Colossians 3:1-4 (Easter Sunday)

My son, returning from school a few weeks ago,

as he watched the snow fall, cried out in despair,

My life is over!

You see, he had set his heart that morning on playing soccer with Daddy in the backyard after school.

And it's difficult to play soccer in the snow.

And I told him that would not happen.

And he said, cried out, cried out with a plaintive cry, My life is over!

Life is so fragile for a seven-year-old.

Sometimes, frivolous things can shake our lives, make us cry out plaintively.

Sometimes they're frivolous things, like a snowfall and a desire to play soccer.

Even for adults, sometimes they're frivolous things.

Our favorite basketball team lost last night in heartbreaking fashion.

Or your weekend plans are spoiled by sick kids.

Or all sorts of fairly mundane losses in life.

Sometimes, life feels fragile when more serious things happen.

My girlfriend broke up with me.

When you're 12, that's not so big deal, right?

When you're 36, you've been dating for five years.

That's a pretty big deal.

I was let go of my employer.

My application didn't go through.

My spouse walked out on me.

We just got the pathology report.

When these things happen, it's easy for our heart to cry out,

My life is over!

It feels like death is encroaching.

And covering over the life that we thought we would have.

The life that we thought we would live.

Something in our life has been lost, destroyed.

And indeed, at times, never to be regained.

This is death encroaching in our lives.

We read earlier from the account of the disciples.

Imagine the disciples turning home that Friday night.

What just happened?

We gave him our lives.

We left everything to follow him.

And now he's dead.

He's gone.

Our lives are over.

Death has won.

So our lives feel so suddenly fragile.

The things that are so very precious are also so very breakable.

The things that are so valuable are also so easy to lose in an instant.

And indeed, the greater the investment of our lives, of our time, of our energy, of our commitment, of our heart to something,

the greater the crisis when these things are lost.

Friends, how do you respond in those moments?

Seven-year-old cries out honestly, freely,

My life is over.

What do we do?

Shock.

Disappointment.

Devastation.

Confusion.

Anger.

A sense of betrayal.

A sense of despair.

Where does life go from here?

Friends, it's Easter morning.

God has good words for us in light of this situation.

What does the Bible have to say when all is lost?

What good does God have to say to us, especially on Easter morning?

This is what we're going to spend a few minutes exploring today.

If you want to turn with me in your pew Bibles to page 984, we're looking at Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

In Colossians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul, in writing to the church in Colossae,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

is reminding them and instructing them on what it means that Jesus has risen from the dead.

And he is applying it to their lives and helping them see the difference that it makes to them.

And I hope this morning that we will see the difference that it makes for us as well.

So Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.

Colossians 3:1–4

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on the things that are on earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, this morning we need your help.

Lord, we need your help to understand what your word has to say to us.

We need help, Lord, because we so easily lose sight of and misunderstand who you are and what you have done.

God, I pray this morning that as we think about Jesus risen from the dead,

that you would help us to understand what a wonderful truth, what good news that is for us today.

I pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

When the worst things befall you, life is not over.

Death has not won.

In the resurrection of Jesus, in fact, Paul is saying,

your life has only just begun.

And it's in communion with, in fellowship with, in connection with,

the resurrected Jesus, in fact, that we find a true,

an unbreakable life that can withstand the greatest trials and the greatest losses of life.

This is what Paul is pointing to us in this passage.

Resurrection is the best news in the world as we face the fragility of our lives.

We're going to look at two basic things.

One, we're going to look at the beginning.

He says, since or if you have been raised with Christ,

and we're going to talk about what that means.

And then we're going to talk about then, how do we live in light of that?

What difference does it make?

The resurrected Christ is the basis of a new life.

And so we have to look first at this great passage.

Verse 1,

There are two parts of this for us that we need to unpack for us to really embrace it and for us to feel it.

The first one is the objective reality that Christ has been raised from the dead.

Right?

Paul is assuming this when he says this statement.

How do we know this is true?

Well, we've read about it.

The gospel Luke tells us that this is what happened.

The disciples showed up at the tomb.

And there was an angel saying,

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here.

He is risen just as he said.

This is the most fundamental truth claim of the Christian faith.

Is that Jesus in real space time history,

His actual literal physical body was dead and was brought again to life.

And that not only did he rise to that new life,

But then he walked out of the tomb after God had rolled the stone away.

