The dead shall be raised imperishable
Song: Jesus is King
Jesus is King and I Will Extol Him (Singing the Faith 327 / StF 327) - YouTube
Prayer:
God, our heavenly Father
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
We praise and thank you today and always!
You are worthy of our praise
simply for who You are:
You are good and You are strong,
You are gracious, just and loving.
As we confront this world that lacks hope,
a world caught up in war, hunger, poverty and
spiritual emptiness,
in Your great mercy You freely give us a new birth
into the living hope
through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
There is no darkness so great
that your light is not greater still.
There is not conflict so disruptive
that your peace cannot quell it.
There is no death so final,
that your resurrection life
cannot break its icy grip. And, …
There is no thief so sneaky or strong
that he can steal the inheritance you give
that can never perish, spoil or fade—
kept in heaven for us.
Therefore, we rightly worship You!
However, we are quick to trust
our strength more than yours,
our wisdom more than yours,
our abilities more than yours,
our resources more than yours.
our love more than yours.
And our misplaced trust in ourselves
has led us into sin.
Amen.
Richard Herman
https://thepastorsworkshop.com/
Song: Jesus shall take the highest honour
Jesus Shall Take The Highest Honour - YouTube
Reading: Mark’s gospel. Chapter 16; verses 1 to 7
Reading: First letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15; verses 20 to 23 and 50 to 53
Song: Jesus we enthrone you
JESUS, WE ENTHRONE YOU Don Moen - YouTube
The best news in history came from a graveyard! Jesus’ graveyard was not a funeral, it was a festival.
There awaits us a resurrection. Jesus calls us to experience nothing that he has not already experienced himself.
A dead person cannot bring life. They may bring inspiration, but they cannot bring life. Lenin died, but continued to inspire others. Jesus lives and brings life to all who accept it. 500 people saw Jesus alive after the resurrection ( 1 Corinthians 15, v6)
We look forward to our security, certain of the promise. People have died for their belief, who would die for a lie? Humans leave us in a grave, but the Lord will not.
Because of this, our citizenship is in heaven. We are “in the world but not of the world.” We wait for the transformation of this lowly body into glory. We cannot know when it will happen, we cannot give a date. But we know that it will be sudden, “in the twinkling of an eye”.
In the first letter to the Thessalonians (chapter 4, verses 13 to 18) Paul again reassures us of this promise. This is not just for the Thessalonians, but for all of us.
Where is our treasure? The answer to this question will tell us where our heart is. On earth, or in heaven?
We need to share these truths, with friends and family, but also with those whom we meet as we go about our daily business. We need to live a life which shows our reverence before the Lord. We should not forsake meeting together, nor holy communion.
Our lives should show our faith:
We need to be patient and stable, the coming of the Lord is at hand.
We should deny ungodliness, and the worldly temptations.
We need to be separate from sin, but not from sinners, otherwise we cannot reach them.
We need to abound in love.
We should preach the word, in our own ways and circumstances.
We ought to keep ourselves in the love of God, and by doing these things, we will be able to pull others out of the fire.
We should be heavenly minded, but also be earthly useful (not like the old criticism of Christians that they are so heavenly minded, they are no earthly use!)
We do not know the time, the Father does, but we don’t. We can however, anticipate it.
Wesley’s friend Whitfield said “I am daily waiting for the coming of the Son of God” and so must we.
Song: Jesus the name high over all
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