Thank you for taking the time to listen to one of the recent sermons preached at Wilton Baptist Church. It is our desire as a church to strive together in building a faith, family, and future that honors and glorifies our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we can be a help to you in any way, please visit our website at wiltonbaptistchurch.com. It's an honor to be here today. Thank you for coming to this special day. I'm blessed to be a part of your celebration of Jesus. If my armor falls off, just know they don't make it like they used to. Matthew 27 is our text as I'm here to share with you what I saw on that day. I am a no name in scripture, and that's all right. My story is more important than my name. Even some of the words that I spoke near the cross are included in your Bible. Some of those words are what we are about to read in Matthew 27, verse 54. Now when a centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things which were done, they feared greatly saying, truly this was the Son of God. In history, In history, I am known as Longanese. My name is derived from the city of Lanciano, a village in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Most of my friends call me Lance. You can call me Lance. My father was a merchant in our town and living in this important city, an important trade route, we would see soldiers and I would see soldiers and hear them tell stories of conquest and campaign. I joined the Roman army as a young man with the dreams of glory and power as a soldier. Military service was important to many people living in the Roman Empire at the time. My father, he encouraged me to do so. I moved up the ranks and I quickly became a centurion. I was given a command of about 50 men. When Pilate was given the governorship of the Roman province of Judah, I was ordered to go with him. Each year about the time of the Jewish holy day, the one they call Passover, Jewish nationalism would be at a fervor pitch, and they would make their yearly sacrifices, and a lot of times riots and insurrection would climax. So I was commanded to be on patrol and to take extra precaution. Emperor Tiberius charged Pilate to keep the peace. Oh, the Jewish Holy Day was a very peculiar event. For me as a Roman, I would look at them and the Jews only worshiped one God. But we had many gods that I grew up following and making sacrifices to. The Jews would make a yearly sacrifice, shedding the blood of a perfectly healthy lamb. Never could understand that. They would have a festival called the Festival of Leaven. And no one would eat anything with yeast in it for a week. And a lot of times they would take everything that had yeast in it all the way out of their houses. It represented something that they called Passover that happened a thousand years earlier when their God delivered them from a place called Egypt. Every year on your modern television, you may see the Ten Commandments on ABC. They air on Passover day on the Jewish calendar. They do that on purpose, and it really portrays well some of the events that I just described to you. Well, I commanded 80 men, and my specialty in battle was lance or spear. And like we use the name Lance Corporal today because of breaking a spear in battle, that's why and part of why I have my name. I broke several spears in battle and became a battle-hardened leader of men. Pilate and myself, several other centurions, were present when our cohort, about 600 men, who were stationed at the Fortress Antonia, otherwise called the Praetorium. In the Praetorium is the common hall, and that's where Pilate would receive civil cases and make judgments on behalf of the state. Lots of incredible stories could be told if only those walls could speak. I am here, however, to tell you of the one story in particular, the story of Jesus. The story of Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus the Messiah. I watched it unfold before my very eyes. Friends, I was there. I was there. The account the gospel writers penned, from my perspective, was absolutely right on target. Having served in and around Jerusalem for several years, I had heard the name of Jesus. Rumors swirled about the streets, about miracles and incredible teachings. One of my very own centurion friends had a servant healed by Jesus. It was an incredible story. He had approached Jesus in another town and Jesus said, go home. In the hour, your servant will be healed. And that's exactly what took place. I had saw Jesus the first time, and the first time it was when the temple guards handed him to me, placing him into my custody. I'd always heard the name, and I would see the religious leaders around Jerusalem. Whenever they would say his name or mention his name, there was a tinge of jealousy, and you could tell apparent hatred in their hearts towards Jesus. Well, I saw him, like I said, the first time when the temple guards handed him to me and placed him under my custody. Pilate had called for me to the common hall, the praetorium, and I was not sure what was happening, but I did know that Jerusalem was in more of an uproar than normal than in other years past around the Passover time. A real excitement was in the air. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure why. But Pilate chose me. Pilate chose me, and my life was never the same. After the events of that day, Pilate commanded me to take charge of the man called Jesus. Pilate, well, there's an unusual case for you. He was a ruthless man, a very unkind man, a conniving man. But Pilate was different with Jesus. He seemed fearful and almost hesitant. The emperor Tiberius had sent Pilate to a scathing letter reminding him of his job to keep the peace at all costs with the hyper-religious Jews. And even though Pilate was known to be cruel and subject people to torture, even if not guilty, he seemed somewhat indecisive on that day. Like he was trying to avoid what was happening. Well, Jesus was shuffled from the priest to the temple, back to Pilate through the praetorium, to Herod at his residence, and then back to Pilate. I've never seen someone with as much humiliation that he endured as Jesus. He endured such humiliation. I heard the words and the accusations against him. The priest followed him from place to place, mocking and laughing and condemning him. The soldiers from Galilee, those with Herod, mocked him, putting a fake robe on him and laughing at him." You can find that in Luke 23. Pilate told the people, he hath brought this man unto me as one that perverteth the people. And behold, I have examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. No, no, nor yet Herod, for I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him. Pilate thought if he chastised him, if he had him whipped and beat, then surely he could just release him and let him go, and the religious leaders would be satisfied with that, but that was not the case. Pilate was right. All I could see that Jesus had done was to speak against the greedy, power-hungry priest in the temple. Jesus led no war. He had no hateful followers against the state. He was a kind-hearted man. He had killed no one. He had stolen from no one. He did no harm to anyone at all. My estimation, Jesus was perfectly just. Pilate was exactly right. There's no sin or wrong in this man. It was an astounding moment when the people cried out in anger at Jesus, at Pilate about Jesus. They said, away with this man, away with this man, crucify him. crucify him. Then they said, let his blood be upon us. They took it a step further, let his blood be upon our children. Pilate suggested to release a prisoner as he would do each year to appease the people during the Passover holiday or holy day season. Pilate had already confirmed that Jesus was completely innocent. He offered one of the most despised thieves, a murderer, a terrorist to the state of Rome. His name was Barabbas. Exchange him for the popular and, yes, very gentle and meek Jesus, Barabbas. There's a name you want to remember. In history, his first name was actually Jesus. Jesus Barabbas, Barabbas, his name means son of the father. And on that day, the people chose to release the son of a human father so that they could put to death the son of God, the father. Yes, Pilate was indecisive. And he did not want to make this decision. He was surprised by the immense hatred of the Jews towards Jesus. Pilate gave the orders. After giving the choice, surely the murderous, seditious, rebel-rousing thief Barabbas would remain condemned, and they would let Jesus go. But it did not happen that way. Give us Barabbas! And crucify Jesus. Matthew 27, verse 26, you see, I led the way. And note how we proceeded to care for Jesus then. Then released, he barabbas unto them. When he had scourged Jesus, he led him to be crucified. We took Jesus to the basement of the praetorium. Here's an image of that very same praetorium floor. Go down several steps and you would see this very same floor where we flogged and beat. Jesus. There's some of the stones. The stones are still there today. We would reserve the beatings, the intense lashings of the whip with bone fragments and glass and metal. We would save that punishment for the murderers and for the traitors to the government. But on that day, we took Jesus there and we withheld nothing back from the punishment we were giving him. There's another image of that floor. We scourged Jesus, and I was right there. The flogging was brutal. His back was in ribbons. We went back up the stairs, back to the common hall. in the common hall where the band or the cohorts of about 600 of us were making fun of Jesus. It was there in that common hall that people were bowing down to Christ and we put a crown of thorns upon his head and smashed it down over his brow. He was bleeding on his back, on his forehead and head. Matthew 27, look in verse 27 through 31. You'll see the account, and the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers, 600 of us. And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, king of the Jews. They spit upon him and took the reed and smote him. in the head. And after that, they had mocked him. They took the robe from off him and put his own raiment on him and led him away to crucify him. I've never seen a man take as much pain as Jesus. Oh, I'd seen many others. I'd seen many others, but there was something different about this. I've never seen a man take the pain in such a way without fighting back, without yelling, without cursing or condemning those who were inflicting so much pain. Jesus did not say anything. No words came from his mouth. He seemed to endure willingly what was happening to him. Remember the Passover feast I told you about? They would take a lamb to the sacrifice, and in those moments, I started