Good morning, everyone. Warm welcome to everyone here, especially those who are visiting with us and also the people who tuned in to sermon audio. Very welcome. We have a reading service this morning. Elder Steve will read the sermon and lead this worship service. And this afternoon, we have Pastor Schumann. And our call to worship is from Psalm 122, where the psalmist says, I was glad when you said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Would you join me now in singing the hymn on page 2 of your bulletin, The Day of Resurrection. you Happy triumph, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? We come to worship our triune Savior God, and as we do, we confess together as congregation, our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. And then we open our Psalters and sing from Psalm 122, as was quoted in the call to worship. Psalter number 350, we sing one, four, and five. ♪ Within the kingdom of heaven ♪ you. We now listen to the reading of the Ten Commandments together. Before we do, the Sunday School children had to learn for today, Isaiah 53 verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. What a fitting text for us to reflect on, even as we listen to the law of God. As it reminds us of our sin, And it points us to the Savior and calls us to live in thankful obedience to Him. Listen to the reading of the Ten Commandments and afterwards we respond with the singing of Psalter 335, the first two verses. And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember this Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant. nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. you We open our Bibles this morning to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 9. And we will begin reading at verse 32 and read to the end of verse 42. Acts chapter 9, 32 through 42. Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed. Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds, which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. For the reading, the sermon and text will be based on the story of Dorcas, verses 36 through 42. Before listening to the sermon, then we will sing from Psalter 179, and we will sing all verses. Let God arise, and by his might let... you and glory. Following the reading of the sermon, we will sing together from Psalter 370. And the sermon that is being read has been or was prepared by Pastor David Cranendonk. Dear congregation, the question can sometimes rise, what will it take to make people join the church or for unbelievers to come to faith? In the passage we read, A healing in Lydda and a resurrection to life in Joppa had such an effect. Is that what we need today? Our passage contains the only resurrection account after the Lord Jesus' resurrection. That makes it a very unique event in the book of Acts. And this uniqueness raises many questions. Why was Dorcas raised? Why her and not others? What is the purpose of her resurrection? Let us then listen prayerfully to God's gracious power in Dorcas. That will be the theme for the sermon. God's gracious power in Dorcas. And we look first at God's gracious power in her loving service, God's gracious power at her death, and then God's gracious power in her resurrection. The passage we read brings us to Joppa. Joppa was about 60 kilometers from Jerusalem near present-day Tel Aviv. It was a coastal city along the Mediterranean Sea with an important harbor. As could be expected, this harbor was a center of trade with a mixed population of Jews and Greeks. We have reason to believe that Philip passed through Joppa as he went on a preaching tour along the coast. Acts 8 verse 40 speaks of how he came from the south along the coast to Caesarea north of Joppa. What we know for certain is that God showed His power in Joppa by turning sinners to Himself and making them disciples of Christ. One of them was Dorcas. Notice she is called Tabitha, which is an Aramaic or Hebrew name. Dorcas is a Greek name. Where there was a mixed population, people often would have both a Greek and Aramaic name. We don't read whether she was married or not, whether she had children or not. whether she was educated or not, whether she lived in a big or a small house. We often like to know these details about people, but we aren't told these things. We are simply told that she was a disciple. Verse 36 tells us she showed she was a disciple or follower by her life. She did charitable deeds or literally mercies. She did works of mercies, especially in giving to the needy. Later, we are told that she especially helped the widows. Think of her situation. Many sailors must have lived in the port city of Joppa. What happened when storms arose and their ships were tossed about? Men fell overboard or ships wrecked on the rocks and men would drown. Eventually, the news would come back and a messenger would have to go to this home or that home and announce, your husband is dead. What a grief! loss, pain and poverty it brought about when your husband was no longer able to provide for you and you had to raise a family on your own? Then I hear a knock on the door of such a widow. In comes Dorcas to sit beside her, to weep with her, to speak with her and to show her tokens of love by giving clothing and other things. How beautiful! She must have been a woman of some means to be able to provide that clothing Yet the fact that she made these garments herself shows that she wasn't so rich that she just went and bought them. She took time and effort to make them, stitch by stitch. As she made them, she was thinking of those people. Beautiful, isn't