you know, pulled up by Jesus, and all these countless miracles that they saw Jesus perform, even the time when they both turned tail and ran when Jesus was arrested, that was just four days before this. There is a deep love for Jesus and probably some remorse too. Like if I had only done this or that, if I just could see him again and talk with him, I wouldn't have ran away, I wouldn't have said this, I wouldn't have said that. Mary runs to Peter and John and said, they've taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where that where they've put him.

Will you come and see this? Can I I want you to put eyes on this too? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? What is happening here? And then three and four, Peter and the other disciple, they started out for the tomb.

This wasn't something to walk to. They were running there together. And as they were both running, the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. So John wants us to know if there's any doubt, he's the faster one. I find that funny.

So John stooped, and he looked in and he saw. I've highlighted that word saw. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn't go in. That word saw just, it simply means to look, to see, just in the physical sense with his eyes, not much more, he stoops in, he looks. Alright.

And then six says, Simon Peter ride. Well, in Simon Peter fashion, he just goes, I'm going in, which so matches his character and nature. Step out of the way, John. I'm gonna take a look. And he noticed, he noticed the linen wrappings lying there.

That word notice implies a deeper sense of of meeting with attention and contemplation, like beyond just that physical sight, he looked with his sense of awe and with under and wonder like, While the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Now, if this had been done by grave robbers, which there were back then, there were grave robbers, but if it had been, number one, why would they take these wrappings off Jesus' body, especially if they were in a in a hurry? Like, this was egregious offense. Grave robbers could be tried and put to death if they were caught. So why would they take the time to fold this wrapping so neatly?

And number two, why why why would they neatly fold that head cloth? Josh McDowell in his his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict notes that a well ordered grave cloths left neatly folded suggest that Jesus' body had been removed without human interference, without human interference. This is all to say this, that this is an important detail that John gives us about the resurrection. Eight. When the disciple who had reached the tomb first, that's John in case you were wondering, also went in, it said he saw and he believed.

Now, word, that word saw means to see and to perceive. So, it's both the physical act of seeing and it is understanding with the mind. He had an intellectual and spiritual comprehension of what he was looking at this time like, ding ding ding. Oh. Oh.

For until then they still hadn't understood the scriptures that Jesus said that he would rise from the dead. This is where it clicked. This is where it clicked. And may I ask you, okay, like personalize it. When did it click for you?

How did it click for you? Let's remind ourselves of our our own story here as well. They remembered Jesus' words, but more importantly, they understood that Jesus fulfilled the scriptures by dying and rising again. And then 10, roughly ends with, then they went home. The gentlemen that they were, they left Mary there weeping.

Sorry, Mary. Verse 11, Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. And what does she see? She saw two white robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. I love that these angels appeared to this grieving, broken follower of Jesus in that humble estate of hers where they came to comfort her.

It's it's just so sweet how God reveals himself to the to the lowly and the broken. That he resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Just such a gracious thing of God I wanna point out, that if you are feeling broken and lowly, it's just such a wonderful place to meet the Lord. And how awesome for God to send his ministers and messengers. You know, you think about the the the angels.

They were there to announce Jesus' birth, they they ministered to him in his temptation in the wilderness, they strengthened him in the garden before his crucifixion, they rolled the stone away, and then one of them sat on it. And now, here they are to comfort Mary. I I just want to point out the graciousness of God to provide that kind of comfort and strength. In verse 13, dear woman, why are you crying? The angels asked her.

Seems like a strange question to ask. I'm at a cemetery. I just lost the one I love. But she answers, because they've taken away my Lord, she replied, and I do not know where they've put him. What a terrible thing.

Just what an awful thing that Mary has overcome with grief and despair, and to add insult to injury, Jesus' body isn't there. I mean, there she is to see him one last time to finish the anointing his body, to show her love, and his body's not even there. 14, she turned to leave and she saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. Now that raises a lot of questions for for all of us, like why she didn't recognize him?

Could it have been her grief? Could it have been that she couldn't see through her tears? Was it still dark? Could it have been that Jesus glorified body was different in appearance than his earthly body? Friends, I don't I don't even know the answer to that.

