We're going to begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 40, the Scottish Psalter Version, page 259, Psalm 40.
! I'm going to sing from verse 1 down to the end of the double verse 5.
I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear. At length to me he didn't climb my voice and cry to hear.
He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.
And we thank God that he gives us a new song. He put a new song in my mouth.
Our God to magnify. Many shall see it and shall fear and on the Lord rely.
We'll stand to sing to God's praise. Psalm 40, verse 1 to 5.
I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.
A day to me he didn't climb my voice and cry to hear.
He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock he set my feet,
He put a new song in my heart.
Our God to magnify.
Then he shall see it and shall hear and on the Lord rely.
O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord rely.
Please, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are, if you are
Thou hast done, thy gracious thoughts to us were far.
Above all thoughts are gone.
In order none can let on end, till ye at end ye bear.
And speak of them, I would be more than can be number one.
Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.
Lord, our gracious God, we come before you and you this evening thankful for these words that we have sung.
Thankful for the reminder to us of all your gracious ways towards us, your gracious thoughts.
To us were far above all thoughts are gone, the psalmist says.
It just reminds us, Lord, that as we come, we want to give thanks and praise to you for your graciousness towards us in this day.
For your goodness to us, Lord, that we have been blessed by you in so many ways.
But as we look back to you, Lord, we see that your gracious ways towards us has been throughout our lives, throughout our experiences.
The way that you have been patient with us, the way that you have watched over us, the way that you have guided us in every step, even when we're unaware of you.
And we do pray and thank you, Lord, for your goodness to us in all of these things.
And we thank you, Lord, that you are the one who we have come to wait upon, that you are worth waiting for.
And for when we realize, Lord, what a God you are and what you have done for us in Christ Jesus.
And what we've been remembering together here this day of the one who was condemned for our sins.
And when we think of all that he bore for us, all the suffering, all the shame, all the mocking, all of these things, Lord, that he endured for his people.
We can only but come humbly before you, recognizing how unworthy we are.
And yet worthy is the lamb who was slain.
And we thank you that the praise and glory is to him.
And the way that he brings us to that place where we know what it is to trust, what it is to believe,
when we are brought from that fearful pit and from the mighty clay,
and have our feet set upon that rock, that rock that is Christ.
And we thank you for all here this evening who know that security, that faith in him,
and that it is not in anything worthy of ourselves that we come boasting,
but boasting only in the cross of Jesus Christ.
And we thank you this night, Lord, that you have remembered us in these things.
And we pray, Lord, that you will give us that song, that new song to praise you,
that new song to glorify your name, and to praise you with all our hearts.
And we ask, O Lord, that even this evening as we gather for worship,
that you would not just give thanks, that we would not just give thanks as people who have believed,
but also those who are still waiting on you,
those who are still waiting to trust in you or to confess you,
those who may be long for it in their hearts.
We pray, Lord, that tonight you would give them a new song,
and that they would be able to praise and magnify your name in a new way and with a new song.
And we do thank you, Lord, for the fellowship of your people.
We thank you for the blessings that there are in that unity together,
in that fellowship we enjoy,
even the peace that we have had this day together.
We thank you for that.
And we just pray for that peace to continue over us,
that as we go from here this night and into the week ahead,
that we would go as a people who know your peace with us and among us,
that peace that passes all understanding.
But there would not be a peace that makes us complacent,
but a peace that makes us recognize our dependence is upon you day by day,
and that we long to see your blessing over us as a people.
We long to see your spirit moving in our midst.
We long to see your church being built up in more and more ways and in more and more places.
And we do thank you, Lord, that your word reminds us that you are indeed building,
that you are a God who is always building.
In times you are rebuilding, but always building your church, O Lord,
that it would be for your glory throughout all the ends of the earth,
that your name would be proclaimed,
and that your people would be brought in to you and to the number who are being saved.
And so we thank you, Lord, for the church that is yours and the head that is Christ,
and the spirit that works all around the world,
the spirit that calls, the spirit that convicts,
and the work of salvation that we see going on in so many places and so many ways.
We thank you that there is one God,
and that you are God and Lord of all.
And help this world to acknowledge and to recognize that.
Help us to always have your name on our lips,
confessing you and speaking of you,
the wonders of your grace,
the wonders of your power,
and the wonders of the purpose which we have in this world.
