Acts 9:32-43: Joy in Judea

Well, good morning, I would invite you to take your Bibles and open them to Acts chapter 9

Acts chapter 9 few weeks ago, I Posted I think it was just a couple weeks ago.

I posted on Facebook an amazing story Some hunting dogs a whole pack of them.

I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 50. We're chasing after some animal

That ran into a lake and what do you suppose those dogs did they went right in after them

The animal escaped and the dogs were stuck out there in the middle of the lake And it just so happened

That a couple guys in a boat Were going by and they said wow tough break and just no no they stopped

They stopped and they picked up as many dogs as they could carry and they took them back to shore

Then they went back out and they got the last one just as he was going under for the last time

He wasn't gonna make it And some people read that story or saw that story and thought it's a miracle

Was it a miracle? No, that's what we call Providence It's the normal operation of God where some things just so happen to take place

We often hear that word miracle just kind of thrown around Well last week

I received an email from an unbeliever and asking me what I thought about the recently found manuscript of the infancy

Gospel of Jesus or of Thomas. Sorry What do you think about that?

Well, let me just give you what one expert said Michael Kruger he said the infancy gospel is a flamboyant and entertaining account of Jesus as a little child growing up in his hometown in other words

This precedes anything any record we have of Jesus I mean we have his birth record and then we have you know, when he's like 12 and there's nothing in between so Writers like to fill in gaps.

So This fills in that gap allegedly He goes on he says as might be expected one doesn't have to wait for Jesus to grow up to see signs that he is

God's Son The boy Jesus restores a man's foot after it was injured by an axe

He carries water in his cloak after his jug broke. He expands a piece of wood to help his carpenter father

He jumps off a rooftop without being hurt don't try this at home kids He plants a single grain of wheat that produces 100 bushels and He even raises people from the dead

Kruger goes on despite these miraculous deeds. However, the wonderkind or Wunderkind Jesus isn't a net benefit to his hometown

For much of the infancy gospel. He proves to be listen a petulant and volatile child

Terrorizing the villagers with his fits of rage. Now this night might sound like some kids that you know

Or that I know but it doesn't sound like Jesus Kruger goes on at one point another child irritates

Jesus by splashing a branch in pools of water Jesus screams at him you unrighteous irreverent fool

What did the pools of water do to harm you? See, you also will be withered like a tree and you will never bear leaves or fruits

Then the child is withered and killed on the spot. I Mean this sounds more like some comic book version of like Lex Luthor, you know some evil powerful genius

I Mean imagine the power of God Without the goodness of God without the kindness of God and that's what you have here in this story in Another story

Kruger goes on a child accidentally bumps into the boy Jesus as he walks through the village

Aggravated Jesus immediately kills him, too So, what did

I tell my friend I didn't send this whole article what did I tell him I said my answer was really basically simple

This isn't a gospel It's not written by Thomas It's not inspired by the

Holy Spirit and this isn't Jesus. This is blasphemy Jesus didn't run around killing kids

The Genuine Jesus honored his mother and father. He was kind and gentle particularly to children and he never sinned and guess what half of those things that I just listed would be sins

He did miracles certainly beginning by turning water into wine

He healed people. He raised the dead And if we understand miracles rightly in the history of the world

They're rare Got questions org says that miracles are extraordinary occurrences that can only be attributed to the supernatural work of God and Demonstrate his involvement in human history miracles provide evidence of God's presence and power in the world and demonstrate his authority on behalf of his servants a

Miracle may be performed directly by God or through a human agent which will be important for our passage this morning

But why do miracles occur? Not because of the whims of some petulant child

But because God ordains them to authenticate a messenger and a message in The Bible they're basically miracles are basically constrained or contained in three specific eras

Moses and Joshua Elijah and Elisha and Jesus and the

Apostles and If we added all the years up, we'd be looking at less than 100 years now.