I I don't, but that's okay because that's not the most important detail. What is most important here is what we see in first Corinthians that Paul says it this way, for what I received I passed on to you as a first importance. Here's the most important thing, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to scriptures. This is what's most important. Why she didn't recognize him?

Why the on the road to Emmaus, those two disciples didn't recognize him right away at first? Not sure. Look at this tender moment between Jesus and Mary in verse 15. Dear woman, why are you crying? Jesus asked.

Who are you looking for? She thought he was the gardener. In 1638, Rembrandt painted this scene to depict that moment. Okay. Here you see Jesus with his little gardening hat on, and he's got a shovel, he's got the spade, he's got a little knife belt around his waist, and I am obviously not an art major like Ray, like Ray would really explain it in detail, and I'm going, and I think he used the color white and the sun is shining on him, and you see a little hat.

Now, I'm I'm I'm not that way, but I I do always love that that Ray adds artwork. Don't you? Like if you're listening Ray, thank you. Right? I miss you.

Sir, she said, if you've taken him away, tell him where, tell me where you have put him and I will go and get him. Again, Mary is not thinking clearly here. How is she going to carry the weight of a body? But again, love doesn't consider those things. She was just ready to do whatever.

So so devoted to Jesus. She wanted to show her love one more time. And 16, this is just beautiful. With one word, she goes from sorrow to joy, from despair to elation. Jesus calls her by name, Mary.

And she turned to him and she cried out, Raboni, Raboni, teacher. Can you imagine? I mean, let's put ourselves there for a moment, shall we? We've heard this story maybe many, many, many times before. But think of her past, think of how Jesus healed her, think of how Jesus gave her hope and freedom and that liberation from torment, and now gave her peace and joy.

And now she sees him and she hears him. My mind goes to John ten ten. Excuse me, John ten four. John ten ten is also a great verse, but when Jesus describes him as a good shepherd, he says, his sheep follow him. Why?

Because they know his voice. May I ask you something? Do you know his voice? Do you hear him calling to you? Mary heard his voice and she went running like tackle hug.

That's what I imagine it being, seriously. And from the sound of it, she wouldn't let go. Look at this, Jesus is saying, don't cling to me. Don't cling to me, and I would suspect that Jesus said this with a smile on his face and a laugh in his voice. Right?

I do. Not like, hey, hey, hey, stop. Okay? Like, more like, Mary, Mary, Mary, really? You've got to let me go sometime.

For I haven't yet ascended to the father, but look at this, but go find my brothers. Now, I've highlighted brothers and it's just such a wonderful thing that that I'm I'm not Jesus, because if if if I were Jesus, I came out of that tomb, I would have said something like, why don't you go find those weasels that used to follow me. Why don't you go tell those guys I'm alive and I'm looking for them. I mean, know what I mean? Like, it's just like my human nature would do something like that.

That's not Jesus' nature. No. Nothing like that. Go tell my brothers. He's called them friends.

He's called them servants, and now he calls him he calls them his brothers. Go tell my family. I'm ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God. Get the word out. There's more to come here and we'll end with verse 18 here that Mary Magdalene found the disciples and she told them, I've seen the Lord, and then she gave him his message.

Because that is what love does. It responds in loving obedience to a savior that you love and trust and who gives life and life to the full measure. To do what he says isn't a burdens a burdensome thing. It's something that she would want to do. And how awesome that Jesus gives Mary the task of delivering that message.

The the a person with a checkered past, a person that was redeemed by Jesus, because that's exactly who Jesus is looking for. If you're going, boy, I I am so deserving of giving this message of Jesus. I I just I I don't know that that's the right posture to take. I think our posture is really one of, Lord, how undeserving how undeserving am I to carry this good news of your love and forgiveness? Because I've I've certainly blown it.

And he chooses the humble and imperfect, the willing, the obedient to be his messengers. How sweet that he chose Mary to be the first, you know, the first one at the tomb to comfort her with those angels, and then give that message. Ladies, I hope it's an encouragement to you. I really do. I really do.

