Luke Chapter 24, verse one says, On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices that they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women bowed down their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. Remember how he told you when he was still with you in Galilee, that the son of man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified, and on the third day be raised again. Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the 11 and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women because their words seemed like nonsense to them. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves and he went away wondering to himself what had happened. Burnt Hickory and friends, we are gathered today to proclaim that Jesus has risen, that Jesus is alive, that Jesus is in control, and Jesus has offered you a life and He loves you. 

Friends, the heartbeat of Christianity is not a new set of morals. The heartbeat of Christianity is not a to do list. If I can live this way list. It's not a new insight into what the universe is. The heartbeat of Christianity, the driving force of Christianity is that a dead man walked out of the grave an alive man, and he changed things. He changed everything. And he's offered you life. And he's offered you hope. And he's offered you eternal presence with him. It's because of Jesus, the curse of death in all its forms has been broken. It's because of Jesus that eternal life has been offered. It's because of Jesus that Satan and his dominion has been conquered. And I know. I know that some of you rejoice over that. I know that some of you are here with a joy filled heart because this has changed you. I know some of you have hung everything on the fact that Christ has given you life, and it's so good, so good to be in the presence of King Risen Jesus today. But it seems so good, so good that we can experience this together. So, friends, if that is you this morning, would you just in a voice, a proclamation of praise to this whole community today? Would you join me in shouting and clapping and cheering that Christ is alive? He has risen. He has risen, indeed. And we are his people. Amne. Amen. And Amen. Amen. 

Let's pray together, Lord. Today we Jesus, thank you. We thank you that you are, Lord. We thank you that you are king. We thank you that you bore our sins. You took our place, you conquered sin. And Lord Jesus today, would you please meet with us in a mighty way? Jesus, draw those to yourselves today that don't know you. Help them recognize your voice today. The calling of you the king today. God, through your Holy Spirit today. Allow your message to be clear in this place. And God, we ask all this in your holy holy name. Amen and Amen. 

You know, as I have been spending time over the last couple of weeks in that Luke Chapter 24 passage, there is something that jumped off the pages of that passage that never has stood out to me as strong as it did this Easter. And that is the sense of wonder. It's the sense of amazement. It's the awestruck idea that those that even knew Jesus best at first when they encountered the empty tomb, they did not know what to think. They had this sense of unbelief about them. They had this sense about this, it's just too good to be true. Even those that knew Jesus, even those that had been walking with them for a long time. In fact, in Luke 24, verse four, Speaking about the ladies that happened up to the tomb that morning, it says, While they were wondering about this, that means that they were perplexed. They didn't understand it. They couldn't wrap their minds around it. Verse 11 says about the disciples. Later on it says, But they did not believe the women because their words seemed like nonsense. I've never really picked this up before, but the people that were at the Resurrection at the very first moment, they didn't believe it. They didn't believe it. They couldn't wrap their minds around it. It was too good to be true. It just seemed too big. They were all struck. They were frozen in wonder at that moment because they just could not grasp it, because all they were seeing at that moment was an empty tomb. It's kind of like you today after going with your family to lunch this afternoon and heading to kind of a relaxing afternoon here, hearing the doorbell ring at your house and a lawyer steps up onto the stoop and hands you an envelope. And after opening, you see that a long lost relative that you had never met has just left you $100 million. You would look in the face of that person and go, This is just too good to be true. This is just too good. I don't believe it. It must not be happening. You see, for the believers in this moment, that's the intense emotion that they felt because they didn't know what was happening. They didn't expect what was happening. It felt like nonsense at the moment. You know, when we read scripture, sometimes we look at the people in Scripture through a different lens, and sometimes we think that the people back then were kind of less of people than we are. 

