He Is Not Here, He Is Risen

4/09/23

Listen to Lesson Audio:

---

Sermon Transcript

Good morning. Whatever you may believe about the resurrection of Jesus Christ this morning, everyone has to admit that something very significant happened on that Sunday morning, three days after the crucifixion. Even unbelievers must admit that something happened that day that altered the course of human history and forever reshaped the course of human thought. Something so important that it changed our calendars from B.C. to A.D. Something so dramatic that it forever changed the lives of Christ’s followers. Something so remarkable that it caused Christians to remain true and faithful to Christ in the face of terrible persecution and death.

We heard the answer in our scripture reading this morning. He is not here, but has risen. A simple statement of fact, but a statement that has reshaped the world ever since. You know, we often hear today that all the religions of the world are basically alike. That is absolutely false. Christianity is unlike any other religion. Why? Because unlike all other religions of this world, Christianity rests on the truthfulness of a single historical fact that from the day it occurred until the present day is open to investigation by all.

There are many people out in the world today who would love nothing better than to topple Christianity. And if that is their goal, then they should focus entirely on the resurrection of Christ. “Because if the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. Absent the resurrection of Christ, there is no Christianity. Disprove the resurrection and you have disposed of Christianity. Absent the resurrection of Christ, our preaching is vain, our faith is vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14. “Absent the resurrection of Christ, the apostles were all false witnesses.” 1 Corinthians 15:15. Absent the resurrection of Christ, we are still in our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17. Absent the resurrection of Christ, those who have died in Christ have perished. 1 Corinthians 15:18. Absent the resurrection of Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Corinthians 15:19. In short, Christianity is a worthless lie unless Christ rose from the dead, unless that is a real event of history that actually happened.

Now, if everything depends on the resurrection of Christ, then the crucial question for the world is this: Was Jesus raised from the dead? Everything depends on the answer to that question. And the answer is either yes or no. There is no middle ground. Either Jesus came out of that tomb alive or he did not. And for those of us who answer that question, yes, he came out of that tomb alive. Do we answer that question because of the evidence or do we answer it in spite of the evidence?

Yes, we have faith that God raised Jesus from the dead, but is it a blind faith? No, it is not. Our faith is not blind. When it comes to the crucial question of the resurrection, the evidence is overwhelmingly on our side and always has been. What I hope we will see today is that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is so overwhelming that the rationality of one who fails to accept it as fact should be questioned rather than the rationality of one who accepts it. Those today who disbelieve the resurrection do so not because of the evidence, but in spite of the evidence. I want us to look this morning at some of that evidence. We can’t look at all of it, but let’s look at some of it.

Now, one of the songs we sometimes sing is entitled, “He Lives.” I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today. I know that he is living, whatever men may say. It’s a pretty song, and I’m certainly not going to say this morning we shouldn’t sing it. In fact, I really like about 99% of that song. But that song ends with a question. “You ask me how I know he lives.” And that question is perhaps the most important question that any of us will ever be asked. And so it’s important that we know how to answer it, that we be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask us of the hope that is within us. 1 Peter 3:15. But do you remember how the song answers that question? You asked me how I know he lives. He lives within my heart.

Now I’m not going to say we shouldn’t sing that song but I have a big favor to ask of everyone here this morning. If anyone ever asks you that question, “How do you know he lives?” Please, please, please give them a better answer than that. Please give them a better answer than “He lives within my heart.” Yes, Jesus should be living in my heart, but that is not evidence that he is in fact living. I suspect many of us have deceased family members who are alive and well in our hearts, but who are in fact not living. Luke tells us in Acts 1:3 that the resurrection is supported by many infallible proofs. And what that means is that I should be able to answer that crucial question from my friends and my neighbors without appealing to some vague feeling in my heart. I should be able to point them to the evidence to the many infallible proofs of the resurrection.

Let’s look first today at three better answers to that question. You ask me how I know he lives. I know Jesus lives because that tomb was empty. The best evidence for the resurrection is the empty tomb. In fact, the empty tomb was the first evidence ever presented for the resurrection. Luke 24:6, “He is not here, but has risen.” The empty tomb is an absolute objective historical fact and must be explained one way or another by everyone who considers the resurrection of Christ, believer or otherwise.

