If you would open up your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, it's in your New Testament, and it's on page 1142 of the Black Pew Bible in your pews in front of you.
So 1142, and I'm going to read 1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 4.
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved.
If you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
May God bless the hearing of His word.
When I was a boy, my family went to a relative's funeral, and I was standing with my mom as we were walking by the open gasket of our relative who had died.
And my mom had me touch our relative's hand.
And it was the first time I ever experienced corpse cold.
I knew instantaneously, dead people stayed dead.
There are some people that are brought back from the brink of death.
They're resuscitated.
Minutes go by, but somehow they're able to be brought back from the brink.
The claim of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ was dead.
Corpse cold dead.
And on the third day, He was raised from the dead.
Dead people stay dead.
Unless you're Jesus Christ.
According to the Christian gospel,
Jesus Christ died by crucifixion on Friday,
Nisan 14.
Nisan is the Jewish word for the month in spring.
He was crucified on Friday, Nisan 14, 80-30,
and was raised from the dead on Sunday, Nisan 16, 80-30.
At the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ are two vital claims.
Christ died for our sins.
And then He was raised from the dead on the third day.
Christ died for our sins.
Payment made.
And Christ was raised on the third day.
Payment accepted.
Both claims are absolutely necessary
to make the Christian gospel good news.
You remove either one, Christ's death or His resurrection,
and you've got a worthless religion.
But the gospel is this.
Christ died for our sins,
and was raised from the dead
so that God could make a way for sinners
to be rescued from His wrath
and to be reconciled to Him in peace.
The word gospel,
we think of it as a religious term.
But back in antiquity,
back in the first century and before,
it was not just a religious term.
So it would be used in a military context
where your army would win a battle
and there would be this runner run into the town
and they would announce the gospel of your army's victory.
Or when there was the birth of an emperor,
that news was announced as good news, gospel news.
What you need to understand,
in the first century,
there were a lot of gospels.
Just as in the 21st century.
We just don't call them gospels,
but we talk about them as good news.
The good news of your political party
that is proclaiming a hope for the future of our nation.
The good news of the health industry.
Did you know the U.S. health industry
is a $5 trillion business?
And there are a lot of people
who are proclaiming good news
for the future of your health.
There's the gospel of hedonism
that's proclaiming the hope
in your next sexual encounter.
There's the gospel, of course, of self.
Where your hope is in yourself.
All of these so-called gospels,
though they espouse some kind of hope,
they're actually hopeless.
They're useless.
When it comes to God's wrath,
they provide no solutions.
They just help you ignore it.
Not the gospel of Jesus Christ, though.
The gospel of Jesus Christ
recognizes that our biggest problem
as human beings
is God's wrath.
So this morning,
I'm going to just unpack two parts,
the two vital claims
of the Christian gospel.
That Christ died for our sins,
payment made.
And the second vital claim
is that Christ was raised from the dead.
And Christ's payment was accepted.
If you're not a Christian in the room,
what I want to show you this morning
is the relevance
of Christ's death
and resurrection.
You might not agree with it,
but I just want to show it to you.
I want you to see it.
And if you're a Christian in the room,
I want to help you be encouraged
by the resurrection.
Your Savior lives.
He's alive.
The gospel is of first importance.
It's the most important message
you will ever make a decision on
because only the gospel gives you hope
in the face of God's wrath.
So let's look at this
first vital claim of Christianity.
It's in verse 3.
Christ died for our sins.
If you're here on Friday night,
this is going to sound familiar,
but not all of it.
Christ died for our sins.
For the gospel to be good news,
you've got to be convinced
of something.
Sin.
Sin is any thought,
any feeling,
any word,
or deed
that opposes God's holy character
or opposes His perfect moral will.
We commit sins in two ways.
We commit sins by way of commission.
We do what God says don't do.
And omission.
We don't do what God tells us to do.
Jesus said,
be perfect as your heavenly Father
is perfect.
And as soon as I say that,
I'm guessing everyone in the room
is saying,
well, I'm not perfect.
Well,
anybody morally perfect
in the room?
Please raise your hand.
You know,
I was hoping there would be
just one bold person
because you know what I'd say?
I'd ask that person,
friend,
do you live up to your own expectations,
let alone God's?
Imagine that God keeps track
of your sins.