You have it? And I'll stop at eighteen, but would you keep reading the the rest of the story this week? There's just one more chapter in John, by the way, and it just gets better and better. But as we close, I wanna bring us back to the purpose for which John wrote this book, and that is that we might, let's say it together, we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that by believing in him, we would have life in his name. Another closing thought here, when Peter and John, they went to that tomb, and they noticed that Jesus wasn't there, They saw, they looked in.

Right? They they looked, they could physically see. But when they looked again, there was a spiritual comprehension that led to belief. And if that is you in this room, praise God that it's not just something you've heard about, but it's something you've go, no, no, no. I've I've I've not only heard about it, I believe it and now I am a follower of Christ.

Praise God for that. Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of of Jesus and share it, right? In word and deed, to him be the glory for now, now and forever. But I I'll say this too, if if you're like one of the Athenians, right, we're going through the book of Acts right now, and in Acts chapter 17, Paul is bringing this good news of the resurrection to Athens, and he's speaking to the Athens, and some of them are going, who is this babbler? But you know what?

There are others who hear about the resurrection, they go, yeah, I don't know about that. I'll hear more on that later. Praise God for that. Please do come on back. If the message of the gospel right now is not clicking for you, may I say come on back, there's more, there's more.

We're going through the book of Acts right now, we'll see again and again and again how the resurrection has changed lives. Okay? This isn't always a one and done type of thing. It's a, I just let me hear more on this later. Come on back.

We do this every Sunday, but in some form or fashion, we share about it every week because this is truly life changing, life giving news. It's the good news that gives us hope in the future, but I also say this, that if you are a person that is on the edge of belief, like you hear the story and you go, boy, this is sinking in like I've never heard it before. I'll say this, don't wait. Don't wait. Press in without delay.

Billy Graham would often say, you may never be as close as you are right now to professing faith in Christ. Don't wait. And if that's you, may I invite you to pray this simple prayer with me. And so can we pray together? And and Judy and Emily, may I invite you up?

I'd love to sing again to to close out. But first, I I I want to pray. Lord God Almighty, what I am so thankful for, what we are so thankful for, is for the power that raised Christ from the dead. For the empty tomb, for new life that we have in you. And we know that we've fallen short.

We do. In thought, and word, and deed, and scripture you tell us, the kingdom of God is at hand. Turn from that sin. Believe the good news. God, would you forgive us?

Would we turn toward you? Turn toward you, and when we hear you calling our name, that we would look to you, that we would hear your voice. You're the good shepherd. You call your sheep by name, and they follow you. We want to do that.

We want to do that. Would you forgive us for the wrongs that we've done? We believe that you went to the cross. We believe that you died in our place for our sin, that you rose again. God, we want to profess faith in you and follow you from here on out to hear your voice.

Thank you for the promise of eternal life that you've given. Thank you for this truly good news, not just good news, it is great news. And it is by believing in your son, Lord. And and if some of us are are like that father in the book of Mark who says, God, I believe but help me in my unbelief, that's a great prayer to pray. With the belief, with the faith that you've given us God, would we exercise it, put it into practice that it would grow.

And it's in your son's name we pray, amen. And listen, if if if and I and I really mean this, that if if today is that day for you where you go, this is the turning point, this is where it clicks. This is where I'm trusting in in in Christ. Would you please tell me or tell someone about it? Because this walk with Christ is not one to walk alone.

We are the body of Christ because we need one another, and we're here to walk with you. We're here to walk together in in our faith. Shall we sing another song? Let's do. Would you stand with us?

And now we do thank you for your life, and your death, and your resurrection, for your ascension, and and truly Lord that you have not left us as orphans, that you have given the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and to lead us every single day from here on earth. Here on out. In Jesus name, amen. I wanna leave you with this benediction here from Romans 15 as we go out from here, the good news of the resurrection. It is may the God of hope and that hope there means sure and certain.

May the God of a sure and certainty fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may overcome excuse me, so that you may overflow with that hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may the Lord bless and keep you and make his face shine on you and be gracious to you and look upon you with favor and give you his peace. Amen. Happy resurrection Sunday, everybody.