Outside the Empty Tomb

Would you open up your Bibles to Mark chapter 16, verses 1-8.

Mark 16:1–8

It's on page 1014 of your pew Bible.

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I can still remember driving our red 1991 Honda Civic 4-door from Riverside Hospital

to our apartment on Doris Avenue.

My young bride, Jenny, sitting shotgun.

And in the back, strapped into our car seat, was our firstborn, Abby.

All seven pounds of her.

We were driving home from the hospital where she had just been delivered.

We safely arrived at our apartment, carried her into our living room,

set her down before our couch.

Jenny and I sat on the couch.

We were looking at this seven-pound little girl, and we were in stunned silence.

Because we were experiencing a number of emotions.

Fear.

Oh, Lord, help us not mess this thing up.

Trembling.

A little shaking.

A little astonishment.

Can you believe she's ours?

Joy.

Mixed with wonder.

But in that stunned silence, we had both drawn the same conclusion.

Our lives have been dramatically changed.

There's no going back.

The Gospel of Mark ends with three women outside of an empty tomb, seized by fear and astonishment.

They were trembling.

They were literally shaking, stunned silence.

They weren't saying a word to anyone.

I mean, this is how the Gospel of Mark closes.

There's some debate on where it closes, but I think this is the best place.

The question is, what happened?

Why were they sitting outside the tomb in stunned silence?

I mean, these three women had been following Jesus for at least two to three years, giving

of themselves, sharing meals, seeing His miracles take place, listening to His teaching.

What are they doing outside the tomb in stunned silence?

Well, here we are 2,000 years after this event.

And we too are standing outside the empty tomb.

We too need to make sense of this empty tomb.

Maybe you came into this building this morning, and you're...

You're thinking, you know what?

I don't know about this resurrection thing because dead people stay dead.

It's how things roll.

You subscribe to a naturalistic explanation of reality.

I'm glad you're here.

Or maybe you've come into this building, and you're like, I don't really have anything against

Jesus.

In fact, I do think that He died and was raised.

But you know what?

I really don't want to give up these things that I like doing that God doesn't want me

doing.

I don't really want to give those up.

I'm glad you're here too.

Maybe you're a Christian here, and you've been living in hiding.

You've been isolating.

You have kind of been avoiding other Christians because either something bad has happened with

the church, or you're ashamed of yourself for something you're involved with.

I'm glad that you're here.

And if you're a Christian who's been running hard, I'm glad you're here too.

You see, at the end of Mark 16, 16, 1 through 8, there is this extraordinary claim.

It's a heavenly announcement.

It's just three words.

He is risen.

And it changes everything.

So let me read this account.

And there are three scenes I want you to be looking for.

Scene one is these three women approaching the tomb.

Scene two are these three women in the tomb.

And scene three are these three women outside of the tomb.

So listen as I read.

When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought

spices so that they might anoint him, go and anoint him.

And very early on, the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.

And they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance

of the tomb.

And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away.

It was very large.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white

robe, and they were alarmed.

And he said to them, do not be alarmed.

You see Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.

He has risen.

He is not here.

See the place where they laid him?

But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him just as he told you.

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them.

And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

How do you make sense of this empty tomb?

Well, let's look at this first scene.

These three women approaching the tomb in verses one through four.

So these three women are walking to the tomb.

And this is the tomb in which Jesus' dead body has been laid three days earlier.

So this is the third day since he had been crucified, dead, and buried.

So who are these three women?

Well, we're told their names.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.

And what you need to know about them is that they're not new to this whole account.

If you look back at chapter 15, and you look at verses 40 and 41, we read this.

Now this is just moments after Jesus has breathed his last.

The centurion has observed this and has said,

Surely, truly, this was the Son of God.

And we read in verse 40,

There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene,

and Mary the mother of James the younger, and of Joseph, and Salome.

And what we also learn in verse 41 is,

When he was in Galilee, these women followed him and ministered to him.

And there were also many other women who came up with him in Jerusalem.

So these three women were followers of Jesus.

For the last two to three years, they had been making meals for him.

They had been helping him out financially.

They had been listening to his teaching.

They had been watching him perform miracles.

They had shared a lot of life with him.