to think about how the lamb willingly would just go to the slaughter, and Jesus really reminded me of those lambs the high priest would offer at Passover time. It was an amazing thing to consider. From there, we walked up to Golgotha. We started to travel that direction, and on the way, Jesus was unable to carry the full weight of the cross. He was not able to move very quickly, being weak from the beatings and the loss of blood. The wood cross that was placed upon his back was solid, heavy, hardwood timber, and it was hard for any one man to carry, let alone one who had endured such beatings. I scanned the crowd very quickly, and I saw a man who looked like he was strong enough to help. I learned later that his name was Simon, a man from a place called Cyrene. He had two young boys beside him. Their names were Alexander and Rufus, and they were crying at the sight of Jesus. There was a lot of tears in their eyes, but I didn't care. I had to get this man to the place of crucifixion. I was known for results, and this seemed like a very critical moment in the history of our Roman occupation of Judah. We continued to walk, and we walked up the hill to this place later called Calvary, called Golgotha. You can see this image of it from today. Today, a very much tourist trap, you can see those buses. And off on that rock face, you can see the image of the skull. That's what we called it, the place of the skull. And there we would crucify many, many malefactors and many of those who were murderers and traitors to the state. I'd overseen many crucifixions in my time. Here's an image from 1900, back when Campbell's would still walk by. And it was there where people would look up at Jesus on the cross from the pastors by right there. They would look up and mock and make fun of and humiliate those on the cross, whoever it was, and especially Jesus on that day. We made it to Golgotha and started the crucifixion around 9 a.m. I'd overseen many crucifixions to this point, but this one was normal, but not normal in many ways. We normally would offer vinegar to ease the pain. We put it to his mouth, but Jesus refused it in Matthew 27, 34. The soldiers in my detachment, they would always take the garments at will and divide them up, but this time they gambled for the garments and the clothes of Jesus. In John 19, verse 23 and 24, the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to every soldier a part. and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Jesus, or they said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it. Whose it shall be that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, the soldiers did. That was foretold in Psalm 22, verse 18. A sign would be placed above each of those crucified, indicating the charge leveled against them. And it was above Jesus that we wrote these words, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. All the priests complained about that. They said, we have no King but Caesar. They told Pilate to say something else like this. He said he was the King of the Jews, but Pilate said, I have written what I have written. From the very first moment the nail pierced his hands, the people began to jeer, cry out even loud. As we hoisted up his body against the sky, as his body was on the cross, the body was jolted as the wooden beam fell into the hole in the ground that we had placed. You could tell he was in a lot of pain. In Matthew 27, verse 38 through 44, notice What the Scripture accounts say, then there were two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, the other on the left. And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders said he saved others himself. He cannot say if he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him where he said, I am the son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with them, cast the same in his feet. Crucifixions were conducted with several being executed at the same time. There were two more with Jesus on this day. And they were thieves. They admitted they deserve the punishment for their deeds. And they mocked, and they mocked. But after three hours of agony on the cross, one of the thieves started to change what he was saying. You can find what he says in Luke 23. In Luke 23, verse 39, after being in such agony for three hours, one of the thieves starts to say something different. He has a different tune to his voice, a different tone in what he's saying. Notice in verse 39, And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he saith unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. The people claimed they would believe if Jesus would do another miracle. If he would do another miracle, come down from the cross, and then we will believe. But the unusual thing about their statement was he had performed miracle after miracle after miracle for three years and they still chose to disbelieve. For six hours, I watched Jesus hanging on the cross. And every so often, he would stretch his body up, and those who are crucified, they die of asphyxiation. They can't breathe. And they would have to pull themselves up to get a breath and to be able to say anything. And in those six hours, I heard Jesus say seven things. He only said seven statements from the cross. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke 23, 34. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise, Luke 23, 43. Then when Jesus saw his mother and his disciples standing by whom he loved, he said then to his mother, woman, behold thy son. Then he said to the disciple, behold thy mother. From that hour, the disciple took her unto his own home. Jesus wanted Peter to care for his mother, Mary. The fourth statement Jesus said was, my God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me?" I can still hear and feel and see this moment of Jesus on the cross. He lifted himself up again and said, I thirst, in John 19.28. And then, nearing the end, he said, It is finished, in John 19.20. That singular word, that singular Greek word that he said, telelestai, telelestai. It means paid in full, the complete payment for sin. It was totally paid for by Jesus. And then he said, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit. Luke 23, 47. It just seems like it was yesterday. Let me tell you five things that really stand out about this story. These are just amazing facts and reality, truth that is just incredible to me. As a Roman soldier, as a centurion, as just a human being. In Matthew 27, verse 45, the Bible tells us the darkness covered the earth, but it was high noon. It was noon. The sun was fully out at that moment, and then suddenly, just in an instant, it went dark. And for the next three hours, the entire area was darkened. The earth was dark all around us. Now, people have suggested maybe this is a total solar eclipse, but total solar eclipses only last for seven minutes and 31 seconds. That's how long they ever have lasted. Seven minutes and 31 seconds. This lasted an entire three hours. solar eclipses cannot happen at this time of the year when the Passover would take place. It's cosmically impossible because of the position of the moon and all those things in outer space. It's impossible for that. It was not merely a total solar eclipse. What we saw that day was a miracle. And when it turned dark like that, the whole tone of the people who were jeering They stopped their jeering. A real hush fell across the people. The people turned much more somber in their disposition. Darkness covered the whole earth. It was noon time. Then Jesus died. And when Jesus died, He died of a broken heart. Pilate had charged me with this crucifixion, and Pilate sent word that I would confirm that Jesus is dead, along with the other soldiers. We went, we found some torches, and we walked to where Jesus was, and we would hold up the torches. It was still dark, and we would examine where Christ was at, and we would look at him, and we would look at the soldiers, and he asked for me to confirm the death of Jesus. Normally, the death of those crucified was painfully slow. two or three days. Sometimes to speed up their asphyxiation, their being suffocated, we would break the legs of the criminals. But we did not need to break the legs of Jesus. He was dead within several hours. Most crucified persons died by lack of oxygen, but Jesus was already dead when I came to check on him. Look in John chapter 19, if you would, verse 34. In John 19, verse 34, one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith it is true, that he might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they have pierced. I did not break his legs. Instead, I thrust my spear up into his side. And blood and water came out. Blood and water came out. You see, I was the one who verified that Jesus was dead. The blood and water do not mix. It indicates a cardiac explosion took place. Jesus died of a broken heart, rejected by man, and because of our sin, he was rejected by God the Father. Ephesians 2, 16, and 17 tell us that he might reconcile both unto God and one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace unto you which were afar off, and to bring them that were nigh. In 1 Peter 2, 24, who his own self bare our sins and his own body on the tree. You see, Jesus was rejected momentarily by God the Father, because of our sin. He died of a broken heart. Then the earth shook. When Jesus died, it was a monumental moment. He yielded up the ghost around 3 o'clock p.m. after saying, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And it was still dark for that moment. And at that time, the earth shook and the lights came back on. Geologists tell us from examining the Dead Sea that it was a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. That's what I felt that day as the earth was trembling. The earth shook. By the way, on the day that he resurrected, the earth shook as well. The temple veil was torn. This is the fourth amazing truth to me. The temple veil was torn. News soon came to us from the temple. People were running in a panic because of the earthquake. Now the lights had come back on. The sun was evident again. We could see once again. Now the earth was shaking. And after it shook, people were in a panic. They were running and shouting and screaming. And we heard word from people down at the temple. that the veil of the doorway leading to the Holy of Holies was rent in half." Now that veil would only be seen from the outside to just a few people. The high priest would go in only once a year on behalf of the people and make a sacrifice there in the Holy of Holies. Now Herod, King Herod, he was an avid builder. an architect, and he had reconstructed this temple and had built it up very tall. He made the temple very tall. And the veil inside was about 60 feet in height. Jewish tradition tells us the fabric was a very rich fabric, very elegant, about four inches thick. That's how thick the fabric was. A very heavy, a very tall, A very large and wide doorway is what this veil was. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 3.14 that Solomon made the veil of blue and purple and crimson and fine linen and wrought cherubims thereon. There were these incredible cherubims like insignias all around the trim of this beautiful, beautiful veil, this curtain in the temple. The tearing of the dividing of the curtain represents access to God. Friends, it wasn't ripped from the bottom to the top from the bottom where man could reach. It went up 60 feet in height. It was ripped from the top to the bottom, representing a new access, a new avenue, a fresh way to God. And it was because of Jesus. The earthquake didn't do it. It was because of the blood of Jesus that we have direct access to God. And that's what it represented. God tore that veil. And the Bible tells us in Hebrews 10, 19 and 20, that we have brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us through the veil. that is to say, His flesh. We have a way to God, and through Jesus. Romans 5, 2, by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. After that temple veil rent, according to Acts chapter 6, verse 7, the Bible says that even many of the priests at the temple believe in Jesus. It was an incredible thing to hear about. But the most amazing truth is the fifth one, the last one that I would love to share with you today. And it's the fact that the tomb is empty. The tomb is empty. Here's an image of the tomb. You see some people looking at the tomb just a short distance on the same mountainside as Golgotha, that same limestone mountain just to the left when you're looking at the cross. Less than a third of a mile, you could walk and find this tomb. Joseph of Arimathea begged the body of Jesus, and if you were to go into that tomb today, you would see what I saw 2,000 years ago. The tomb is empty. After Jesus died, his body was taken by Joseph, a wealthy man from Arimathea, and he had a brand new tomb carved out there in that mountain, just a short distance from the cross. I initially thought it would be the last time I saw Jesus. When he came, he wrapped the body, placed the body in that tomb. I asked Pilate if I could be a part of the soldiers who guarded the tomb, and those priests, they had this thought that someone would steal the body and fake a resurrection, so we rolled the stone into place, we sealed the tomb with a seal so we would know if it was broken or not, if anyone had come in or not, and we set a guard there, and I was one of those there that day. Remember I mentioned the earthquake? Jesus had been dead for three days. We'd been waiting some time outside of that tomb. But then suddenly, one morning, the third day, the earth shook again. We all fainted as dead men, the Bible says. And the next thing I remember is waking up sometime later and walking over to the tomb. The stone was rolled away. And as I peered inside, no one and nothing was there. It was amazing. Jesus rose from the dead. Matthew 28, verses one through 10. Now history will tell you that I went on to become a disciple of Jesus. I gave up my spear for the scriptures. I gave up the military for the ministry. And history will tell you I went on to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Notice what I said in the Bible, because I believe in Jesus. Yes, I glorified God, like Matthew 27, 54 and Mark 15, 39 says, I said this truly, this was the son of God. And again, I said in Luke 23, 47, certainly this was a righteous man. He was the only righteous man, purely, perfectly, wholly, and righteous one to ever walk the face of this earth. Folks, I was the one who placed the spear in his side. And I was the one who took and led Jesus to Calvary. It was at the cross that I believe. It was at the cross where I heard the words and saw what happened and felt the earthquake and saw the sun darken. It was there where I believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of this world. It was at the cross that I believe. And today I've taken you to the cross and I ask you today, would you believe in Jesus? We walked a short distance to the empty tomb. The tomb is empty and that signifies and it tells us that Jesus Christ is alive. Would you trust him to be your savior? Jesus paid the price for our sins. He paid a price for your sin and for mine. And he has forgiven you. And you can know that you are forgiven by accepting Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross. Now remember, I was the one who pierced his side. Jesus said, Father, forgive them. I know that God has forgiven me. Whatever your sin is, whatever religion you've been believing in, whatever good works you're hoping would take you to heaven, that's not good enough for a holy and righteous God. We need the forgiveness that only God can give us, and it was made possible and bought and paid for, paid in full. by the blood of Jesus Christ. We all get saved the same way. We trust in Christ. We go to the cross the same way, but we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. His death, burial, and yes, His resurrection and God in heaven would have you to be saved today. He made it possible through Jesus. Romans 10, verse 9 says, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, Thou shalt be saved. So friends, let's stop everything. I'm no longer a centurion, just a preacher of the gospel. What will you do with Jesus today? You've been to the cross. You've been to the empty tomb. If you've never repented of your sin and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why not do that today? That's why he came, and that's why he's alive today, so that we can have forgiveness and be right with God for all eternity. Let's bow together for prayer. Thank you for your good attention here today. An incredible thought to look at the cross by way of the centurion. The centurion became a believer. He believed in Christ for the forgiveness of his sin. I believe we'll meet him in heaven one day. Maybe you'd say, Pastor Harnesses, you delivered this message. I've been here before. I've never been here. This is my first time. Maybe you've been here a lot of times. I don't know. I don't know your spiritual condition. But if you say, God has spoke to my heart today about trusting Christ for salvation. You said that I could be forgiven of my sin and know it. You said I can know for sure I'm right with God to go to heaven. I would like to know more about that today. You said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to know how to do that today. I will not call you out or embarrass you. I just want to pray with you. And is there anyone like that here today? I would like to know more about salvation and eternal life like you described today. Anyone like that? Just raise your hand quickly. Raise your hand quickly so I can see it. Anyone at all. All right. Thank you. And Christian friend. Let's be thankful. Let's rejoice today because Jesus Christ is alive. Take a moment, meet with God. Lord, thank you for what you did on the cross. Thank you for the gospel record of how you lived a perfect life and died on the cross in my place and how you rose again. And thank God for your salvation if you're saved today. Take a moment in our invitation to rejoice in that. And if you've never prayed to receive Christ, you've never asked him to forgive you and save you from your sin and to be born again, Please come and talk to me. Get that right with God today by believing in Jesus. Father, we pray that you bless this invitation as we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Would you please stand? Our heads are still bowed. The piano will play. We invite you to come, however God spoke to your heart. You want to rejoice for a moment? If you need salvation, would you come for that? Some are kneeling to say thank yous to the Lord. Are there others? Heavenly Father, we do thank you for Jesus alive. Thank you for this sacrifice that we've had described for us today, that you made for us. And because of our sin, we thank you for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus to make the way for us to go to heaven, to have forgiveness of our sin. We pray if there's one with a doubt about eternity that they would settle that with you today by placing their faith in you and your finished work. We're Christians today. Lord, we rejoice and we are thankful for who you are and what you've done. And today we celebrate you being alive and being our God. And we look forward to the day when we see you face to face and in person. We pray that you will bless us now as we go from this place. Thank you for each one who's gathered to celebrate and to reflect upon what you have done. We thank you for all these things in Christ's name, amen. Happy Easter to each of you, and thank you so much for being here to celebrate with us today. Pastor Betz has a couple of announcements for us, and then we'll have our song. Have a great afternoon. Coming up in just a few weeks, we have our Ladies Banquet. This is for right before, a week before, excuse me, Mother's Day. And so ladies, if you're interested in that, you can purchase your tickets today. Mrs. Petrie over at the piano has our tickets for $5. And so we'll have a great time, the ladies will, with the theme Under His Wings on May the 6th, beginning at noon. So if you want some tickets for more information, you can see her today. Pastor's starting the beginning of May. If you're interested in Wilton Baptist Church, any information about it, he's starting a four week class that kind of gives you a little bit of more information as to how we operate as a church and what we do. And so if you're interested in that, that'll start May the 7th, run for four weeks up in the room upstairs, and that begins at 10 a.m. So if you're interested, please see him, and he'd be glad to give you some more information on that. And then it's hard to believe it's not long away, but we want to make sure everyone is invited to our Memorial Day picnic. Each year we have a Memorial Day and a Labor Day picnic here at the church. And so if you're visiting with us, feel free to come back that day. We just kind of have like a potluck idea and people bring food and we just have a great time of fellowship. So if you'd like to join us on that Memorial Day, if you don't have plans, please come back and join us at noon on Memorial Day. All right, let's close by closing hymn. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face, the one who saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the promised land. What a day, glorious day that will be. You are dismissed.