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[0:00] Good morning, everybody. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. If any of the kids would like to come up and sing, you're welcome to come join us.

[0:17] This is the day, Sherry, this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice.

[0:30] And be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[0:40] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[0:56] Hi, welcome to our church. I'm Mike Maciejewski. And I'm Julie. Please fill out your friendship card to get on the mailing list, to sign up for any activities, any prayers or concerns, and any notes you want to send to the staff.

[1:09] And if you're new to our church, please be sure and pick up a gift that we have for you in the back of the church at the Connection site after worship. Thank you for coming today. And welcome to Pendleton Center Church.

[1:20] We are here at the church. Somewhere in the sanctuary, there are some clipboards going around that if you see them somewhere, pass them, we're missing two. But anyways, the clipboard opportunities this morning are varied.

[1:32] We have a sign-up for our Seneca Street dinner. We're asking for turkeys. We serve hundreds of people in the city of Buffalo for Thanksgiving. So if you can sign up for a turkey, please find that clipboard and go ahead and do that.

[1:45] Also, there's one for our dinners up in Niagara Falls. So we would ask that you support that. We do those every week. And we appreciate all your support for it. The other is the rummage sale, which is coming up next week.

[1:57] And basically, if you have stuff to donate that you'd like to get out of your house that you think somebody else could use, bring it to the back of the sanctuary this week, and we'll find a good home for it.

[2:08] So we do encourage you to bring it this week. And if you can help with the cleanup around 1.30, that would also be appreciated. Today, the youth are going leaf raking. The youth are supposed to be going leaf raking at 12.45.

[2:20] We have 9 to 11 homes to rake, which is double what we usually do. And I don't have a lot of youth signed up for it. So if you're a youth, please sign up. If you're an adult, we could use some help too, because the people in our congregation, we want to give them a hand.

[2:35] So 12.45 today. So you can pretend you're a teenager and go out and rake leaves for somebody who needs the help. And that would be appreciated. If, on the other hand, you'd like to go support the Niagara Falls Church, they're having a soup and chili contest over there at, it says, 1.30 today.

[2:51] So that information for that is in your little good news. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Dear God in heaven, we do thank you for all the great blessings and wonderful things that you do in our lives.

[3:02] We pray that you now draw us into this place, that we might just focus our hearts, our minds, our lives on you. That you might lift us before your heavenly throne and grant us your presence.

[3:14] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you're able, I'm going to invite you to stand as we sing together. We pray.

[3:25] We pray for all the saints. The End The End

[4:27] The End The End The End The End The End Thou in the darkness Where there won't you lie Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia The watchman's father's cross Will date the cross-creet In the numbers' calls Sing, dear God There's a memory that Alleluia Alleluia The Lord be with you.

[5:33] Take a moment, if you will, and greet your neighbor with the peace of the Spirit. Any kids want to come on down, they're welcome to come join me. You guys have any idea what these are?

[5:50] What do they look like? Torches? Torches? They can be fancy ice cream cones, right? No? No? No? No? What do you think? They can be fireworks.

[6:02] They're puppets! Ah, look at that! They're puppets! Hello! Puppets! Hello! That's what they are.

[6:13] They're a surprise, aren't they? Sometimes there's things in life, we expect them to be one thing and they turn out to be something else. God puts a lot of surprises in life. He surprises us all the way through life.

[6:26] He even surprises us after life. So sometimes when you look around and things seem like maybe they're just nothing special, don't be surprised if God surprises you, okay?

[6:37] And God will surprise you all your life and even into the next one, okay? What are you guys thankful for this morning? You want to share something? Raise your hand. My mom and dad. My mom.

[6:47] My mom. The world. My cats. My mom and dad and my cousin. My mom and dad.

[7:03] Way in the back. All the toys. Mom and dad. She had a hand.

[7:15] My mom and dad. Okay. All right. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for our parents, for the wonderful days we've had, for all the saints of all glory, for everything we love and the surprises you give us.

[7:32] Bless us today and always with good things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, you guys go out to church school. All the kids are welcome to go out to church school now if they'd like to. Amen. Good morning.

[7:56] What a blessing it is to be here in the house of the Lord. Amen? Amen. Do you know, do you know that on Friday we did, we served up 390 fish fries?

[8:07] Thank you guys. That's awesome. We want to just thank for, you know, the short fish fry season. We want to thank everybody who worked on that in any way.