We think that they were kind of gullible or they didn't have the sophistication that we have. And we think things like, well, they probably just believed in all kinds of resurrections, but no, what are we seeing in the text? In the text we're seeing that at first they didn't believe it, they didn't understand it. They couldn't wrap their minds around it. I mean, the reality is, who could right? Who would believe that at any moment? Church, it's nonsense to believe that these people just were having the wool pulled over their eyes. These people understood death. They knew what it was to be to be put onto a cross. They knew exactly the process of crucifixion. They had watched it since birth. The Romans put so many people to death, they knew that Jesus was killed. They knew that Jesus had a spear poked into his side to confirm the death. They knew that Jesus was put into the tomb and had a garrison of Roman soldiers placed around him. They knew all of this. In fact, they knew death so well. They had probably seen more deaths by the time they were 12 than all of us will see in our lifetimes. So the reality is, the report that Jesus, his body was missing just seemed like nonsense to them. It seemed like there's no way this could have happened. 

Do you know why? Because they weren't looking for a resurrection. At first, they weren't looking for it. Even though Jesus had said it, even though he had alluded to it for the last three years of his ministry, they were not looking for a resurrected king. In fact, if you look at the emotion in the text, they were living a defeated life at this point. It's a foreshadowing of what it looks like not to know Jesus. In fact, the ladies that we had just mentioned remember the ladies we mentioned on the way to the tomb that morning? They weren't going to the tomb that morning to just hang out. They were going to do a job. Right. They had a job in mind. They weren't these awe struck ladies that were looking for a place to get close enough to a dead messiah to hopefully steal a miracle. No, these ladies were looking for a dead body to do a job. In verse one of Luke 24, it says On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices that they had prepared and they went to the tomb. 

Now, what does that mean? That means that they took these heavy loads of spices to the tomb. There would have been a lot of them. I don't think about your favorite oregano or cooking spice. The spice was the spices of death. They were going to do a job and that was to anoint the dead body for preservation of Jesus. The point is, they weren't going to the tomb looking for a living, breathing Jesus. They were going looking for a dead Jesus. There was no thought in their mind that he had raised. They weren't looking for a miracle. These ladies were looking for closure. That's what they were looking for. They were looking for a chapter to be ended. They wanted to anoint the body of Jesus and then move on. That's what they were doing. In fact, when you see Peter's response to the resurrection in verse 12, right? In verse 24, look at his response to the news that the body was gone. It said, Peter, however, got up. He ran to the tomb, bending over. He saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away wondering to himself what had happened. Peter wasn't like, I got it. I knew it was going to happen. I just didn't know how many days. I was a little fuzzy on the timeline. Way to go, King Jesus. No. Peter didn't know what was happening. He was confused. He was dazed. He thought, this is too good to be true. John, the apostle John, when he recalled this event in his gospel, in the gospel of John, in his moment, it says that John ran to the tomb with Peter. 

In fact, let me just read it out of John 20 verse three. It says So Peter and the other disciple. That's how John refers to himself all the time. Right. So, Peter and the other disciple, started for the tomb. Both were running. But John said to him. The other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. Now, by the way, does this have any point in the story? No, there's no point in the story. But if you're a dude and you're telling the story about an athletic feat, about outrunning someone, you're not going to leave it out of the story. Verse five, it said, He bent over and he looked at the strips of linen lying there, but he did not go in. You see, John couldn't even bring himself to go into the tomb. It was like, something is happening that's too good to be true. Something was so good. It took his breath away and John didn't want his heart to go there. He didn't want his mind to go there for fear that he would be crushed again. That he would be crushed. So what did he do? He stood on the outside. Do you see the theme here? Do you see the theme of the ladies? Do you see the theme of Peter? Do you see the theme of the 11? Do you see the theme of John? They're all not expecting a resurrection. Everybody doubts it at first. It seemed like nonsense. It seemed too good to be true. Also, real quickly, I've got to just point out, this idea of it's too good to be true in the fact of the irony that God chose ladies in this time period to be the first one to report what he did. Ladies, not my words, but the words of the Romans and the words of the culture. Your testimony during this time meant nothing. You could get ten of your friends together and say something happened, but in court it wouldn't even hold up. It didn't even matter what you were saying. So when we're watching this happen, we're seeing that Jesus is alive. And what we're about to see in just a minute is that Luke is showing us that those that knew Jesus weren't expecting it, the ladies that were reporting it weren't expecting it. And God is building this story around the fact that this is not how a normal story goes. He's showing us that it's true. It's true. It's showing us that Jesus is alive. 