it? When you are busy making things for others and thinking about them. It says she was doing her charitable deeds. She did them. In Greek, it is an imperfect tense, and that means it wasn't just a one-time act, but an ongoing activity. She was habitually giving a helping hand to those in need, offering gifts to those who lacked, being there to comfort those in distress. She saw it as her life's calling to do so. That is why we do not simply read that she did a good work, but that she was full of good works. Being full of good works is not checking off every week, I have given my tithe, as good as that is. She didn't just do a duty now and then, but she gave herself for others. She lived for others, and in that way she was full of good works. Is that not important for you and me as well? Whether we are young or old, are we not to be filled with good works and have a heart for others? Isn't that actually what we confess in Lourdes Day 21 when we speak about the communion of the saints? We confess everyone must know it to be his duty readily and cheerfully to employ his gifts for the advantage and salvation of other members. No one is excluded. It says everyone. This use of our gifts is not to be forced but readily and cheerfully done. One has different opportunities than another, and yet all are to ask, what does the Lord enable me to do for others out of love? Galatians 6 tells us, let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. that we may do so in an organized way through organizations, societies, and committees in the church. We are also to do so in that personal, private, spontaneous way, giving ourselves to others. And that begins at our home with our immediate and extended family, and involves being there for them to give help, support, and care. In the congregation, we are also to be there for other members. It can be good even to look through the directory sometimes and ask, how can I do something or be someone for those names? Do we ever do that? And then we can look further afield. I don't think the widows of our text were only in the congregation but also in the community. Dorcas focused especially on the widows because they suffered in a special way, especially in that society. Today within and beyond the church are widows and ones who are ill, shut in or elderly, younger ones who are troubled, those in spiritual need or depressed. Not everyone is called to sow like Dorcas was. Lord's Day 21 speaks of using the gifts and opportunities God gives you. So easily we can say, I lack gifts and opportunities. Is that really the problem? Or could it be something else? What made Dorcas full of good works? The only way to be full of good works is to be full of love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. The summary of the law is to love God above all else and our neighbor as ourself. Works without love are vain. 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that even though we bestow all our goods to feed the poor and give our bodies to be burned, but have not charity or love, it profits us nothing. Love is essential. Without love we can be pleased with all the good things we do, but in reality they are only polished sins. Good works are done in love to God and love to our neighbor. 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us. So Dorcas was full of good works because she was full of love. Love moves you to give yourself and sacrifice your own ease in service to others. Use your time to sow for others and lose some sleep to help others. When love constrains you, no effort is too much or sacrifice too great. Disappointment or lack of appreciation doesn't make you stop. Love makes you content not simply with the bare minimum, but spontaneously seeks opportunities to help. Love is inventive. It finds even little ways to show care and concern, such as a phone call or card. Those little ways done out of love can mean more than big things done without love. Congregation, must love not characterize us? How can we go through life without this love? Isn't walking in love the best way to live too? Dorcas was full of good works because she was moved by love. But now we go one step farther. Why was she filled with love? Because she was a disciple of Christ. Faith works by love. Galatians 5 says, when we hear about being full of good works, we can be quick to say we have to be careful, because soon people are going to begin prodding themselves in their good works, become self-righteous, and forget the only work pleasing to God is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is all very true and important to learn. But what happens when the Lord leads you to be pleased with no other work than the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? And you find all your salvation and acceptance with God, not in what you have done, but in what He has done? What happens then? That grace of faith leads you to desire to walk in good works. It can't be otherwise. Anything less than that is a dead faith. The true faith, which looks to Christ alone for salvation, stirs up loving desire to live for Him. Faith unites to Christ, who is filled with self-sacrificing compassion to the needy. By faith you learn to know Him and His incomparable love. His love moved Him to give Himself, not for kind, pleasant and nice people, but for enemies and rebels, those who slap Him in the face and who even after He has shown grace continue to be so ungrateful and wayward. If by faith you see something of His love, doesn't that stir up love in you? When you see His compassion for the poor, suffering, despised and