And He keeps track of your sins
with different sized black marbles.
And every time you sin,
whether that's omission
or commission,
whether that's in your head
or with your mouth
or with your body,
you hear this plunk
into a pickle barrel.
Every one of those marbles,
they're different sizes,
but they're all black.
And then every one
is written the word wrath.
Plunk.
Plunk, plunk.
You're going throughout your day.
Plunk, plunk, plunk.
Plunk.
Could you imagine
what happens in one day?
How many black marbles
you gain in a pickle barrel?
How about a week?
How about a month?
How about a year?
How about a decade?
How many pickle barrels
full of black marbles
will you have?
How about a lifetime?
What this gets at is
how much we sin.
For all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
And what we tend to do
with all of this guilt
for sin,
real guilt
for real sin
against a real God
is we tend to want
to hide
these pickle barrels
full of black marbles.
We want to keep them
in places we don't see.
We want to avoid them.
We don't want to deal with them.
But God's reaction
to our sinning
is far worse
than a black marble.
When we sin against
a holy, eternal,
just God,
His reaction
corresponds to that.
He has a holy,
eternal,
just reaction.
It's called
His wrath.
It's measured.
It's precise.
It's absolutely fair.
Jesus talked about
God's wrath
in John 3, 36.
He said,
those who believe the Son
have eternal life,
but those who do not
obey the Son,
God's wrath
remains on Him.
In Romans 2, 5,
we read this,
that all those
who have a hardened,
penitent heart
are storing up
God's wrath
for the day of wrath
when God's judgment
is revealed.
You see,
all of us,
apart from Christ,
we are
piling up
black marbles
in pickle barrels.
God's wrath
fairly,
justly
stands against us.
And the punishment
for that
is conscious,
eternal,
torment,
fueled by God's wrath.
The punishment
fits the crime
when you sin
against eternal God.
This is why
there's no
political good news
that's going to
address God's wrath.
There's no
economic good news
that's going to
help you
on the day of wrath.
There's no
social,
psychological
good news
for you.
Your sin
is real.
God's wrath
is real.
And we've got
to deal with it.
God holds
every one of us
responsible.
Do you know
what our biggest
problem is?
God's wrath.
And that's why
two little words
should start
to sing
to your soul.
Christ died.
In 1 Corinthians
15, 3,
we read
that Christ
died for
our sins.
Christ
died for
our sins
is really good news.
It's the first
vital claim
of the gospel.
Christ is a title.
It means Messiah.
And the Old Testament
is full of prophecies
of the coming
Messiah.
We looked at one
Friday night.
It was Isaiah 9, 6.
You remember it.
This is Christmas time.
A son is given.
A child has been born.
A human being
given to us.
His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
The government
shall be
unpunished shoulders.
He's going to sit
on the throne of David.
His kingdom
will be
everlasting kingdom
without no end.
You see,
what Isaiah 9, 6, and 7
was talking about
is the coming
of the Christ.
Totally God,
eternal.
Totally man,
sinless human being.
Earlier in Isaiah 7,
you will know this.
He goes by a different title,
Emmanuel.
God with us.
His name is Jesus.
God in the flesh
who lived a sinless life.
And this perfect God-man
is the perfect go-between
a holy God
and a sinful humanity
who's piling up
black marvels.
The thing about this Emmanuel
totally God,
totally man
is He died
as a common criminal
on a Roman cross.
And the question is,
why?
Why would
the sinless,
perfect God-man
die on a cross
for our sins?
When you hear those
three words,
for our sins,
I want to put
another three words
in your head.
Penal substitutionary atonement.
Penal.
Christ's death
was a penalty.
He suffered a penalty.
The penalty of God's wrath.
Substitutionary.
He died in our place.
He bore God's eternal wrath.
It's atoning,
which means He removed
the penalty of sin
by satisfying God's wrath.
Check this out.
The eternal second person
of the Trinity,
Jesus the Son,
bore for six hours
on that first Good Friday
all of God's wrath
for all of eternity
on Himself
so that there is no more wrath.
Now,
our biggest problem
is God's wrath.
in the good news
of Jesus Christ
addresses it
head on.
Payment made.
He has made a way
to remove
all of your black marbles,
all of your pickle barrels,
all of it.
And we're told
this is in accordance
with the Scriptures.