One commentator wrote, "No man has written pro or con on the subject of Christ’s resurrection without finding himself compelled to face the problem of the empty tomb. That the tomb was empty on Sunday morning is recognized by everyone, no matter how radical a critic he may be. However anti-supernatural in all of his personal convictions, he never dared to question the empty tomb. Let’s look at some of the evidence for how we know today the tomb was empty. We know the tomb was empty because the location of that tomb was known to everybody. They all knew where it was. Christian, Jew, Roman, they all knew. If that tomb had not been empty, then no one would ever have believed in the resurrection of Christ because they all knew where that tomb was. And where did Christianity begin? Where? It began where the prophet Isaiah had said it would begin in Isaiah 2, it began in Jerusalem, began in Jerusalem where the gospel was first proclaimed. But Jerusalem was the very last place that Christianity could have started if that tomb had still been occupied.

Maybe the apostles could have run back to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel there, but they could never have done it in Jerusalem if that tomb had still been occupied. If the tomb had not been empty, then the Jewish authorities could have quickly exposed the hoax by simply taking a 15-minute walk from the center of Jerusalem to see that tomb. And even though the burial site was known to everyone, isn’t it interesting that that burial site was never, never turned into a shrine of any kind? Christ’s followers never made pilgrimages to that tomb. Why? Because they knew he was not there. They knew it was empty. In fact, one of the best pieces of evidence for the empty tomb is what one commentary called the extraordinary silence of antiquity concerning the later history of the grave of Jesus. They all knew it was empty. The apostles went up and down the very city where Jesus had been crucified, and they proclaimed right to the faces of his slayers that he had been raised from the dead, and nobody could present contrary evidence despite having an extraordinary incentive to do so. We know the tomb was empty because the location of that tomb was known to all.

We also know it was empty because the evidence of the empty tomb, the written evidence dates back almost to the date of the very event. Now we know the Bible is the inspired word of God, but from a purely evidentiary viewpoint, an eyewitness account written shortly after an event is perhaps about the strongest evidence one could find for an event that occurred 2000 years ago. And we have that evidence. Mark describes the resurrection and the empty tomb in Mark chapter 16. When did Mark write down that account? How far back can that evidence be dated? Well, for a clue, we could turn to Mark 14:54. But Peter followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest.

Now, if I tell you the President of the United States will be here next Sunday, who do you think I’m talking about? Clinton? Carter? Bush? Trump? If I tell you the President of the United States will be here next Sunday, you’re thinking I’m talking about President Biden. Because if I use the word “President” without giving a name after it, it refers to the current occupant of the office. In Mark 14:54, Mark refers to the high priest in that same way. He just calls him the high priest. Caiaphas was the high priest at that time. He’s mentioned by name in Matthew. He’s mentioned by name in Luke. He’s mentioned by name in John. He’s mentioned by name in Acts. He is not mentioned by name in the book of Mark. Mark just calls him the high priest. What that means is that the high priest when Jesus was crucified and was raised from the dead was still the high priest when Mark wrote that down. And Caiaphas was high priest until A.D. 37. That tells us that Mark’s account of the resurrection is evidence that dates back almost to the event itself. That is an an extraordinary piece of evidence from a purely evidentiary standpoint. We know that tomb was empty because the written evidence we have dates back almost to the event itself.

We also know the tomb was empty because that evidence tells us it was discovered by women. Well, now how is that evidence one way or another of its truthfulness? Well, because women occupied the lowest rung on the social ladder at this time. In fact, the rabbis said, “Sooner let the words of the law be burned than be delivered to a woman.” The testimony of women was considered so worthless they were almost never allowed to testify on any matter. If the apostles had just made this all up, they would never have had the tomb discovered first by women. The only reason that the reports are that women discovered the tomb is that those reports are the absolute truth. We know the tomb was empty because the evidence tells us it was first discovered by women.

But we also know the tomb was empty because the opponents of Christ recognized that it was empty. The opponents. In Matthew 28:11-15, Matthew refutes the earliest attempt by the Jews to dispute the resurrection. And there Matthew writes, "While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priest all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘Tell people that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed, and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. What that means is that the very earliest attempt by the Jews to discredit the resurrection assumed the fact of the empty tomb, the fact of the empty tomb, that the tomb was empty was not questioned by those who had the greatest motive to question it, the greatest motive to disprove it. They knew from the start it was empty. And it’s telling that the apostle Paul never directly mentions the empty tomb. He never tries to convince anyone it was empty. Why? Because no one was denying it. They all knew it was empty. The Jewish authorities wanted nothing more than to stop Christianity in its tracks, and if they could have done that by a short walk out to look at the tomb, don’t you think they would have done so? They And positive evidence from a hostile source is one of the strongest pieces of evidence, then and today. We know the tomb was empty because the opponents of Christ acknowledged it was empty. And so if anyone ever asks us how we know he lives, let’s point them to the empty tomb.

