 We're in John chapter 20. I'm gonna begin reading at verse 11. I'll read to verse 18 and we'll get into our study. John chapter 20, beginning at verse 11, reading to verse 18, and we are looking at today's Easter Sunday message. Beginning at verse 11, John writes, Mary stood outside by the tomb, weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. Now, when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She's opposing him to be the gardener, said to him, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary, she turned and said to him, Roboni, which is to say, teacher, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and to your father and to my God and your God. Mary Madeleine came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. I wanna begin by remembering the last week, what has been called the Passion Week, the last week of Jesus' ministry, because as we consider it, that last week was filled with intense activity. We know that on Palm Sunday, Jesus had entered into the city of Jerusalem to the applause, the roar of the crowd. And we call that Palm Sunday as he came riding in with people who cried out, Hosanna, Hosanna, save now, Hosanna to the highest. And so he had entered in and was being declared as Messiah. When you look at the calendar, you see that on Monday, he went back to Jerusalem and there on that day he cleansed the temple. Then on Tuesday, he returned to the temple and he debated with religious leaders. Matthew 23 records how he responded to their arguments and even how he pronounced judgment on them. When you look at Matthew 24 and 25, this happening on Tuesday, he went to the Mount of Olives and there he taught his men about the end times. Wednesday has nothing recorded concerning his ministry and in church history, it's simply referred to as Silent Wednesday. But Thursday, Thursday came and Jesus went to an upper room and there he celebrated the Passover. When you read the gospel of John, chapters 13 through 17 gives to us information concerning that and in those chapters, he gave a long final message to his disciples and at the end of the chapter, chapter 17, he closed with prayer and at that time, Judas, the betrayer, went out to betray him and it's recorded how that Jesus went to a garden to pray and there he awaited his arrest. Friday, Jesus went through the mockery of a religious and then a secular trial and on Friday, he was abandoned by his men. He was falsely accused. He was beaten, spit upon and scourged. It was on Friday that he carried his cross to Golgotha and he was finally crucified. While he was on that cross, Jesus gave what has been referred to as seven last words. They were five, seven final statements. His first word that he gave began with a prayer. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. And so what we have here in his first word is his mercy being exposed, his mercy towards sinners and his desire for their salvation and that's revealed as he prayed even as in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel 33 verse 11, God tells us as I live, sayeth the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live. So he began with a prayer, Father forgive them and then he gave a second word, a word of promise, a word of promise to a thief, a thief that was dying next to him as is recorded in Luke's gospel chapter 23. He said, truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. And even when he was dying, Jesus invited a sinner to enter into heaven. Why? Well, because in his father's house are many mansions and he was simply saying, there's room for you. Even as some of you who are watching right now and listening right now and Jesus would say the same thing to you, there's room for you in heaven. You simply need to turn to him today and commit your heart to him, confess your sin and repent and receive him as your savior. A third word that he gave was to his mother. He saw his mother there. She was at the foot of the cross standing with the apostle John and he saw his mother and he said, woman, behold your son. And he said to John, behold your mother. Well, this word reveals his care for his mother. It's a reminder for us to love and to honor and care for our parents. Then he gave a fourth word. He said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And that reveals to us that he understands loneliness. He understands rejection. As a sin offering, though he was sinless, he experienced the pain of separation and he understands what we're going through even right now. The fifth word is recorded that he cried out, I thirst. In this word, Jesus revealed the physical but also spiritual dryness of man because only God and God's presence can satisfy our thirst. And then he said, it is finished. He had completed the work there on the cross and the power of sin had ended. The power of the grave is as good as overcome and the power of death had been broken. That's what caused Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 55 through 57 to write, oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And finally he concluded those seven words there on the cross with the prayer, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. That has been called a word of trust because he completely committed himself to his father. These words that he spoke are from Psalm 31 verse five which simply says into your hand, I commit my spirit. The word commit speaks of entrusting. It could be translated into your hand, I entrust my spirit, I commit my spirit. These words into your hand, I commit my spirit. We're part of the evening prayers of Jews for centuries and may very well have been part of Jesus' own evening prayers. But his touching is the fact that Jesus prayed this prayer as he laid his head on the cross. As he was accustomed to pray every night, he prayed now for the last time. This was a prayer that you said at bedtime. It was a prayer of trust, it was a prayer of dependence. And that's the core of every true prayer, a prayer of trust and a prayer of confidence in the father. And so Jesus died with God's word on his lips as he gently and he peacefully and he willingly died. It's been said that the cross became his pillow. He laid his head down. Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit. And he died. When he died, the earth shook, rocks split. Great fear came upon man. Matthew tells us how the centurion at the cross said, truly this was the son of God. Mary and John were there at that cross. Their hearts must have been broken. For Mary to see her beloved son dying in such a brutal way, that must have torn her soul. You see, when Jesus was presented to the Lord as an infant, there was an old man by the name of Simeon who was there when he was being presented. Luke tells us in chapter two, verses 34 and 35, Luke records how Simeon blessed them, Mary and Joseph. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is destined for the fallen rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. It pierced her heart. But it must also pierce the heart of John. He was the one whom Jesus loved. And no doubt, John loved Jesus in return. And as he was there, watching Jesus die, he must have considered that I am the cause of this one's death. You see, Jesus didn't die for any sins that he had committed. He died for the sins of the world. And Jesus made it clear. He had said that I came to give my life as a ransom for many. And John knew the Lamb of God died for the sin of the world. He also knew that his sin had been the reason that Jesus embraced that cross. And that would have made John love Jesus all the more. The knowledge that Jesus loved him and gave himself for him. There's an old hymn called Beneath the Cross of Jesus and the writer writes these words. Upon that cross of Jesus my eye at times can see the very dying form of one who suffered there for me. And from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess. The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness. And that's what is intended when we contemplate the cross. It's the awareness that God loved us so much that he gave us only begotten Son. But it also causes us to realize that we are unworthy. That he didn't have to die, but he chose to do that. And that's the savior that we have, guys. That's the one that we're celebrating today on Easter Sunday. It's the awareness that God loved us so much that he gave us only begotten Son. And he says that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. John told us in John 3.17. God loved us and God gave his Son. And John was there watching Jesus. As Jesus said, Father into thy hands I commit my spirit and breathed his last, dismissing it to his father. It must have touched his heart even as it would have touched Jesus's precious mom. When you think about it, he died for me. But there was somebody else there, a woman by the name of Mary Magdalene. She was there at the cross. She heard his words and Mary watched him die. She watched as they took his lifeless body down from that cross. Perhaps she saw Mary, Jesus's mother, as she cradled her son in her arms. And she felt her own heartbreak. She and other women followed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus as they took Jesus to the tomb. And she saw Jesus placed in that tomb and how his body had been gently laid in it. As she was watching, she watched that 4,000 pound stone wheel as it rolled down the incline, lodging and sealing the tomb. And the stone settling and sealing made a dull sound. And with that sound came a sense of finality. He's dead. He's really dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus gave Jesus a hasty burial according to John 19, 39 and 40. They put 100 pounds of aromatic spices, a very costly gift around him. He was very costly. It was enough to perfume 200 dead bodies. But even so, Mary and her friends believed that he deserved more than he had received. And they wanted to add their gifts to this in order to give him greater honor. So at dawn, Mary and some of the other women came to the tomb to complete his burial. Luke 24, verse one says, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they insert another woman with them came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared, but they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. In chapter 20 here of John's gospel, verse one, it tells us there that Mary saw the tomb had been taken away, rather the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So what we have with her coming to the tomb is a demonstration of tremendous love for Jesus Christ. It shows courage, it shows zeal. It was dangerous for her to do that. And we commend her for it, but it also reveals something else. It reveals a lack of faith because Jesus had said he was going to rise from the dead. And so verse two of chapter 20 tells us that Mary ran to tell the apostles and two of them, Peter and John, got up and came to the tomb. Verse three tells us that Peter went out the other disciple and they went to the tomb. And it's this typical, it's interesting to note this and I'll say it quickly, when it says Peter therefore went out and the other disciple, it's typical, the apostle John left himself unnamed because when you read his account in the gospel of John, he never mentions his own name. You can see that in throughout the various times that he's mentioned or mentioning himself. You see it in chapter 13, chapter 19, chapter 20, 21, twice it's mentioned, the one whom Jesus loved. And that causes me to think just for a moment that it's not the amount of love that I have for Jesus, but it's the amount of love that he has for us because John recognized how much God loved him. You know, here's something for you to take home. Here's something to think about. How much do you think God loves you? Do you know how much he loves you? Have you ever really contemplated that? Have you ever really taken a moment to be healed by that? Because that's how I was healed from my brokenness is when I came to realize the depth that God has love for me. Paul prayed with the Ephesians and he said, oh, that we might comprehend it, that we might be able to fully understand it and we can't. But the closer you get to the Lord, the more you see of yourself, the more you see of yourself, you realize how evil you have been. When you realize how evil you have been, it amplifies the grace of God. And when it amplifies the grace of God, it causes you to be more grateful because you're able