Thank you. Yeah. your attendance at this service this morning to remember the life of Mike Easter. The um The numbers who are here today are a testimony to his life that it touched the lives of many. Most of you I don't know.
But I know he knew many people all the way from Winston to who knows, all over the this part of the state, to be sure. And so, your presence here today is not only a testimony to his life, and it's effect upon your life. But it's also an expression of your love and your support for Kathy and for the family. And so we very much appreciate your being here today. It's customary for us to say when someone dies.
I'm sorry for your loss. It's a good thing to say. Because it is a loss to us. No question about it. A husband.
has been taken from Kathy. The father has been taken from Carson and from Michael. A Brother has been taken, and others of you have various relationships. I learned that Michael has a lot of cousins. I talked to some of the cousins here earlier.
I learned several things about Mike Easter, just Prior to the service, that I didn't know. Didn't know how much of an athlete he was. Quite the ball player, played ball with him, and so many of you probably are here because of that relationship with him. But it is customary to say, I'm sorry for your loss, because indeed it is a loss. For us.
But never forget For one who is trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, For him. In this case, for Mike Easter, it is not a loss, it is a gain. The Apostle Paul makes that clear to us in the Word of God. when he says to depart and be with Christ is far better. Far better.
And so we are confident of that today because we have seen the evidence. of the work of the Holy Spirit of God in Mike's life. to train trip. I Noticed some of the pictures out here when he was younger. He looked a lot different.
I thought, how ironic! He became a barber. And back in those days, he could have used a haircut, couldn't he? But at any rate. But The Lord has worked in his life.
And we trust has worked in your life. I'm sure he has worked in your life in various ways. And it is our desire That every one of you. Embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Let us Take a hymn though, weason.
Need hymnals, turn to page 278. This was a testimony of Mike's wonder. His amazement that God Would save a sinner like him. How can it be? How can it be?
that God should love a soul like me, How can it be? Page 278. Let's stand together as we sing. Oh, sing as thy eyes behold, O wonders of thy wine adore. What and the glorious life offering the last creation thou hast gained.
And if to thee thou loved, my heart rise up. How can it be, how can it be, how can it be that such love like thee? Oh how careless I love thee how many Lord thy throne and new the precious flee for thy good silver sun was over me in great thy love how credit thee how credit how credit thee that comes so thy How heavenly our came for grace so whole and free.
So hope in loving kindness of his soul to rescue me. Oh love in life, how can it be? How can we shall so like thee O. Please remain standing for prayer. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we are thankful for the privilege of being able to come together to celebrate. and remember the life of our faithful brother. Mike Easter. Lord, we know. that you know the thoughts and intents of our hearts and souls.
You know where we recline and run to when we need to Be shielded from the storms of life. And as we look over the life of our brother, Uh Are reminded of the life of a man who ran. into Christ. who reclined in Christ, who grabbed a hold of the promises of Christ. And so as you invite us in, to set aside this time to contemplate.
to reflect the reality of death that is coming for all of us. May this be a day where we are able to take time. To ask, where am I reclining? To whom and to what am I running to in the face? of the storms and trials of life and ultimately the reality of death which comes for us all.
Lord, you have told us you are the resurrection and. The life. This is a promise that we as Christians hold to. This is a promise that our brother held fast to. And while our bodies are wrecked by sin and by heartache and by sin.
by pain, by illness. Our brother's body. which too has been sown in corruption. will one day be raised incorruptible. Just as you are.
Our beloved Lord, you have conquered death, hell, and the grave. You have ascended to the right hand of the Father. And even as our brother Mike is in the presence of you, our triune God, at this very moment. You assure him that there will be a day, Christ, where you will return to the earth. You will raise that corrupted body, incorruptible.
We will fellowship with him forevermore, one with another, as we worship and serve you, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. May we be comforted with this. May we not mourn as those who do not have hope, but rejoice knowing that our brother is in the presence of Christ. And on his calendar is not looking forward to the next chemo treatment or the next radiation treatment, but the next thing on his calendar is worshiping Christ forevermore and knowing that there will be a day where we, the bride of Christ, will be brought together in beauty before her Lord. We will rejoice in the presence of you, our bridegroom, forevermore.