And if you follow the story later on, does it seem too good to be true? Oh, yeah, it seems too good to be true. But Jesus, at this moment, when everybody was perplexed, when everybody didn't know what to say, when everybody was wondering what was going on. Jesus shows up. Jesus shows himself. And for 40 days after this happened, Jesus, the risen Jesus systematically reveals himself to the ladies and to Peter and to all the disciples. He shows himself in the upper room. He shows himself walking down the road to Emmaus, he shows himself to all the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He shows himself to over 400 people, all to say this. Does it seem like it's too good to be true? Yeah, it does. But it is. It's true. So, listen, if you came here this morning with this idea in you of there's just no way, it seems too good to be true. Listen, you're in good company. You're in good company. But when Jesus shows up, whether it's in your heart, whether it's knocking on the door of your heart, or whether it's in person standing in front of you, what we're going to see in just a second. He verifies that it's true, verifying that, yes, I have risen and yes, this changes everything. Do you see what the resurrection has done? You see, the resurrection changed time. The resurrection and the evidence of the resurrection changed people. It changed those that saw Jesus. It changed those that heard about Jesus. And for the last 2000 years, it has invaded people's lives, literally changing their destiny. That's who Jesus is. Jesus looks at us and goes, Does this seem too good to be true? 

Oh, yes, it seems too good to be true. But it is. It's true. So here's the question I want to answer the rest of the time this morning, because it's true. What does is it do? Because it's true. What does it bring into my life? Because Jesus has offered us something with the resurrection. He's offered us something and a level of hope in the resurrection. Let me give you three things that the resurrection does in all of our lives, if we allow it to. Number one, it means that Jesus has redeemed us from our sins. The resurrection tells us that Jesus has redeemed us from our sins. This is the central message of the cross is that Jesus's sacrifice on the cross brought us back out of a life of sins. He purchased us and covered our sins. That resurrection is the proof of that. In fact, the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter four and Romans chapter five talks about that, the resurrection is the verification that Jesus's sacrifice was acceptable to a holy God. That's what this that's what the resurrection did for us. Romans chapter four, verse 24, it says that God will credit righteousness for those of us who believe in him and who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. It says He was delivered over to death for our sins. And he was raised for life, for our justification. Paul says in these chapters that Jesus's resurrection is the proof that Jesus's sacrifice was good enough for you, and it's good enough for me. Listen family, our works will not get us there. 

Our jobs will not get us there. Our culture, our birth order will not get us there. It is only because of the death and life and resurrection of Jesus that our sins have been paid for. They've been paid for. They've been purchased. In fact, if you fast forward to later on in this chapter of Luke 24, you will find these two disciples (and we're going to talk about this next week if you come back) that are walking down this road and this guy comes up behind them that they didn't recognize at first until later on, and the guy says, hey, why are you so depressed? And in verse 21 of Luke 24, it says, We had hoped that he was the one that was going to redeem Israel. You see, the Old Testament prophets had said from the beginning that God was going to send a warrior king, that he was going to send a deliverer that would bring Israel back to himself. So they were looking for a political king. They were looking for a tyrant king. They were looking for a king that would come in and set them apart. But they thought that it was Jesus. For a while it was working right. The miracles were showing it. They were all on board. They were seeing his power. They thought that this was going to be Jesus. But when Jesus died, they just assumed that Jesus failed. They assumed that this Messiah was saying that He was the deliverer of the world. That he was a failure. Right. I mean, the Messiah is supposed to overcome, not be overcome in death. But the resurrection showed that there's life, the resurrection showed that he came to bring a greater redemption than just a national redemption or a cultural redemption or a people group redemption that Jesus came to offer salvation for all who have sinned. For all who have fallen away, which is all of us, by the way. Right. 