And he appeared to many people while he lived on this earth in physical bodies where people could touch him and see him and hear him and eat with him.

And then he ascended into heaven.

Not as a spirit, but as a body.

A real resurrected body.

And Christians claim that this makes all the difference.

Because if he had simply died and gone to his grave like every other human being,

Then all the things that we often like to think about Jesus,

He was a great teacher.

He was a moral example.

He built a vision of a better society and a better world.

All of those things could still be true.

But Christianity says something actually quite different about Jesus.

It says that Jesus was raised from the dead.

And therefore,

His death had a power.

Unlike any other life.

Unlike any other person.

Because when,

The Bible says when he died,

He died in our place.

He died for our sin.

He took the penalty,

The death,

That we deserve for our rejection and rebellion against the Lord of life and the creator of all things.

The Bible claims that Jesus' death made a difference by dying in our place.

But if he had simply stayed in the grave,

He would have died like any other man.

By his rising from the dead,

He proved that he was able to die not for himself,

But for us.

And that the judgment that he took upon himself by dying,

Was not for his own sin,

But for the sin of others.

And by rising to new life,

He is now a living Savior.

Did you see what Paul says about him?

Christ is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven.

Like a general having returned from his victorious campaign,

He has now sat down,

Because the enemies of sin and death have been conquered.

Not merely by his death,

But especially by his resurrection from the dead.

And he is not only a conquering king,

But he is a living Savior.

He is a real person who we can talk to in prayer,

Who intercedes with us before the heavenly,

Who is able to help us in our weakness and in our trials.

He is a real person,

Alive to whom we can relate.

Death could not hold him.

The power of sin was broken.

And he is able now to give us new life.

This is the claim.

Christianity affirmed that because Jesus is risen from the dead,

Death is no longer the end.

Now, I want to spend a few minutes,

Because I am sure there are a few of you,

Maybe many of you,

Who are thinking,

This sounds a little fantastical.

This sounds a little bit like the sci-fi movie that I saw last week.

This sounds like a great story.

But I just don't think it could really be true.

And throughout history,

There have been all sorts of arguments about how this has happened.

Maybe Jesus didn't really die.

Maybe he just passed out.

Maybe the disciples hallucinated when they claimed that he saw him after he raised from the dead.

Maybe the apostles,

So wishing that he was still alive,

Created a whole myth about his resurrection,

Knowing that it wasn't true.

But hopefully believing that that idea would somehow carry on and do good in the world.

Now,

Though these things have all been posited and explored throughout the history of humanity since Jesus' death,

None of these actually stand up to good, historical, rigorous exploration.

I was a history major in college.

Historical evidence is not the same thing as scientific evidence.

We cannot put to test Jesus rising from the dead again.

There's no test tube.

There's no repeatable hypothesis to be tested.

But as a history major,

There are good reasons to believe.

There are lots of good reasons to believe that,

In fact,

Jesus rising from the dead,

And the account of those who saw him and met him,

Are as credible as all sorts of things that you believe about Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great,

And all sorts of other historical people of the past.

Friends,

I'm not going to bore you.

I'll be honest with you.

I'm not going to bore you with all the arguments this morning.

If this is something you are interested in,

There are good resources.

There's a great debate out there.

You can see it,

I believe,

Online.

It's become a book,

too.

Gary Habermas and Anthony Flew.

Did Jesus rise from the dead?

It's a debate between an atheist who said it didn't,

And a Christian who said,

No,

I think it did.

I recommend it to you.

William Lane Craig,

Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection,

Our Response to the Empty Tomb,

Another Great Philosophical Approach to This.

There are books downstairs.

Friends,

If you're interested,

Come to Christianity Explored next week.

Come after church next week,

And talk,

And ask your questions about whether this could be true or not.

Because,

You know what?

I get it.

It sounds crazy.

Because it's not natural for someone to rise from the dead.

Right?

It doesn't happen very often.

In fact,

It has happened only a few times in history,

I would wager to say.

But friends,

What I want you to see is that,

The Bible never claimed it to be natural.

It is supernatural.

It is a work of God.

And that doesn't make it less real.

It makes it more.

And if you're wondering about it,

Explore it.

God has brought you here this morning,

And I pray that you would hear the summons,

To actually find out what you think about it.

Actually examine the evidence.