And so we rejoice in that today. Lord, I thank you for our brother. I pray that you would raise up more men of his stature among us. I pray, Father, that his wife may be comforted. that his sons may be comforted.
But they have uh a name. a a heritage that meant something among us. This was a godly brother. Thank you. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
for our precious brother, Mike Easter. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. It's my privilege to serve as. pastoral visitation at Beacon Baptist Church.
And in that capacity, I get to visit people in rest homes and The hospital. And over the last week and a half I've spent quite a bit of time with Kathy and with Mike. And one thing I've learned in the position I have is that When a saint dies, there's a paradox. That's a seeming contradiction. that you could rejoice and cry at the same time.
We cry 'cause we're human. We rejoice because we're Christian. And I trust that as I read these reflections, you'll be blessed by them. It did not take long at all for Mike and Kathy Easter to become much loved members of the Beacon Baptist family. They got involved from the start.
They both valued expositional preaching and appreciated the music that was sung here. Throughout Mike's battle with cancer, his faith in God's sovereign control was unshaken. This was evident in one of the last deacons' meetings that he attended. It was a rainy night. Yet he still came with the help of a fellow deacon.
At the conclusion of his Deacon report, he stood and voiced contentment with God's plan, whether it meant healing or going home to be with the Lord. he was ready for either. His unwavering perseverance throughout his trial with cancer was exemplary and inspiring, as he continued to attend service with Kathy for as long as they could. although MIPE would be sorely missed at Beacon. We rejoice that he's free from pain and able to worship the Lord as never before.
Luke 6.45 teaches that our words reveal what is in our hearts. The verse uses the term good treasure. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things. I like to think of good treasures of the heart as cherished memories shared aloud. I want to share some personal thoughts from family and members.
I think that all of us will be able to relate to them in some fashion. from Mike's sister, Julie, who shares her thoughts as though she was addressing Mike. She writes, I used to think the hardest part was saying goodbye. I didn't realize it would be learning to live every day without you in it. It's like my whole world has been rearranged and nothing fits the way it used to.
We were only eleven months apart. I can't find words for the emptiness you left behind. I will miss our talks. You made the world a little bit softer. You did so much for us.
Your heart was kind and true. I could always count on you. The special years will not return when we were all together. But with the love in my heart, you will walk with me forever. I hope heaven is everything you imagined it would be.
I hope it's full of people you've missed. I hope your heart feels light and your spirit feels free. Maybe that's what keeps me going on the hard days, believing that while I'm still here missing you, you are already home, safe. Whole. and happy.
Rest assured, Julie, that Mike is rejoicing with friends and family who have placed saving faith in Christ alone. Before I share some thoughts from Kathy, who knew Mike better than anyone as his wife, I must say to her, Your faith has been exemplary. Kathy writes, There are so many things I could share with you in remembrance of Mike. Mike was a loving husband and father. He was kind.
Loyal, funny, and above all, a faithful follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. It brought him joy to serve God. His family, the church, his friends. I could share funny situations and memories of Mike, as I'm sure many of you can. Mike loved people.
and gained many dear friends throughout his life. Those who knew Mike could tell you stories of special conversations, laughter over a golf trip, or his quirky phrases that no one else had ever heard unless you grew up in the Easter family. Knowing all of those wonderful memories exist, I want to share with you his legacy to me as his wife. 34 years ago, Mike and I married and began a life of love, family, special events, along with all of life's ups and downs. Mike and I didn't enter our marriage covenant with the same theology and faith that governs our lives today, but as the Lord drew us to himself, we slowly and steadily followed.
Two steps forward, one step back. The Lord was there for us, and Mike was there for me. He was my partner, my helpmate. My best friend. He chose to love me unconditionally, or so it seemed to me.
He buffered my weaknesses and accentuated my strengths. He was an encouragement to me as a wife, mother, and friend. Of course, life was not perfect. But Mike was right there beside me as we navigated the journey, looking to the Lord for our answers. We partnered together to know the Lord through a deeper knowledge and understanding of His Word.