to say, what a wretch I have been and what a wretch I am sometimes, but he still loves me. And when you understand that, it transforms the way that you live because God has so loved me. And look what he did, he gave his son, Jesus Christ. And Peter on the other hand, Peter was the one who bragged about how much he loved Jesus. So everybody else forsake you, he said, I never will. I'd even die for you. But the end result is we see the apostle Peter denying Christ three times, hiding for fear of the Jewish authorities, where John, who knew he was loved by God, John was at the foot of the cross with the one who loved him, where the apostle Peter was being taught that it wasn't the amount of love that the apostle Peter had for Christ. It was the amount of love that Christ had for Peter. And that's what heals him ultimately when Jesus reconciles him to himself. But we have these two men here. We have John and we have the apostle Peter. And we know that Peter claimed to love Jesus, but John knew that he was loved by Jesus. They both came to this tomb, by the way. They saw that it was empty. They had completely different reactions because were we to read the account, Peter only saw an empty tomb, but John understood why it was empty. Luke 24, verse 12 tells us that Peter departed marveling to himself at what had happened. You see, Peter was still dealing with the guilt of denying Christ. His eyes were still clouded and his grace and his love. We know that later on Jesus will restore his beloved apostle. But as this is taking place and we'll pick up at verse 11, Mary stood outside by the tomb, weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And it says she stood outside by the tomb, weeping in the original language. The word weeping there speaks of strong crying. It speaks of mourning with intense pain and grief. Mary loved Jesus and she was crying like her little heart was going to break. She was unwilling to leave the place where her precious Lord had been buried. She feared that his body had been stolen and that people taking his body would abuse it. And as she stood there, her mind was filled with all the evil that could be happening. And as you read your Bible, you discover that Mary loved Jesus with all her heart because he had forgiven her, he had restored her. When you read her story, she had an incredible salvation experience and she was extremely thankful to Jesus Christ. She was delivered from demonic possession and she became his follower. And Jesus had healed her. He had healed her broken, sin-filled heart and when he healed it, he won her love. And she was a very sinful woman but she'd been cleansed by a loving savior. She was like that woman that is recorded in Luke 747 where Jesus speaks of this other woman in this way where he said, her sins which are many are forgiven. She loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. One of the greatest problems I think that Christians have today is we become so holy in our own mind that we forget where we came from. And when we become so holy in our own mind and we begin to say things like, I can't understand why they do this and why do they do that? How could they, then we have forgotten what we have been. Never forget what you've been. Never forget where you came from. Never forget what you were like. Don't go back to it. Don't be the dog returning to the vomit. Don't be the pig that returns to the mud that it's been washed from. Don't be that person but never forget. I wake up every day remembering what I've been. Every day I've been doing so for almost 50 years now. I wake up and I remember what I've been and I then remember who I now am. I haven't ever forgotten where I came from. I never wanna be that guy who gets so self-righteous and so holy in outer appearance that I become a Pharisee without even knowing it. I don't wanna be that guy. I wanna remember that I have been forgiven much because when you remember you've been forgiven much, you love much, you love much. Simon the Pharisee and the story I quoted out of Luke 7, he was a self-righteous Pharisee. But the woman who came and wept at the feet of Jesus, she knew she was a sinner and she knew she'd been forgiven all of these terrible sins. Well, Mary was the same way. She had been delivered and forgiven and her love for Jesus Christ was intense. Jesus knew that she had been filled with sin but she had repented and he forgave her. So today, those of you who are listening, if you're a Christian, you need to remember something. Every sin that you have committed in Jesus Christ when you said, God forgive me a sinner has been forgiven. And when you came to faith in Jesus, he forgave you completely. And that's something that you need to not only receive, except, but that's something that you need to understand in order to be set free. You see, those who refuse God's offer of forgiveness remain in bondage to sin. And when you're in bondage to sin, you only have sorrow. And that's one reason why it's so important to repent and seek God's forgiveness. In Proverbs 28, verse 13, we read, he who covers his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. And so in verses 12 and 13, it says, she looked into the tomb, she saw two angels in white sitting one at the head, the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. In other words, woman, why are you weeping? Your tears are unnecessary. You should be rejoicing. Jesus Christ is alive, but you're weeping here as if he hasn't been raised. She says in verse 13, they've taken away my Lord. I don't know where they've laid him. I don't know where he is. Somebody's removed his body from the tomb and I don't know where it is. Where did they take it? Now, this is interesting because she's very much like many believers are today. Jesus is alive, but we order our lives as if he were dead. Many Christians live like Jesus didn't rise and fail to realize what we have in him. We've been blessed in Jesus Christ abundantly. He rose, he conquered death. And that's what the apostle Paul wanted believers everywhere to know. He said in Ephesians one verse three, he said, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We lack nothing. We are complete in him. We need to understand that. I'm telling