hurting, doesn't it move you with compassion? When you learn He came for the brokenhearted and mourning, sinners and the lost, sick and afflicted, lepers and blind, widows and lame. Doesn't it make you desire to follow Him in that compassion? People of God, He gives His Spirit to renew you and lead you to follow Him as a disciple who walks in love. This almighty power of the Holy Spirit was in Dorcas, making her a disciple and giving her a love which showed itself in her deeds. Ultimately, Dorcas was only an instrument through which the Lord Himself was showing compassion and care for those in need in Joppa. God's compassion was flowing into her and through her to reach others in that city. Is this the God, the Christ, the Holy Spirit whom you know? Has He made you a disciple and taught you to deny yourself to follow Him? Have you learned to pray, not my will, but yours? Not my honor, but yours. Give me your grace and let me be a means through which your mercy reaches others. Let your mercy flow to me and through me." What a blessing it is when the power of His grace constrains us to desire that. And that was certainly a great blessing there in Joppa. And yet Dorcas died. And here we see God's gracious power at Dorcas' death. See Dorcas going through the streets. She stops here and there. Wherever she comes, she is appreciated. Maybe sometimes widows say, what will we do without Dorcas? Then at a certain point, they notice that she isn't out and about. Where is she? She is sick, very sick. Did prayers arise to God for her healing? Did love move them to plead Him to spare her and give her recovery? We can be sure they prayed, Oh Lord, have mercy. But the answer was so different. She died. Her hands could no longer sew. Her eyes could no longer see need. Her heart no longer beat with love. She was dead. She went the way of all flesh. She was full of good works, but that did not spare her from death. Death comes to all, godly and ungodly, rich and poor, young and old, dust to dust, the mortal dies, both the foolish and the wise. Questions arise. Why her? Why did the Lord take away such a means of blessing in Joppa and why does He spare a harlot in the city? Why did He take her away and why did He leave that other woman who is so selfish alive? Why did He take Dorcas away and why does He leave that old lady who cannot do anything anymore and is filled with such pain? Why? especially when a godly person whom we dearly love dies while still quite young, these painful questions can rise. Where shall we go with those questions? To the Lord's feet. He is King. He is Sovereign. None can hold back His hand and stop Him from doing His good pleasure. Everything He is pleased to do is wise, good, and right. Do I understand His way? Can I explain why He takes one person out of our midst who is younger and spares another to be very old? No. But what the Lord reveals about Himself cannot be wrong. When He says He is holy in all His ways and righteous in all His works, we may only bow. A spirit-given view of God's utter sovereignty, goodness, and wisdom quiets that murmuring and resistance when the Lord takes one away. And yet the pain of loss can still be there. You see that in the room where Dorcas lies. Women stand there. They aren't hired weepers as were often used in those days. These are genuine weepers who cannot restrain their tears because they will so miss her. Their weeping shows how much she meant to them. That happens more often, doesn't it? When a loved one is taken away, you begin to realize how much that person meant to you. Maybe some of them regretted that they did not show appreciation and gratitude more while she was alive. Let that be a lesson then for us as well. At her death, their love to Dorcas becomes apparent. She not only showed love, but received it. Charles Simeon, a preacher of the 1800s, said this, The tears of the godly and lamentations of the poor are the noblest monuments that the departed can have. People can have all kinds of decorations and nice eulogies, but this is greater than them all. Proverbs says, The memory of the just is blessed, and the name of the wicked shall rot. Congregation, would we be missed if we passed away tomorrow? Some can feel neglected and think, I would hardly be missed. But then your focus is on what others do for you or fail to do for you. Of course, they may be at fault, but the question today is, what about you? Does love characterize your life and show in your concern for others, interest in others, and desire to be a means in God's hand for the good of others? whether you are younger or older. Here in our passage, not simply close family members grieve, but the whole congregation in Joppa grieves. The power of God's grace shone through her to others. That is what they feel and will miss now that she has died. And there she lies. Dead. Dead is dead. And yet several things strike us when we read this passage. The first is that they washed her body. But we don't read of her body being wrapped, embalmed, or anointed. It was a common practice to wash the body just like today. But why did they not do more? Was it because they had a certain hope? Second, she lay in an upper room and was not buried right away. Given their hot climate, they tended to bury a person the same day or maybe the next day, but certainly not four or five days later like we do. They didn't bury her immediately. Why not? Third, they send two men to Peter. Why? Is it for Peter to lead her funeral service? We don't read that. Was it to ask him to perform a miracle? Did they hear about how he healed a paralyzed