Actually look at the textual variance,

And look at the way that history was told.

Look at the situation and the context.

Take a challenge from me,

To pick this up and pursue it.

Because,

If he didn't die,

And rise from the dead,

As the Bible says,

Then Paul says,

Those of us who are Christians,

Who worship Jesus,

Yeah, we're just,

Believe in something.

You know,

We might as well believe that,

I won't even,

I'm not even going there.

We might as well believe that Martians,

Are going to bring,

You know,

Papayas to our country,

Or something like that.

You know,

We might as well believe something,

Just completely ridiculous.

If he didn't rise from the dead,

What we believe,

Is just foolishness.

And we are men,

Most to be pitied.

But the Bible claims that if it is true,

If it was factually true,

Then it changes everything.

And friends,

It changes everything about how we live,

And how we die,

How we face the greatest losses,

And the greatest trials of life.

It makes all the difference.

So Paul starts with this,

Objective reality,

Christ has been raised from the dead,

But look again,

Verse 1,

Right?

It's not just that this thing happened 2,000 years ago,

But verse 1 says what?

If you have been raised with Christ,

So suddenly this objective historical reality,

Paul's saying,

Has become real for you.

Now,

We need to make sure we get our English grammar right.

If is the first word,

It's a perfectly good reading of the word,

But if can be used in different ways.

If might be introducing an uncertainty.

Well,

If this had happened for you,

But instead,

Here it's more of a logical if.

It's creating the basis of an argument.

A better word in English might be since.

Paul is talking to believers,

Who have professed their faith,

In this risen Jesus.

And so he says,

Since you,

Have been raised with Christ.

What in the world does that mean?

I mean,

Seriously.

He died 2,000 years ago.

Even if he did rise from the grave.

What does it mean?

That I have been raised with Christ?

This doesn't make any sense at all, does it?

Well, let's explore it.

Because it points to the very central reality.

That Christians,

By placing their faith in Jesus,

Enter into a very real union with him.

A spiritual reality where we are joined with Christ.

And we are joined with Christ in both his death and his resurrection.

Because in that is where we find, in fact,

Our salvation,

Our hope,

Our restoration to a relationship with God.

We have died with Christ.

What does this mean?

When Christ died on the cross,

He died for our sins.

When we died with Christ,

We died to our sin.

What is sin?

Sin is our rejection of God.

Our independent spirit.

Our desire to be self-centered,

Rather than God-centered in the world.

Our loveless pursuit of our own agenda,

Rather than a loving pursuit of God.

And loving him and his creation and his world.

Sin is an egocentric worldview.

And an egocentric life that says,

No God, I don't want you.

I want to be God in my life.

And what Paul is saying here is that

When we are joined with Christ,

Dying with him,

We are dying to that old way.

We are dying to ourself.

We are dying to our selfishness.

We are dying to the right to say,

This is my life,

And I'm going to do with it what I want,

And I'm going to determine what is right and wrong.

We are dying to a life that is apart from God,

And in rejection of God.

But it also is dying to death itself.

Because all that sin and all that rejection

Brings us spiritual death.

And when we die with Christ

To our sin and to our old way,

We die to death itself.

When we place our faith that what Jesus did

Makes a difference for me,

Now,

Not only have I died with Christ

To sin and to the old way,

Right?

You see it in verse 3,

For you have died,

Right?

Not only have we died,

But now we have been raised with Christ

To a new life.

Where once self reigns,

Now God reigns in our hearts

And in our lives.

Where once egocentric life

Made things about me,

Now suddenly my life is lived for him.

And for his world,

And for his creation.

Where once,

I stood apart from God,

Rejected him,

And stood under his condemnation.

Now I am free from the guilt of that.

Freed from the shame

Of my brokenness and my imperfection.

Freed from my destructive patterns

To find life on my own.

And freed to seek after life.

In Christ.

With Christ.

That I never could have otherwise.

Everything changes

When we place our faith in Christ.

When we say,

Yes, Jesus,

I'm a sinner.

I can't save myself.

I will throw myself on you

And your mercy.

I will believe that your life

And death and resurrection

Are able to save me from my sin.

When we place our faith in Jesus.

Everything changes.

Fundamentally we are changed.

You are no longer

The caterpillar trapped in sin.

But you are the butterfly.

You are no longer

The ugly duckling.