you, I encountered so many who profess to know Jesus who haven't come to understand this. Everything you need has been provided for you in him. Listen what the Lord has to say we have in him. Second Corinthians chapter five verse 17 says we are new creations in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away. You hold all things become new. Colossians one 13 says we are redeemed from the kingdom of darkness. Revelation 12 verse 11, we are overcomers through the blood and the word of our testimony. Romans eight 37, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. Romans eight 17, we are heirs of God. Joint heirs with Christ. And because he's alive, we have been made alive because he who has the son has life. According to first John five 12. We have light, the light of life in John eight 12. We have liberty because where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Second Corinthians three 17. We have love because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. According to Romans five verse five. We have joy because Jesus said your joy no man takes from you in John 16 22. We have forgiveness because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. According to first John one verse seven. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. According to Romans chapter five verse one. We have power because you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. According to Acts one eight. We have provision because Philippians 419 promises my God shall supply all your need. In first Corinthians 15 57 and we have victory and we have heaven in my father's house. Jesus said our many mansions. I go and prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you I'll come again receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. I wonder how many believers meditate on those promises. There's so many. We live as if we don't even believe them. We think that well that's true maybe for somebody else but it's not true for me now it's true for you too. But you need to do what I need to do is just receive those things and live as if I believe that God is gonna provide. You see Mary is learning something every believer by now should know Jesus is alive. Now in verse 14 and 15 it says when she had said this he turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her woman why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She's opposing him to be the gardener said to him sir if you've carried him away tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. She didn't recognize him. She didn't recognize him several reasons for that. She was early. She was distressed, blinded by tears. She was also in a state of unbelief. She didn't expect to see him alive and for these reasons she's confused. So when the question is asked why are you weeping and whom are you seeking? Mary under stress and grief has forgotten. Jesus said he would rise from the dead. She was aware of his teaching but it was something she had not yet truly grasped. Notice in verse 15 how it says she's opposing him to be the gardener. And so she's making a mistake. She doesn't say he is the gardener. She's supposed that he was the gardener and that's when Jesus spoke to her and notice in verse 16 how she said he said to her Mary. Those of us who can remember back to when we were raised if you had a home, if you had a mom, a dad, all of that. There were times when my mom would call my name. My mom could call my name out of a crowd. And even if there were a lot of people there, I would recognize my mom's voice. I could do that. Cause a child can recognize the voice of a parent. And there may be a number of people but I could pick up my mom's voice, especially when she called me. And my mom could call me by a word of endearment. She used to call me her baby or she had other words in Spanish I can't repeat that she would call me. She'd call me some kinds of interesting names, I'll tell you that. I was almost gonna tell you a story, might as well. I don't think I've told you this before. I was in South America and I was watching something. It was a Spanish language program with English subtitles and I was there doing ministry and I was watching this show during the afternoon and they spoke in Spanish and I recognized the word that my mom had called me for a long time when I was a child before she was saved. Then I looked at the English translation and I didn't know she had been cussing at me for years. She had been saying, it was a bad word and so I went home knowing what she was actually saying. But anyway, getting back to it, when I call my children, my children recognize my voice. When I come home, right now we have my son Joseph and Karina, his wife and my granddaughter Olivia living at the house at the moment. When I come walking in the door and my voice, I say, I'm home, Olivia hears my voice and she starts to jump, she'll be jumping around cause she's heard Papa's here, Papa's here and she gets very excited and cause they recognize the voice. Somebody else could walk in and say, I'm here but if it's a voice they don't recognize, it has to be a voice, in this case, a voice that had an endearment. There was a tone to it. So the minute that he said to her, Mary cause he had spoken a moment, who are you looking for? He had spoken her but she was so blinded at the moment she didn't know what was going on. But when he called it by name, when he said, Mary that was the voice she recognized. And Jesus said that he's the shepherd, the good shepherd. He said and the sheep will follow the shepherd's voice. And he spoke to her and he said, Mary, she recognized and when she recognized his voice, she responded. She said, Rabboni, Rabboni is not just to say teacher. It's a word in verse 16. It's a word that speaks of my dear teacher. It has a warmth and a love to it. And she grabs him and Jesus says, verse seven and don't cling to me. I have not yet ascended to my father but go to my brother and say to them, I'm ascending to my father, your father to my God and your God. And then Mary came, Mary Madeleine came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. He had spoken these things to her. Don't cling to me. There's a new work that is occurring. I am no longer