We turn in our Bibles to Daniel chapter 12, and then to Luke chapter 7. Let's stand together. From Daniel chapter 12, we'll read the first four verses, one of the Old Testament prophecies of resurrection. Daniel hears a prophet looking to the end of the ages and and prophesying. At that time, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal up the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro. and knowledge shall increase. And from this Old Testament indication of resurrection, we turn to a New Testament miracle of resurrection. Luke chapter seven, beginning at verse 11. Now it happened the day after that he went into a city called Nain, and many of his disciples went with him in a large crowd. And when he had come near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out. the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, do not weep. And he came and touched the open coffin and those who carried him stood still and he said, young man, I say to you, arise. So he who was dead sat up and began to speak, and he presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, a great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people. And this report about him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. The grass withers, the flower fades. The word of God endures forever. I turn in the preaching of the word to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7. In verses 11 through 17 in the narrative of the raising of the only son of the widow of Nain by our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't like thinking or talking about death by nature. It really takes the work of the Holy Spirit and an understanding of the triumph of Jesus Christ over our sin, which is the reason we deserve death, and over the penalty itself, death by his resurrection. That is really what it takes for anyone to be able to think about and truly face death. Head on, honestly. The rest of humanity doesn't want to think about it. A few months ago I was able to preach at Orly's grandmother's funeral and one of the things I noted, I was a remarkable, actually remarkable, one of the more remarkable privileges to preach. There were so many people there from my hometown, including the lady who ran the cafeteria in my high school. There were Muslims and Mormons and unbelieving neighbors and friends. We had a church full of people, many of whom, maybe most of whom, did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a particular privilege to preach. One of the things I did note is that in calling everybody there to think about death and dying, is that I wasn't a fan of calling these things celebrations of life. Because that's not what just happened, we're here because somebody died. And we're acknowledging something else. Now, for the believer, because of our understanding of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, we do not mourn as those without hope, but there's something Glorious about knowing Christ, and knowing the wages of sin what they are, and understanding what God has done, and then what He's done in Jesus Christ for us. It allows us to think clearly. If we don't have this, we suppress, we ignore, we drown our sorrows in music, and pleasure, and film, and travel, and cocaine, and phones, life with other people, just the numbing of the mind. And it is kind of a strange thing because this life is very short. I was reminded of that again another week in the past weeks where my, some of you know that my brother, Bill, who teaches at Greenville Seminary, had some heart trouble. And if you're in the prayer meeting, we've been praying for him. And I suddenly realized I'm just four years younger than he is. And time is rolling on. And I start giving my birthday. You know you've got to give your, on the phone or something, what's your date of birth. Every year you give it and you realize that's longer ago. Now some of you slightly longer ago than me. But you know what I'm talking about as time rolls on. The years roll on and you realize I'm getting closer to something. This life is short. And if I'm a Christian, I should be thinking every day about what lies beyond it, about eternity, pointedly about death, about the moment my physical life will end, and my soul and body will separate, and my soul will immediately pass into the presence of God. There's a deeper reason that we should think about these things. It's because why death happens. It's because God does it. And the day that you eat of it, God said to Adam and Eve, you shall surely die. And they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and God imposed death as a sentence on humanity. So it's not just a thing that happens. It's another phrase I really don't like. It's just the cycle of life. Another euphemism that ignores entirely what has just happened. No, God has done something. It's important for man once to die and then the judgment. Psalm 90. God sweeps us away like a flood. And it's because, as Paul says, the wages of sin is death. Because of our moral pollution that that moment is coming. By one man sin entered the world and then sin led to death. Romans 5. It's not natural. It's not a cycle of life. It's not celebratory. It hurts. It's painful. And even the Christian in Christ, we understand that when we're dying, we're coming up against what the Bible calls the last enemy. We recognize