man? And did that news stir up the hope that maybe God would give him power to raise Dorcas? We don't read that explicitly. We simply find these two men taking the three-hour walk to Lydda, finding Peter and calling him to come to Joppa. What went through Peter's mind as he heard that request and spent those hours walking with these two men? They must not have been able to hide their grief. They must have told of Dorcas and her death. But what was Peter to do? He entered that upper room, and he saw grief on every face. Widows said to him, You see the dress I'm wearing? Dorcas made it for me. And another, Do you see the clothes that my children are wearing? Dorcas brought them the other day. And another says, Dorcas made this veil years ago. Her visits were always so encouraging. Why did they send for Peter? What was he to do in the midst of that grief? Was he simply to pray with them and plead the Lord to sanctify this death to their souls? Was he to preach to them the only comfort in life and death? Was He to tell them that though God takes away one means of care, He will give another means of care and exhort them to follow Dorcas' example? All those things are good, but was there more? Were they expecting Him to raise her from the dead? Was God's mighty spirit at work in their hearts, giving the hope that she would live again? But death is death. Who can in death's dark hour escape the grave with all its ruinous power? Yet eyes looked to Peter. What would he do? What warrants did Peter have to believe that God would raise her? We don't read of the Lord Jesus promising that the apostles would raise the dead after He ascended. In Mark 16, verses 17 and 18, we read, These signs will follow those who believe in My name. They will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. No mention is made of raising the dead. The Lord Jesus arose and he had raised the dead, the son of the widow of Nain, Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus. Peter had also likely raised the dead. Matthew 10 records that Jesus sent his disciples to preach the kingdom to the lost sheep of Israel. and heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons." So they had likely raised the dead. Would the Lord have Peter do so again? Peter is constrained to desire to be alone. When the Lord Jesus entered the home of Jairus, He sent out all those people, except for the three disciples, including Peter. Now Peter sends out the people so that he can be alone, alone to pray. The Lord Jesus said, when you pray, shut the door, enter your closet and pray in secret. Do you have those times when you need to be alone to bring your need before the Lord? Prayer is laying before the Lord all the impossibilities from our side and appealing to his power. Prayer is laying before the Lord all the riddles, questions and uncertainties and yielding all to him. Doing so can involve a great struggle in prayer. Prayer can involve laying before the Lord a question. Lord, do I have a basis to believe that you will? And you fill in the blank. You can wonder, is this promise in the Word for me? And will it be fulfilled in this way? You may know He has power. And Peter knew that God had the power to raise every person from the dead, but would God do so? With those types of questions, the best place to go is to the Lord in prayer, wrestling in prayer with that hope that the Lord has power, that the Lord desires to glorify His name, and that the Lord is the helper and the Savior. So we see God's gracious power not only at her death, but the power of God driving Peter and these others to the Lord in the midst of death. And so that finally we see God's gracious power at her resurrection. Peter prayed to God. He laid before God all his need and looked to the power, wisdom, and grace of God revealed in his word. As he did so, the Lord gave him light and showed him the way to go. Peter received faith to believe that God would raise this woman from the dead. Peter knew that in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, there was not only power to enable a man who had been paralyzed for eight years to walk, but also to raise the very dead. He now was convinced that Christ would also show that power there in that room. He went to Dorcas, or Tabitha. Was she there? Wasn't she dead already? wasn't only her body there and yet he commands her Tabitha arise Tabitha is her Aramaic name he would have said in Aramaic Tabitha Kumi as Peter spoke did he also think of how the Lord Jesus had also said something so similar Talitha Kumi little girl arise and now he echoed the words of his master with the authority of his master and She opened her eyes. Life returned to her. She sat up and showed that she received strength. He gave her his hand to welcome her, and she stood up. This is the power of Jesus' name and voice. His word is powerful even through the mouth of a powerless Peter. His command comes with life-giving power. See them walk to the door and hear Peter say, Come in, everyone. They come through that doorway and see Dorcas alive. Tears must have flowed again. Tears of amazement, joy and gratitude. Friends were comforted with her presence. The Lord had given her back to them. Widows and saints rejoiced in God's gift to them. The poor again would benefit from her love and received an instrument of the Lord's care. We can have many questions about whether Dorcas remembered where she was when she was dead. and whether she didn't regret that she was raised again because it meant she wasn't in heaven anymore, one thing is sure, she rose with the same heart that she