This was the consonant. and our marriage. This last year, was hard watching Mike's physical struggle, knowing the diagnosis of his cancer and facing so much unknown. We reminded each other that no matter how hard the situation seemed, whatever God ordained is right. Mike would say, absent from the body means I'm present with the Lord.
I love Mike. And I'm grateful. The Lord allowed him to be my husband for thirty-four years. I will miss him every day. but knowing I will see him again in eternity as we worship at the feet of Jesus brings joy and peace to my heart.
Until then, praise be to God. And Kathy, those who regularly attend Beacon could not help but notice your dependence upon the Lord. Your exemplary testimony. and your loving care for your husband. From Carson.
My dad told me that when this day came, to stop anyone who gets up here and talks about how good he was and to say he was just an old sinner saved by grace. Although that may be true. All of us who knew him knew how good he really was. He was one of those people who made you feel like you were Just fine the way you were, even if he was holding you accountable for something. He always had this way of simplifying my worries and anxieties and making me laugh when everything else seemed to be crashing down.
He taught me so many things it's almost impossible to summarize it all. The most important thing he ever taught me, though, was to put the Lord first in everything I do. Uh He was the first man I ever loved. And he not only taught me, what a man should be to his wife and children. But he showed it daily.
the way he loved our family, and loved my little Lucas, will never leave my memory or my heart. My heart aches that Lucas won't get to grow up with him like I did. But I'm so thankful that we got the time that we did. Dad waited for hours at the hospital for Lucas to arrive, and once he did, he snuck into the room and met his grandson. He's the only person I know who could sneak into a delivery room and get away with it.
He just couldn't wait any longer to meet Lucas. I thought my wedding day was the most special moment we had together, but then I witnessed him meet my son, and that will forever be my most treasured memory. I will miss you forever. but I do know that I will see you again. Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for always being there. Until then. I love you plus one, Daddy. Carson. And Dalton.
Like all Christian dads, your dad's greatest desire is to hear that you walk in truth. You will honor him by doing so in God's grace and by taking care of your mom.
Well, it's not always um that we have personal reflections shared at a funeral service, but When they are, they're There's such an enhancement and such an enjoyment to hear. And thank you for those of you that did that because it's not easy to But words on paper and have them read. But thank you, that was wonderful. My responsibility is to share some scripture with you today. Uh my first um The thought was what we're told in Psalm 116 and verse 15.
And it it's a bit jarring because we don't associate these two things together, and that is precious and death. If we did a word association, I doubt if I said. death how many of you would come up with precious. But Psalm 116, verse 15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord. is the death of his saints.
But why is it precious? It's precious because that is how we get into the presence of the Lord, and the Lord wants His saved people to be with Him.
So it is precious. Second one is in the last portion of 2 Timothy where Paul is Facing the reality of his imminent death. And I chose this because these two verses, I think, mirror Mike and the way he lived his life. And there's three things here I want you to hear as I read these two verses. Number one, Is Paul's going to talk about a realization, Mike had a realization.
when he met with the doctors and got his diagnosis. Number two. A determination. Paul had a determination that governed his life, and Mike and Kathy had a determination as well. And then, number three, a reward.
So, realization. determination and reward. And listen to these verses. Paul says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And here's the realization.
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought. The good fight. I have finished the race. And I have kept the faith.
That's our brother. He fought a good fight. He finished the race. He kept the faith. Here's the reward.
Finally, There is laid up for me. The crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day. And not only to me only, but to all those who have loved his appearing. Paul said that. And I believe Mike was included in that.
And then perhaps the passage that has been turned to more often than any other. In the millenniums that have passed. is Psalm 23. Don't miss the familiarity of the words. They're powerful.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters For his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley, of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil.
For thou art with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. All the days of my life and I will dwell. in the house of the Lord. Forever. My God's every song will shall be good in that my will to be what greatest always His love is not goodly wild, but let these ones bring rather nine more of joy and hope.