our powerlessness. It's an act of God, it's unavoidable, it's irreversible. Despite six millennia of human attempts to heal all diseases, we're still all the same. Death is an immovable weight of infinite proportions placed by God against the human race. On account of our rebellion, our following the temptations of the kingdom of darkness, our own rebellion against a good and holy God, the wages of sin is death. So when we come to a miracle like we just read here, that Jesus, walking through Galilee, can raise the dead, we should take notice. that he can reverse death. And just by a word. Young man, dead young man, by the way, on the way to be buried. Young man, I say to you, arise. And the man gets up. Some of you have been reading your Bible all your life, and you've probably read that story many times. This is remarkable. This is earth-shaking. Earth-shattering. There is somebody in history that with a word can undo it all. The grief of a widow who lost her only son. Tears wiped away, penalty of sin lifted for a time. This is Jesus Christ. We ought to stand up and take notice of his supernatural ability to raise the dead. And as we look at this, our hearts and minds will be drawn to his own resurrection from the dead. A little bit of a review where we are in the Gospel of Luke. Luke was being written to a man named Theophilus, you remember. Luke was interested in giving him an orderly account, historical account. It says, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write you an orderly account, O most excellent Theophilus, and remember why this book exists, so that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. In other words, that from this narrative here in this chapter, that you might know with absolute certainty that the man Christ Jesus can raise the dead by a word, that many witnesses saw it, This one who is his forerunner is John the Baptist. Luke already has told us his birth was glorious. The prophecy surrounding him identified him as the Lord of Glory, the Son of God. To use John's language, if we read Luke carefully, the two cohered together, the Word who became flesh. We saw his inauguration, his baptism, the Spirit descending on him like a dove. The Father speaking, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. His temptation is the second Adam. He triumphs over it. And now we are in the section of the book where we're following Christ on his ministry. And he's preaching, and he's teaching, and he's casting out demons. And he's doing a lot of miracles. He began, the first miracle was Peter's mother-in-law's fever. paralyzed and demon possessed and sick and almost at the point of death, the last miracle, the centurion's servant. And wherever Christ goes, there is power and glory. He has an authority in his teaching that's astonishing. He's able to call the disciples from their nets. There's something about his ministry, it's electrifying. News of him is spreading through the whole nation and beyond. Matter of fact, the chapter just preceding this, it's Jews and Gentiles from a wide, wide circle. And at the end of this, his reputation's even greater. Verse 17 in this report about him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. But this miracle brings us beyond what we have read earlier about Jesus Christ. It brings us face to face with this reality that he can raise the dead, as I said earlier. There's a remarkable amount here. It's a little village called Nain. It's a tiny little village. It's a little speck on the map. You'll see in a moment that this entire village seems to be overcome by this particular tragedy. but it's a sort of nowhere place. Jesus was in Capernaum. We read that this was the next day. It's about 25 miles. Maybe our Savior walked some the day before, some the next day, but it would be a good long day's journey, but he's on the move. He's intentionally headed a long distance to an out-of-the-way place. Notice the movements in the text. Again, time is the next day. Distance, Nain, about 25 miles. And there is an intensity that immediately appears. Many of his disciples went with him, a large crowd. And when he came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out. The only son of his mother, she was a widow. Again, this is worse than the first problem in this chapter. He was sick, and at the point of death, a centurion's servant. We're now beyond that. He's dead. Lifeless. The open coffin that's listed in the text, described in the text, is probably a funeral bier, a platform that he was carried on. It wasn't uncommon that someone would be wrapped in a shroud. And he was being carried the last distance out of the city to be buried. I want you to notice a couple things from the scene that Jesus isn't alone. Many of his disciples went with him and a large crowd. People who followed him and loved him, this core around him, the apostles, surely, the disciples, the twelve, and this bigger crowd, exactly who of We're all there, the text doesn't tell us, but it tells us Christ, disciples, broad term, those who followed him actively, and then a large crowd. Maybe the onlookers, Jews and Gentiles. He is traveling the 25 miles with a huge entourage. Many people are following him. His reputation continues. And then if you look at the text, there's another procession that is met coming the other way. You have a dead man, the only son of