For our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
And yet so often we are distracted from that.
So often there are other things that come into our experience and into our lives,
and into our communities, and even into our churches,
that keep us from giving that glory to you.
And yet we pray, Lord, that you will help us to glorify you and to enjoy you day by day.
We thank you, Lord, for all that we are involved in as a church in this community.
We thank you for all the meetings of prayer.
We pray that you will encourage us in our prayers,
that we would always pray and not lose heart.
We can often feel that prayers are unanswered,
or prayers are not having the impact we would want.
We can often be mocked even for prayers offered up that seem to be unanswered.
But we thank you, Lord, that your word reminds us that we are always to pray that your will be done.
And teach us, Lord, that will.
Teach us to know what it is.
Teach us to be a people that are able to live in your will,
and to delight even in the will of God for us,
even when it seems so absurd or so ridiculous to us at times,
that we would rejoice in things that seem to bring the church down.
And yet, O Lord, as we are reminded so often in your word,
it is often in these times when, in our weakness as we see it,
that you remind us that you are indeed God,
and that you alone are the one who is able to do what is impossible for man.
And that is where we come in prayer, Lord,
looking to you to help in all our different needs,
whether they be personal to ourselves,
whether they be very intimate to ourselves,
might be things that are unknown to anybody else.
And yet we thank you that we can come to you in prayer.
And we thank you that collectively we come,
that we come as a people who share one another's burdens,
who are able to pray for even those who are unable to pray for themselves.
And we thank you that we can bring all our cares and our concerns to you in that way.
We do ask, O Lord, that you will hear our prayers for those around us,
for those who are unwell at this time,
for those who are in their homes,
those who have maybe had difficult news even in this past week,
for those who have been going through or are awaiting surgery,
and for those who maybe are very uncertain as to what the future holds for them.
And yet, O Lord, we pray that you will bring comfort and help
and the presence and peace that only you can in the midst of all such experiences.
Remember, Lord, our people around us then.
We thank you too, Lord, that our prayers extend throughout our community.
We again bring before you all that's been going on in our community
with the search for that missing boy, Alexander,
and just continue to pray for an outcome that would be in many ways a surprise to us, Lord,
but something that we would be able to rejoice in.
We thank you for all who have been helping in the search,
for all that's been done looking for him and helping the family as well.
And we just pray your nearness to all of them,
that your peace would be with them.
And Lord, we do pray for our communities
when we see the direction our community and our islands and even our nation is going.
Lord, we spoke so confidently in the past of this being a Christian community.
And yet in these days, we recognize that we are in so many ways far from you,
and there are so many with no interest in you.
And we just pray, Lord, that you will help us to be a people with a purpose to share the gospel,
to proclaim the good news, and to show forth the wonders of your work,
the wonders that the psalmist speaks of,
the wonders that thou hast done that are so numerous and numberless.
Lord, we cannot number them for they are so many.
But we pray, Lord, for others to see it as well,
to see the greatest need in this world and in this life is to find that peace with God.
And so we pray, Lord, for all endeavors to reach out to pray for these people.
We pray for our nation again, Lord.
We commit it to you.
We thank you for every congregation of your people up and down our land who are faithful to your word,
to your truth, and proclaim it day by day and week by week.
We thank you, Lord, that in so many different places we find places of worship,
maybe unexpectedly at times, when we think of a people or a place at times,
maybe we have visited and we've been surprised to see numbers attending church
or numbers believing in you.
It is a reminder to us, Lord, that you have your people in every city, in every town,
and every village, and that you are building your church throughout our land.
And so, Lord, in days when things seem dark,
we thank you for the light of the gospel that shines in so many places in so many ways.
And we pray for a great harvest in our nation,
a great turning of our people, Lord,
that we would come to rejoice in you once more.
We do pray for your help towards this world.
We thank you, Lord, that it is yours,
that the earth belongs to the Lord and all that it contains.
And we thank you, Lord, that you are God over all.
And we just pray for places and people to know the power of your salvation
and the power of your word being blessed to them.
We thank you, Lord, for our fellowship here,
and we pray that you will continue with us in this day.
We thank you for the fellowship to meet after the meeting this evening,
and pray for Paul and Elizabeth as they come to speak to us.
We thank you for their faith and for their witness for you.