Some day I shall sing in that he has loved me to this truth. Remains and share holy joy, I shall not be forsaken by fear all heart for with his heart, he shall land grace and shame I am. Mike requested. that the gospel be proclaimed. at his funeral.
And that is my joy and privilege to be able to endeavor to do that, and I'm going to read. From Ephesians chapter two, where the Apostle Paul. explains to the Ephesian church And to people who were already believers, but nevertheless he explained to them what took place. To make them children of God who had formerly been. Children And Paul writes in Ephesians 2.1, And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.
in whence you once walked And according to the course of this world, According to the Prince of the Power of the Air, the Spirit who who now works in the sons of disobedience. among whom we also We're all We all once conducted ourselves. and the lusts of our flesh. fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God Who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us?
Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. and raised us up together and made us sit together. in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
In his kindness to toward us. In Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.
Not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand. that we should walk in them.
Well, this passage clearly explains to us the way of salvation. Which many people do not understand, and it's very important that we do. It hasn't been that long ago that Our president of this country, the United States of America, said he was going to try, I think, to bring Peace in Ukraine because he hoped that would help him get to heaven.
Now, I don't know what you think of our president. If we took a poll here, there'd be some that say I really like him, and some would say, I don't like him. And others would say, well, I like some things and don't like other things, but The point is this. Here is a man who wants to go to heaven, but he doesn't know the way. Isn't that sad?
Bringing about peace in Ukraine is not going to help him get into heaven. The Bible is clear. It is not by works of righteousness which we have done. But according to to his mercy. He saves us.
The passage I just read explains, first of all, man's hopeless condition. And secondly, God's supernatural remedy. And finally, the Christians' new condition. And man's hopeless condition is described in these first four verses in terms of. He is dead.
spiritually dead. He is sinful, and I say he, but of course, this is all of us. At some point in our lives, and the only difference Between those who are described here in verses one through four and those who are described elsewhere in the passage in a different condition. The only difference is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're all sinners.
By birth and by choice, we were all dead in trespasses and sins. We were all condemned. These verses talk about being children Of wrath. What does that mean? That means under the wrath of God.
We don't talk about that much these days, but the Bible does. God is holy. And being holy. He cared not to be able to do it. Turn a blind eye to sin.
Being holy and just, he cannot ignore sin. Being holy, he must pour out a holy Just wrath. Where sin is found, and where there are those who commit sin who have not. turned to him, for the remedy which she himself has graciously given. And until we come to Jesus Christ, our condition is hopeless.
How can a dead man make himself alive? He cannot. How can sinful people cleanse themselves from their sins? They cannot. How can those who are condemned Children of wrath, under the just condemnation of God, remove ourselves from.
That sentence of condemnation, which is justly ours. We are not able to do that. That is beyond our ability. And that's why I have called this description man's hopeless condition for In what we can do about this condition, there is no hope because we cannot save ourselves. But thankfully, the passage does not conclude with a description of man's hopeless condition because it goes on to talk about God's supernatural remedy.
There is a remedy. For our sin, there is a remedy for our condemnation. There is a remedy for our just judgment by. a holy god. It is not a remedy which we can come up with or we can do something to make it happen.
It's a remedy that God must employ and does. It's a supernatural remedy because that's the only kind of remedy that will work. God has Brought a supernatural remedy to bear upon this condition. of hopelessness in sin that describes all of us. as we have come into this world and as we live our early years in this world.
And why has God brought about such a remedy? And that really is the big question. We sang about that earlier. How can it be? How can it be that God should love a soul like me?
How can it be? How can God do that? It doesn't hardly seem possible. God being holy and we being rebels against Him, but It is possible. That's the good news.
That's the gospel. The gospel means good news. And the good news is that God is a God who is rich in mercy, as we're told here. This is why he did it. But God who is rich in mercy.
Because, why did he do this? Because of his great love with which he loved us. A God who is rich in mercy, a God who is great in his love, in addition to being a God who is thrice holy, a God whose justice demands that sin must be condemned and unrepentant sinners must be judged. But that very same God has provided the remedy himself at great cost. Because he's rich in mercy.