Genesis chapter three tells us that we have all sinned. That we all fell away from God. We invited sin into this planet and a Holy God couldn't be in the presence of a sinful man. And from that point on, we were separated. A sacrifice had to be made, a payment had to be made. Something had to stand in our place to redeem us. That's what Jesus did. Why? Because the Romans we've all seen and fallen short of the glory of God and the wages of that sin, the Bible says, is death. That's what Jesus' resurrection did. You see, he didn't stay dead. If Jesus would have stayed, that our sins would not have been covered. But because he rose, he has given us victory in life. Listen, Jesus has paid the price. Isaiah 53, for my sins, he took my sins and he's now hallelujah, given me the ability to be redeemed. That's what the resurrection does. I was reminded last Monday I was with a group in Greece and standing in ancient Corinth last week and I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul said about Jesus taking my sin and taking my pain and taking the curse of death onto Himself. In First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 55, it says, Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? But thanks be to God, He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, Church. Jesus took the sting out of death, and He's given us life. Jesus came that we may have redeemed life. For those of you that are in Jesus, listen to me closely. Death is no longer a defeat. It is no longer a sting. Why? You have been redeemed, there's victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood. Number one. Number one. Jesus. Jesus's resurrection has brought me redemption. But number two. Look, this keeps going. Jesus number two has offered his power to me to fully live. 

That's what the resurrection does. The resurrection just doesn't point towards tomorrow. The resurrection points to today. You see, our sin not only put a curse over us, but it released a curse inside of us. That we're now, as human beings, we have to walk in every single day. We walk in death and we walk in pain. It's not something you're just going to see one day. It's something that we experience everyday. It shows up in the form of addictions or hate or selfishness or anger or idolatry or broken relationships, broken families. And there is still a darkness that is in this world guys, that you cannot overcome on your own. I promise you, you can't. You can be the best. You can be the brightest, you can be the smartest, you can be the richest. But there is a overcoming darkness that without the power of Jesus in your life, you will never be able to get rid of. You see, Jesus's resurrection means that there is now a power in the world that is offered to you that is supernatural. That's what the resurrection shows us, right? There's a power to make you new and put life in you. Second Corinthians 5:17 says it like this. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come and the old has gone. The new is here. That means you haven't just been kind of stood up and wiped off. You've been made new and redeemed for his power. Listen to this. In Ephesians chapter one, it says this in verse 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. 

Listen to this verse 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That's what's available to you. But it gets even better. Listen to this. That power is the same mighty strength that he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. Do you see the tie in here? Jesus doesn't just want to redeem you for the future. He wants to give you the power to live right now. That means that Jesus doesn't just forgive every sin because He died for every sin, but also Jesus can restore all of you. He can reverse the curse. He can reverse what is in your life. He can put back the brokenness all over and reverse what has happened in your life. He can take everything that has been taken from you and restore it. Jesus puts the hearts back together. We see this in Luke 24. A minute ago I mentioned that it was Mary at the tomb, right? I read her name. In fact, there were three Marys that were at the tomb that day. There was Mary, the mother of Jesus. There was Mary Magdalene that we're going to talk about in just a second. And then there was another Mary that is just referred to as the other Mary. How about that? You make the Bible, but all you get is you're the other Mary. That's all she got. Mary Magdalene has an incredibly interesting story that shows the redemption in power of Jesus. 

You see, Mary Magdalene, we catch up with her a little bit clearer in Mark's gospel. Mark's gospel tells us that Mary was consumed with demons. Not one, not two, three, but seven demons in this lady. She was possessed by them, she was hopelessly consumed, is what the number seven means. It says that she was demonic, she was a prostitute. She was beyond recognition. She was hopeless and destitute and outcast and given up on. But in Luke chapter eight, Mary meets Jesus. Mary meets the power of Jesus. Mary sees Jesus for who He is. She falls at the feet of Jesus and Jesus sets her free. But Jesus didn't just set her free for eternity. He set her free for the rest of her life. So how do you know that? Because it's Mary. Listen to this. It's so beautiful. It's Mary that is at the tomb. It's Mary that is the first person, that experience in person, the resurrected Jesus. She goes back to the tomb. It's an amazing scene. She is sitting at the tomb. Evidently, there was a little garden that was outside the tomb. She is consumed. She is distraught. She didn't know what was happening. She is awe struck with wonder. She's crying. She is beside herself. And all of a sudden she catches a figure walking out of her peripheral vision and she yells at the figure. She thinks that it's the gardener. Right? She yells out, I mean, she's like, Where did you take him? And all of a sudden, that is the voice of a person she would never have expected. Jesus calls her again. Jesus looks at her and says, Mary. Mary. And at that point, for the second time in her life, the first time Jesus saved her. The second time Jesus gives her the power to live. Do you see that? Man, the first person that Jesus, the risen Jesus appears to is a broken former prostitute. Tell me Jesus doesn't redeem. Tell me Jesus doesn't give us power to live. Tell me Jesus can't save. Jesus calls her by name. Do you know what I believe this morning? I believe that Jesus is calling some of you by name today. I believe that Jesus is calling some of you into repentance, into a relationship, a saving relationship, a redeeming relationship with him. But I also think that Jesus is calling some of you back to him, calling some of you back into his power and back into a full functioning relationship with Jesus. Church, listen to me. There's healing. There's power in the name of Jesus, and he's offering it. But we have to hear his voice. Call us in the graves of life. 