his mother, she was a widow, and a large crowd from the city was with her. And so we have crowd and crowd, one led by a weeping mother and a dead son, and the other by Jesus. And the crowds meet, and they come together in a single road. And Jesus stops the funeral procession. This already is something to note. It's remarkable authority. I mean, have you ever seen a funeral procession never get through your head? You were going to stand in the way and stop it? No, we just get out of the way. Christ is on a mission. He's come to this city for a reason. For this. He sees the woman. He had compassion on her and said to her, do not weep. He's standing face to face with a grieving woman who's lost her husband and her only son. She's got nothing left. Heartbroken. As the focus shifts, we zoom into that more intimate meeting again. The shift in address is interesting by Luke. When the Lord saw her, Luke is signaling something about the identity of Jesus, which goes back to the earlier part of the Gospel. He's giving Jesus the title, the Supernatural Lord of the Universe. It's the same title used through the Gospel of Luke for Jesus again and again, but it's also the same title given to His Father, Lord, when the Lord saw her, when the Lord came. This is now Jesus Christ our Lord, by the way, This is part of our confession of faith in Jesus Christ, that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And it's part of our right address. There are times when we rightly can say Jesus, the Gospels simply do. But I would remind you it's very good to think of Christ according to His names and titles. Lord, Jesus, Jehovah saves, Christ Messiah. And that full name of our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, gives Him the honor and the glory and captures the whole of His mission. And here there is a sense of respect as Luke describes Him as Lord and power. He meets the broken hearted mother. What does it say here? He had compassion. Heart of Christ on full display. This is His love and mercy. And then He says something that seems fairly bold at a funeral. Don't weep. an intimation already of what he knew what he was going to do. Authority. He does something more. He puts his hand on the coffin, the beer, the funeral, the platform carrying the body. Stops the procession. There he is, the Lord of glory, compassion, commanding the grieving widow. stopping the funeral possession, stopping the coffin. And then verse 14, issuing this verbal command, young man. We finish stories too quickly. Young man, he's dead. Two crowds, a mother who's already laid a husband in the grave. She knows what's happening. Unmistakable authority, young man. I say to you, arise. We already know the power of these words, but you have to understand, as you hear them come from the lips of your spirit, they come with the power that is required for him to say such a thing. Now this is the Lord of Glory. Young man, I say to you, arise. He's dead, he's gone, it's over, the lights are out, his heart is not beating, he issues a verbal command. And there's a good reason to pause here. You know when Moses is at the banks of the Red Sea and he extends the rod. He says stand still, wait for the salvation of the Lord. Or, when God says let there be light. Stop to meditate on the intimations of coming power and glory. That's what this statement has in it. I say to you arise. and the simplicity and power of the word of Christ. So he who is dead sat up and began to speak." Just like that. Command, power. He's alive. He's alive. Instantaneous reanimation with the ability to speak and converse. He's presented to his mother. The Lord who had compassion on her said, do not weep. He now at the end of verse 15, and he presented him to his mother. Because that's what he came to do, to wipe away all our tears. And the crowd, verse 16, what would you do if you saw that? Fear came upon all of them. That's the word we get phobia from, we're terrified. If you saw that, you would be terrified. Who is this? To use another moment of glory that even the wind and the waves obey Him. Who is this that He speaks to the dead and they rise? Who is this? They fear, they worship, they glorify God. And then they do a third thing. They try to grasp at identifying who this must be. Who is this? What happens again and again, and the wind and the waves, who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him? And now they're saying, this must be, who is He? There's somebody, He's unique, He's distinct, He's different than the rest of us. And their conclusion is, a prophet has risen up among us and a second, separate matter, God has visited his people, and they're close, but not quite there. They're right, but in a sense, there's more yet of glory they will understand over time. The nature and identity of Jesus Christ as the God-man. Well, that's the simplicity of the miracle. That's the glory of the text. That's the We've zoomed in to the face of the weeping woman and the power of Jesus Christ. The man who now stands up and speaks alive again. What do we learn from the details? A couple things here. I want to go back to Luke chapter 1 and verse 1. I said a moment ago that Luke was interested in doing something and here there's a strong case or example of what he's doing. Eyewitnesses delivered these to us, and I am putting an orderly account together so that you may