But they've also seen him crucified.

And two of the three had now seen where he was buried.

In the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Mary, the mother of James, is also the Mary of Joseph.

She's actually the mother of Jesus.

It's that Mary.

Maybe you know her as the Virgin Mary.

James and Joseph, well, those are Jesus' half-brothers.

Born of Mary and Joseph.

Of a different father than Jesus.

She had been a follower of Jesus herself.

Notice when this happens.

We see who, now look at when.

In verse 16, 1.

When the Sabbath was passed.

Now remember, in the Jewish mind,

the Sabbath was the last day of the week.

And it was on Saturday.

So what has happened is,

Friday and Saturday has passed.

And now it's the first day of the week.

Which is Sunday.

And it was at sunrise.

Have you heard of a sunrise Easter service?

This is why there are sunrise Easter service.

At sunrise.

So it was the first day of the week on the Sabbath has passed.

It is daybreak.

And what I just want you to notice here is,

Mark seems to be very interested in helping you know what day it is.

He wants to make you sure,

make sure you know,

this isn't Friday the day that Jesus was crucified,

nor is it Sabbath the Saturday,

but this is the first day of the week.

This is Sunday.

Now we've got to ask the question,

why does he want us to know that?

In verse 1,

we see what these women have come to do.

They went to the tomb to anoint him with these spices.

It's just part of the practice of Jewish burial rites

back in the first century of preparing a body.

They weren't able to fully prepare the body on Friday

because technically the Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday.

And so they had to wait.

And so they have come in order to finish preparing the body.

Now this gets at the state of mind that these three women are in.

What are they expecting?

They're expecting to find the corpse of Jesus Christ.

They're expecting to find his body.

They're going to the tomb to finish burial rites.

So that goes to the state of mind that they were in.

They were heading out to the tomb on early that Sunday morning

expecting to find the one that they watched die

and then they watched where his body was laid.

And mind you,

they also saw this massive stone

rolled in front of the entrance of the tomb.

Speaking of which,

this tomb was the tomb

of a guy named Joseph of Arimathea.

If you look up in chapter 15, verse 43,

we see a little bit more about who this guy is.

Joseph of Arimathea,

respected member of the council.

That's the Sanhedrin,

which means he had some influence in Jerusalem,

who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God.

That means he's a follower of Jesus.

He took courage and went to Pilate

and asked for the body of Jesus.

Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.

And summoning the centurion,

he asked him whether he was already dead.

And when he learned that the centurion,

that he was dead,

he granted the corpse to Joseph.

And Joseph bought a linen shroud

and taking him down,

wrapped him in the linen shroud

and laid him in a tomb

that had been cut out of the rock.

And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the rock.

This Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man,

a follower of Jesus.

And upon Jesus' death,

he has Jesus' body taken down,

wrapped it in a shroud,

and then placed in his own tomb.

This actually fulfills Isaiah 53, 9.

There was no question that Jesus was actually dead.

In fact, if you were listening,

Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly.

So he summons the centurion,

most likely the centurion that had just announced,

confessed,

truly this was the son of God.

And that centurion confirms that,

in fact, he was dead.

So they're going to a tomb

that they know where it's at.

And they're looking for Jesus' dead body

to finish preparing it for burial.

Now, let's just ask the question,

why are they going there?

Well, we've already talked about it.

They're going to anoint his body.

But there's another reason why.

They loved him.

These three women loved this man.

They were grieving him.

His death must have been an incredible shock.

I'm guessing that they were in a state of

just kind of that emotional numbness,

where you're like,

is this really happening?

They're going about their duty

because they love him.

In verses three and four,

as they are approaching the tomb,

they remember something.

They remember that stone

that had been rolled in front

of the entrance of the tomb.

It was to keep out robbers and vermin.

And then they start asking themselves the question,

who will roll away the stone for us

from the entrance of the tomb?

Verse three.

How are you going to get in?

How are we going to finish

preparing his body for burial?

And then as they look up

after asking the question,

they behold something.

The massive stone

had already been rolled away.

The tomb had been opened.

Now, I'm guessing at this point,

if these three women

had heart monitors on them,

maybe a smart watch,

I think at this point,

they would have been like,

something's not,

something's strange.