[8:18] Even, you know, the folks who cooked and the folks who cleaned up and the folks who prepared stuff in advance and who served and who just did all of those things to make people feel so welcome and so blessed when they come in here.

[8:29] It is a blessing to be able to serve all of the folks who come into this church and to hopefully connect with them so that we can continue to be a blessing to them as they go on in their lives.

[8:42] As we continue in our worship, let's continue giving to God as we offer of ourselves in the form of our gifts, tithes, and offerings. Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.

[9:18] Sing, thou fount of every blessing, sing thy grace.

[9:48] Jesus, O Lord. Jesus, O Lord.

[10:18] Jesus, O Lord. Jesus, O Lord. Jesus, O Lord. Jesus, O Lord. Ah, he's got me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. He'd to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

[10:42] Oh, to grace, how great a debtor, In Thee I'm constrained to be.

[10:55] Let Thy goodness, like a feather, Find my wandering heart to Thee.

[11:06] Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to be the God I love. Here's my heart, I'll take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts of love.

[11:25] Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to be the God I love. Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, Still the Lord, I feel it, I feel it, I feel it, I feel it, Come, Thou fount of every blessing, To my heart to sing Thy grace.

[12:02] Thank you. APPLAUSE Thank you.

[12:45] Amen. Amen.

[13:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please be seated.

[13:29] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[13:41] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[13:53] Amen. Amen. with some health issues that we want to lift up. Diana Fritz, and we're keeping her in our prayers. And we have some folks who will be going in for surgery in this coming week and in the next couple of weeks, Gretchen Push and Richard Fisher and Janice Spedding.

[14:12] And in addition, we have a number of folks among us who have lost loved ones who have passed on. And among those are Bob and Mindy Campbell.

[14:23] Bob's mom died. And the family of Ron McMorris, as Ron passed on this week. And Debbie Parise's mom, Donna Barnes, has also passed on this week.

[14:48] I'm looking at my list to make sure that I haven't forgotten anyone. I think that's all of them. We're at a time where we're remembering all these folks and remembering how much we love them and how much they love us.

[15:03] And we just have to trust in God, don't we? Let's take all of these concerns and take them to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we are so glad that we can come into your presence.

[15:33] We're so glad that you hear us and that you answer our prayers. We lift up before you now, Lord God, all of those we know.

[15:45] And even if we are suffering as well ourselves, those who are suffering from various health concerns who are in need of a healing touch from you. We just ask in Jesus' name, Lord God, that you would touch them, that you would give them the peace and the comfort that they need.

[16:05] Send your healing power into them, Lord. And not just for their physical bodies, Lord, but we pray that you would draw them towards yourself.

[16:17] Make them whole in their spirits as well as in their souls and in their bodies, Lord. Lord, cause them to desire to be one with you.

[16:30] We lift up all of their doctors and nurses and caregivers of all kinds that they would have wisdom, that they would have compassionate hearts. Lord God, we pray for all those who are grieving losses of all kinds, especially today, Lord.

[16:53] Those who are not with us here in this earth anymore. We pray that you would comfort each and every one in need of your peace.

[17:06] Thank you, Lord, that you do fill us. We just ask, Father, that we would be able as well to be a comfort to those who mourn.

[17:19] Lord, give us the right words, the right look, a healing touch that comes from you. Help us to be a comfort wherever we go.

[17:33] That's what you call us to be, Lord. Thank you, Lord, that we know you, that we have the blessed hope that we will be with you in eternal life.

[17:44] Lord, we pray that as you pour your blessings and your light into us, that we would be a light for the whole world. That as people see us, whether they're our family, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors, or even just people we meet on the street, Lord, that they would see that light in us and that they would know it comes from you and they would be drawn to you because of it.

[18:16] Lord God, we pray that everything that we experience here in worship and all that we do as we participate in worship through the music and the prayers, the reading of the word and hearing the sermon and all of the fellowship that we share together, Lord, we just ask in Jesus' name that it would be a blessing to you even as it blesses us.

[18:42] We ask that you would anoint Pastor Tom to deliver the message you've given to him. We know that it comes from you and that it's for all of us as well as it is for him.

[18:57] Just cause us to be a blessing to you, Lord. Be with us now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.

