At the first light on Sunday Mary and Mary make their way to the tomb to do the unpleasant task of anointing the dead body of Jesus with strong spices to compete against the putrid stench of decay. The scene that they encounter is anything but what they expected to find. The stone is rolled away. An angel sits on top of the stone announcing the resurrection of Jesus. The Roman guards are so frightened they are literally frozen with fear. The angel tells the two Marys that they are to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has risen from the grave and that He is going to meet His disciples in Galilee.

They depart immediately, with both fear and great joy, to report what they had experienced to the disciples. On their way they meet Jesus. It is in this meeting that Matthew records the first words spoken by the savior after the resurrection.

This is a dark and depressing moment. John alludes to this in his recounting of the event by including the simple reference of “and it was night” at the end of verse 30. It was night indeed – and not only according to the time of day. From this passage I want to share with you two warnings that the life of Judas teaches us. First - proximity does not equal authenticity. Secondly - false assumptions do not equal true convictions.

In this passage we have witness of the last words of Jesus on the cross. They are words of despair and agony. But in this very dark and sad moment there is a display of amazing grace – Jesus is giving His whole life and bearing the whole weight of sin so sinners might be totally redeemed.

Peter was the leader of the disciples in many ways. He led them spiritually. He led them in devotion and faithfulness. He led them in his willingness to sacrifice for Jesus and His kingdom. These things are certainly admirable. But late in the evening as he witnessed the trial and humiliation of Jesus, he fulfilled the prediction of Jesus – denying him three times before the rooster crowed. The third denial was especially low in that to make himself believable he cursed and cussed.

When Peter denied Jesus the third time it was the lowest moment in his life and ministry. But in this moment to total failure, he would learn a truth that changed the course of his life and allowed him to be used greatly for the gospel and God’s kingdom.

The events of this passage begin the night of trials before the Jewish religious leaders who would then turn Jesus over to the civil authorities to be crucified. These events would not go as either side had thought they would. Jesus does not resist. He surrenders Himself. He is surrenders willingly because He is fulfilling His mission of being the suffering servant obedient to the will of God for the redemption of sinful man.

Nations rise and fall. Leaders and rulers rise to power, but all succumb to death and are no more. Not so with Jesus. He was crucified but rose again. Not so with those who follow Jesus. Hated and opposed by the world but empowered by the God of all creation the church stands – not in the power of men but in the power of God. The gospel witness and the faithful church is preserved in every generation and in every situation according to the will of God. Preach Jesus in season and out of season. Preach Jesus when the gospel is well received and when it sets the world in a rage.

The question of “lawfulness” is not the only question faithful Christians must ask. Certainly, this is important – and if something is unlawful then no Christian should even consider it. But lawfulness is only the basic question – for one to grow in spiritual maturity and faithfulness you must ask is it helpful and dose it distract from faithful obedience.

Sermons on giving are uncomfortable for everybody. They are uncomfortable for the hearer because our giving is such an intimate testimony of who and what has true lordship in our lives. Giving, because it is not generally public knowledge, is often the very first area in your life that becomes disobedient when you begin to turn away from the Lord.

But I want you to understand that preaching on giving is not just uncomfortable for the hearer; it is uncomfortable for the preacher as well. The fear of being labeled "money focused" or only money focused is a limiting fear for many who preach. The right desire not to be identified with the false teachers of the health-wealth-prosperity gospel movement causes many to limit how much they say about giving in faith.

Yet the command to give tithes and offerings is found throughout Scripture from the Old Testament to the New. I believe if you are to walk in faithfulness before the Lord, you must be obedient in your giving. Thus, faithful preaching and faithful pastors must preach on giving.

Scripture is full of passages that teach on the theology of worship, the importance of worship, and examples of worship. It certainly is a subject that could occupy much more than just one sermon. For our time today I want us to consider David’s worship after bringing the Ark of the covenant to the capital city Jerusalem. The occasion was filled with many public acts of offering and worship. In verses 8-36 David declares a psalm of thanks and in it he gives many imperatives:

• Give thanks

• Call upon His name

• Make known His deeds / Tell all of His wondrous works

• Sing praises

• Glory in His name

• Seek the Lord

• Remember the covenant

• Declare His glory (Ascribe His glory)

• Worship Him

It is the call to worship the Lord that I want to give our attention to today from verses 28-36. From these verses we will learn these three truths:

1. Recognize God’s glory

2. All of creation worships

3. Worship forever

This passage is part of Paul’s teaching on the armor of God – that you may be familiar with. As he describes all the “equipment” a Christian needs – belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, sandals of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit – he gives the most attention to prayer (three verses 18-20).

Let us consider what Paul teaches us about prayer. Four times he uses the word “all” in his instruction on prayer. Prayer is not something that is an extracurricular activity. For Christians, prayer is part of our all in all. We are a people of prayer, who pray, and pray for all things at all times.

Like king Josiah we must be confronted by the word of God and respond with obedience of heart and action.

Today I begin a sermon series on resetting. From time to time it is good to take an assessment of your life and reset things that are not as they should be. In the weeks to come I will be preaching on prayer, Bible study, worship, and other spiritual disciplines. But before we begin with the specific areas where we need to reset, I want to start with an introductory word on grace.

The cancer that is consuming the church today is a lack of concern for the danger of sin and the consequences sin brings. The cancer grows in our homes and in our personal lives as we grow comfortable with things, we know are wicked and contrary to the will of God, but we justify their presence by saying that they “are not that bad.” Or we find false comfort in the knowledge that others tolerate the same in their homes.

This cancer grows in our nation as well – as our nation grows ever more comfortable with open rebellion against the goodness of God’s created order and God’s authority to declare what is right and wrong. The great evil of our day is abortion. From this flows related evils of euthanasia, genocide, and human trafficking. If any life is not sacred, then no life is sacred.