We pray that we will be encouraged together in that time of fellowship,
that you will continue with us into the rest of the evening
and even into the week that lies ahead, Lord,
that you would guide us and help us, protect us and keep us.
We have been encouraged.
We have been blessed.
And we know that so often when that is the case,
we so often come under attack within the moments of leaving here
and going into the workplace, going into the community, Lord.
We know that we will be vulnerable in so many ways.
And we are reminded, Lord, that we are in a battle.
But we thank you for the armor of God.
We thank you for all the protection you give us by your word, by your spirit,
by your truth, and by your promise of presence with us.
So hear our prayers, Lord.
Continue with us and watch over as we pray.
Bless your word to us as we open it up, as we share from it once again.
That we will be blessed to each of us in the singing of your praise,
that we will lift up our voices to you with that joy in our hearts,
that joy of salvation.
Hear our prayers, Lord.
Continue with us and pardon all our sin as we ask all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise.
Psalm 119.
And let's sing Psalm's version.
Page 167 of the psalm books.
Psalm 119.
We're singing at verse 161.
Psalm 119.
Verse 161.
We'll sing the whole of this section.
The rulers hound me without cause.
My heart fears nothing but your word.
For in your promise I rejoice.
Like one who finds great spoil, O Lord.
All falsehood I abhor and hate.
With all my heart I love your law.
I praise you seven times a day for your commands.
I hold in awe.
Great peace have those who love your law.
They will not stumble in the way.
I wait for your salvation, Lord.
And your commands I will obey.
We'll sing this section of the psalm.
Psalm 119.
Verse 161.
We stand to sing to God's praise.
O ruler's end me without cause.
My heart fears nothing but your word.
For in your promise I rejoice.
Like one who finds grace for you, O Lord.
All falsehood I abhor and hate.
With all my heart I love your law.
I praise you seven times a day.
For you commands I hold in awe.
Great peace have those who love your law.
They will not stumble in the way.
I wait for you salvation, Lord.
And your commands I will obey.
I will obey.
I will obey your statutes, Lord.
My love for him is great and true.
Your laws and precepts I obey.
For all thy ways are known to you.
We'll turn to read together now in the Gospel of Luke once again.
We're turning into chapter 24 this evening.
Chapter 24.
We're going to take up our reading at verse 28.
So as we come into this chapter, we see Jesus has been buried at the end of chapter 23.
And then beginning on chapter 24, we see the day of the resurrection and how there was a mixture of fear and trembling and delight and joy and unbelief in the midst of it all.
It says in verse 11 of chapter 24, but these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.
So even as people were hearing that the Lord was risen, they wouldn't believe it.
And then as we come up to verse 28, we come into the middle of the journey on the road to Emmaus, where two of them were going to that village called Emmaus.
And the Lord Jesus came alongside them and started to speak to them.
But even in the midst of that, their hearts were downcast and they were wondering who this was.
But we come to verse 28 and pick up our reading there.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
He, that's Jesus, acted as if he was going further.
But they urged him strongly saying, stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
And their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
And he vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.
And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying,
The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.
Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread.
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,
Peace to you.
But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
And he said to them, Why are you troubled?
And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see.
For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them,
Have you anything here to eat?
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them,
Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations,
beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you,
but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.
While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy
and were continually in the temple, blessing God.
Amen.
And may the Lord add his blessing to that reading of his word.
Again, we'll sing to God's praise this time in Psalm 73,
the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 73,
at verse 23 to the end of the Psalm,
page 316 of the Psalm books.
Nevertheless, continually, O Lord, I am with thee.
Thou dost me hold by my right hand and still upholdest me.
Thou with thy counsel while I live, wilt me conduct and guide,
and to thy glory afterward receive me to abide.
We'll sing from verse 23 down to the end of the Psalm.
To God's praise we stand to sing.
O Lord, I am with thee.
Thou dost me hold by my right hand and still upholdest me.
Please, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray
The night is high, besides me there is none.
My flesh and heart hath gained and failed, but God hath failed me never.
For of my heart, God is the strength and portion forever.
For, Lord, we are far from thee, forever perish thou.
Then that thou rolling from below, thou hast destroyed all.
But surely it is good for me that I draw near to God.
In God I trust that all thy works I may declare, Lord.
Well, we can turn back together to a reading in Luke's Gospel, chapter 24.