Because of his great love wherewith he loved us. And what did he do for undeserving sinners?
Well, verse 5, writing to believers, Paul says, He made us alive in Christ. God did that. We were dead spiritually, inwardly. Dead means we could not respond to truth. We could not bring ourselves to Christ in repentant faith.
That was beyond our ability because we're dead. Man isn't just sick in his trespasses and sins, he's dead.
So how do you remedy that? God Making Dead men are Alive, that's how that is remedied. God made us alive in Christ. Verse 6 says, He raised us up. That's resurrection.
How do you deal with a dead person to reverse that condition? You make him alive. Who can do that? God alone. Jesus Christ, we're told, is the first fruits.
The resurrection. Which means he's the first one who was raised from the dead in a glorified body, which will never die again. We do have some wonderful miracles of resurrection of other people in the Bible, but that was only a temporary reprieve when Lazarus was miraculously raised from the dead. And what a wonderful miracle that was, and what a wonderful illustration of God's power and grace that is. Has it ever occurred to you that Lazarus is one of the very handful of small handful of people in the history of this world who had two funerals?
The one we read about in the Bible. Where Mary and Martha, his sisters, were mourning his loss, and where Jesus didn't get there in time before his funeral took place and he was committed to the tomb. But Christ miraculously raised him from the dead, raised him to his former life. And we don't have a record of his second death, but we can be certain from the character. Truth revealed to us in Scripture that the day came when Lazarus died again.
His body was buried again. But not Jesus. Jesus died. For our sins, the Bible tells us, Thank you. For our sins.
He died in the place of sinners. He didn't die for his own sins. He had none of his own. But he died as a substitute in the place of sinners because the sentence of death is over us. And he died and was buried, but he rose again from the dead.
God made him alive. God's able to raise the dead. permanently. And Christ was raised in a glorified body, a body that could walk through closed doors, a body that could travel through space instantly, a body that can inhabit heaven. These mortal bodies cannot, as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
And God, Paul writes to the Ephesian believers, made us alive. God, Paul writes, raised us up, a resurrection in Christ Jesus. And what did he do? He did that so that we would live forever. He talks about the ages to come, that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Those who are raised to new life Spiritual life. Eternal life will never die again. We will. B. Rejoicing in our Gracious life given to us by God.
We'll be worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross that we might have life. We will be honoring our Lord and learning more about God through all eternity. In the ages to come, more ages, more ages, more ages. Our brother Mike Easter has just started that. We sing in amazing grace when we've been there.
10,000 years. Bright shining is the sun. We've No more days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun. It's endless, it's eternal, it goes on. 10,000 years, 100,000 years, a million years, a billion years.
It loses its significance when we talk about eternity. And that's what God has done in His mercy. He's made us alive. He's raised us up that in the ages to come, we might enjoy eternal life forever and ever. Amen.
Amen. So a man's hopeless condition. Which applies to all of us unless we have been born again. God's supernatural remedy, which is an effective remedy, it never fails. for all who come to Christ in repentant faith.
And the Christian's new condition is described for us here. In verses 8 through 10, I read them again. For by grace you have been saved. Through faith. And not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God. Not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. We are saved how?
By grace. Grace is unmerited favor. We can't deserve it. We didn't deserve it. We don't deserve it.
The sooner we realize that and acknowledge that, the sooner we become candidates for salvation. Because as long as we go on in the delusion that I'm a good person and I deserve to go to heaven. That's a sure recipe to split hell wide open. But when we say, I am a sinful rebel, I have defied the God who gave me life and told me how to live, I have disobeyed his laws. I have rebelled against him.
I am a sinner. I deserve condemnation. Then We're in a position. To cast ourselves upon the mercy of God because we understand it's not me that merits salvation, it's God who gives it by His grace, by grace, not of yourselves, not of works, this passage tells us. And it tells us why that is true.
That's true because We are not to boast in the presence of God. It's not of works lest any man should boast. If I could do something to earn my salvation, I think I'd feel pretty good about myself for doing that, wouldn't you? Nobody boasts in the presence of God Almighty. He gets all the glory.