be convinced of the certainty of the Gospel. And this is one of those places, though Nain is an out-of-way place, that Luke is emphasizing the historicity of this resurrection. That's the first thing you need to notice, the historicity of this resurrection. Nain is a city that we can still identify today. Jesus wasn't alone. He was with his disciples. He wasn't alone. He was with a large crowd. The crowd was met by another crowd, probably the most, if not all, of the village. In other words, everything that happens happens in public. Everything that happens happens with hundreds of eyewitnesses, as it were. Everything that happens is on public record. And the result of this, verse 17, this report about him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. This travels quickly. And it's in here so that you would be confident in Jesus Christ, your Lord. The apostles wrote these things down, again, to turn to the Gospel of John with particular purpose in mind for the church. John chapter 20 and verse 30, and truly Jesus did many other things, many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name. And then he says at the end of the book, and there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself could contain all the books that could be written, but there was more. But here we have labored to bring you the firsthand eyewitness account with certainty. The whole New Testament pulses with the eyewitnesses to the glory of God. Apostles who would die still proclaiming this is what he did. And Christianity is not. A sentimental religion. It's a historical religion which proclaims Jesus Christ, the Son of God, come in the flesh, raising the dead, dying on the cross, himself rising again. Calvin writes about this text, the resurrection of the man was witnessed by so many witnesses, no doubts could possibly be entertained. The first thing the text teaches you is this really happened. Second thing, the connection between resurrection and salvation. If we go back to the text, verse 16, then fear came upon all. If we keep reading, it wasn't just fear. Fear, they glorified God, and they together became interested in the identity of Jesus. Fear, worship, and identification. They are asking, who is this Jesus? As a matter of fact, in chapter nine, verse 19, Jesus actually turns to the disciples later in his ministry, as he was alone praying, the disciples joined him, and he asked them, saying, who do the crowds say that I am? What are people saying about me? So they answered and said, John the Baptist, but some say Elijah. Why might they think Elijah, we'll see that in a moment, others say that one of the old prophets has risen again. We know from the disciples and from this narrative and from our Savior himself that there's a lot of questions about his identity. Why might they say Elijah? Because there was a widow in Zarephath who had a son and Elijah raised him from the dead. Chapter 25 and verse 19 of Luke, on the road to Emmaus, they talk about a prophet who did many signs and wonders. They say, Jesus, haven't you heard? There's a prophet. Wrestling. Who is this? God is among us. He sent a messenger. They at least can identify that the hand of God in saving power has come through the ministry of another prophet. And they're not wrong. He is a prophet. As a matter of fact, he's the prophet that Moses prophesied about. The great prophet, greater than any other prophet in all of history. He's the one who speaks the truth of God himself. He is the truth. They see this clearly at least. What else do they see if we work our way back up? Fear. I want to go deeper into what that is. The word, the Greek word here is terror. An overwhelming sensation. They are gripped all with the fear that the power to raise the dead brings. They're recognizing something of divine power because immediately they not only fear but they glorify God and they say God has visited his people. And so they're pulling something together. There's supernatural divine presence and prophetic ministry. And resurrection is the greatest of all miracles, isn't it? There's three in the Old Testament. Elijah, Elisha, and then a man raises from the dead when his body hits Elisha's bones in the grave. New Testament, I can think of six more. Four in the ministry of Christ, Jairus' daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, Lazarus, and then at his crucifixion, this mystery of resurrections that begin to happen. And then, after his ministry, the apostles, Tabitha or Dorcas, and then Eutychus. In every case, what is a resurrection? It's a sign of a divine reversal. Sign of a divine reversal. You need to catch this to understand. It means that the God who in judgment has placed the penalty of death on the human race has appeared in glory and with power and is indicating that there is a way that this penalty can be lifted. That God, who has the power to take your life, has the power to raise it up again. What is God communicating to humanity in the miracle of resurrection? Number one, as I said just earlier, that He alone, and that this is divine power, can reverse the sentence of judgment on sin. But I want you to understand what that implies. That implies something so massive. It's not, don't just be amazed that a dead man sat up. You need to be amazed at a far deeper level, that a man over whom the wages of sin is death, a