Let me read again at verse 36.
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,
Peace to you.
As we've come together over this weekend, last evening and today,
we've been seeing different ways that Jesus was with the people at the time of his crucifixion.
We saw last evening how he was before Pilate and before the crowd.
And we were thinking of the prevailing voices that were there then.
But the voice of the Lord, especially, that was over it.
And then this morning we've been at the cross.
We've been looking on Jesus as he was pierced for our transgressions.
Our Saviour died on the cross.
So we've come.
We've come towards the cross.
We've been at the cross.
But now we're maybe coming away from it in a sense as we come away this evening.
And we want to ask, well, how are we going to come away?
When you see people coming away from the cross here in the Gospels,
and as we look at the Gospel of Luke, you see many of them came away despondent,
despairing, doubting, all of these things going on in their minds.
But then there was a great change.
The most significant thing happened.
They met with Jesus.
And it says there, as they were talking about these things,
Jesus himself stood among them.
This shouldn't happen.
They had watched him be put to death,
watched him on the cross there die,
watched him be taken down and buried.
But now he has appeared before them.
And all of a sudden, there is delight.
And all the doubts, all the despair,
all the downcast spirit that they had,
suddenly there's joy, suddenly there's delight.
Why?
Because he is risen.
And today we have been remembering the Lord's death.
But we don't come away just mourning his death.
We come away remembering the great fact that he is risen.
He is risen.
Because that changes so much for us.
If we were only worshipping someone who had died,
like other religions do,
we would be without hope.
And yet here we have that great reminder
that he is risen.
That he died for our sins.
But that he is risen.
And there are some events that happen in the world.
Sometimes it's just a small event that gets spoken about in the news.
It may last for a few days.
There are other events that are remembered for maybe a longer time.
Significant events in the world
that are spoken about maybe for months or even years after the event.
But they still tail off after a time.
Although there's some significant events
that maybe appear on an anniversary or something like that.
We hear about them occasionally.
But what about the resurrection?
As we read of the resurrection here,
it's not something that's been forgotten about.
It's not something that's tailed away.
It's something that's spoken about all the time.
It's one of the greatest things we have to speak about.
The wonders that God has done for us.
We cannot number them.
And yet here in these chapters that we've been looking at,
we see how Jesus came for his people.
How he was mocked and rejected by many.
But how he was condemned.
And yet caring, concerned for his people.
How he was the chosen one.
But it didn't just end there.
And when you look through the Gospel of Luke,
you see at different points,
Jesus reminds us of what had to take place.
In chapter 9, verse 22, he says,
The Son of Man must suffer many things
and be rejected by the elders,
the chief priests and the scribes.
We've seen that.
We've been looking at that.
How he was rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes.
How you will be killed.
We've looked at that.
And you see it even here,
as the angel appears to the woman at the tomb earlier in this chapter.
In verse 7, it says that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified.
So it's there again.
It's repeated for us.
But there's something else that Jesus said.
In chapter 9 and here in verse 7 as well,
Well, it's this, on the third day he may be raised.
He would be raised.
On the third day he would rise.
And so there's the wonder of this.
That he is risen.
You see, the death of Christ,
it wasn't just, it wasn't the end.
It wasn't that everything was accomplished that needed to be through his death.
No, there was more still to come.
He would rise on the third day.
He had told them so.
And yet you find the two on the road to a maze, for example, going away, downcast.
Even though they've started to hear whispers that he was risen.
The disciples themselves, in verse 11 it says,
These words seemed like an idle tale.
And they did not believe them.
It was unbelievable.
This just couldn't register with them.
He is risen.
And there is power in that for us.
The resurrection of Christ.
But do we know that power?
Do we have that power for ourselves?
That as we come away from the Lord's Supper today,
as we go away this evening,
as we go into the week ahead,
are we remembering,
Yes, Christ died for our sins.
We have remembered that.
But that we remember, too, that he is risen.
And that because he is risen, he goes with us.
R.C. Sproul once said,
Our natural inclination is to hide ourselves from God.
And we see that so often in our own experience,
in our past.
We see it here in the Gospels,
as Jesus was being crucified.
The natural reaction to so many was to shun back,
to hide back.
You think of Peter and his denial.
You think of those who we mentioned this morning,
who watched on from afar.