Their heart rate

would have started going up.

I'm guessing they're asking this question.

Who got here before us?

Who opened up his tomb?

What were they going to do?

And so what we have here

in this first scene

is these three women

approaching the tomb

and they are expecting

to find a corpse,

the dead body of Jesus.

Scene two is in verses five through seven.

And this scene takes place

inside the tomb.

These three women enter the tomb

in verse five

and it would have been

this hollowed out chamber.

Most likely,

they would have to step down

into this chamber.

And again,

what were they expecting to find?

The body of Jesus.

And so when they don't find

the body of Jesus,

they are surprised

to find a young man.

A young man wearing white robes

which are reflective

of holiness and purity.

These white robes reflect

where this young man

hails from.

This young man

is an angel.

And when these women come in,

this young man

is sitting off

to the right of the platform

where Jesus' body

had been laid.

And in verse five,

you have one of the

greatest understatements

in the gospel of Mark,

maybe in the New Testament.

Let me just read it for you.

And entering the tomb,

they saw a young man

sitting on the right side

dressed in a white robe

and they were alarmed.

That is an understatement.

Because if you

were with those three women

who had just gone

into the tomb

expecting to find

the dead body of Jesus

but find this young man

in white

with Jesus' body not there,

you're going to be

a little more

than just kind of alarmed.

I'm guessing you're going

to be freaking out

a little bit.

So that heart monitor,

that smart watch,

their heartbeat

just spiked.

Did we come to the wrong tomb?

Who's this guy?

Where's the body of Jesus?

What's interesting

is that these three women

are in the tomb

emptied of the body

of Jesus

and it hasn't yet

dawned on them

what has really happened.

Could you imagine

where their heart rates are?

In verse 6,

the angel speaks

among other things,

angels are messengers of God.

They deliver heavenly news

from God

and look what he says.

He says,

don't be afraid.

In other words,

I don't know

if this is really true

but this is where my mind goes.

There is a reasonable explanation

for all of this.

Don't be alarmed.

And he goes on to say,

Jesus of Nazareth

who was crucified,

you got the right tomb.

This Jesus of Nazareth

who was crucified,

this angel knew

of Jesus' crucifixion

and all of heavenly host

knew that Jesus

had been crucified

and that he had died

and they knew

where he was buried.

They were at the right tomb.

He's like this Jesus

of Nazareth

who was crucified

who you seek.

I know why you're here.

They're there to

finish anointing

the body

of a crucified

and dead Jesus.

And then comes

the heavenly explanation.

This is the explanation

from heaven,

from a messenger of God

of what has happened

and why there is

no body of Jesus.

It's just three words.

He has risen.

He has risen.

He's been raised

from the dead.

He is alive.

He's overcome death.

This is a miracle.

This is God's doing.

And then comes

another understatement.

See?

See?

Look at the place

where they laid him.

It's God

he's not there.

See?

He is risen.

You know,

in Luke's account

of this,

the angel says,

why do you seek

the living

among the dead?

this angel

has just announced

the heavenly reason

for the empty tomb.

He is risen.

He is alive.

He's been brought

back from the dead

to life.

Verse 7,

the angel

is not done speaking.

He's got some

kind of instructions

for these three women.

He goes on

to tell them,

go tell the disciples.

especially Peter.

Tell them

that Jesus

has gone before them

to Galilee.

There you will see him.

Now,

why that's important

is all the disciples

have abandoned Jesus

and especially Peter.

Be sure to tell them

that Jesus

has gone before them.

And then he says,

just as he told you.

I think this is the moment

where these women

with racing hearts,

I think this is the moment

where their circuits

start to pop.

They're just like,

there's just so much

going on here.

Just as he told you.

I was thinking about this.

It's like,

how did the angel say that?

Did he was like,

okay,

he's gone before you

to Galilee.

There you'll see him

just as he told you.

Or was it like,

just as he told you.

Wink, wink.

he's referring to a passage

in Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

In verse 26,

Jesus has just

instituted the Lord's Supper.

Verse 26,

they go out

into the Mount of Olives

after they've sung a hymn.

And verse 27,

Jesus said to them,

you will all fall away

for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd

and the sheep

will be scattered.