We boast of him. We give glory to Him. We acknowledge that he did. What we Did not deserve in saving us. It's not of works lest anyone should boast.
But it is unto good works. We're not saved by works. This passage is so important to explain this. We're not saved by By our works, but we are saved in order to be able to do works that are truly pleasing to God. The passage ends by saying, for we are his.
Workmanship. Created There it is. It takes a creation. It takes a resurrection. It takes a creation, a creation of new life to be saved.
Created in Christ Jesus. for good works. which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. We're saved for what? for good works.
We're saved for what? to walk in them now. We're not waiting till we get to heaven to do them. When God saves us, He changes us and He gives us a new heart and new desires, and we have a new direction in life, and we know we don't. have the ability to serve God perfectly and will not until we get to heaven.
But we do have a desire to please him now, and so we go to his word to find out what is it that God wants, because now I have a heart that wants to do it, whatever it is. How is it that God wants me to live? Because now I have both a God-given ability and a God-given desire to please Him, to walk in a way that is pleasing in His sight. That's the change. Great change.
that takes place in the new birth. If any man be in Christ, and the only way you'll be saved is to be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, he is, the Bible tells us, a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. How do we communicate to others that God has saved us.
Well, by more than just saying God saved me, because we know there are people who've claimed that who give no evidence at all of a changed heart and life.
So, how do we communicate to others for the glory of God that He has saved us? We do it by showing a difference. Things are different now. The chorus goes that I sang as a boy.
Something happened to me when I gave my heart to Jesus. Things are different now. I am changed, it must be, since I gave my heart to him. Things I loved before have all passed away. Things I love once more have come to stay.
Things are different now. Something happened that day. when I gave my heart to him. And a wonderful explanation of that is on the back of your bulletin. Another hymn that we didn't have time to sing.
We couldn't sing them all, but this is one that Mike wanted included, so we'll just include it in this way. It's a wonderful explanation of what I've just tried to say to you. His robes for mine. A wonderful exchange. What does that mean?
Well, what were my robes like? They're described in the Bible. All of our righteousness, the Bible says, is as Filthy rags. That's my Rogues, my metaphorical clothing. before salvation.
But there's been an exchange in Christ, a wonderful exchange. Clothed in my sin. Christ. suffered neath God's rage. He took my robes of sin upon himself, and then bore the just judgment for them upon the cross.
Draped in his righteousness, that's the Perfection of Him, His sinlessness, and His perfect robes. Without a spot, and those are draped over those who trust in Him, draped in His righteousness. I'm justified. In Christ I live. For in my place he died.
His robes for mine, what cause have I for dread? God's daunting law. Christ. Mastered. In my stead, he kept it perfectly, the law of God.
Therefore, faultless I stand with righteous works not mine. saved by my Lord's vicarious death and life. His robe's for mine. God's justice. Yes, that justice that causes him, that requires him to judge sin.
Righteously, but his robes for mine. God's justice is appeased. Jesus is crushed. And thus the fathers pleased. Christ drank God's wrath on sin.
Then cried Tis done. It is finished. Sin's wage is paid. Propitiation. One.
The payment has been made. To remove the sin barrier between us and God. His robes for mine, such anguish none can know. Christ, God's beloved, condemned as though his foe. Imagine that.
Christ, condemned as if he were a rebel, an enemy of God. He, as though I, accursed and left alone, I, as though he, embraced And welcomed home. With such great truths, what is the only proper response. I cling to Christ. and marvel at the cost.
Jesus Forsaken. God Estranged from God. Figure that mystery out. Bought by such love, my life is not my own. My praise My all.
shall be for Christ. Alone. That's the gospel that Mike wanted proclaimed. And it was Mike's fervent desire that everyone Embrace the Christ. of that gospel.
Will you stand as we close in prayer? Father, thank you for such great love. Thank you for such great mercy. Thank you. Securing a righteous And just salvation for hopeless sinners at such great cost.
We marvel. We love you. We embrace Christ. We confess our sins, we acknowledge our guilt and sinfulness, and we come to Christ. And thank you.
for the salvation which he gives. Amen.
