O, Lord, you are our God, and you turn our hearts to praise your name. For you have done wonderful things. A plan, formed of old. A plan, faithful and sure. A plan for the salvation and restoration of your creation in the person and work of your son, Jesus Christ. Renew our hearts Lord, that we might share in and hold fast to the confession of the prophet Isaiah:
He will swallow up death forever.
The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
King Jesus,
We pause and gather to remember God’s fulfilled plan in your sacrificial love from the cross for all of creation….and for us. A sacrificial love that willingly drank the full cup of God’s wrath in our stead. A sacrificial love that shined light into the heart of darkness. That lived truth through shouts of incrimination and lies. That brought fullness from such dreadful emptiness. That brought unity from complete abandonment. That revealed hope out of bloody devastation. That unleashed ultimate freedom by imprisonment on the cross. That brought us forgiveness instead of deserved punishment. A sacrificial love that brought life through the swallowing up of death itself.
He will swallow up death forever. It is finished. The Lord has spoken. It is finished indeed.
AMEN.