[19:36] Good morning. This morning's reading is from the book of John, chapter 11, verses 11 through 14 and 37 through 44. After Jesus had said this, he went out to tell them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm going there to wake him up.

[19:56] His disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

[20:09] But some of them said, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.

[20:20] It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Take away the stone, he said. But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there for four days.

[20:35] Then Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

[20:49] I knew that you would always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing there, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.

[21:03] The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, Take off the gray clothes and let him go.

[21:14] This is the word of the Lord. Thank you, Jim. Last week I preached a sermon in this series on miracles about the abundance of blessings we already have.

[21:31] We are by far the most blessed culture that has ever lived on the face of this earth. No one has ever lived with such comfort and abilities and attributes as our culture.

[21:45] We are by far the most blessed and most comfortable there has ever been. This is my last sermon about miracles. Next week we're going to talk about what does Jesus want for a few weeks.

[22:00] That's kind of a simple question, isn't it? What does Jesus want from you? What does he want from me? We want one last sermon about miracles. It's about this family, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.

[22:13] We met them before in the Bible. They're actually the kind of people who are very blessed. They, if you will, had it all. They had a lot of money. We know that because Mary actually went and anointed Jesus' feet with a $25,000 bottle of perfume.

[22:32] Now, I'm not going to ask you ladies to raise your hand if you own a $25,000 bottle of perfume. But I can assume that even if you do happen to have such a luxury, you wouldn't be dumping it out on somebody's feet.

[22:46] So they were wealthy. They had a nice home. It's that many people came out at this time of their need to comfort them. They had lots of friends. They had a strong faith in God.

[22:58] They had loving family. They had dreams. They had resources. They were blessed. And they were a faithful blessing. In fact, Lazarus' name actually means God helps.

[23:11] And sometimes we have a very blessed life. Still, somehow we get this aching feeling in our gut that something is deeply wrong.

[23:25] Something's broken, disturbing. We feel fear and disappointment and betrayal and guilt and anger and frustration, heartache, loneliness, grief and despair.

[23:40] Anybody here ever play cards? In cards, most card games, not all of them, but most of them, aces are very important cards. So if you pick up a hand and you've got a pile full of aces, you're like, got a good hand.

[23:55] But in a lot of games, there's something called trump. And that means that one suit is more powerful than even the aces in other suits. So in a card game, you can find yourself where you're down to your aces and thinking things are pretty good.

[24:11] But if you're good at counting cards, you know, there's one of those trump cards still out there. And there's this sinking feeling that even though you feel like you have this wonderful set of cards, it's all going to fall apart.

[24:29] It feels like life is like that sometimes. Like there's something hanging over us. Lazarus, Jesus said, is sick.

[24:42] And he said he's fallen asleep. And his disciples said, well, that's good, Jesus. Then he'll get better if he sleeps. And Jesus said, look, I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying to be comforting and do this softly.

[24:55] Lazarus is dead. And sometimes death completely shocks us. Bambi, quick, the thicket.

[25:16] Faster, faster, Bambi. Don't come back. Keep running. Keep running. Keep running. We made it.

[25:38] We made it, Mother. We... Mother! Mother!

[25:58] Mother, where are you? Mother! Mother!

[26:10] Mother! Mother! Mother! Mother! Mother! I took my three-year-old daughter to see a Disney movie called Family. Should be a safe bet, right? It's a Disney movie after all. I don't know if you've realized, but they kill almost all the mothers in Disney movies.

[26:25] Just watch sometimes. It's a little scary, moms, but they take you guys out. So our three-year-old daughter is watching this movie intently, and right in the middle of the scene stands up on her seat and announces to the entire gathered theater, they shot her, she's dead.

[26:44] And we're like, whoa! Whoa! Death can be shocking. death breaks into our lives and our living and causes everything to stop.

[27:05] We just, like, put life on pause for a moment. I like the pleasures of life. A nice meal, something to drink, good friends.

[27:19] Having your family around, a loving wife. I like watching a good TV show or a Buffalo Bills game, so long as they win. I like going to the movies with my grandson.

[27:32] I like accomplishing a goal that I set out to do. There's many blessings and joys of life, but sometimes it just feels like we're anesthetizing ourselves from the pain of living.

[27:51] Life is a preview. It's a preview, like those previews they show in the movie theaters, of what could come. A preview of heaven and a preview of hell.

[28:02] A preview of the joys and blessings of eternal life when life is really good, and a preview of the hell and destruction that could come when life is really bad.