But after I am raised up,

I will go before you

to Galilee.

That's what the angel

is referencing.

Just as he told you.

Remember after the supper?

Just as he told you.

That he would be raised up

and that he would go

before you

to Galilee.

In that,

verses 26 through 30

in chapter 14,

Jesus makes a number

of statements

that come to pass.

In verse 27,

he tells his disciples

that they're all

going to fall away

from him.

And in verse 50

of chapter 14,

they all fall away

from him.

In verses 29 through 30,

Peter's like,

no,

I'll never fall away

from you.

And Jesus is like,

oh yeah,

you will.

In fact,

you'll fall away

three times.

You'll deny me

three times.

And that happens

in verses 66 through 72.

And in the midst

of all this abandoning

and denial of Jesus,

here is Jesus saying,

but I'll be raised up

and I'll go before you

to Galilee.

There's a plan unfolding here.

And I just want you

to notice that

what Jesus has said

about his own death

and resurrection

has now come to pass.

He has risen.

Three times earlier

in the gospel of Mark,

Jesus proclaims

his own death

and resurrection.

In chapter 8,

verse 31.

In chapter 9,

verses 30 through 32.

In chapter 10,

verses 33 through 34.

Jesus has been repeatedly

telling his disciples

that he would be handed over,

that he would be killed.

Then on the third day,

he would be raised

from the dead.

And that is why

Mark is very interested

in you knowing

what day it is.

It's the third day.

And Jesus

is no longer

in the tomb.

And this angel

is making a heavenly announcement.

He has risen.

So if you're putting it all together,

in the gospel of Mark alone,

Jesus prophesies

of his own resurrection

four times.

And it comes true.

And I think this is what finally

blows the circuits

for these three ladies.

Their heart rate

goes off the charts.

Inside the tomb,

these three women,

they're hearing

a heavenly explanation

of why

their dead

Lord

is not there.

He has

risen.

And it's all

according to plan.

Which now brings us

to the

third scene

in verse 8.

Outside

the tomb.

So these women

are completely overwhelmed.

as I think

you would be.

As I know

I would be.

Their expectations

have been

totally

upended.

They were expecting

to find

a dead body

and they find

nobody

an angel.

We read here

that they've been

seized by

trembling

and astonishment

which means

they're literally

shaking

and overwhelmed.

And Mark

closes

his gospel

with these words

for they

were afraid.

That's really

interesting.

The kind

of language

being used

here

describing

these three

women

fear

trembling

astonishment

is used

throughout

the Bible

when people

experience

a God

event.

They either

come into

the presence

of God

or they

experience

one of God's

messengers

one of his

angels.

We see this

with Joshua

we see it

take place

with Isaiah

and Ezekiel

Daniel

John the

disciple

who wrote

the book

of Revelation

in Revelation 1

there's this

incredible vision

of Jesus

and John

literally

falls down

before the

risen

reigning

and radiant

Christ

as a dead

man.

And just to be

truth in

advertising

just later

in the book

of Revelation

John the

disciple

falls down

before angels

in two places

chapter 19

and 22

and he starts

to worship

them

and the angels

is like

no no no

don't worship

me

worship God.

My point

though is

when you

come into

the presence

of God

or one

of his

angels

it's

overwhelming.

Peter

when he

saw Jesus

transfigured

do you

remember

he started

speaking

just nonsense

just

blabbering

because he's

so overwhelmed

by the glory

of Jesus.