Are there exceptions to those miracles? Yes But they're few and far between This morning we're going to study two miracles and they are not random occurrences

These people didn't get lucky They're not the work of a man not of Peter But part of the sovereign plan of our triune

God to build his church Okay, now that we've had our intro

Acts chapter 9 verses 32 to 43 Now as Peter went here there among them all he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda there he found a man named

Anais bedridden for eight years who was paralyzed and Peter said to him

Anais Jesus Christ heals you rise and make your bed and immediately he rose and And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the

Lord Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha which translated means

Dorcas She was full of good works and acts of charity in those days

She became ill and died and when they washed her they laid her in an upper room

Since Lydda was near Joppa the disciples hearing that Peter was there sent two men to him urging him

Please come to us without delay so Peter rose and went with them and When he arrived they took him to the upper room

All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them

But Peter put them all outside 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 and He gave her his hand and raised her up Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive and It became known throughout all

Joppa and many believed in the Lord and He stayed in Joppa for many days with one

Simon a Tanner now last week

We finished the dramatic salvation of Saul Who will soon

I believe a couple chapters from now be known as Paul the Apostle to the

Gentiles? He went to Damascus with the authority of the Jewish religious leaders to arrest

Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial But just as Saul arrived outside of Damascus.

He was blinded by a miraculous visitation by Jesus himself one which

Saul's companions his traveling party Could not see

They can only tell that there was a voice speaking Saul is blinded and then he's helped into Damascus and stays in the house of a man named

Judas The Lord then appears to a man named Ananias Jesus tells

Ananias that Saul has been given a vision that he and Ananias will lay

Hands on him and restore his sight If you recall Ananias is like wait a second.

I've heard about this Saul. I don't want anything to do with that But the

Lord insists and he goes After Saul receives his side. He is baptized and begins preaching the gospel in Damascus Eventually needing the height the help of some converts to escape the threat of death that dramatic escape was after he spent three years in Arabia and Then he goes to Jerusalem Where he was treated with the same skepticism of Ananias Until Barnabas vouched for him and after 15 days in Jerusalem the death threats began in Jerusalem, so he again leaves with the help of believers ending up in his birthplace of Tarsus and that's where our story left off and Luke is now going to focus the shift

Or shift the focus of the narrative to Peter and this morning We will see two miracles performed by the resurrected and ascended

Lord Jesus Christ Why well as with the original audience these acts of the

Lord Jesus Might cause you to trust him wholly for salvation if you don't know him today

You're going to hear about this powerful Jesus and think I should trust him.

I should believe in him We're going to see Jesus heal or raise a paralyzed man and bring a dead woman back to life

No one else could do that people say they can do it, but no one has done it and That is why the

Apostle Peter Goes not as the healer Not as the razor of the dead

But as a conduit as an agent as a representative of the

Lord Jesus Christ for these mighty works First we see first miracle is helpless

Anais Peter We're told is kind of an itinerant preacher traveling around the area look at verse 32

Now as Peter went here and there among them all he came down also to the

Saints who lived at Lydda Now how did there get to be

Saints at Lydda? Why were there Saints in fact in this whole area of Sharon? We don't know

But some scholars say and it seems reasonable to think we just go back a little bit in this narrative

Back to the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8 verse 39 and When they the

Ethiopian eunuch and Philip Came out up out of the water the Spirit of the

Lord carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing but Philip found himself at a

Zotus and As he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea Just working his way up through this entire area preaching the gospel, and it seems like It took with some people

A Zotus also known as Ashdod during the era of the Philistines This whole area the coastal area of Israel is among the most fertile farmland in the region

It's also known as I said earlier the Sharon plain the plain of Sharon and Peter is visiting various churches various groups of believers in the area

And if we just look back at verse 31 so the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and Was being built up And just on that basis alone well, and we see at the end of the verse there.

It says the church multiplied so Peter's going through this area of Judea This area in Sharon, and he comes to the believers at Lydda With what seems in every kind of way to be a routine kind of pastoral visit.

Maybe he's preaching visiting the Saints encouraging the Saints Seems entirely routine until it wasn't

Lydda is on the road to Joppa Joppa's up on the coast. It's a little

I guess you'd say East by northeast from Jerusalem and Joppa is probably about halfway between the two and So he's walking from Jerusalem, and he's just kind of winding his way around he ends up in Lydda And we're told in verse 33 that about this this man who is paralyzed there.

He found a man named Anais Bedridden for eight years who was paralyzed

Now we're not told how Peter finds him we're not told how Anais winds up bedridden

Is he a member of this church in Lydda? We don't really know Seems likely that he's a believer and I'll kind of spoil the punchline for you.