But that’s not the only evidence. I know that Jesus lives because he was seen alive after his death. The apostles always stressed the eyewitness nature of the evidence for the resurrection. Acts 2:32, “This Jesus God raised up again to which we are all witnesses.” Acts 3:15, “The one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.” The appearances of Jesus after his death are as well authenticated as anything in antiquity.

Let’s look for a moment at that eyewitness evidence. To whom did Jesus appear? Jesus appeared to the apostles, and this is perhaps the best attested resurrection appearance. We read about it in Luke 24 and in John chapter 20. And the most important aspect of this appearance is the physical manifestation of Christ, his wounds that he was eating. That evidence confirms that Jesus was physically raised and that this is the same Jesus who was crucified. Theologians call that that the body of Jesus was corporeal and continuous. It’s the same Jesus who lived, who was raised. And if this key appearance of Christ after his death did not occur, than how can we ever, ever explain the transformation of the apostles that occurred after his death? How can we explain their courage? How can we explain that those same men who fled for their lives were shortly thereafter ready to give up their own lives for the sake of Christ? The only explanation is the one the apostles themselves gave. They were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ.

But Jesus also appeared to over 500 people at one time. 1 Corinthians 15:6. “Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” And why does Paul mention there that some are still alive? Because they were still there to be questioned. The only reason he mentioned it. Paul is pointing to 500 eyewitnesses, most of whom could still be questioned to confirm their testimony. Again, this is about as strong of evidence as anyone could hope to find for something that happened 2000 years ago. Paul could never have claimed that Jesus appeared to 500 people so soon after the event if that appearance had not actually occurred. What we see here is that at the moment when it was still possible to test every incident, to examine every witness, to expose every trace of fraud, Paul and the other apostles openly and unhesitatingly proclaimed the fact of the resurrection.

But you know, sometimes we hear today that, well, Jesus only appeared to believers. And so, you know, they were inclined to believe whatever they were told, and they were willing to bend the truth. Absolutely false. Jesus did not appear only to believers. For example, Jesus appeared to his own brother James in 1 Corinthians 15:7 tells us about it. This appearance of Jesus to his younger brother James must have been the most amazing appearance of all when we stop and think about it. And it gives us some of the best evidence we have for the resurrection. Why? Because neither James nor Jesus’s other brothers believed on him during his life. John 7:5, “for not even his brothers believed in him.” James’ disbelief continued even up to the cross. How do we know that? Because in John 19:26, Jesus gave charge of his mother to John rather than to his own younger brother, James.

But then suddenly something changed. The disbeliever James is present in that upper room with the Apostles in Acts chapter 1 and that’s not all in Acts 12:17 when Peter gets out of prison he says go tell this to James and in Galatians 1:19 Paul says that he met two people after his conversion Peter and James Galatians 1:19 I rather in the when Paul visited the Jerusalem Church 14 years later he said there were three pillars in the church Peter John and James Galatians 2:9 and Josephus tells us that James was stoned to death in AD 60. How can we ever explain the complete and sudden turnaround of James? Why did James’s opinion of Jesus change so suddenly and change so completely? He did not believe at the cross. But there he is in the upper room in Acts chapter 1. What happened? How can we explain it? The only possible answer is the answer the Bible gives and that is that Jesus appeared a lie to his younger brother James after the resurrection and It is so fascinating to imagine what that scene must have been like When disbelieving James looked up and saw his older brother standing before him alive and well and 1 Corinthians 9:5 tells us that Jesus’s other brothers also became believers Even the most skeptical critics have acknowledged that the conversion of James is among the very best evidence We have for the resurrection of Christ.

But Jesus also appeared to another disbeliever Saul of Tarsus. 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Jesus’ appearance to his brothers and to Saul had something in common. They were the only known post-resurrection appearances that we know about to unbelievers, and each of them had a dramatic effect. This event changed Paul’s entire life. When he took off for Damascus, he was a Pharisee. He was a respected Jewish leader. He was a hater of Christians. And suddenly, that all turned around completely. He left everything behind. He became a Christian missionary who entered a life of poverty, a life of labor, a life of suffering. Why? What could possibly have turned the church’s greatest enemy into its greatest defender? What could it have been? The only possible answer is the answer the Bible gives us. It could only have been in a direct appearance of Christ to Saul on that road to Damascus. Only the resurrection could have changed Paul the Pharisee into Paul the Apostle. Only the resurrection could have turned his persecuting into preaching. If anyone ever asks us how we know he lives, let’s point them to the eyewitness evidence of the resurrection.