That's where we get graves to gardens from that text right there. Church There's more healing in the name of Jesus than there is sickness in you and I can guarantee you that. The resurrection says that his power is available to you. Number one, the resurrection says there's redemption that's available. Number two, the resurrection says that there's power available and catch this one. Number three, since the resurrection is true, it means that Jesus has secured our future. It means that He secured our future. You see how this works? We're looking back at our redemption. We're looking right now at the power of Christ to live. And we're looking forward to what Christ wants to do in us. Paul calls this in First Corinthians, later on, he calls the resurrection the first fruits of God's new creation. Here's what that means. That means that it's just a little bit of a taste of what's to come. Do you get that about the resurrection? Yes. The resurrection is about Jesus' raising. Yes, the resurrection is about Jesus giving us life. But the resurrection is a little bit of a foreshadowing of what Christ is going to do for all of us who know Jesus in a personal relationship. 

It's showing us that no matter when we feel like we're living now, maybe living in a Friday or maybe living in a Saturday. But Jesus is the Jesus of all of them and wants to give you eternal life in Him. That's what the resurrection does. The resurrection offers us a life and it offers us hope. And I know when we look at things like death that we're looking at in Scripture this morning, it seems so final, but death is nothing more than a step towards eternal life for those who know Jesus. For those who know him in a relationship, death is not permanent. Do you know why? Because there's a great reversal that is coming one day. That Jesus says those that know me will experience the fact that I've swallowed up death. That's what Jesus shows us. Believer, what a day it's going to be one day when we no longer have to worry what tomorrow looks like. That's the hope that Jesus offers all of us. 

Listen, your story doesn't end at death. When you know Christ, it is nothing more than a springboard into a fulfillment of something that we can not imagine. You see why? Because the empty tomb. Because our life and our joy doesn't end at the grave. That's really where it begins. That's what Jesus is showing us. Jesus is alive and joy and life and future is offered to you. And that's what Jesus wants for you. You see, the resurrection shows that in moments where you feel abandoned, in moments where you feel isolated, in moments where you feel like God is not even real or God has forgotten you. The resurrection shows us no, that's not the case. He's alive. He's well. And he keeps his promises for you. That's the resurrection. So listen to me. You may feel like you're living in a Friday or Saturday, but Jesus shows us Sunday's coming. He shows us it's coming. And God is the way maker. God is the miracle worker. God is the promise keeper. And he's light in the darkness. And even when you don't see him, he is working. Even when you don't feel it. He is working. Why? Because he never stops. He never stops working. Do you see what the resurrection shows us? It just shows us that if God didn't turn his back on us at the moment, that sin was being placed on to his son. He is not going to turn his back on you now. 

He's offering you life. He's offering you hope. So, listen, if you feel like you're in a season of darkness, if you feel like you're in a season of waiting, if you feel like you're in a season of I just don't have all the answers and you're looking for an answer prayer. You're looking for God to bring back a child, to heal a marriage, to bind up a wound. What Jesus would say is sometimes it feels like Saturday, but Sunday is coming for those who know me. God is the God of crucifixion Friday, of silent Saturday, and he is surely the God of Resurrection Sunday. And he wants to raise you. He wants to raise you. So because it's true. The simple message this morning is that he's offering you redemption. He's offering you his power. And he's offering you a secured future and a bonus one for you as we get ready to close is this. Just know this. He'll never disappoint you. He'll never disappoint you. Listen, nobody else can promise you that. Nobody else can promise you that they will never disappoint you. But Jesus can. Do you know why? Because he has now been exalted to the heavenly realms. And He has given us the ability to know him, to be redeemed, to live in his power, and to experience his fullness. But here's the question of the morning as we close. Do you believe it? You see, the thing about this is, at the very beginning, everybody had a hard time believing it and we can't blame them. Right. But then Jesus shows up and Jesus shows himself to them and Jesus shows his power to them and Jesus calls their name. Here's my question this morning. Is he calling yours? Is he calling yours for some of you? You have sat through so many services just like this, and it has always seemed like it was foolish. But today something's different. 