It seems like he's a believer why? Because we never he's we're never told that he's a believer and after he gets raised

We're not told that he believed So it seems reasonable to think that this is just a

Wonderful providential event in in his life and not a salvific event, but we're not really told

What we do know is that he's paralyzed. He's confined to a bed. He's bedridden. He can't go anywhere Doesn't have the strength doesn't have the ability to get up and walk

Now we see that how Christ intercedes for him First notice how

Peter commands in verse 34 and Peter said to him Anais Jesus Christ heals you

Rise and make your bed Now just think of the confidence you have to set you have to have to say something like Jesus Christ heals you he doesn't say

I heal you He doesn't call in a band. You know, there's no fanfare

It's just Jesus Christ heals you It reminds me of John 5 verse 8

Jesus said to him to this man at Bethesda Get up take up your bed and walk.

I just boom just get up But this is even more brief.

There's there's not even a command to walk. It's just Rise get up and make your bed

Many of us say that to kids all the time, but this is this is special this man is Paralyzed he can't do anything for himself.

He's been taken care of for eight years Peter and John had a similar interaction in Acts chapter 3

If you recall the man who was Well, I'll just read it Acts 3 verses 2 to 6 and a man lame from birth so longer

I Think if I recall correctly, it's like 38 years and a man lame from birth was being carried

Whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate To ask alms of those entering the temple.

He was just he begged for a living That's what he did because it was all he could do people had

Compassion for him verse 3 seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple.

He asked to receive alms and Puri and Peter Directed his gaze at him locked eyes with him as did

John and said look at us And he fixed his attention on them. In other words, he responds to their command

Expecting to receive something from them. He wanted money But Peter said

I have no silver and gold But what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk same thing in the name of by the power of Because of the person of Jesus Christ all that he is

Because he is divine Because he is all -powerful because he is able and willing to heal you get up and walk

Peter is as I said before the agent the mediator of the action of Jesus himself and When Jesus heals someone it is complete.

It is instantaneous. It is done and Knowing this

Peter commands Aeneas to make his bed Now if we think about making a bed

We might think about tucking the sheets in we might think about all kinds of things, but here's the here's the point it's basically a mat a mat and perhaps some bedding some sheets and whatnot

When he tells him to make his bed, he's telling him essentially to roll it up Roll it up and move what we don't see here

Because there are very few details we don't see him questioning this man to see if he has enough faith to be healed

Aeneas doesn't even ask Peter for anything not for money not to be healed nothing

Aeneas is just the creature Jesus Christ is the creator

Essentially he is the clay and Jesus is the divine Potter Jesus says be healed

Jesus says arise and he does look at verse 34 and he immediately he rose

Peter is by the power of the Lord himself commanding

Aeneas to rise and he does it's that same Essentially, you know does

Aeneas have a say in the matter No, it's essentially like when Jesus goes to Lazarus and says

Lazarus come forth come out of the tomb Lazarus comes forth in the same way

Peter as an agent of Jesus Christ says to Aeneas rise And he does

Eight years of suffering eight years of being paralyzed eight years of being cared for 24 -7 is over.

And again, there's nothing said about his salvation but we see that God saves

God Uses this miracle for his purposes and make no mistake

This is God intervening on the space -time continuum to do what only God can do.

That's what a miracle is Miracle as much as I love dogs and you love them being saved.

That's not a miracle. This is a miracle Look at verse 35 and all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him which this is say

Aeneas and They turned to the Lord Now does this mean that every single person living in the area of Lydda and the

Sharon Plain? Saw this man they saw Aeneas and therefore they all believed

It's likely hyperbolic. We think it's not every single person.

It just means it's beyond the realm of reasonableness to expect

Luke to give a count or even an estimate. There are just so many

Now miracles. I mean a lot of times people say and you've shown me a miracle and I'll believe is that true?

And I'll constantly say no if we just think about some biblical examples All of Israel goes through the

Red Sea right when it's parted to escape Egypt Do they all believe did they all then trust in God?

No, in fact, they're all too willing to join right in and make that calf

How many miracles do you suppose that Judas Iscariot saw? Did he believe?

No, can God use miracles to cause people to believe?

absolutely to convince them of Jesus Christ Yes in this case

Many so many came to believe that Luke is not able to count them or give an estimate

Now for a moment Let's consider who Peter is preaching about Who is this

Jesus that he says that he's gone throughout this area preaching and now by the power of Jesus?