[28:19] Lazarus is dead. Not just in this story, Lazarus is dead.

[28:32] The miracles that I believe in, and I believe that the lame can be healed, that the blind can see, that people can have their lives transformed to turn in a different direction. They can have their mistakes shown to them and they can turn around.

[28:45] I believe that their souls can be redeemed. I believe in the power of miracles. But so many of these miracles we pray are just temporary things. The blind, the lame, the sick that Jesus healed.

[28:58] None of them are alive in our world today. In verse 37, some of the people there said, Couldn't he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?

[29:16] If Jesus is so powerful and does all these miracles and is so wonderful, why do people die? We have to feel that pain. Death is so final.

[29:29] With most things we can make an adjustment or fix something. With death, it's done. There's nothing we can do to fix it.

[29:41] It's hard and it hurts. In the book of Isaiah in chapter 55, we read these words from God. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

[29:55] As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. God doesn't think about life as we do.

[30:09] I don't know about the rest of you. When I heard this passage of Jesus saying to his disciples, Lazarus is dead, and for your sake, I'm glad I was not there.

[30:22] Really? Really? Bit harsh, don't you think? Seriously? You know, I've got to tell you, as a pastor, oftentimes I feel stretched to be in 20 places at the same time.

[30:34] Now, I know that there's times when I'm not where I feel I should be. But I don't recall ever saying, and I'm glad I didn't make it. I'm glad I wasn't there.

[30:47] Harsh, holy cats. And he says this because through this we may believe.

[31:01] You know, he actually delayed his trip by a couple of days to make sure Lazarus was dead. You see, the thing is, we see death as the ultimate failure in life, whereas God doesn't see death that way.

[31:18] This is just an opportunity for a lesson. After all, to God, death is just a very short event, like a quick shadow passing over us. For us, that shadow hangs over us.

[31:34] When I was young, I thought death was a long ways off. Something I didn't have to think about. It happened to old people.

[31:45] So I didn't really pay much attention. Once in a while, it would creep into your life and somebody that you knew might pass away. And it was tragic. It could be a friend or somebody else close to us.

[31:57] Then somewhere someone really, truly close in our life, a grandparent, someone we love, passes away.

[32:08] And we start to understand that pain that others are talking about. Eventually, we come to the point where our parents are dying and our friends are dying.

[32:21] And the people we know about and care about and are closest to us. Until we start to feel like we're living in a world where it's going to happen. To all the people around us and even to us.

[32:38] And we start to wonder, how long do we have? Death is a shadow.

[32:50] Death is a shadow that hangs over us. When people get older, they have this funny little ritual they do. They compare their pains.

[33:01] Let me tell you about my arm hurting lately. My knee, knees, man, knees are a favorite. My knee is like, everybody's knee is out. Get over it. My arm hurts.

[33:12] Everybody's back hurts. Come up with a new one. You know? My thigh hurts. Now there's something new, okay? But we compare that.

[33:23] And we compare the medicines. And we compare the treatments. And then somebody inevitably will say, Well, it's better than the alternative.

[33:34] Now I told you my answer to that. My answer to that is, Well, no it's not. Flips them out. They really don't know what to do with that.

[33:45] What? What? You're not supposed to say that. You're supposed to spell it, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I say, No, it's not. The alternative is a lot better. You get a chance to talk about Jesus. In our souls, we know.

[34:01] We know the alternative is better. But in our lives and in our minds and in our memories and in our thoughts, it doesn't always feel that way.

[34:13] Jesus is with his disciples and he tells them Lazarus has died. And he says, We're going to go to see him. And his disciples say, But Lord, they're trying to kill you around that area.

[34:24] You shouldn't go. It's not safe. And he says, Well, I need to go there. So Thomas, the best named apostle in the Bible, said to him, Then let's go with him and die.

[34:41] He came to the place where Martha and Mary live. You remember Martha and Mary. Martha's the one who was so busy about trying to make the meal and Mary sat and listened to the good portion at Jesus' feet.

[34:54] Well, in this story, they're reversed. Mary's tending to all the guests and Martha goes right out to see Jesus, ignores her guests and says, If you had been here, my brother would still be alive.

[35:06] You can feel it, can't you? And Jesus says, Martha, you know your brother will live again. And she says, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know in the resurrection.

