They were greatly disturbed because the Apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the

resurrection of the dead. Acts 4:2 Yesterday it snowed again. After a long winter the sight of fresh snow on the ground was met with a whole lot of frustration and disbelief. We have been longing and hoping for the coming of spring and we are not in the mood for further delay. How like life in this world that is. We feel as if we have been created for something far better than this uncertain and difficult life. In this past week a number of things have taken place which has heightened this feeling for me. Last weekend our family had the joy of welcoming another tiny Granddaughter into our circle. My wife and I had the joy of watching over the big sisters ages four and two. It was a joy and many wonderful memories were created. I always find it to be a wonderful and joyful thing to be in the company of my Grandchildren. They bring great joy into my life while also reminding me that I am not as young as I once was. A new life is a joyful thing. It brings to us as well memories of when we were young and beginning our own family. This weekend there will be a wedding at our Church. To witness the vows of a young couple who are just starting out their life together is a solemn thing which always reminds me of the covenant relationship between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:21-33). This week I will also be participating in a celebration of life service. Each service of this type reminds us as believers of the life to come. There is a longing in each of our hearts for something better. This week we will share in a Good Friday Service proclaiming Christ Crucified in Song, Word, and in the Lords Table. C. H. Spurgeon spoke in a sermon recorded in Volume 5 of his Spurgeons Sermons the following about the confession of sin in an exposition of Luke 18:13. What reason had he to expect that God would have mercy upon him? The Greek explains more to us than the English does; and the original word might be translated God be propitiated to me a sinner. There is in the Greek a distinct reference to the doctrine of the atonement. It is not the Unitarians prayer God be merciful to me; it is more than that it is the Christians prayer, god be propitiated toward me, a sinner. (Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Mass., 2011, p. 157) It is in the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ that we find ourselves reconciled to God. That deep longing that we have within us is dealt with in the cross. What seems to be such weakness, and the defeat of all of the plans and promises of God is in fact the means by which He redeems us. Here is where we find hope. The reality of that great hope is demonstrated in the resurrection on the first day of the week. It is this reality that the Apostles were proclaiming in Acts four. They were called, as are we, to be witnesses of the resurrection. That man who had been crucified on the cross for us could not be held by death. He triumphed over death and as a consequence He is able to give life abundant and eternal to

us. It is this that we testify to this week in our Good Friday and Easter Services. As the Apostle John, another witness of the resurrection writes in Revelation 12:10-12. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because He knows that his time is short.