gonna be present physically with you. You need to release me to continue and complete. For Jesus has yet to ascend to heaven. He has yet to send the Holy Spirit to entwile those who are waiting for him in that upper room. He had work to continue. He is not to remain. So he said, don't cling to me. Don't hold me here. Don't try and keep me here. I have things I wanna continue doing. So go and do something else. And he says, go and tell my brethren. And that's what she did in verse 18. She told the disciples and she testified what Jesus had told her. She testified. She went out and said, he's alive. And this is what he's told me to tell you. And guess what? We still do to this day. He's alive and we still tell people what he said. The gospel has continued to go out throughout the world for 2,000 years. And we've been taking the word of God out and sharing it with people for years, for centuries. That Jesus Christ is alive. Jesus wasn't just a good teacher. He wasn't simply a prophet. He wasn't only a good man. He was all of those things but he was greater than those things. Those are part of what he is but he was greater than those things. He's God in the flesh. He took upon himself the sin of the world. He's the Lamb of God who yielded his life for us. He poured out his life's blood. He died on a cross. He said it is finished. It was completed. And now we as believers go out and give the same message and we can tell people as lonely as you are, as broken as you are, as hurt as you are, as lost as you are, as in bondage as you are, Jesus Christ can set you free. Jesus can break those yolks of bondage. Jesus can make you brand new to the degree that you are unrecognizable to those who know you best. Jesus washes and cleanses. He loves so much that he gave up his life for us voluntarily. He said, no man takes my life for me. I, of my own accord, I lay it down. That's what he did. But I lay it down, he said, to take it up again. Easter is more than Easter bunnies, baskets and eggs. It's more than going to mom and dad's house and having a nice Sunday afternoon meal with the family. It's much deeper than that. Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who took upon himself my sin, who borrowed upon himself and paid a price that I couldn't pay. It's a celebration of life and a triumph of life over death. And it's what gives me hope. It's what gives me purpose in my life is the awareness that I have things to do for him while I'm here. But one day I'll see him face to face. And one day I will also cling to him. And one day I will see him with his eye, these eyes, I will behold his face. And I'm not gonna complain about how hard I had it sometimes or the pain that sometimes I suffered. I'm not gonna complain. And the scripture says he will wipe away every tear. And he's gonna say one day, well done, my good, my faithful servant. One day I want to hear the words enter into the joy of your Lord that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Come in. So Easter is more than bunny rabbits and ham and all the other things that somehow have disguised its true meaning. Easter is a celebration of the fact that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. And I can't help but remember as I close my son Joseph who was a little boy at the time, maybe eight years old, nine, who in school had been given the assignment to draw a picture depicting something about Easter. And what my Joseph drew was the empty tomb. And he'd been to Israel and he had seen what it would look like. And he drew the empty tomb, but kneeling at that tomb was the Easter bunny. And I've never forgotten that. Every knee, he said, that every knee shall bow to Jesus Christ, including the Easter bunny. And so perhaps you need to bow your heart before the Lord today. And if there are any people right now and there are who need to get right with God, this is your moment, this is your opportunity to give your heart to Jesus Christ, to admit that you're a sinner, you're not perfect. If you've lied one time, you're a liar. If you've stolen one time, you're a thief. If you've seen somebody you're not married to or desired somebody sexually and you're not married to them, you're an adulterer. You're a sinner, we're all sinners. That's why we need a savior. That's why you need a savior. That's why you need Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to set you free. Whatever your sin may be, maybe you're planning on no longer watching when this is over, go out and drink a little bit and party a little bit. Your life is empty and you know it. You need hope. Maybe you're concerned about this coronavirus and the other things going on right now. There are worse things. There are worse things. You may not believe so at the moment. The worst thing than the coronavirus is dying without Jesus. That's worse. And so you need the Lord. You need to give your heart to Christ today and you need to admit that. You need to honestly say, God, I am a sinner. God, forgive me. I need you. And if you can do that and desire to, the Holy Spirit is provoking you to, let's bow our hearts together right now. I'm gonna ask you to pray with me. Let's pray. If you need to get right with the Lord right now, you can say this, Father, forgive me. I'm a sinner. Jesus died on the cross to save sinners. Jesus died to save me. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me. Give me a new life. I will follow you. Every day from this day forward in Jesus' name, amen. And if you prayed that with me, please contact us and let us know that you got right with God. Because the whole reason for us to continue celebrating the way that we do is to celebrate the reality that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners. He died to save me and he died to save you. And so church, let's stand and close with a word of prayer. Our Father, we ask that you would take this message and may it be repeated throughout the world. And may many come to faith in Jesus Christ. May we see ourselves in the light of this passage. May we see ourselves in need of Jesus. So I pray that you would just be glorified and we yield this to you now and we give you praise in Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. We love you.