[35:18] And Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will never die. Your brother will live again.

[35:32] And he says, Do you believe this? Do you believe this? Do we believe truly, earnestly, deep in our lives and in our souls?

[35:48] Do we believe? In the book of Acts, chapter 16, simple verse says, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved and your household with you.

[36:00] It's hard to believe in Jesus sometimes. Sometimes it's not easy at all. When we're facing pain and hurt and grief and struggle.

[36:13] And even things that are uncomfortable. Jesus says, Roll the stone away from the grave. Now, you need to really read the King James Version for this to get the proper effect.

[36:26] Because Martha says, He's been dead for four days, Lord, and he stinketh. I love that. Not, it's a bad order. He stinketh.

[36:38] Are you kidding? He's been in that grave right before. We're not opening up that tomb. Are you out of here? Bye, Jesus. Do you know how miserable it's going to be?

[36:49] We're not walking into that. I don't care what you told us. That's crazy talk. He's thinking. Sometimes Jesus commands us to do what isn't easy.

[37:05] Well, it doesn't even seem like it makes any sense. Four days matter too, you know. Because in the ancient world, they believed that the spirit hovered around the body for three days.

[37:18] I was talking to somebody from Africa and they have kind of a, they said they've got three different words for being dead. So there's dead, which could mean they're just like passed out or something.

[37:31] Sometimes they'll proclaim people being raised from the dead and they'll say, were they dead? And they'll say, yes, well, praise the Lord, it's a miracle. But were they dead? Oh, they were dead, dead.

[37:43] Oh, well, praise God, what a blessing. And then they'll use the third word, which to us would sound like, but were they dead, dead, and not coming back dead?

[37:54] Because that would be a Lazarus miracle. He's been in the tomb for four days and he's dead, dead, and not coming back dead, and he stinketh.

[38:09] And we're not opening that tomb, Jesus. That's just crazy. Jesus looked at the people around, gathered around that tomb, Martha, Mary, who he loved so much.

[38:24] And the shortest verse in the Bible, one of the most powerful verses in the Bible, simply says, Jesus wept.

[38:36] Do you know that when you struggle and you hurt and you're in pain and you're suffering and you're trying to figure out how to make sense out of the brokenness of life, God grieves with you.

[38:49] God hurts with you. God grieves with you. Miracle living is bigger than a temporary healing.

[39:06] Miracle living is bigger than my hand which was broken now can be used or my eyes which are blind can now see. You look at the story and you say, why did Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead?

[39:24] It certainly couldn't have been for him. There's this wonderful play I saw when I was a teenager where you've got this guy walking down the road and he runs into Lazarus who's sitting by a tree.

[39:36] And he says, hey dude, aren't you Lazarus? He says, yeah. He says, wow, like you should be celebrating and so happy. Aren't you the guy who was dead and Jesus brought you back from the dead?

[39:47] You should be so happy. What's the matter? He says, seriously? I was there. He brought me back here. Don't you understand? I was there.

[39:59] I was in glory. God brought me back to this tunnel. It wasn't for Lazarus.

[40:10] Lazarus had already received his reward. He brought him back and said, so that we could see the glory of God if we believed.

[40:25] Jesus then says a prayer out loud. Basically, God, I'm about to do something and I'm talking to you so that these people will hear me talking to you so they'll know that I got this thing going with you.

[40:37] I know you already know what I'm going to say, but I'm talking to you out loud so that they'll hear me. Kind of an interesting conversation, isn't it? God knows what we're going to say and what we think.

[40:48] But sometimes we need to say it out loud for other people. Why did Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead? And if death is so great, why don't we all just go there right away?

[41:00] Paul speaks about that in Philippians in chapter one. He says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. It's better. If I'm going to go on living in this body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.

[41:15] You see, he has this little conversation in the first chapter of Philippians where he says, going to glory is better than being here. But God has put in us this desire to remain here.

[41:26] Because this is what we know. And because, as Paul says, God has a purpose for you. God has something that he wants you to do and be a part of in this life.

[41:38] You might feel like you can't imagine what it is that you could still be doing for God. But God has something for you to do and to be. And so God keeps us here.

[41:50] And God gives us a reason and a purpose to exist. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to show us that miracle power, miracle living, is a greater power than anything on earth.

[42:07] And overcomes our greatest sense of disappointment and grief. You will see the glory of God when you believe, he says.