But that’s not the only evidence. I also know that Jesus lives because I know what happened after his death. How apart from the resurrection can anyone ever explain the tremendous growth of Christianity all over the known world shortly after the death of Christ? As one wrote, “Beginning in Jerusalem without money and without social or political prestige, this handful of disciples was able to do what the Roman Empire, with all of its military and political power, was unable to do. It was able to conquer the world and to bring into existence a kingdom under one king. Truly, their achievement is a monument to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.” And something that makes that evidence even stronger is the fact that the apostles themselves were initially skeptics. They were not eager to believe, they were reluctant to believe. Thomas refused at first to believe. He wanted to see the evidence, John 20:25. He said there, “I will never believe unless I see that evidence.”

And doubting Thomas was not alone in his doubts. Mark 16:10-11, “She went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept, but when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.” And Jesus later rebuked them for rejecting that evidence. Mark 16:14, “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” But something turned that all around. Something caused these same doubters to soon go over the all over the known world proclaiming the resurrected Christ. What was it? The simple fact is that without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity would not have gone anywhere. Christianity would have failed before it ever got started. And isn’t that exactly what Gamaliel said in Acts chapter 5? Acts 5, starting in verse 34. “But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, ‘Men of Israel, take care what you’re about to do with these men. For before these days, Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about 400, joined him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. But he too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it. You will be found opposing God.’”

Gamaliel was exactly right. The movement started after Jesus’ death. Even die-hard skeptics admit that. What was that something? What was it that turned the disciples from being skeptics in Mark chapter 16 to turning the world upside down in Acts chapter 17? What was it? Why didn’t Christianity just die out like all the other Messiah movements had done? Why didn’t the followers of Jesus turn out to be just like the followers of Theudas in Acts 5:36 or the followers of Judas in Acts 5:37. What was the difference? The only possible answer is the resurrection of Christ. The early Christians firmly held to a belief in the resurrection even while they were being thrown out of the synagogue, while they were being persecuted, while they were being killed. As one commentary has said, the origin of Christianity rips a giant hole in history that can be filled only with the resurrection. The birth and rapid rise of the church cannot be explained in any other way.

And anyone who disbelieves the resurrection has the burden to fill that gaping hole with something else, but there is nothing else. It’s the resurrection. So if anyone ever asked you how you know he lives, tell them the tomb was empty. Tell them there is eyewitness testimony and tell them there is no other way on earth to explain the rise of Christianity. Those are much, much better answers.

The fact of the resurrection is a historical matter, but the meaning of the resurrection is a theological matter. What is the meaning of the resurrection of Christ? You know, many people today call themselves Christians, but reject the resurrection. Karl Barth said he valued the doctrine of the resurrection, but he did not consider it to be an event in history. He wrote, “The resurrection touches history as a tangent touches a circle, that is, without really touching it.” Which tells me he knew about as much about math as he did about the Bible. Rudolf Bultmann said that modern men could not be expected to believe in miracles before becoming Christians. He said that an historical fact which involves a resurrection from the dead is utterly inconceivable. Sadly, Barth and Bultmann have a lot of company in the world today. Many call themselves Christians yet reject the resurrection of Christ.

But all who do that, all who call themselves Christians while rejecting the resurrection, they need to carefully consider what Paul wrote in Romans 10:9. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Belief in the resurrection of Christ is not optional for a Christian. If I believe that Jesus is dead and buried somewhere in Palestine, then I may be many things but one thing I am absolutely not is a Christian. If I reject the resurrection of Christ, then I reject everything about Christ. If I reject the resurrection of Christ, then I reject everything about God and about the Word of God. If I reject the resurrection of Christ, then I reject And the resurrection of Christ is unique among all the wonderful facts about Jesus.

Well, why do I say that? Well, I’m not the one saying it. That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 12:39-40. “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” If people today are looking for a sign from God before they will believe, they have it. They have it. It’s the resurrection of his Son, the resurrection of Christ. And that is the only sign they will be given. But how is the resurrection of Christ 2,000 years ago still a sign today? Because of the evidence. The evidence we’ve looked at here today is why the resurrection remains a sign today. Belief in Christ begins with believing that Christ is alive today and reigning at the right hand of God the Father. But if Jesus is dead and buried, then why should I do anything he commands? Why should I follow someone who is simply leading me to join him in the grave?