In Isaiah 53,
we have this wonderful prophecy
of the coming
of a suffering servant,
the Christ.
And that passage
describes Him
in the most amazing ways
as a substitute.
He would be pierced
for our transgressions.
On Him would be laid
the chastisement
that brings us peace.
What this means is this.
The death of Jesus
has always been
a part of God's plan.
God's loving plan
to rescue sinners
has always,
always had in mind
centrally
the death
of His Son.
In God's love,
God has made a way
to rescue sinners
and remain just
through the death
of Jesus Christ.
This is good news.
This is the power
of the cross.
This is the first vital
claim of the gospel.
This is payment made.
But I've got to ask you
something.
Can you really know?
How do you know
that Christ's death
on the cross
satisfied God's wrath
for your sin?
How can you know that?
Well, let's move
to the second vital claim.
Payment accepted.
Christ raised.
He was raised
on the third day
in accordance
with the scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15.
4.
The He of He was raised,
of course,
is Jesus.
Emmanuel.
Totally God.
Totally man.
Crucified on Friday.
Nisan 14.
Laid in a tomb.
The tomb of Joseph
of Arimathea.
If you touched him,
corpse cold.
No brain activity.
All of his vital organs
were no longer functioning.
They had ceased.
He would be clinically dead.
The Bible is claiming
very clearly
He was raised.
He was raised
on Nisan 16.
Where did this take place?
The tomb of Joseph
of Arimathea.
This is the tomb
on Good Friday.
There are these women
who were at the cross.
They saw Jesus crucified.
They saw His body
brought down.
They were with
Joseph of Arimathea
when they brought
Jesus' body
to the tomb.
That's the site
of the resurrection.
That's the empty tomb.
When?
Early Sunday morning
on Nisan 16.
Before dawn.
These three women
witnessed something.
They were coming back
to prepare,
finish preparing
His body.
and the stone
that covered
the entrance
of the tomb
had been rolled away.
There was an angel
and the angel said,
what are you doing
looking for
the living among the dead?
He's not here.
He's risen.
Not being resuscitated.
not some kind of
just the spirit
of Jesus
being raised.
Not the good thought
of Jesus
being raised
from the dead.
Not a group
hallucination
of Jesus
being raised
from the dead.
This claim
is that Jesus
was bodily
raised
from the dead.
and dead people
don't,
they're supposed
to stay dead.
Except Jesus.
How did that happen?
Some of you
in the room
may say,
well,
that's ridiculous
because dead people
stay dead.
Scientifically impossible.
Being raised
from the dead
does not comply
with the laws
of nature.
And you know
what I would say?
Spot on.
This is not
complying
with the laws
of nature.
The bodily
resurrection
of Jesus Christ
from the dead
is supernatural.
It is a miracle.
It is a working,
miraculous working
of God
to raise
God the Son
from the dead.
at the heart
of the Christian
faith
are claims.
And this
claim
of the bodily
resurrection
of Jesus Christ
is a miraculous
claim.
Now,
if the bodily
resurrection
of Jesus Christ
is true,
it changes
everything.
It's extraordinary.
it's absolutely
vital to the
Christian gospel.
You remove
the bodily
resurrection
of Christ
and you are
left with a
dead,
worthless
Christianity
that can't
do anything.
But if it's
true,
but if the
resurrection
is true,
if Jesus
really was
raised from the
dead
practically 2,000
years ago,
what it would
mean is that
he is alive
today.
In 1 Corinthians
15, 5-8,
if you kept
on reading,
the apostle
Paul who
wrote this,
he wants to
persuade us
of something.
Notice,
I'm going to
try to emphasize
a repeated
word.
In verse 4,
we read,
and that he
was buried,
that he was
raised on the
third day in
accordance with
the scriptures,
and that he
appeared to
Cephas.
It's another
name for
Peter.
And after he
appeared to
Cephas,
then to the
twelve.
So that's
another
appearing.
Verse 6,
then he
appeared to
more than
500 brothers
at one time,
most of whom
are still alive,
though some
have fallen
asleep.
Then he
appeared to
James,
then to all
the apostles
he appeared.
last of all,
as to one
untimely
born,
he appeared
also to
me.
Do you know
what all this
appearing is
about?
This is
eyewitnesses.