But you are the beautiful swan.

You are now a new creation.

And God has given you

A new spiritual life.

You have a new relationship

With God.

Friends, did you hear

Diana's testimony earlier?

Did you listen

To how she talked about

How in her battle with anxiety

The resurrected Christ

Made a difference in her life.

She knew

Because of her faith in Christ

That she could live differently

Because of that.

It was a beautiful picture

Of what it looks like

To be raised with Christ.

All right.

So this is the first part.

Paul has said

If you've been raised with Christ

And he's saying

You who are Christians

You who claim to believe in Jesus

And that he rose from the dead

And that you have now

Been raised with him

Into this new life.

How then do you live?

This is the second point

I want to make this morning.

Is that the resurrection life

Of Jesus reshapes

Our lives.

Since we've been raised

With Christ

Then

We now have a new life

To live.

What does that look like?

Two things.

First

It reorders

What we focus on.

Do you see in verses

One and two

Look with me again.

Do you see the verbs?

If you've been raised

With Christ

Seek

The things

That are above.

Verse two

Set your minds

On things above.

These words have to do

With a focus

With our attention.

The things that we spend

Our time

Thinking on

Meditating on

The things that consume

Our thoughts

Our prayers

Our care

Our love

And devotion

They're reflected

In the things we value

The people that we listen to

And what we invest in

And Paul is saying

If you now have

A new life with Christ

Make it

The overriding focus

Of your life.

If this is all

That it's meant to be

All that Christianity

Claims it would be

Then why would you

Spend your time

Thinking about

Anything else?

Well

Let's be real

Let's think through our day

Think through our weekend

What did you think

About yesterday?

I thought about

Boiling a lot of Easter eggs

For my kids to die

I thought about

Cleaning up the house

For some people

Who are coming over

Afterwards

I thought about

I thought about

How my kids are doing

And how I've been

Really distracted this week

By a number of things

And how

They just need

Some really good

Daddy time

And they haven't

Gotten it yet

And they're kind of

Hurting because of that

What else did I think about?

I thought about my work

I thought about

Oh there's some things

That I want to try

To get to next week

That I didn't get to

Does this sound familiar?

I thought about

Oh I have to go

To the grocery store

And shop

Because there are

A few things

I don't have

In order to

Be able to be ready

For tomorrow

I thought about

I've got a sermon

To write

And I've got to

Keep working on this

So I can figure out

What I've got to say

And what it is

The Lord has for us

And in the middle of it

I probably thought

Man I'm really tired

I wish I could take a nap

But I don't have time for that

These are the things

Right?

That consume our everyday thoughts

And our everyday lives

Yes?

Does this sound familiar?

Yeah?

Do you have to-do lists

Running through?