He is raising Aeneas from his bed He's the second person of the

Trinity Who took on a human nature? He didn't stop being God. He didn't lay aside his exercises of or his exercise of deity

He didn't simply become a man powerless But he did take that second nature two natures one person doesn't stop being eternal

God He is the eternal Son of God One person with two natures a divine nature and a human nature so many errors of theology can be eradicated just by remembering

Jesus is divine and He's human How was he tempted?

human God can't be tempted How do you do the miracles divine?

Jesus Christ fully God, but he's also Human and as a human he always did what was right and never did what was wrong

Never sinned and always did righteousness That's his work.

So we're talking about his person and his work Jesus volunteered to be cruelly crucified by wicked men.

If you recall, he said I laid down my life. No one takes it from me So that those who trust in him might be forgiven for all their sins

His perfect life that is to say his righteousness is credited to all who trust in him and He was raised from the dead on the third day crucified raised on the third day

Now is it a coincidence? And you already know the answer. Is it a coincidence that in our passage today both of these

Folks are Commended to get up Absolutely not Rising being raised

Jesus Christ raised on the third day and he now intercedes on our behalf and on this day

He interceded miraculously for Aeneas. So that's miracle number one helpless

Aeneas Christ intercedes and then God saves our second miracle is

Hopeless Tabitha, she's dead Well, who is she first of all verse 36 tells us now there was in Joppa a disciple named

Tabitha Which translated means Dorcas? She was full of good works and acts of charity

When he uses a term like now, he's just kind of again transitioning

We don't know how long it was was it immediately after Aeneas was raised. Don't know could have been days

Weeks, we don't know but That's not

Luke's focus the timeline what he tells us though, is it about this woman?

This disciple this believer Named Tabitha whose name means dear or gazelle

Could have been a good runner don't really I mean, this is just a you know a name but interesting name

But she's known for her good works and her charity and Poverty was a real problem in the church.

We saw that in Jerusalem the church in Jerusalem Because what happens you get saved and then you're no longer welcome in the synagogues and if you're struggling or if particularly if you're a widow and you're not able to Do work or to own property or the all the prohibitions against widows?

You were in a bad situation and you couldn't go to the synagogues for help. So what did you do?

Well, you've got a small little church there in Joppa Tabitha was known for her as Freyberg says

Benevolent activity toward the poor her her donations her almsgiving her charitable giving

This is who she was and then Peter is called upon In verse 37 and 38 in those days

She became ill and died and when they had washed her they laid her up or they laid her in an upper room

Since Lydda was near Joppa the disciples hearing that Peter was there sent two men to him urging him

Please come to us without delay Now without boring you with all the details, there's a little bit of controversy here some commentators disagree

But let me give you what they all agree on Tabitha right out of her text died from an illness

Her body was prepared to some extent says that she was washed She was prepared for to some extent for burial

What doesn't happen though is they don't wrap her in linens like she's the final preparation to be buried

So she's probably only there for a few hours in this upper room Some think that they put her in the upper room rather than bury her because they'd heard about Peter healing

Anais and they thought hey Peter's right over there Let's go get him.

He can raise her from the dead now. That's possible absolutely positive possible

And it would be absolutely the case of the text told us that But here's the thing

He just raised Anais from a sickbed he was paralyzed But there's no way that Peter's never raised anybody from the dead before this

So They have a pair they might have some hope that Peter can help but they don't know for sure

They knew the Lord tab or loved Tabitha more than they did because she was a believer

Perhaps he the Lord would act and that's why the church sent the church at Joppa sent these two men to plead with Peter to come on and Tend to Tabitha and Peter response verse 39.

So Peter rose and went with them Again, this kind of reminds me of the whole

Lazarus thing, but she's she's not dead for Several days before Peter gets there and when he arrived they took him to the upper room now.

We're talking about probably a Three to four hour walk from Lydda to Joppa So it's three hours to get there and you know three hours back and so it's at least six hours

And when he arrived they took him to the upper room All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them

You can picture the scene. Can't you? They're weeping they're crying and when we think about Middle Eastern weeping, you know around here we'd probably you know,

New England Reserve We probably think you know a couple sniffles a couple Kleenexes, you know wiping away a few tears

That's not how they weep there. They're wailing. I mean, they're they're screaming

I mean if you've ever been around this kind of thing, it'd get you know, it would wear me out

You know wear me out just to have to wail like this. This is just what they do what they did but the recipients of Tabitha's kindness of her ministry they're there and they're showing these

Garments some they may have even worn she made this for me, you know She did this, you know, and they're holding up all these things.