In verse 49 of chapter 23,
the woman and those who had followed him from Galilee
stood at a distance,
watching these things.
Our natural inclination is to hide ourselves sometimes.
And for the disciples here,
and those who had been followers of him,
they'd kind of hidden themselves away.
They had gathered together in a room,
just the disciples and a few others.
The two on the road to Emmaus had gone away,
heading off to another place,
another village.
They'd all turned away because Christ had died.
But what changed everything
was the fact that he is risen
and that he appeared to them.
Even as they were talking about these things,
Jesus himself stood in their midst
and said to them,
Peace to you.
And what great peace that is
to know that he is risen.
The resurrection changes everything for us
when we think of what that means for ourselves,
for ourselves today,
and for ourselves even in the future.
Because there is no peace apart from God.
But the peace that we know is that he is risen.
And because he is risen,
we have that hope of the resurrection ourselves.
That we will not die,
but live,
as it says in the gospel so often.
We live because he lives.
Because he is risen.
But what does that mean for us
as we come away from this communion weekend?
Well, there's three things
I want us to take with us
as we go from here this evening.
And they're all based on this idea
of this peace be with you.
And this peace-filled people
that we begin to see here
at the end of Luke.
And as you go on into the book of Acts,
you see Luke continuing
to show what these peace-filled people did,
what the resurrection did
for them as a people.
But we get an indication of it
here at the end of Luke
in chapter 24.
And the first thing that we see about them
is the peace that they had.
And then that leads us
to see the purpose
it gave them.
And then the third thing we see
is the power
that was with them.
This is all based on the fact
that Christ died
for our sins,
but on the third day
he rose.
So we just want to look
at these things.
First of all,
the resurrection brought
this peace
to the people.
The disciples
and those who had been
at Calvary,
coming away from there,
they were like mourners.
They had been to a death,
they had seen the Lord buried
and they came away
as mourners.
And the days following
the crucifixion,
they rested
on the Saturday,
on the Sabbath
as it was,
but they didn't have
that rest.
They didn't have that peace.
Because,
as you see,
with the two on the road
to Emmaus,
when you read verse 18,
it says there,
one of them named Cleopas
answered him,
are you the only visitor
to Jerusalem
who does not know
the things that have
happened there
in these days?
And he's saying,
you know,
what things?
And they said to him,
concerning Jesus of Nazareth,
a man who was a prophet,
mighty indeed,
and word before God
and all the people,
and how our chief priests
and rulers
delivered him up
to be condemned to death
and crucified him.
And you see there
that they've got two
out of the three things
there,
of what Jesus had taught
and what they had seen,
that he had been delivered
and that they'd been crucified,
but the third bit
is missing.
Because what they say is,
but we had hoped
that he was the one
to redeem Israel.
We had hoped,
but it's like their hope
is gone.
But like Jesus had said,
on the third day
he will rise.
But they had forgotten
that it was like
their hope was gone.
The resurrection
changes all of that.
And that's why we see
the amazing way,
the amazing power
of what Jesus says
in verse 36.
Their mourning
has been turned to joy.
And Jesus stood among them
and said,
peace to you.
Here he was,
here he was beside them all,
with them all,
speaking these wonderful words,
peace to you.
and what a difference
that made to them.
And we've reflected
on how so much
of what we read here
about the death of Jesus,
we also go back
to Isaiah 53.
And again,
this evening,
as we think of Jesus
saying,
peace to you,
we go back to Isaiah 53.
And in verse 5,
we are reminded there,
he was wounded
for our transgressions,
he was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon him was the chastisement
that brought us peace.
That brought us peace.
And with his stripes,
we are healed.
And so as we look here
and see that Christ
was brought before the scribes
and the Pharisees
as he was crucified,
but on the third day he rose.
there is peace.
There is a peace
that Jesus brought
to his people then
and there is a peace
that he brings to us now
to know
that he has risen.
Another example
of what a difference
it made
into those
who were around him
in these days
was the Gospel of John
speaks about
the account of Mary
meeting Jesus
at the tomb.
in another way
it goes into more detail.
She was weeping
over Jesus.
She was looking
for his body.
And Jesus himself
came to her
and in John 20
verse 15
it says,
if you have carried him away
tell me
where you have put him
and I will get him.
She didn't know
it was Jesus.
But Jesus said to her,
Mary,
one word.