Okay

And what Paul is saying

Is now

All of these things

Which will still be true

In your life

You still have kids

You still have grocery shopping

You still have projects

You still have work

You still have relationships

But suddenly

They are reframed

And they are the context

In which we are to

Seek the things above

And set our minds

On the things above

The things of God

And the things of Christ

And the things of His kingdom

In the middle

Of those very mundane things

We are to meditate on

The faithfulness of God

How well He provides for us

How He is trustworthy

Even when we can't see

What He is doing

How His mercy to us

Is great in our weakness

And in our failure

How His grace

Is abundant to us

And can give us hope

That we are not abandoned

How His love

Is deep

And steadfast

And secure

For us

We can think of the nature

Of our salvation

How when we were still sinners

Christ died for us

When we weren't even seeking Him

He sought us out

How He has done

At the price of His very own life

How He has paid for our sin

So that we might be brought back to Him

How He has loved us

And the great work of salvation

That He has wrought in Christ

That removes the stain of our sin

It takes away our guilt

It removes our shame

It calls us beloved

Children

Welcomed

We are to think on how

Because we are raised with Christ

We now have a life

That is indestructible

Because no matter what happens

Even if we die

The life that we have

In relationship with Christ

This new life of faith

In Christ

The life that He has given us

Death has lost its sting

There is no more fear

Of death

And friends

We get to think about this

When we are planning

Our shopping lists

And when we are worrying about

Our weekend plans

And when we are

Living out our calling

And our vocation

And our day to day work

Christ is seated

At the right hand of God

He is in heaven

Not on this earth

Which is in rebellion against Him

Paul says

We have a new orientation

And friends

I know that this sometimes

Feels like pie in the sky

It feels like

You just want to be

So heavenly minded

You are no earthly good

But friends

I will tell you what

What Paul is saying

Is that the only life

Worth living

Is really in heaven

The only life

Worth living

Now

Will be worth living

Because you have set your mind

Not on the things of this world

But on the things of God

And His kingdom

This is where true life

Is found

Which brings me to my final point

The resurrection life in Jesus

Reorients

What we look to

For our life

Verse 4

Is one of those verses

That has captivated

Frustrated

Frustrated

Convicted

Me

As I have lived

Look with me again

In it

When Christ

Who is your life

Appears

Then you also

Will appear with Him

In glory

Now

Some of you are

Probably good

Grammar students

Do you see

There are two verb tenses

In this

Right

What does it mean

That Jesus has been raised

From the dead

That you have been raised

With Him

It means

Something for today

And something for

The future

Right

Christ who is your life

That is today

Today

Your life

Is hidden

With

With

God

With Christ

In God

Is that right

Verse 3

With Christ

In God

Your life today

Is already there

You have this new life

That He has given you

And

There is a life

That will come

When He appears

You will appear with Him

In glory

Paul

Paul is reminding us

That because Jesus

Is raised from the dead

Because we

By faith

Have been joined

With Him

In that

Christ is our life

Today

And our glory

Forever

And He wants us

To see

Life and death

Differently

Than before

I don't know about you

I used to think

That my life

Was about

This 70 years

On earth

And then I would die

And then my life

Would be over

Paul challenges us

To think

About it

A little more

A little more

Carefully

See here's what's true

About my life

When

In

1986

After a

Grease

Soaked

Meal

At a Friendly's

In

Suburban

Pennsylvania

I prayed

Confessed

My sin

And God

Gave me

A new life

In Christ

In the front seat

Of a Subaru

With a youth worker

In my town

I became alive

I became alive

I was given

A new life

In that moment

And now

That life

Is what I am living

Now

And that life

Is what I will be

Living for eternity

And there will be

This thing

Somewhere along the way

Which will happen

Called death

My physical death

I will actually die

But do you know what

It doesn't actually

Matter that much

Anymore

That's what Paul

Is saying

Christ is your life

Now

And your glory

To come

And that means

That I don't have

To wait

For my life

In eternity

To happen

I can have

Life

Now

With Christ

Friends

I'll tell you

What

I struggle

With this

This is one

Of the hardest

Things

For me

To realize

I wrestle

With it

To know

What does it

Really mean

What

Does it

Really look

Like

Because

Paul seems

To be saying

You have

Life

And life

In that

Has like

Capital letters

And like

Glowing

Colors

And it's

Meant to be

This weighty

Word

Beyond

Just four

Letters

In our

In our

Alphabet

You have

Now tapped

Into the

Very life

Of God

And he

Has given

You a

Life

That is