The resurrection of Christ is the central tenet of the Christian faith. That’s what Jesus told us in Matthew 12. That’s what Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 15. And doesn’t that make perfect sense? Isn’t the resurrection ultimately the answer to all of our problems and all of our questions? What is the answer to the problem of evil in this world? The answer is he lives. We know that evil will not triumph for the simple reason that it has already been defeated. We know that because of the resurrection. What is the answer to the problem of pain? The answer is, He lives. The resurrection tells us our pain is temporary. The resurrection gives meaning to our pain as we partake in Christ’s own suffering so that we can partake in His triumph. What is the answer to the problem of death? The answer is, He lives. Is death the end? The resurrection answers that question with a resounding no, death is not the end. But if Christ is not raised, then those who have died will remain forever in the clutches of death. And if Christ is not raised, then death still reigns supreme with no one able to defeat it. But because we know Jesus has been raised, we know death has been forever defeated. Death is swallowed up in victory, oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?

The resurrection declares the divinity of Christ, Romans 1:3-4. The resurrection is the source of our power, Philippians 3:10-11. The resurrection is the source of our hope. 1 Peter 1:3, “Forgotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The hope and the promise of the resurrection is this, “What happened to Jesus can happen to us. Like him, we will die.” But his resurrection is a promise that death is not the end. The resurrection of Jesus is the key to all the promises of Christianity. None of the promises of eternal life with God have any meaning at all unless Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Without Jesus’ resurrection, His grave would be the grave of all of our hopes. If Jesus was not raised, then He is not coming back to claim His own. If Jesus was not raised, He did not go to prepare a place for us. Absent the resurrection, the inescapable conclusion is that God abandons the faithful when they die. Absent the resurrection of Christ, those who died in Christ are no different than those who died outside of Christ. If the dead are not raised, then Christians are placing their hope in someone who is dead. The dead are not raised and the world is right. The cross is utter foolishness and we are utter fools to believe it. 1 Corinthians 15:19 comes straight to the point. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

But 1 Corinthians 15 doesn’t end with verse 19. Verse 20, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.” The resurrection of Christ is the dividing line between the despair in verse 19 and the triumph in verse 20. Let’s proclaim that fact. Let’s live that fact. The resurrection is the source of our joy. Christian joy is based in our confidence that Christ is alive, that he will return, that the dead will be raised, that all wrongs will be made right, that the faithful will join him in the sky to ever be with the Lord. That’s why we can have joy in the face of pain, in the face of persecution. Our joy in Christ depends on the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is a source of our faith. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul shows us how futile our faith would be absent the resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then Christ was not raised. And if Christ was not raised from the dead, then everything that is based on that fact collapses into a heap of broken dreams. The gospel would be emptied of its content, emptied of its power, devoid of spiritual value. Everything stands or falls on the truthfulness of the assertion that God raised Christ from the dead. If that is false, then Christianity is nothing but a joke, and the joke is on us.

What Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. Christ was not raised, we are still in our sins. Absent the resurrection, everyone will pay the wages of sin without regard to whether they follow Christ or not. If Christ is not raised, there is no one interceding on our behalf. We have no Savior. Our faith is vain. Our faith in God depends on the resurrection of Christ. And the resurrection is the source of our salvation. Romans 4:24-25. He was raised again for our justification. The resurrection is the source of the gospel. We know the gospel is the good news, but absent the resurrection, there is no good news. Absent the resurrection of Christ, all we have is bad news. The only reason the gospel is good news is because Jesus lives.

Now, if you believe in the resurrection of Christ this morning, that is wonderful. But I have another question for you. Do you also believe in baptism? I’m always amazed when I meet people who simultaneously trumpet the resurrection and belittle the role of baptism in the plan of God. The importance and place of baptism in God’s plan is explained by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How else can anyone possibly understand what Paul told us in Romans 6, or what Peter told us in 1 Peter 3? Romans 6, starting in verse 3. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” In 1 Peter 3:21-22, “baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience. How? Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ!” Jesus died and was raised again. And I likewise at my baptism died and was raised again. My new life started at my baptism. I was buried a dead man. I arose in newness of life. How could anything I have ever done in this life be more important than that? My resurrection from the grave of sin to become a new creation and my final resurrection at the end of time from the grave of this earth to meet Christ in the air, they both depend on my baptism, where I share in the death of Christ and in his resurrection. If you have not obeyed the gospel of Christ by being baptized for the remission of your sins, then you are outside Christ. You are outside of the hope and the promises of Christ. The gospel is that Jesus lives and you can live as well. Up from the grave he arose. With a mighty triumph for his foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah. Christ arose. We can help you in any way this morning. Please come while we stand and while we sing.