And she turned to him
and cried out
in Aramaic
Rabboni
which means teacher.
Her despair,
her tears
are turned to joy.
She turns there
and sees him
Rabboni teacher.
Suddenly there is joy,
there is peace.
And what did this
lead her to do?
Well she threw herself
at his feet
and clung to him.
She didn't want
to let go.
But when she left him
she met with the disciples
and said,
I have seen
the Lord.
I have seen him.
And these are the words
that they are saying
were just idle tales
and they did not believe
until they saw him
himself.
She had something
worth talking about
and so do we.
So do we have something
worth talking about
when we think of this peace
that the Lord
is able
to give.
Peace for life,
peace for death,
peace for
eternity.
one of the saddest things
I have seen
on the television
in these last few days
has been
as we have been
seeing the vote
that took place
in the parliament
and the response
to it.
One lady broke my heart
as she spoke
on television
saying,
I can now die
in peace.
peace.
And it breaks
your heart
when you see
because that is
someone with
no thought
of Christ,
no thought
of God,
no thought
of eternity
but saying,
I can now die
in peace.
peace.
But there is
no peace.
There is no peace
apart from Christ.
Somebody once put it
like this,
the most unhappy
person in the world
is not someone
who didn't get
what he or she
wanted.
The most unhappy
person is the one
who got what he
or she wanted
and then found out
it wasn't as wonderful
as expected.
And that's the reality
of our situation
today.
People have got
what they wanted.
But it will never
be as wonderful
as they expected.
You see,
the secret isn't
getting what you want
but getting what you need.
And what we need
is this peace
of Christ,
the peace
that he speaks
because this is the peace
that changes lives.
This is the peace
that brings us
to see the world
in a different way,
to see our lives
in a different way,
to look at the cross
in a different way
even and see
he died for our sins
but he rose again.
He's victorious
and therefore
we have hope
in his death
and his resurrection.
We find peace
in that
because that is the peace
that is ours
through faith in Christ
and the peace
that leads us on.
So we look
to this part
and we see
the peace
that Jesus gives
to his people.
but we also see
the resurrection
and the peace
it brings.
It brings a new purpose
to the people
as well.
When the disciples
met with Jesus
after the resurrection
it gave them
a new purpose.
You think of Mary
who we spoke of
as soon as she
met with Jesus.
What did she want to do?
She wanted to go
and tell others
he is risen.
And you look
at the two on the road
to Emmaus
and suddenly
their eyes are opened
and what do they want to do?
They want to go back
to Jerusalem
and tell others
that they have seen
the Lord.
We have seen him.
He is risen.
And so their lives
are transformed.
Their hearts
were burning
within them
just wanting to burst
and go and tell others.
And you see it go on
with the disciples
at the end
of this chapter
and then as you go
into the book of Acts
you see Peter
in all boldness
standing before the crowds
proclaiming the gospel
proclaiming the good news
of Jesus Christ.
The Christ
who was condemned
by the scribes
and the Pharisees
the Christ
who was crucified
the Christ
who is risen
the Christ
who is risen.
You see Paul
and his purpose
in life
transformed
by meeting Jesus
from one
who was condemning
the Christians
in his day
to going out
and proclaiming
the Christ.
And again and again
he makes that point
in his letters.
We do not preach
ourselves
but Jesus Christ
as Lord.
Woe to me
if I do not preach
the gospel.
And what is at the heart
of this
is the resurrection.
The resurrection
that Christ
is risen.
And that's the
peace filled people
that we see.
Lives that were
so despondent
so dismayed
transformed
because
he is risen.
It is
the peace
that Christ
gives
as Paul says
in Colossians
chapter 3
verse 15
let the peace
of Christ
rule your hearts
to which indeed
you were called
in one body
and be thankful.
Let the word
of Christ
dwell in you
richly
teaching and admonishing
one another
in all wisdom.
You see the peace
that he gives
it gives us
something worth
talking about.
It gives us
that purpose.
And they go
from being
startled and
frightened
even as you see
here
in verse 37
they were startled
and frightened
and thought
they saw
a spirit
they didn't know
what they were seeing
and yet in verse 41
it says
while they still
disbelieved
for joy
and they were
for joy
and were marveling
he said to them
have you anything
to eat.