had while she lived, a heart changed by God. She must have then sought to redeem the time that the Lord again gave her in service to Him and others. And in this way, the saints were encouraged. It wasn't just about receiving a few more garments. God displayed His power to perform wonders of grace for those who cry to Him in their need, pain and distress. He is the living God of grace. That is why we read, many believed. They didn't fall down before Peter as a miracle worker. They didn't carry Him on their shoulders through the streets. No, they believed in the Lord. They saw the Lord's power. He has raised her from the dead. He overcame death. He is the risen conquering King. He is the one who truly cares for His followers. They were led to believe in this Lord and turned to Him in repentance. This is a beautiful ending. But maybe you sit here wondering, why doesn't the Lord do so still today? You may not dare say it, but the thought can arise, why didn't the Lord raise my loved one to life again? Or that other godly person who was such a blessing in the congregation? If only the Lord would do things like this again today, then the world would see and believe that He is the conqueror of death. Those thoughts are understandable. But ask yourself, what is the message of this work of God? Did Christ not perform this to display His power as the Son of God, as the victor over death, as the glorious King? Is that not who He is still today? This act shows that He has conquered death and has power to raise the dead. The moment He wills to raise them, it happens because He has all power. Why then does He not bring His people back to life again and make them a blessing in the church again? Congregation, He will. He will bring every one of them out of the grave into the fullness of life. Not life here on earth with all its sorrows, misery and sin, but to life on the other side of the grave. He will raise them to life forevermore. None of his people will remain in the grip of death. The day is coming when that greater miracle yet will occur. Those in the dust will arise. In John 5, the Lord Jesus says, Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth. What a reality to see. When the godly die, you say, why doesn't Christ raise them back to this life? But His word points you forward to that day when He will raise them, then with body and soul they shall be with Him forever to serve Him day and night in perfect love, and there will be no groans about the remaining indwelling corruption that plagues the Christian. What a profound comfort if you are a child of God, who is growing weaker and sees death approaching. You need not expect that after you have died, the Lord will bring you back into this life, but that the Lord will raise your soul to life with Him and watch over your grave as the one who says, I am the resurrection and the life. And yet it is painful to see the godly taken away. When that heart stops beating, there is one less heart of love to God beating on the earth. When those eyes close in death, there is one less pair of eyes to see the need around them. There is one less pair of hands that is folded to pray for others and labor for others. There is one less mouth to speak of him. It seems as if faith, hope, and love lie there in the coffin. And then that question presses, who will take the place of the Dorcas who dies? Will you? We haven't died physically and been raised again, but our life is preserved as a wonder of God's power and patience. Is it not so that we would take the place of Dorcas? Is that what you desire to be? Like the teenager who told me that at the funeral of her godly grandparent, she had such a desire to know the same grace that her grandparent knew. Do you also sing, the grace thou showest to thy saints, that grace revealed to me? or do you still live for yourself? Are you described by Philippians 2 as the one who minds his own things and not the things of Christ and wastes what God has given him for himself? What a fearful condition to be in because it betrays an ignorance of Christ's grace. What a serious thing when that zeal for good works fades in the church generally, when love cools, when communion of the saints does not function, when compassion for sheep without a shepherd is not noticeable and when all these seem to lie in a coffin? How sad when this world bleeds from a thousand wounds and the church can coldly pass it by like that Levite and priest in the parable. How sad when we can have all our right theological reasons for suffering and yet not be moved by it. That is a serious problem in the church. Who of us dares to say it bypasses us as a congregation? Child of God, you will be the first to admit that you lack love, zeal, and being full of good works. But what about if that love and faith is missing altogether in you? What a dreadful condition to be in. You are dead spiritually. You may be kind, polite, considerate, and helpful at times, but those actions are not rooted in the love of Christ. Do not deceive yourself then. You are dead. And this dreadful condition is a million times worse than Dorcas lying dead in that upper room. Nothing is worse than being dead spiritually and not even realizing it. With that problem, look again at this passage. See the power of God's Word to give life. The Lord hears prayer and works with gracious power. He says, the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live. He speaks, Tabitha, arise. He speaks also this morning, awake you who sleep and rise from the dead and Christ shall give you life. There is power in the voice of Christ to