The apostle
Paul is writing
to this church
in Corinth,
and he's
saying,
hey, I know
you've got some
questions about
the resurrection
of Jesus
Christ.
I know
500 people
that you can
talk to
who are alive
today.
I've got their
cell phone
numbers,
I've got their
email addresses,
you just name
it, I'll get
them to
them so you
can talk to
them.
It's the
eyewitness
testimony of
the risen
Christ.
If I were a
defense attorney
living in the
first century
and I had to
defend the
bodily resurrection
of Jesus
Christ, do you
know what I
would do?
I would subpoena
all 500 plus
witnesses.
And I would
just have them
just take the
stand one at a
time.
Start with
Mary Magdalene.
I went to
the tomb
early Sunday
morning.
I was expecting
to find the
tomb shut
still.
I wasn't sure
how to open
it up, but
when I got
there, stone
had been
rolled away
and there was
an angel
there.
I was
overwhelmed.
I started
to weep.
I was outside
the tomb
and then I
heard my
name spoken
by Jesus.
I dropped
at his feet.
I started
to touch
him and
he said,
stop touching
me.
Or I'd
bring up
Cleopas.
Luke 24,
one of the
two who
is walking
away from
Jerusalem
with another
guy and
they're on
their way
from Jerusalem
on their way
to Emmaus
and they
were talking
as they
went and
all of a
sudden,
Cleopas would
say this,
we were
walking and
a third
person came
up and
started asking
us questions
about what
had happened
in Jerusalem
and we're
like,
you haven't
heard?
Jesus is
crucified,
we thought
he was the
guy,
we thought
he was the
Messiah and
now it's
the third
day?
Cleopas would
go on to
say,
and then he
started to
explain to
us all
that was
true of the
Christ from
the scriptures
and did
our hearts
burn.
We sat
down to
eat and
it's when he
broke bread
that I
recognized
him.
It was
Christ and
then he
was gone.
And then
there's
Thomas,
doubting
Thomas.
Yeah,
I definitely
doubted him.
I said,
I got a
seat with
my own
eyes.
And then
he appeared
to us and
he came up
to me and
he said,
Thomas,
put your
finger here
in my
hand.
Put your
finger here
where the
spear went
into my
side.
I
believed
on the
spot.
My
God and
my
King.
Then I'd
bring the
other,
the 11
disciples
through.
Get them
up on the
stand.
Have them
share each
one after
another,
how Jesus
appeared to
them,
how he
appeared to
them in
the upper
room,
and how
he said,
does anybody
have anything
to eat?
And he
ate broiled
fish with
us.
You see,
the Gospels
go to
great lengths
to share
eyewitness
accounts of
the resurrection
of Jesus
Christ.
And the
question is,
is it
true?
Did it
happen?
And it's the
question that you
need to answer
this morning.
is Jesus
risen from
the dead?
Is he
alive?
The
entirety of
the Christian
faith rises
or falls on
the miraculous
bodily
resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
No
resurrection,
no
Christianity.
No
resurrection,
no rescue
from God's
wrath.
All of
those black
marbles and
all of those
pickle barrels
still stand
against us.
In 1
Corinthians 15
17,
Paul writes,
if Christ
has not been
raised,
your faith
is futile
and you're
still in
your sins.
What the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ does
is it
declares
that the
payment
Christ made
on the
cross was
fully accepted
by God.
payment
received,
proof of
purchase,
the
resurrected
Christ,
which means
this,
Christ died
on this
on 14,
payment made,
Christ was
raised on
this on 16,
payment accepted,
purchase
received.
All of
God's
wrath
for all
of our
sins
can be
completely
forgiven
and
pardoned.
we read
here that
he was
raised
on the
third
day.
That
phrase
third day
is
significant.
Did you
know that
the reason
why the
Christian
church
gathers
on Sunday
and not
on the
Sabbath
Saturday
is because
it's the
day that
Jesus was
raised?
the
Lord's
day,
the
first
day of
the
week.
Every
time we
gather
church,
we're
saying
he's
alive.
And
then there's
Jesus'
own
predictions.
In the
Gospel of
Mark,
Jesus
predicts
his own
death and
resurrection
three times.
Mark
8.
31,
Mark
9.
30 and
31,
Mark
10.