They're transformed
they're brought
from startled
and frightened
to joy
even in the midst
of disbelief
they can't believe
what they're seeing
and that's the wonder
of the gospel
it's a wonder
that we see
and the purpose
that it gives
something so
unbelievable
something so
amazing
something so
wonderful
and yet Christ
has spoken
to us
and Christ
has given
to us
that peace
and that hope
Christ
is good news
Christ
is the good news
that our world
needs
and even as we think
of the month
that comes
ahead of us
as we think
of the run up
to Christmas
when so much
is about
distraction
from the real
meaning
of Christ
and what he means
to this world
it's being pushed
out
yet what an
opportunity
it is for us
to tell the story
of Christ
who came into
this world
to save sinners
because we realize
that Christ
died for us
and rose again
and when people
come to understand
that as you see
here
it changes
everything
and so this is
worth speaking
about
this is worth
telling others
about the
resurrection
gives us
purpose
when we know
the peace
of Christ
in us
it gives us
purpose
to go and
share
with others
the gospel
it's central
to our mission
it's central
to what we are
as a people
what we are
as a church
these three things
that Christ
must suffer
at the hands
of sinful men
be crucified
and on the third
day
rise
the importance
is there
because Jesus
himself told
it so often
and so the
purpose
as he says
to them
here now
as he comes
into their midst
and speaks
this word
of peace
he says
then in verse
44
these are my
words
and I spoke
to you
while I was
still alive
that everything
written about
me in the law
of Moses
and the prophets
and the Psalms
must be fulfilled
and then he
opened their minds
to understand
the scriptures
and then he
goes on to say
thus it is written
that the Christ
should suffer
and on the third
day rise
from the dead
and the purpose
then is
that repentance
and forgiveness
of sin
should be
proclaimed
in his name
to all nations
it is the purpose
given to the church
to the people
of God
to proclaim
this message
of a risen
saviour
to a world
that is perishing
so we see
the resurrection
and the peace
it brought
we see the resurrection
and the purpose
it brought
but finally
we see the resurrection
and the power
that was brought
as well
the resurrection
reminds us
of the power
of Christ
his power
over sin
and death
that he has conquered
and the power
that he has
to save
to the uttermost
you see
he is saying
there
the repentance
and forgiveness
of sin
should be proclaimed
to all nations
beginning in Jerusalem
you are my witnesses
to these things
and behold
I am sending
the promise
of my father
upon you
that he is going
to be with them
that the Holy Spirit
is going to come down
upon them
and be with them
so
the resurrection
and the mission
of the church
are so connected
with the promise
of the power
of Christ
with his people
the Holy Spirit
poured down
upon them
and that is the way
that we see
the gospel
this amazing way
it transforms
people's lives
the way the gospel
opens hearts
the way the gospel
brings us to see
a new purpose
in this life
instead of
worshipping self
and the gods
of this world
we come
to worship
the true
and the living God
the resurrection
brings power
Paul again
writing in
1 Corinthians
says
the word of the cross
is folly
to those who are perishing
it is foolishness
to those who are perishing
the cross
means nothing
but he goes on
to say
but to us
who are being saved
it is the power
of God
the cross
is the power
of God
God's word
is powerful
God's word
is active
God's word
is able
to save
in a world
that sees
so much folly
in the cross
we should never
lose heart
instead there is
the power
of God
the power
of God
to salvation
that is our hope
that is the gospel
that we are called
to proclaim
with purpose
and with power
all for the glory
of God
John Wesley
was a great
evangelist
and his vision
was never
a small
vision
and he once
said this
I want the whole
Christ
for my saviour
I want the whole
Bible
for my book
I want the whole
church
for my fellowship
and I want the whole
world
for my mission
field
he never
underestimated
the power
of God
the power
of God
to save
and the peace
filled
people of God
are always
to be a people
of purpose
and a people
of the power
of God
with them
because we have
something
to talk
about
we have
something
to tell
the world
around
about
that
Christ
came
he came
to be
put into
the hands
of sinful
men
to be
crucified
but on the
third day
to rise
and that is
a reminder
to us
that for
everyone around
us
for us all
here
for us all
everyone we see
around us
that the day
will come
when we must
appear
before the
judgment seat
of Christ
the day
of the
resurrection
the final