[42:19] Because glorifying God is the purpose of our lives. We lose track of that when we get all wrapped up in the stuff of this world. But glorifying God is why we exist.

[42:31] We need to do it in all of our lives. Now, how about this? Were any of you listening to this story and you kind of had hints of a different story?

[42:43] You know, the whole rolling the stone back from the grave, right? What did it remind you of? Easter, yeah. In fact, that's the same rock we use at Easter, to tell you the truth.

[42:56] That's the Easter rock. And there it is in the corner for Lazarus' grave. Because, you see, life is supposed to include little hints of Easter. And there, especially for those of us who call themselves Christians, we're supposed to remember that life is not about a cross.

[43:13] It's about an empty cross, a resurrected Jesus, life after life. That's on purpose.

[43:25] Do you believe? In the book of Mark, Jesus turns to a father who's worried about his son dying. And he says, do you believe?

[43:37] And the man responded, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Anybody else ever feel that way?

[43:48] I really believe. Kind of, sort of, I think.

[43:59] Miracle living means that God can do something that would be impossible for us. He was wrapped up in cloths like a mummy when he came out of the grave.

[44:11] Jesus says, Lazarus, come out! And he's wrapped in all these cloths. Why was he wrapped in the cloths? He was wrapped in the cloths because they used those, they soaked them in spices and things like frankincense and myrrh to wrap them around the body so that they could hang around with the body for a little bit and he wouldn't stink it too much.

[44:36] Really, we do the same thing. We call it embalming. Because there's something about saying goodbye where we just want to hang around them for just a little bit longer.

[44:48] Even though we know they're not there. That's what we do and yet the smell, it comes through anyways. We do all we can to avoid the brokenness of life.

[45:02] But in the end, it doesn't all work. It creeps into our lives. But we can't let the darkness overcome the light. And God mingles the joy and the celebration in with the pain and the sorrow so that we will understand which one to choose for all eternity.

[45:24] It was the day my father died. And we were gathered at the hospital in grieving. And then we went home. We sat around and talked about him.

[45:38] Like we do at those times. And then my wife and I said, well, we need to get ready for the party tonight. And my mother said, are you crazy?

[45:50] You can't have a party tonight. Your father just died. And we said, you don't understand. Today is our grandson's birthday. He's four years old.

[46:01] He doesn't understand any of this. It's his birthday. It's time to celebrate. Even if we are hurting so bad.

[46:13] The power of our faith is not that we never have problems. Not that we never hurt. Not that we never struggle. It's in the midst of the struggle. We know that Easter is right around the corner.

[46:25] We are not Good Friday people. We are Easter people. We believe in life after life. Which gives us the power to go through the pain and the brokenness and the struggle and the fear.

[46:38] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because God is with me.

[46:50] John at the end of the Bible says this. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

[47:02] There was no longer any seed. Brand new beginning. Brand new world. Brand new existence. Brand new physical life. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband.

[47:18] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with people. And he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God.

[47:32] And he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things will have passed away.

[47:44] And the one who was sitting on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Write it down.

[47:55] Because this is what's going to happen. Do you believe? The last verse, the last line, the last sentence of this whole story, Jesus looks at the man wrapped up and says, Take off his grave clothes and set him free.

[48:17] We're Easter people. We don't walk through this life in wrapped up in the darkness and the mourning and the suffering of grave clothes.

[48:28] We're supposed to put on Jesus. Put on the Christ. Live in the resurrection. Today is Memorial Sunday. This is All Saints Day.

[48:40] Last night was All Hallows Eve, in case you wonder where that comes from. It's not some spooky thing. It's the night before today. Today we celebrate those who have gone on to glory.

[48:57] Today is not a day for remembering with sadness and sorrow those we've lost. Today is a day that we celebrate the glory of God that goes on forever and ever.

[49:08] Amen? That we believe what this book says and what the Spirit tells us in our body. that God will carry us from this life even unto the next.

[49:28] Do you believe? Do you believe? Do you believe in God the Father?

[49:41] Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

[50:09] Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? The resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

[50:24] Your God can move all the mountains, all the brokenness of this life, and even the life to come. There's nothing to fear. Our God, our God can do miracles and change the whole trajectory of life.

[50:41] Believe, and be saved. The Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit? And red sound from the blood Poled in the cross from Zion. Dr.