Look at what a wonderful saint she was These are the trophies of her kindness as it were and then as with Anais Christ intercedes

Peter prays Verse 40 but Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed

He turns all the widows everybody who was there and says You know get out of the upper room

And he knelt down and prayed didn't

Bring her back to life in front of the all all of them. Would that have been spectacular?

But here's the thing Peter knows that he has no power within himself we see the humility here of Peter He doesn't command her to rise without appealing first to his high priest

His intercessor the one who ever lives to intercede on behalf of his people

He prays to Christ and Tabitha rises Again verse 40 and turning to the body.

He said Tabitha arise and She opened her eyes and when she saw

Peter she sat up Again, we don't have a lot of details here

There's no big back and forth between the two of them after that, you know, welcome back. Nothing like that she just Sees him and sits up Now if you've noticed while I've been talking about Tabitha I pretty consistently say

Tabitha and not Dorcas and there's a reason for that Dorcas is her

Greek name Tabitha being her name in Aramaic they both mean gazelle or deer

But there's a particular reason I chose to stick with Tabitha more so It gives us a sweet reminder of Jesus's own words when he raised a leader of the synagogues

Daughter in Mark 5 41 Taking her by the hand.

He Jesus said to her this little girl who was dead Talitha kumi which means little girl.

I say to you arise. That's it in Aramaic And Peter would have said essentially the same thing

One consonant one letter difference he would have said Tabitha instead of Talitha Commentator pole

Hill says this he says in the Aramaic churches They cherished the story of Tabitha and the similarity would not be missed

In the footsteps of the master and through the power of his master Peter worked the same miracle of resurrection using almost identical words

Raising Tabitha from the dead and Then Peter presents her excuse me to the church at Joppa and He gave her his hand and raised her up then calling the saints and widows.

He presented her alive He kicked them all out prayed Raised her from the dead and then he says

I again we don't have the exact words It just says calling the saints and widows calling the believers back in y 'all can come back in now whatever the church in Joppa hoped

Can you imagine what they thought as they walked into the upper room?

What joy and celebration and thanksgiving From those believers and having

Tabitha restored to them by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ Do you think that news would have spread, you know bad news spreads fast.

Well good news can spread almost as fast Joppa was a large port city on the

Mediterranean and because of this miracle Many came to believe in Christ it says so verse 42 and it became known throughout all

Joppa and Many believed in the Lord as I said in the beginning miracles have a purpose.

They are God's Extraordinary means of demonstrating the truth of the message proclaimed by his messengers

What are the ordinary means of grace ordinary means of grace are preaching fellowship reading the word

Those kind of things having communion Extraordinary means Supernatural means

Miraculous means we don't normally see those things. That's why they're miracles So should we expect miracles today?

No Have a friend who's a professing Christian in California And we recently got back in contact via Facebook and he said that you know,

I believe in miracles I believe in prophecy today, etc, etc, etc And I said well, you know,

I believe that God Has spoken to us With his final word, you know little

Hebrews one action in the personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ But when we think about it even then

In the age of the miraculous Could anyone expect a miracle the answer is no

Even then people died even then people got sick and did not recover even then

Bad things happen to believers But while the church was being established

From time to time the Lord chose to do these kind of miracles to demonstrate That these

Apostles were telling the truth about the Son of God that Jesus was the Christ That he could be trusted that he was risen that he was ascended

Now look at verse 43 really kind of an odd verse one of those verses whereas a pastor you're like, okay do

I just skip this verse wait till next week and He talking about Peter Stayed in Joppa for many days with one

Simon a tanner Now, what should we take out of that? You know that the two

Simons are hanging out together No, why is it significant at all?

Why does Luke mention it? Because Luke's a good storyteller And here's the point.

The point is Simon the tanner lives in Joppa Tanners need a lot of water to clean the animal skins that they're working on So Simon the tanner lives there, but guess what?

He's ceremonially unclean He's an outcast from you know from a

Jewish perspective. He's not somebody that Would be welcome inside of a synagogue because of the work he did

He dealt with dead things all the time dead animals But Peter stays with him he's perfectly willing to do that Why?

