Worship Preparation Guide for April 17, 2022
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April 17, 2022 | 2 PM
Call to Worship: Psalm 145:1-3, 21 (Responsively)
Confession of Faith: Westminster Larger Catechism Q51-52
Hymns and Psalter Selections:
#145C I Will Extol You, O My God
#360 Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
#369 Worship Christ, the Risen King!
Sermon: Matthew 28:1-15 (Two Responses to the Empty Tomb)
Discussion Questions:
What roles do the people in the narrative play? The women, the guards, the angel of the Lord, Jesus, the chief priests, and the elders? Which of these believed the message of the empty tomb and which one didn't?
Why is the resurrection theologically necessary to the historic Christian faith? Consider 1 Cor. 15:13-15, 17, 19.
What is this narrative's central point, and why are there no accounts of the resurrection proper offered in the gospel records?
What day of the week does the resurrection occur, and why is that significant for our understanding of public worship? See WSC 59.
The Angel of the Lord offers two things to the women. What are they?
Why is it easier for sinners to reject the empty tomb? Why must you believe it?
Applications:
There are two responses to the empty tomb. Either you believe it or you don't. To reject it is to reject the one who was raised from that tomb and face an awful eternity. To believe it is to find peace with God.
Unbelievers will reject the message of the empty tomb to their peril.
Believers will receive the message of the empty tomb, and it should prompt worship and adoration. Why? List some reasons why the empty tomb should move you to worship the risen King.