sinner, came to life again. That the remedy for sin, this is what resurrection says, that the remedy for sin, the wages of sin which is death, can be reversed by Almighty God in saving mercy. In other words, it's not just the power to raise, but implied in this is something greater. That God is pleased to forgive sins. That He has the power to lift the penalty. And that He was pleased to show it in the ministry of His Son to the widow of Nain in her tears. That this is found in God himself. As a matter of fact, Paul talks about Abraham who believed in God who had the power to raise the dead. This belongs to God. So resurrection, to follow this line of thought for a moment, resurrection is a suitable and fitting illustration of salvation. Are you tracking with me? Resurrection is a suitable and fitting illustration, therefore, of salvation. It contains in the miracle, in a sense, the whole of the proclamation of the gospel. Which is why Paul, when he's describing to the Ephesians their conversion, he does it like this. And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. He can use resurrection language to describe their conversion, that they were once dead. And what is death? Death is separation from God. It's to be under the wrath of God, under the curse of God, to be placed out of His presence. Ultimately, eternal death is to be cast into hell forever, to be forever separated from God, and that this breach can be healed, and those who were once dead can be made alive. Jesus when He says, young man I say to you arise is declaring a kind of power that is bigger than perhaps you see on the face of the moment. That I can reverse death because I will take care of the wages. Paul says the same thing later in Ephesians 2 verse 5. He says the same thing in Colossians 2. Dead made alive. Dead made alive. That's salvation. And so when we look at this man, this is salvation. And that means we also need to repent of our small views of sin and grace. What does salvation require? It requires sovereign, divine, supernatural act of taking somebody condemned to be consigned to hell forever and making them alive. To take a helpless sinner by the power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and making them born again to a new kind of life. All of that is symbolized in that moment when this man sat up and began to speak again. Everything, the whole sweep of the glory of Jesus Christ. And more than that, there's a woman here who lost a husband and lost her only son. Remember what Jesus began with? What we read first? He had compassion. It's not just the power of God, but it's the love of God and the loveliness of Jesus Christ. The end of the text, what do we read? And he presented him to his mother. Jesus says, it's all in me. Forgiveness of sins, to overcome death, to wipe away your tears, everything is in me. I am your salvation. The scene is a powerful image of the human predicament, yours and mine. And this highlights the character and power of Jesus Christ. One more thing to learn, the third thing to learn. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. There's something about miracles, they're simply signs that point to something else. What's interesting about the miracle of resurrection is that Elijah raised somebody, Elisha raised somebody, Paul, Jesus. So there's a sense in which when the crowd says, it must be a prophet, they're wrestling with something that you and I might wrestle with. What makes Jesus unique? There's something else even before we get to that. There's a warning here about signs. The salvation is not in seeing the sign, it's in knowing Jesus Christ. Matter of fact, what happened to this man? Do you know him? Is he still walking around? Dead. That's why always Pentecostalism, I cannot understand it. First of all, they want everyone to be resurrected. The best thing that could happen is your pastor could resurrect somebody. It never happens. Sometimes people say it does. And a couple things I think about, one is, it'd be a great gift to go to glory. Resurrection would be kind of a hard thing if you were the one resurrected. You'd have to live more time in this sinful world. It's a special sign here, connected to the ministry of Jesus, proclaiming something about Him. And our eyes move from the sign to the Savior. In all the prophets' resurrections, in all the miracles of Jesus and his resurrections of others, and the apostolic resurrections, they point to something else, the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's where our mind runs, not to the fascination with the sign, but to the power of the Savior. All resurrections in the Bible find their power and epicenter in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, unique and ultimate. By his resurrection, Paul, he was declared to be the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. He was the one who has a unique power concerning his own life which is prefigured here. I have the power to lay down my life from my father and I have the power to take it up again. And he's not dead. He ever lives to make intercession for us. His physical bodily resurrection and all of its power continues in glory now as the exalted resurrected Jesus Christ. And this miracle points to His resurrection. His cross and His power reveals His identity powerfully like it did at Lazarus' tomb. I am the resurrection and the