Because this sets the stage for the next part of the gospel expansion. We've seen the gospel go through Judea Samaria all this whole area here

Israel we would think about Well, it's about to go outside It's about to really go outside the

Jewish world and into the Gentile world and what he's doing is he's Lucas setting the stage up for people that we wouldn't normally think of as or at least the

Jews would not think of as being acceptable But the gospel is going to go to them and even

Peter isn't really thinking that at this point He doesn't know the plan of God. He's just an agent of the

Lord Now friends you may have sometimes feel helpless like Anais hopeless

Certainly not dead But circumstances come up in life that seem overwhelming.

I think even Christians can be tempted to Think that well,

I mean miracles are possible right can God act in a miraculous way He absolutely can and that's what

I say when I say, you know when my friend says you're putting God in a box I say well, I'm not doing that God can do whatever he wants.

He's God and I'm not but what we know is that the history of miracles is is relatively compact but sometimes even in his providence it can seem like Miraculous things are happening

But I have no power. I can't change your health. I can't change your wealth

I can't even change the important relationships in your life.

I can't bring you joy and happiness I'm here to tell you about a man who is more than a man

He is truly man and truly God he has eternally existed

He's our Creator He alone conquered sin and death.

In fact, I thought it would be good to go to 1st Corinthians 15

The words of Saul now Paul in 1st

Corinthians 15 certainly the Apostle Paul wrote it 1st Corinthians 15 verses 12 to 22

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Because there were certainly people in the Corinthian Church trying to teach that but if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even

Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised then our Preaching is in vain

Everything that Paul did everything that Peter did is based on the simple fact that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and he says if he hasn't been

Raised from the dead then our preaching is vain and worse your faith your belief is in vain

Why because you believe what God didn't do 15 we are even found to be misrepresenting

God because we testified about God that he raised Christ Whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised because Jesus is the firstfruits

For if the dead are not raised not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised

Here's the heart of the matter. Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins miracles

Fine Anais raised from his bed great Tabitha raised from the dead great, but guess what?

She's going to die she's going to die again and If Jesus is not raised from the dead

She dies in her sins you die in your sins He says that then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished

They're going to hell Verse 19 if in Christ we have hope in this life only we are of all people most to be pitied

This is Christian liberalism right here Liberal Church says do good works be focused on those things

Do good in this life only? Jesus is our moral example, but Paul says if Christ is your hope in this life only

You are to be pitied You are to be wept over Verse 20 but in fact

Christ has been raised from the dead the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep The first one raised forever from the dead

Jesus Christ For as by a man came death our father

Adam introduced death into the world By a man also has come or by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead

Because Jesus is the second Adam who has defeated death He says in verse 22 for as in Adam all die because of Adam we all suffer physical death

So also those in Christ shall be made alive in other words We're going to die as our father

Adam did but we shall not taste the second death Which is to say we will not go to hell, but we'll have eternal life with him

We sang a Getty's song earlier I had these lyrics From another one that I was listening to by the way if you're not listening to really great hymns throughout the week you're missing out

I I Can't say I won't grade my singing voice, but I sing all the time to this stuff

I would specifically recommend to you the together for the gospel albums so good

This song what is our hope in life and death? Christ alone

Christ alone What is our only confidence that our souls to him belong who holds our days within his hand?

What comes apart from his command and what will keep us till the end the love of Christ in which we stand?

Oh? Sing hallelujah our hope springs eternal. Oh sing hallelujah now and ever we confessed

Christ our hope in life and death What truth can calm the troubled soul?

God is good our God is good Where is his grace and goodness known in our

Redeemer's blood? Who holds our faith when fears arise who stands above the stormy trial who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore the rock of Christ who does that Christ alone

Unto the grave what shall we sing Christ he lives Christ he lives and what reward will heaven bring

Everlasting life with him then we will rise to meet the Lord Then sin and death will be destroyed, and we will feast in endless joy when

Christ is ours forever more Let's pray

Father in heaven we thank you for these illustrations of the power of our resurrected

Savior the Lord Jesus Christ Anais Tabitha Raised by the power of Jesus Christ Who is not dead?

Who does not sleep? Whoever lives to intercede for his people

We can rejoice have comfort and even eagerly

Anticipate the most difficult situations in life Knowing that this life is a vapor and then eternity with Christ is our reality

Not because of what we have done But because in whom we have trusted in whom we have believed