33 and
34.
three times
before he
dies and
is raised.
Now, if
you're a
skeptic in
the room,
you might
be thinking
something like
this.
Well,
maybe that
Gospel writer
put those
predictions
in after
the fact to
make it look
like Jesus
fulfilled his
own words
because he
wanted to
make it look
like Jesus
is totally
God,
totally man.
Another
explanation,
is this.
They're
accurate.
That's how
they were
recorded because
that's how
it happened.
That Jesus
himself said
three and
different times
that he
would suffer
and die
and on the
third day
be raised
from the
dead.
Do you know
what that
means?
Jesus
predicted the
manner of
his own
death,
which you're
like, well,
some people
can do
that.
And then
he predicted
that he'd be
raised from
the dead.
Nobody does
that.
And then he
predicted the
day he'd be
raised from
the dead.
dead.
What does that
say about
Jesus?
He's one of
a kind.
Totally God,
totally man,
willing to give
his life
payment,
and three days
later, take it up
again.
Payment
received.
the gospel
has these two
vital claims,
Christ's death
and Christ's
resurrection,
and both are
displays of
God's power.
Beyond Jesus'
own prediction,
his resurrection
on the third
day is in
accordance with
the Scriptures.
Maybe you're
aware of the
Old Testament
passages that
speak of
Christ's
resurrection.
Here are
three.
Psalm 1610,
Psalm 1101,
Isaiah 5310.
But Jesus
himself points
to Jonah
chapter 117.
Jonah
chapter 2
verse 1.
Jesus himself
in Matthew
12 points
to Jonah,
a book of
the Old
Testament.
And he
says that
Jonah was
in the belly
of the whale
three days and
three nights.
It's a sign
of the Son
of Man being
in the belly
of the earth
three days and
three nights.
You see,
what Jesus is
saying is,
my death and
my resurrection
is in
accordance with
the Scriptures.
Which means
not only Christ's
death is part of
God's plan,
but Christ's
resurrection is
part of God's
plan to rescue
sinners from
his wrath in
order to reconcile
them to
himself in
peace.
There's no
other gospel.
There's no
other good
news.
You cannot
find refuge
and help
from God's
wrath in
anything else.
The gospel
is God's
power unto
salvation.
God's
salvation.
God's
salvation.
God's
salvation.
God's
salvation.
God's
salvation.
God's
salvation.
We've
looked at
these two
vital claims
of the gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
Let's close
by applying
it.
Christ died
for our
sins in
accordance with
the scriptures
and Christ
has been
raised on
the third
day in
accordance
with the
scriptures.
Both
display
God's
love and
power to
rescue
sinners from
his wrath
and to
reconcile
them to
himself in
peace.
These are
the two
vital claims.
You remove
either one,
you don't
have
Christianity.
You have
nothing that
can save
you from
God's
wrath.
So what
difference does
that make?
So what?
Who cares?
If you're a
non-Christian in
the room,
maybe you grew
up in a
family that
never went to
church,
never heard the
gospel before,
you're not
familiar with
the Bible,
this is all
new to you,
I'm so glad
that you are
here.
Or maybe you
have grown up
in the church
and you're
maybe your
parents are
Christians.
Maybe you
have been
coming to
church all
of your
life and
you've been
hearing what
this preacher
has been
saying again
and again
and again,
but you've
never decided.
You're not
a Christian.
Your parents
are Christians,
but you're not
a Christian.
Whether you
are coming
out of a
non-Christian
context or a
Christian context
and you are
not a
Christian,
you need to
decide.
whether the
Christian gospel
in all of
its miraculous
claims is
true or not,
you need to
decide that
yourself.
Don't let
someone else
decide that
for you.
You need to
decide that.
And then
when you
decide,
if you decide
no, that's
not true,
decision
respected.
Grieved,
but respected.
But if you
decide that
it is true,
you will
then need
to renounce
all other
so-called
gospels.
You've got to
turn from
those in
order to
turn to the
one true
gospel of
Jesus Christ
by which
you alone
can be
saved.
And then
this is what
you say.
Romans 10
9, if you
confess with
your mouth
that Jesus
is Lord
and you
believe in
your heart
that God
raised him
from the
dead,
you will
be saved.
You call
out to him,
the risen
one who is
alive.