So these

three women

are so

overwhelmed

in the

tomb

their circuits

are cooked

their heart

beats

through the

roof

everything

that they're

hearing

is like

this

can't

be

true

but

it

is

true

he said

all

this

and so

they start

like I gotta

get out

of here

I gotta

catch my

breath

I don't

know if

they're

hyperventilating

or not

I'm not

sure if

they're

asking

for paper

bags

we can

breathe

into

them

and catch

our

breath

collect

our

minds

but they

run

out

of the

tomb

the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

should

overwhelm

you

not only

are we

talking

about

this

defiance

of a

naturalistic

explanation

of how

things

happened

I mean

dead

people are

supposed to

say

dead

what's

going on

here

is

that

we're

learning

that

Christ's

death

and

resurrection

this

isn't

some

kind

of

freak

accident

or

random

event

this

is

all

according

to

plan

God's

plan

God's

plan

to

save

sinners

did you

notice

that

these

three

women

were

eyewitnesses

to

Christ's

crucifixion

two of

the three

were

eyewitnesses

to

the

place

where

he

was

buried

and

all

three

were

now

eyewitnesses

to the

empty

tomb

they were

the first

to hear

that Jesus

has been

raised

he has

risen

they're

the first

and

now

they're

in

stunned

silence

coming out

of the

tomb

speechless

dumbstruck

they say

nothing

to

anyone

these

three

women

stunned

silent

collecting

themselves

outside

of the

tomb

maybe

they're

doing

controlled

breathing

they all

come to

the same

conclusion

Jesus

is

alive

his

resurrection

dramatically

changes

everything

there's

no

going

back

there's

no

putting

Jesus

back

in

the

tomb

they

were

silent

but

they

certainly

did

not

remain

silent

the

other

gospels

show us

that they

did

exactly

what

this

angel

told

them

to

do

they

went

and

told

the

other

disciples

which

makes

them

these

three

women

the

first

humans

to

announce

the

good

news

that

not

only

Jesus

died

but

that

he

has

risen

from

the

dead

it's

extraordinary

three

scenes

these

three

women

approaching

the

tomb

these

three

women

inside

the

tomb

and

these

three

women

outside

the

tomb

and

they're

all

making

one

point

he

has

risen

he

has

risen

heaven's

exclamation

explanation

for the

empty

tomb

he

is

risen

Jesus

is

alive

it

changes

everything

no

going

back

we

are

all

outside

of

the

tomb

2000

years

outside

of

the

tomb

but

if

this

is

true

that

means

Jesus

is

alive

today

how

are you

going to

make

sense

of

this

empty

tomb

maybe

you

see

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Jesus

and

you're

like

I'm

not

sure

what

to

think

about

it

well

first

of

all

you

need

to

realize

that

the

whole

Christian

faith

is

based

upon

Christ's

death

and

resurrection

as a

historic

reality

that it

actually

happened

it's not

a pipe

dream

and because

of that

this is the

claim of

it

Christ's

Jesus's

death

paid

all

of the

sin

all

of God

for all

of God's

wrath

for all

of our

sin

it's

if you're

here on

Friday

it's the

tearing

of the

curtain

from top

to bottom

he made

a way

through

his

death

into

God's

presence

and

this

fact

that

he

is

risen

means

that

he

has

conquered

both

sin

and

the

grave

there's

a song

called

crown him

with many

crowns

listen

to this

verse

crown him

the Lord

of life

who triumphed

over the

grave

and rose

victorious

in the

strife

for those

he came

to save

his

glories

now we

sing

who died

and rose

on high

who died

eternal life

to bring

and lives

that death

may die

the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

is God's

power

for sinners

to have

their sins

forgiven

and then

to overcome

the power

of sin

and have

hope

in the face

of death

it is

an extraordinary

event

so when you

believe in

Jesus

you believe

that he's

God in the

flesh

that he

died on the

cross

that he

was raised

from the

dead

what you're

saying

is

I have been

united

to Christ

in his

death

and resurrection

and so all

of his

death benefits

are applied

to me

all of

my sin

has been

paid for

by Christ

and his

resurrection

now means

I have

power to

say no

to sin

and now

because Jesus

has been

raised from

the dead

I can be

confident

that I

will be

raised from

the dead

death

doesn't have

the final

say

once you

believe that

Jesus is

God

in the

flesh

who died

and was

raised

for you

you start

thinking like

this

he was

risen then

he's alive

today

it changes

everything

now

there's no

going back

we live

for Christ

that's

that's

the response

this is

this is

so amazing

so how

are you

making sense

of the

empty tomb

maybe you

came in

thinking dead

people stay