Yours

With him

And it's

Connected

To things

Like

He is

The satisfaction

Of our

Souls

He is

The

Ultimate

One

On whom

We rely

For our

Life

We don't

Look at

The things

We do

Anymore

To give us

Life

We don't

Look at

The relationships

Anymore

To give us

Life

They're a

Part of

Our life

They're

They're

Significant

Places

Where we're

Called to

Live out

Our life

But they're

Not the

Source

Of our

Life

Any

Longer

And all

The things

That I

Thought were

Little

Deaths

They were

Real

And they

Were

Hard

But I

Have a

Life

That's

Unbreakable

That started

A long

Time ago

I don't

Have to

Wait to

Die

For that

To

Happen

But

There is

Also a

Reality

That this

Life has

A glory

Awaiting

It that

We have

Not yet

Experienced

Sin

Though

Broken

In our

Lives

Is not

Eradicated

We continue

To live

In a

Fallen

World

Where we

Experience

All these

Little

Deaths

Day

After

Day

But

Christ

Who has

Broken

The power

Of sin

And death

Who is

Raised

From the

Dead

Will come

Again

One day

And when

He comes

He will

Establish

A perfect

Kingdom

And those

Deaths

And death

Will be

No more

And life

Will be

All

There are

Many

Lessons I

Learned

From walking

With Brandy

Through her

Four year

Battle

With cancer

And ultimately

Her dying

A little

Over a

Year ago

Perhaps

This is

The one

That is

The greatest

The life

Of a

Christian

Is secure

In Christ

Both

For today

And for

Tomorrow

Friends

I watched

Her

Live out

What it

Meant for

Christ

To be

Her

Life

Today

She

Set her

Mind on

The things

Above

As she

Faced

The hardships

Of treatment

And the

Uncertainty

Of what

Would come

Ahead

She read

The scriptures

She prayed

With brothers

And sisters

She sought

Out the

Saints

Of old

Who knew

More than

Our 20th

Century

Church

Does

About death

And dying

And how

To face

It

As believers

She would

Go to

And sing

The great

Hymns

Of the

Faith

We taught

Our kids

Up from

The grave

He arose

We'd sing

It with

Gusto

Over the

Dinner table

At night

She journaled

And talked

With Jesus

In prayer

About her

Life now

And about

Her life

To come

And she

Loved

Well

She loved

Our kids

She loved

Our church

She loved

Her family

At a time

When it

Would be

So easy

For her

To be

Selfish

Even though

The death

Of cancer

Encroached

On her

Body

She knew

That Christ

Was her

Life

And she

Lived it

And I

Got to

See it

Up close

And then

In the

End

When it

Became

Clear

There

Wouldn't

Be

Many

More

Time

When death

Finally

Seemed to

Have

The upper

Hand

It

Didn't

She

Accepted

It

She knew

That death

Was not

Her end

She knew

That glory

Was awaiting

Her

And as

Her body

Deteriorated

Her desire

To go

And be

With

Jesus

To go

And be

With him

Where there

Was no

More sickness

And no

More pain

And no

More sorrow

Death

She knew

That her

Body

Would die

But she

Knew

That she

Would go

And be

With Jesus

And that

One day

Jesus

Would raise

Her

To new

Life

And give

Her a

New body

That would

Live

Forever

And it

Made all

The difference

I saw

Her

Take hold

Of the

Indestructible

Life

And it's

Taught me

Much

Watching her

Do this

Has been an

Immense amount

Of support

From my

Kids

People ask

Me often

How are

The kids

Doing

I say

You know

What

Theology

Matters

She didn't

Just disappear

She didn't

Just get

Buried

Into a

Box

In the

Ground

She has

Gone

To be

With

Jesus

She's

Living

Today

Able

To see

Them

And we

Know one

Day

That we

Will see

Her

If we

Too are

Raised

With

Christ

It

Makes

All the

Difference

So when

Life

Seems so

Fragile

When the

Things that

Seems so

Important

Have seen

To be

Breakable

Shakeable

When we

Face the

Greatest

Loss

If you've

Been raised

With Christ

There's

Resurrection

Life

For you

Life

Now

And life

Forever

More

Your

Life

Is not

Over

No matter

How great

The trial

Or the

Crisis

Is

But your

New life

Has just

Begun

Let's

Pray

Lord

Lord I

Pray

This

Morning

Lord

That you

Would

Teach

Our

Hearts

Teach

Our

Minds

Lord

We

Confess

How

Difficult

It

Is

At

Times

To

See

The

Glory

Of

The

Risen

Christ

To

Believe

That

It's

Actually

True

To

See

It

Actually

Make

A

Difference

In

Our

Lives

Lord

We

Confess

How

Often

Our

Eyes

And

Our

Hearts

Are

Fixed

On

The

Things

Of

This

World

Lord

We

Pray

You

Would

Lift

Our

Eyes

To

Remember

The

Goodness

And

The

Wonder

And

The

Awe

And

The

Beauty

Of

Our

Lives

With

Christ

Both

Here

And

Forever

More

Lord

I

Pray

For

Those

Who

This

Morning

May

Be

Exploring

Or

Thinking

Or

Evaluating

Whether

They

Truly

Know

This

Life

In

Christ

Lord

Reveal

Yourself

To

Them

Help

Them

To

Understand

What

A

Great

Savior

And

A

Loving

God

You

Are

What

You

Have

Done

Through

Your

Death

And

Resurrection

For

Them

And

Lord

For

All

Of

Us

We

Pray

That

We

Would

Be

Encouraged

This

Morning

Encouraged

To

Fix

Our

Eyes

Lord

On

These

Things

We

Pray

These

Things

In

Jesus

Name

Amen