resurrection
and what
then
where will we
stand
then
will the cross
then be
foolishness
will it be
folly to us
on that day
when we see
indeed
Christ appearing
in our midst
will it be
foolishness
to us
or will it
be too
late
the cross
is the
power of
God
to salvation
it's the
cross
that we
look to
the cross
where we
see the
one who
was pierced
for our
transgressions
the one who
we look to
in the midst
of a world
that's calling
in so many
different voices
to go this
way to go
that way
to shun
God
to turn
away from
him
are we going
to listen
to these
voices
or will we
listen to
the voice
of the
Lord
the voice
of the
Lord
who even
this evening
we could
say
is here
with us
he is here
with us
through his
word
and his
word this
evening is
peace
to you
peace
but do
you have
this peace
do you
have that
peace
that can
only be
found
in Christ
nothing
in this
world
can offer
the peace
that he
gives
because it
is a
peace
for today
it is a
peace
for tomorrow
it's a
peace
that passes
understanding
and it's a
peace
that will
see us
through
into
eternity
there is
a peace
for us
but it's
only found
in Christ
we despair
for those
who would
say
that to
die
without
Christ
is to
be able
to die
in peace
it never
is
the only
way to
die
in peace
is to
die
with
Christ
in your
heart
and that
assurance
of believing
in him
the one
who was
condemned
the one
who was
crucified
but the
one who
is risen
the one
who rose
on the
third day
and the
one
who will
come
again
the one
who is
victorious
the one
who is
building
his church
the one
who would
want to
come and
say
my
lord
my
god
my
king
may we
find our
peace
in him
let us
pray
lord our
gracious
god we do
thank you for
all that you do
for us
all that you
have done
as we have
reflected so
much on the
cross and
all that you
suffered
there
yet we
thank you
that as we
come this
evening we
see too
that just as
you had
spoken to
your people
that you
would rise
on the
third day
so it
was that
you appeared
to them
even though
it brought
disbelief
in so many
even though
there were
so many
who were
frightened
and startled
yet we
thank you
that there
was joy
there was
joy in
the one
who was
risen
in the
one who
they saw
in disbelief
at times
and yet the
one who
they rejoiced
in
and we
thank you
that you
are the
lord who
is risen
today
that we
look to
the one
who rose
from the
grave
who ascended
to heaven
who is
even now
at the
right hand
of god
the father
making
intercession
for us
and the
one who
we know
will come
again
and to
bring that
day of
peace
that we
long for
but we
thank you
today lord
that with
you
that there
is peace
to be
found
and we
pray that
we will
know that
peace
going forward
this evening
and into
the days
ahead
and that
that peace
would give
us a
great
purpose
in sharing
the message
of the gospel
with others
and that
that peace
would remind
us of the
power that is
ours through
christ
so hear our
prayers
continue with us
and forgive
our sins
as all we ask
we ask in
jesus name
amen
we're going
to conclude
by singing
to god's
praise
in psalm
16
in the
sing
psalms
version
psalm
16
in the
sing
psalms
version
we'll sing
from
verse 8
to
verse
11
and these
words are
the words
that remind
us how we
go from
here
setting the
lord
before us
but also
speaks to
us too
of the
peace
that it
gives to
us as
we go
on
before me
constantly
i set
the lord
alone
because he
is at
my right
hand
i'll not
be
overthrown
therefore
my heart
is glad
my tongue
with joy
will sing
my body
too
will rest
secure
in hope
unwavering
we'll sing
from verse
8 to
the end
of the
psalm
to god's
praise
voy voy
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
!
voy
Because it is that my right hand I'll not be overdone.
Therefore my heart is loud, my tongue which I will sing.
Thy body too will rest in pure in hope and withering.
For you will not allow my soul in death to save.
For when you leave your holy blood to see the truth today,
you have made hope to me.
Where hath the light divine,
This shall I hope that you're right hand,
Joy from your face will shine.
We'll give thanks for the food we're going to have next door,
and then the benediction, and after that I'll go to the main door.
Lord, our gracious God, we ask you to continue with us now in our fellowship together.
We thank you for all that's been prepared for us.
The food that we are about to receive, Lord, bless it to our bodies
and continue to bless our fellowship around your word
and the encouragement that we have in sharing and hearing of your goodness
in the lives of your people.
We pray that you'll bless both Paul and Elizabeth as they speak to us
and all that we do in your name this evening.
Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
Amen.
Thank you.