Today something else is going on in your heart. Can I tell you what that is? That's the Holy Spirit. That's the Holy Spirit. Beginning to push into your life and beginning to reveal himself to you. Beginning to say, Does it seem like it's too good to be true? Oh, yeah, it does. But Christ has risen and he's offered you life. So let me ask you something today. Do you need to give your heart to Jesus? Do you need to turn from you living as the Lord of your life and give Him the Lord of your life? Do you need to get saved for Jesus to redeem you of your sins? Listen, in just a minute, we're going to have a closing worship time together. And there's an incredibly important thing that can happen during this closing worship time. Earlier, Marty mentioned that there's a QR code in front of you that has a lot of next steps in it, but there's also a next steps that I want to push you towards in the end of this message. On this QR code, it gives you the ability to express today where your heart is in Jesus. Because here's what I believe. I believe some of you today are looking for a way to give your heart to Jesus. Today, you can do that. You can simply invite Christ into your life to forgive you of your sins, to come into your life as your Savior and Lord and to save you. In fact, right now, in your own heart, if you will, just pray, say the Lord, save me, come into my heart, forgive me of my sins, and give me life, and be my Lord. If that's you today and your heart is there. 

Listen to me. Welcome to the Kingdom of God. Because that's what it means to be saved. It means you're surrendering your heart to him. But, man, we want to know about that. On this next step form, it has a blank on there that just says, hey, I want to give my heart to Jesus today. That's number one on there. Maybe that's where you are today, but there's also a number two, and that just says, hey, I need to be connected with the church. I want to find more about it. I've been trying to do this thing on my own, solo. But today I want to say I am taking my next step and I want to grow in my faith. I want to see what it looks like to participate in a family of God. There's a blank on there. You can fill out somebody will reach out to you probably this afternoon, maybe tomorrow, and just say, Hey, here's who we are and here's how you can be connected. Number three on the blanks there. There's a place for you to just express that you'd like to jump into this next steps class that we have. We're just calling it the basics of Christianity. You may have been a skeptic of this whole thing for your whole life. Something in you today is going, Man, I just need to hear a little bit more about that. Or maybe you've just given your life to Jesus and you want to go, man, I want a solid foundation. Starting next Sunday, we got a small group together. It's going to be people just like you coming into a room going, I just want to find out a little bit more about what this looks like. That's you. There's a fourth plank if you fill this out online and just kind of put your name in. And that's just a blank for somebody that's here this morning. They just need somebody to pray over them. You just need somebody to over text or maybe even just kind of get an appointment together and sync up. You just need somebody to pray God's presence and power over your life, over something that's going on. We would love to walk beside you in that this morning. Man, would you jump on to that and just express where you are in your faith and what that looks like?
 
But maybe today you're saying, man, I can't, I can't do that online. I don't know how all that works. I don't know where all that is. Here's the good news for you. In this next worship moment, we have a tent that is set up right over here to my right. If you're in the video venue, it'll be to your right as well. You can just walk over to that next steps banner and just go, Hey, listen, I need to get saved. I need to jump into a life in the church. I need to jump into that class, or I just need somebody to pray over me. We've got a team that is ready just to love on you this morning and say that Christ loves you. Whatever your decision is today. We want to celebrate that. Would you pray with me before we jump in our time of decision? Lord, move in this place. God, meet us where we are and God call many of us by your saving call to your name. It's in your holy name. We pray. 

Amen. Amen. 

Let's stand and sing. And if you need to move, we'll be right over here to the side.