raise you who are still dead to life, to know, follow and love him and others. He uses servants who are as powerless as Peter, yet he uses them to call, arise you who sleep and sinners arise from the dead. Through them he proclaims, hear him, And His very voice works that hearing. Through His servants He proclaims, Flee to Him! And at that very call constrains sinners to flee to Him. He commands, Follow Me! And gives the power to do what He commands. There is power in His call. And we may proclaim this living Savior, the One who works spiritual life in those who are dead, and revives it time and again, so that our hearts will be filled with His love. What a glorious message that is for you who feel so poor and helpless. You who find that you are not a doer of the Word, but there is power in that Word to make you a doer. He calls you to bow before God like Peter did, realizing that he could not make that person live, and yet praying to God. When you feel the power of spiritual death, Your lack of love, lack of sight to be moved with compassion for those around you, lack of feet to flee to God and run in His way, all this lack is one great reason to cry to Him for life. God-giving spiritual life is actually a greater display of the gracious power of God than if God would come and raise someone among us who had died some time ago. The power of Christ is displayed in the spiritual life in the midst of the congregation. And when Christ shows His power in this way, then the church is a witness. We began by asking, what does it take to lead people to believe and join the church? We don't need Christ to raise people from physical death. We need to know His resurrection power, filling us with love and good works. This is what Christ prays for. that they may be one in us that the world may believe that you have sent me in seeing his love giving grace in his people the world is led to believe that christ is the living savior who changed his hearts and lives may the love of psalm 133 then characterize us for the love for the lord commands his blessing there And they that walk in love shall share in life that never ends. Amen. Let's sing together from Psalter 370. you you Let's give thanks. Lord, we may give thanks to you for the reminder of your power. And in so many ways and in so many situations, we may feel powerless, and yet we have been reminded of your power, your great power, that in the story of today, through your power, someone was raised from death to life. And that even today, through the power of your word, many are raised from spiritual death to life. And we pray then that we may be reminded of this in a way that renews us and strengthens us, strengthens our faith and trust in you as an all-powerful God. May it strengthen our resolve to pray to you, to pour out our heart before you, to pour out all the impossibilities from our side and know that with you all things are possible. We pray for a spirit of love. to grow and flourish also in this congregation. We give thanks for the many, many displays of it in small ways and big ways. No doubt each one of us can testify of the love of the congregation to us in different ways. And we give thanks, O Lord, for that spirit of love within us, and we pray, cause it to grow and to flourish, that we might demonstrate to each other also this love that comes by being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the promise in your word that while we live in this world and death is also part of this life that one day you will call all your people to yourself and they will be united soul and body to be with you forever. We pray that that might be a comfort also for each one who has experienced loss. We think of Bertandini de Vries who witnessed a funeral this week and we pray we near unto them in a special way as their grief is fresh. But there may be also those of us with constant reminders of the death of a loved one in different times, different seasons, We pray that again and again we will be comforted by Your Word, by the promise that this life will not be forever, this life also with all struggles of sin and sorrow, but there will come a day when we will be united with the Lord Jesus Christ, soul and body, to worship You forever. We pray for the differences, we pray that you will comfort them and strengthen them also as they go on into this coming week. Having been also at a funeral this past week, grant them also the ability to look to you in all their needs. We pray, O Lord, for the offering that will take place now. We think of the cause of the church and also for Word and Deed. We pray, bless this church and congregation, and we pray also that you will bless the efforts of Word and Deed, and that also through monies raised, we would be able to testify of the gospel in many different places. And we pray, then, may we give out of love, may we give readily and cheerfully as we are able. We pray for a blessing on the Sunday school classes as they meet after the service. Bless the teachers, strengthen them, help them. Bless each one of the students as they hear more from your word, different stories and lessons. And we pray that those too might be brought near to their hearts. Hear our prayer, then we pray. Continue to bless us in the rest of this day. Bring us back again in the afternoon for another worship service, we pray. We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. There is now opportunity to give to the Lord and to His cause. The first offering is for the church, and the second is for word and deed. And following that, we sing all verses of Psalter 276. 276.