"Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the Kings of the earth."

         A while back our son David told us that he and his cousin had been to see a one man play, called "McHomer." The person who puts this on is from Toronto, and he goes all around the country putting on this rendition of Shakespeare's' "Macbeth" in which Homer Simpson is the lead character, and he uses the voices of 30 characters from the television show. David said he thought this actor would some day end up in Las Vegas, because there is a pretty limited audience for what he does: "He is greatly talented, but at the wrong things." To me that gave a picture of the commitment of a life that does not matter. I do not want to give my life to the wrong things, to the trivial or inconsequential. I do not want to make a commitment to something that does not fit daily life, and build up that which is most important.

         We are now one week from Easter Sunday. On that day churches proclaimed the great and amazing news that Jesus has risen from the dead. A great number of people across our land, and throughout the world, heard the message. Now, a week later, we can ask how that news fits our lives. How does it make a difference in the kind of world we live in; where it snows the week after Easter, and the lilies droop, and the viruses continue unabated, and the fever of life calls us to task? Or, much more seriously, how does the resurrection of Jesus make a difference in our lives; where loved ones die, and the local and world news we hear brings fear, and old problems crop up again? What does the resurrection of Jesus say to us the week after Easter?

         For Peter, the reality of the Risen Christ got him into trouble with the authorities. When they tried to intimidate him into keeping his faith strictly private, he found the Risen Lord Jesus had delivered him from his fear of people. "We must obey God rather than men."

He also let them know that when God exalted this Risen Lord, it opened the way for repentance and forgiveness of sin. He needed both, as did his people.

         In John's letter to a group of churches in what is now Turkey, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," we get a perspective on the resurrection of Jesus from a few years later, in churches that were both suffering because of persecution, and also churches that were worshipping the Risen Lord. In this series of messages, it will be the worship life of these churches that will be our focus. We want to find out how the resurrection of Jesus shaped their worship, and how their worship shaped their daily lives. Craig Keener gives us some conclusions that come out of the worship sections of this letter.

• That God is awesomely majestic, as well as sovereign in our troubles.
• That Jesus' sacrifice as the Lamb ultimately brings complete deliverance for those who trust him.
• That worship leads us from grief over our sufferings to God's eternal purposes seen from a heavenly perspective.
• That a radical contrast exists between God's Kingdom and the world's values.

         The first passage we look at is not actually one of the hymns found in Revelation, but it comes from the "greeting," or introduction to the letter, and is written in the language of worship.

         The letter begins with a simple greeting: "Grace and peace to you." Then John expounds on the roles of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and the consequences of faith in Christ for the churches. Jesus is given three titles: the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

        Jesus is the faithful witness, living in such a way that the very character of God could be seen in his teachings, his powerful actions and especially in his suffering. As a result of his faithful witness, you can depend on his promises.

         Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. The common Jewish expectation at the time was that one distant day there would be a resurrection from the dead, ushering in the age to come, the Kingdom of God. Jesus rose from the dead, inaugurating that age in the middle of history. Because Jesus rose from the dead, the firstborn from the dead, his followers have nothing to fear. The fear of death, the fear of spirits and the devil, the fear of powerful people were taken from them.

         Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. That is a little hard for us to feel because we are aware of so very few kings in our world, and those who are left have no real power. But if you lived under the thumb of Caesar, it was a very dangerous and powerful statement to say Jesus was the ruler of the kings of the earth.

         Then John spells out the consequences of the resurrection of Jesus. The risen Jesus loves us, frees us from our sins, makes us a kingdom and priests, and makes us servants of God. All of this is language that is used in worship. It is language that when sung and proclaimed edifies, encourages, renews and lifts up the church, especially a church that is suffering.

         What difference did the resurrection of Jesus make in that suffering church? Earl Palmer says we need to begin with the love of God. The first message of the resurrection is that God loves you. He has not forgotten you. He does not leave you in your suffering. He does not forget the evil that has been done to you. Like Peter on the shore, when Jesus met him with fresh cooked fish and bread, we must always understand first that the Risen Lord loves us. Whatever trials we go through, the resurrection of Jesus shows unmistakably that God loves us.

         Next, the resurrection says that Jesus has set us free from our sins by his blood. Palmer writes, "John also affirms that we have been set free from our sins by the costly grace of Jesus; and this gift of freedom is a very dynamic daily experience and obligation for those who receive it."

         On Friday I attended the quarterly meeting of Catalyst churches in Lake County. The speaker was Todd Hunter, who was the national director of the Vineyard churches and then became the national director of Alpha. A couple came forward who had taken the Alpha class about a year ago, and through it came to faith in Jesus Christ.

         First the man spoke. He said that before he came to faith in Christ he would describe himself as happy and fulfilled, but also feeling somewhat empty. His wife described herself as one who was brought up in the church, who had accepted Christ early in life, and then wandered. She had not attended to her soul. He was invited to Alpha, and she noticed that he was coming home from a full day of work and then the Alpha Class, and he seemed at peace, it seemed to her that he was being nourished. So she got in the next class. Both of them received Christ.

         What difference did that make? The man explained that he has cancer, and said that his future is still very uncertain. He feels very much at peace however it turns out, and is very glad both he and his wife are facing this with faith in Christ and knowing where they are headed.

         But what else? The place in their home where the newspapers and magazines used to be strewn about, is now where they read the Bible. That picture says more than just a change of habit. There is for them a new center of life. The Word of God shapes their day.

         And they now go to church and find in the worship and fellowship a renewing source of life. He said often they wake up on Sunday morning and say, "Which service? 8 or 9:30?" And then they look at each other and say – "Let's go to both."

         Palmer said that freedom from sin is to be a dynamic, daily experience for those who receive it.

         By the resurrection of Jesus we are made a kingdom and priests. Priests are mediators. Leon Morris says that priests are those who pray to God for the world. And they are to witness to the world what God has done. We are made into a people who do not complain about the people of the world, nor do we fear them. Rather, because of the resurrection of Christ, we pray for the people of the world.

         This leads us to be servants of God. Eugene Peterson writes, "In the Revelation, we are immersed not in prediction, but in an awareness that the future is breaking in upon us. So in the resurrection of Christ we see possibilities for the transient, the dying, even the dead." Faith in the risen Lord gives you a future. As we serve God in worship, the strength to live for his future flows into us.

Amen.