[50:54] To Son of Jesus. And all our people and people north all the time. And all our people come together. The Holy Spirit ? Clueless forgiven people in cafe life. Dr.

[51:10] See for me Everyone needs forgiveness The kindness of a Savior The hope of nations Savior, He can move the mountains My God is mighty to save He is mighty to save Forever, author of salvation He rose and conquered the grave Jesus conquered the grave Take me out to my dreams All my fears and failures

[52:11] Fill my life again Give my life to my Lord Everything I believe in Now I surrender I surrender I surrender I surrender Savior, He can move the mountains My God is mighty to save He is mighty to save Forever, author of salvation He rose and conquered the grave Jesus conquered the grave Shine the light and let the whole world sing We sing for the glory of the risen King Jesus, shine the light and let the whole world sing We sing for the glory of the risen King

[53:17] Savior, He can move the mountains My God is mighty to save He is mighty to save Forever, author of salvation He rose and conquered the grave Jesus conquered the grave He rose and conquered the grave You died You said in three days You won't last You did You're all alive

[54:19] You ruled You ruled You ruled You ruled You ruled You ruled You said you're coming back, God And I know You will All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises You took, you take our sins away, oh God You did, you gave your life away for us You took, you take our sins away, oh God You gave, you gave your life away for us You came down, you saved us through the cross Our hearts are changed because of your praises Our hearts are changed because of your praises

[55:21] You lived You lived You died You said in three days you would rise You did You could rise You did You did You're alive You rule, you reign You said you're coming back again I know you will All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises No one, no name to rise above you, Lord One hope, one life will shine forevermore Your kingdom in heaven and on earth

[56:26] Your children stand to sing of your great word You lived, you died You said in three days you would rise You did, you're all right You rule, you reign You said you're coming back again I know you will All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises All the earth will sing your praises

[57:34] Please be seated Do you believe? Do you believe in a God that can take you from this life to the next life?

[57:49] Jesus said if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ If you confess with your mouth And believe in your heart You will be saved Let's turn our lives over to God And set ourselves up for all eternity Dear God in heaven I have sinned I have broken your laws I've hurt you I've hurt others Forgive me Lord You know my sin Lord listen as I share it in my heart Now dear God Forgive my sin Give me a heart to repent

[58:51] And live for you As a resurrection person In Jesus name In Jesus name Amen In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven Glory to God Amen Higher than the mountains that I face Stronger than the power of the grave Constant in the trial and the change

[59:52] One thing remains One thing remains One thing remains Your love never fails And never gives up And never runs out on me Your love never fails And never gives up And never runs out on me Your love never fails Never gives up And never runs out on me Your love On and on and on and on It goes It holds the realms and satisfies my soul And never ever had to be afraid

[60:56] One thing remains One thing remains Your love never fails, never gives up It never runs out on me You're love In death, in life I've had the dead and troubled By the power of your rainbow My death is pain There's nothing that can separate my heart

[62:00] From your free love Your love never fails, never gives up It never runs out on me Your love never fails, never gives up It never runs out on me Your love never fails, never gives up It never runs out on me Your love Higher than the mountains that I face Stronger than the power of the grave Constant in the trial and the change One thing remains This one thing remains

[63:05] It is one thing that remains That God loves us and holds us In the palm of his hand Always The reason we don't have to fear death Is right here It is in what Jesus has done for us That we celebrate at this table this morning And everyone is welcome to come We all need Jesus in our hearts Come and receive Remember what God has done for you And rejoice Receive all God has for you Be glad Everyone is welcome If you love God If you earnestly repent of your sin And seek to live in peace As a disciple of Jesus Christ You can come

[64:05] Come and receive Jesus into your heart Come and receive all that you need for your life The Lord be with you And also with you Lift up your hearts We lift them up to the Lord Let us give thanks to the Lord our God It is right to give our thanks and praise It is right And a good and a joyful thing Always and everywhere To give thanks to you Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth God of Abraham and Sarah God of Miriam and Moses God of Joshua and Deborah God of Ruth and David God of the priests and the prophets God of Mary and Joseph God of the apostles and the martyrs God of our mothers and our fathers God of our children To all generations And so With your people on earth And all the company of heaven We praise your name And join their unending hymn