life. It's not a mere prophet. It's the God-man who in himself possesses the power to raise the dead. Surely by the will and power of the Father and the operation of the Holy Spirit, the triune God has appeared in history for salvation in Jesus Christ. Let me apply this to some of you in your different conditions. If you're here this morning and you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you haven't trusted him. And maybe, there's some reasons, maybe you don't dare trust Him. Because if anyone else knew how far you had gone into the fields of sin and rebellion, you would think no one would receive you. No one could save you. Jesus' resurrection power says this, I have the power to save completely to the uttermost without distinction. You need resurrection power. And Christ came for this. Or, you're here this morning and your conscience accuses you and there's no escape. The gospel says you need a resurrection from the dead. And what you need to do this morning is you need to believe in Him. Trust Him. You need to run to Him. You need to stop trying to be the author of your own salvation. You need to surrender completely and recognize that you, in your sins, are like the man in the coffin. And unless Jesus traveled from Capernaum to Maine, stops the funeral procession, and says, young man, arise, you have no hope. So you run to Him. You confess that to be true, that there's nothing in me. And you believe in Him. And you see His love and His power and you begin to fear with a holy fear. Glorify God. And you believe. Do it now. If you're a believer here this morning, you're discouraged by sin's remaining power, for example. The way the apostles use the doctrine of the resurrection is not only to be turned from death to life, but to live a life to God. It's not a punctiliar moment, but resurrection is the entrance into a new kind of life. And this is why Paul uses it to form his hope of sanctification. We've died to sin, and in Christ we've been raised to righteousness. And this new life that comes from him, belongs from him, flows from his own resurrection, belongs to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. And just as God breathed into Adam's body the breath of life, so by regenerating power and grace of the Holy Spirit, He breathes into us resurrection life. We're united to Christ by faith, and that life courses through the rest of our existence for eternity. And the supernatural divine reversal that you need to turn from sin is found in Him. Maybe you've been hurt by others. And you can identify with the widow. Your life is just tears. You don't understand the ways of God. Surely she didn't. Lord, I lost my husband. I lost my only son. Sometimes at that point, we can become embittered with the Lord or with others. When hurts and bitterness so cloud our soul that we can't see the glory of Christ, what do you need? You need resurrection power that belongs to Jesus, that he offers to his people freely and gives. Maybe you're in the grief of loss, not hurt, but loss. Again, I said a moment ago, two times over, Jesus comes and he says, do not weep. I will raise him from the dead. And he did for her. And this miracle says so he will do for everyone who has lost a son or a daughter or a father or a mother or a friend. Someone who died in the Lord. Jesus says, I'll raise him again. I'll raise her again. This is me. I'll wipe away all your tears. Or how about you? When you lay it Wake at night thinking about the hourglass, the clock ticking. You remember this, by union with Christ, the power of his unique resurrection has saved me not only from my sins, but will save me from death. And that as in Adam all died, so in Christ all shall be made alive. And that he, will carry me all the way to glory. So I can think about death every day. And I'll think about it the way Paul did when he wrote to the Thessalonians, one day I'll fall asleep in Jesus and one day He'll raise me up. I don't know when that day is coming, but I'm no longer afraid of it. I'm just waiting for the day. The mysteriousness of the separation of the body and soul is hard to understand, but for the day when He says to the world, Arise. If you think people feared and glorified God on that day, one man, how about the resurrection of the just and the unjust? One to punishment and everlasting life on a scale unfathomable in glory and power. A believer that day will be the beginning of all that he came to do. Take away death and sin. Let's pray. Lord our God, we are thankful that even now we taste and experience that beginning. We think of the one who has this power, Father, your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, to raise the dead, to take the impossible and make it possible. Or to pardon and cleanse and roll back the curse and dry up our tears. Forgive our sins. We pray for ourselves that we would be delivered from our fear of death, that as we look on the impossible around us that we would pray to you for resurrection power and restoring grace. We bring you our tears that we would be comforted in your compassion. that you would help us. We, by nature, are like this man and his mother. We're powerless in ourselves. But we thank you for redeeming grace in a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Amen. Look up and receive God's blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace. Amen.