dead

if

if Jesus

was raised

from the

dead

you're

thinking

then

well that

defies

a naturalistic

explanation

doesn't really

make sense

and you

are right

the resurrection

cannot be

explained

naturalistically

because it

is supernatural

that's the

Christian

claim

he has

risen

maybe you

came into

the room

thinking

I don't

I don't

want to

change

I've

heard this

old old

story many

a time

Jesus died

and was

raised

I think

it's true

but you

know

I don't

want to

submit my

life to

him

I just

want to

keep on

living for

what I'm

living for

do you

realize

what you're

choosing

you're

choosing

temporary

empty

pleasures

distractions

disobedience

over the

eternal joy

of having

a relationship

with the

living God

that's what

you're choosing

one of the

things that

people don't

hear from

Christians

is the

joy of

being a

follower

of Jesus

I would

never go

back to

what I was

before

never

never

now I

experience the

joy

daily

of knowing

my Lord

and knowing

he knows

me

if you

are choosing

sin

over

Christ

beware

you're

actually

choosing

God's

wrath

and it's

all because

you don't

want to

give up

your sin

under this

false

pretense

that your

sin is

better than

following

Jesus

it's not

maybe you're

in the

room and

there was a

moment where

you professed

faith in

Jesus Christ

and you

started

following

him

but you're

just

miserable

now

and you're

miserable

because you've

been hiding

out

you've been

hiding because

of either

sin in your

life or you've

been deeply

hurt by other

Christians

so you've been

avoiding other

Christians

you might even

be bored with

Jesus

well I just

want to remind

you

that if you

genuinely believed

in Jesus

that means

you've been

united to

Christ in

his death

and resurrection

he has

risen

and because

he has

risen

it means

that these

things that

you've allowed

into your

life or

these things

that have

deeply wounded

you

they are

they can be

overcome by

the power of

the resurrection

by the power

of God's

grace

sin does

not need to

have a hold

on you

Christian

you can

experience

joy

and I call

it the joy

of integrity

the joy of

integrity is

this

when your

public

profession

of faith

in Jesus

overlaps

fully

with your

private life

when there

is that

kind of

overlap

there is

integrity

unity

and joy

but when

there is

a gap

between

one's

profession

and one's

practice

it is

disintegrity

disintegrated

and that

is a very

difficult place

to live

it makes

Christians

miserable

he has

risen

turn your

heart back

to the

Savior

and if

you've been

running hard

for Jesus

you've been

sacrificing

you've been

suffering

he is

risen

your labor

is not in

vain

press on

he is risen

he is alive

it changes

everything

there's no

going back

live

for

him

in closing

I just

want to help

you think

about something

all of

Christianity

rises

or falls

on the

historic

bodily

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

I mean

that's the

point of

Mark 16

1-6

he has

risen

if Jesus

was not

raised

he's dead

his own

words

proved

false

his death

accomplished

nothing

no saving

benefits

his promise

of eternal

life is

actually void

now

he was a

false

savior

and if

that's the

case

I'll be

first in

line to

say

Christianity

is a

waste

of time

kick it

to the

curb

but if

Jesus

was raised

from the

dead

he's

alive

his

words

proved

true

his

death

really

paid

for our

sins

his

resurrection

is the

hope

of our

resurrection

he's

the one

true

savior

of the

world

and that

means

Jesus

is worth

your

life

today

on this

Easter

Sunday

I want

to compel

you to

make a

decision

to choose

to

decide

make a

decision

and live

in light

of it

with God's

help

either

Jesus

was raised

from the

dead

or he

was

not

choose

give

yourself

to it

he's

risen

he's

alive

it

changes

everything

there's

no

going

back

so

we

live

for

Jesus

in the

joy

of the

resurrection

will you

pray

with me

Lord

Jesus

thank you

so much

for not

only dying

for our

sins

but

being

laid

in the

grave

and being

raised

from the

dead

Lord

Jesus

we

acknowledge

that you

are currently

seated at the

right hand

of God

on high

that you

welcome us

to your

throne

to give us

grace

in time

of need

we

acknowledge

that you

are

interceding

right now

for all

of us

who believe

in you

that you're

building

your church

among

the nations

that you

are receiving

glory

and honor

and praise

and majesty

from all

of the

heavenly hosts

surrounding

the throne

you are

altogether

glorious

thank you

Lord

Jesus

and we

rest

in knowing

that

not only

are you

alive

but you're

one day

closer to

returning

it's your name

we pray

amen

a

ending

a

ending

a

Thank you.