[65:07] Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Holy are you Blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ Who broke into our darkness and pain With love and forgiveness Even to the night in which he was betrayed By those who loved him the most He took the bread and gave thanks to God He broke the bread And he gave it to his disciples And he said, take and eat This is my body Which is broken for you For the forgiveness of sin Eat of this remembering me When the supper was over He took the cup And he gave thanks to God And then he gave it to his disciples

[66:08] And he said, drink from this all of you This is my blood of the new covenant It's poured out for you And for many For the forgiveness of sins Drink of this Remembering me And so in remembrance of these mighty acts In Jesus Christ We offer ourselves in praise And thanksgiving As a holy and living sacrifice In union with Christ's offering for us As we proclaim the mystery of faith Christ has died Christ has risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here And on these gifts of bread and wine Make them be for us The body and blood of Christ That we may be for the world The body of Christ Redeemed by his blood Renew our communion With all your saints Especially those Whom we name before you Jack Anthony Sharon L. Appleton

[67:10] Judy Barnum Millie Bart Mac Bennett Richard Blackley Bruce Brim And Marion Broadfugher Molly Barnum Segal James Coates Anita Coles And Lisa DuShera Marion Eberhardt Robert Hawkins Larry Herrick And Ed Kolick Terry Levine And Bill Lopez Ruth Lorenz And Ron McMorris Camille Matrowski And Joseph Visursky Barbara Prettobono And Brandon Peller Patricia Reinfleisch And Fay Roth Stanley Scora And Nancy Stover Dorothy Stowell And Mary Terry Bob Terry And Carolyn Vandeleuker Henry Viscar And Dorothy Wendland Ashley Whitting And Debbie Kieu Donna Barnes

[68:10] And Leonard Uthel Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, strengthen us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

[68:30] By your spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

[68:43] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.

[68:55] And now as confident children of Christ, let us pray the prayer that Jesus taught us in saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

[69:06] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

[69:22] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

[69:34] For those who are assisting with communion, come forward at this time, please. For those who are theatricánice.org Thank you.

[69:51] For those who are assisting teams, talents, entrepreneurs, partnership, congratulations. Thank you so much, everyone. For those who are assisting teams, people with communion, music and fun play.

[70:03] Join their throttle for catching different لو. One�x Jones There from whom students make lifts in their Font Marie to build up the belt INisst시고 On All Saints Day, when we come to the table of the Lord, we remember we're not just coming gathered with this group of people, as wonderful as that is. We're gathered with everyone who's ever sat in a sanctuary before. We're gathered with everyone who's ever sat in a church in this community, in this nation, throughout the world, throughout hundreds of years of history, with your parents and grandparents, your loved ones, all those who have ever gathered at this table, the great cloud of witnesses, come with you to the table today. Come, you're welcome.

[70:56] You're all invited. Join us now at the table at the rail for prayers for healing and anointing, to light a candle. Come and join us with God and all the saints. Especially M mindful meals.

[71:12] There's going to be a small tree on our minds of people, but we're at the same direction where We're there.

[71:27] Talking to them, I love you for zoals da What'sazuzaasitiy impre shooter and Seal even though the quint руб can always be would be filtered through this battle of practice. So that's how we look for the kids, the children with the youth. Amen. If you're able, I'm going to invite you to stand as we sing together, Because He Lives.

[72:27] God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive.

[72:43] He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

[73:01] Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

[73:17] Because I know He holds the future. My life is worth the living just because He lives.

[73:35] And then one day, I'll cross the river. I'll fight my spine.

[73:48] No war with pain. And then as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory.

[74:04] And I'll know He reigns. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

[74:17] Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future.

[74:35] My life is worth the living just because He lives. Do you remember that wonderful story about the woman who always served dessert?

[74:51] And you've heard people say that. You know, every meal, she'd say to everybody, Now remember, save your fork. The best is yet to come, right? And she said that after every meal.

[75:02] Every meal until it became so a part of her life. They were just waiting for her to say those words. Save your fork. The best is yet to come. And when you went to her funeral and you walked by the casket, She clutched a fork in her hand.

[75:17] Because the best is yet to come. Live as Easter people. Live as the light in the darkness. As the glory that breaks into the brokenness.

[75:30] As the wonder that overcomes the struggle. As the light that gives life to life. May God be with you. Today is the first day of eternity for you.

[75:45] You will live forever. Live in that glory. And go in peace. Now, let's take a moment.

[76:07] ibb Amen. Amen.