You say,
Lord Jesus,
I don't
want to
have to
deal with
these pickle
barrels of
black marbles
for eternity.
I will
take what
you're given.
I believe
you are
Savior and
Lord risen
from the
dead,
and at
that moment
you will
be saved.
Today's the
day.
If you
haven't put
your trust
in Christ
alone before,
there's no
better day
than Resurrection
Sunday to do
that.
And I
would urge
you to do
that today.
I'll be
down here
after the
service.
You can
come down
and talk
to me.
I'll be
happy to
pray with
you unto
that end.
Remember
that Jesus
is alive,
and when you
become a
Christian,
you are
entering into
a relationship
with him
as a
21st century
disciple,
follower.
There's
nothing like
it.
But if you're
a Christian
in the
room,
what
difference
does the
resurrection
make for
you?
I want
to encourage
you.
If you
came into
the building
with some
degree of
doubt,
you've been
wrestling back
and forth
with,
is this
Christianity
thing true
or not?
I find
there's no
better help
than making
a beeline
to the
empty tomb.
And to be
able to ask
yourself,
well,
is it
true?
Is the
tomb empty?
Is Jesus
risen from
the dead?
And that
historic
event,
miraculous,
it is a
tremendous
source of
encouragement
for those
who are
wavering.
So if you're
a wavering
Christian,
focus on
the resurrection
of Christ,
that it
happened,
it's true,
and then
you put
your doubt
in the
grave.
Maybe you
came into
here discouraged.
You're a
Christian,
you've been
slogging it
out with
sin,
you're more
aware of
how many
decisions you
make that
are not
pleasing to
God,
that are
pleasing to
God.
You know
what?
I've got
good news
for you.
Christ's
death and
resurrection.
Romans 6
says that
the moment
you believed
Jesus,
you were
united to
Christ in
his death
and resurrection,
which means
you are now
dead to sin
and alive to
God in
Christ Jesus,
which means
sin is no
longer your
master.
And sin
no longer
condemns you.
All of those
pickle barrels
full of black
marbles have
been removed
by Christ's
death and
resurrection.
if you're
struggling with
sin,
make a
beeline to
the gospel.
Christ's
death and
resurrection.
You've been
united to
Christ in
his death
and resurrection.
Or maybe
you came into
this sanctuary
this Easter
Sunday and
you are
hopeless because
of some
situation that
you're facing
with relationships
or financial
situation or
some kind of
vocational
situation.
Can I have
you repeat
after me?
Christ is
my
risen and
reigning
high priest
and king
the anchor
of my soul.
There are no
dead ends if
you have a
living Savior.
If your
Savior lives,
there are no
dead ends.
He's always
working on
your behalf.
Finally,
this is for
more of a
select group.
Those whose
earthly tents
are wasting
away.
You're piling
up the
mileage.
Christ's
bodily
resurrection
from the
dead
sets a
precedent
because we
too will
be made
like him.
In 1
Corinthians
1551,
later on in
this passage,
the Apostle
Paul writes,
in the
twinkling of
an eye,
at the
last trumpet,
those whose
bodies are
clothed in
what is
perishable
will put
on the
imperishable.
Those bodies
of mortality
will put
on immortality.
You will
receive a
resurrected
body that
doesn't
creak
anymore.
In fact,
1 John 3
2 says,
when he
appears,
we will see
him and
we will
become like
him as
he is in
his
resurrected
glory.
Take
one,
Christian,
tuck it
in and
be encouraged.
It wouldn't
be true if
Jesus hadn't
been raised
from the
dead.
There are a
lot of
so-called
gospels out
there, but
there's only
one gospel.
The gospel of
Jesus Christ,
payment made,
payment received,
Christ died,
Christ raised,
that can
deliver sinners
from their
greatest
problem,
God's wrath,
and then
reunite them
to himself
in peace.
What a
savior.
He is
risen.
Let's pray.
risen Lord
Jesus,
there is
none like
you,
and because
of who you
are and
what you
have done,
it is our
joy to
confess you
as our
Lord and
live with you
as the
treasure center
of our
lives,
the controlling
center of
our lives.
Lord, we
are no longer
our own,
but yours,
and we
will follow
you with
joy all
the days of
our life
until that
twinkling of
an eye,
and we
are with
you,
wearing
immortality.
Amen.