Introduction

            After leading Great Britain through the terrifying challenges of World War II, Winston Churchill was one who left nothing to chance. He even planned his own funeral. It eventually took place in Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The magnificent Baroque church designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1673 survived the London Blitz in 1940, 57 days of intense bombing by Hitler’s Luftwaffe. 

 Introduction            

    Robert J. Thomas was ordained on June 4, 1863 at a little church in Hanover, Wales. That summer, he and his wife were sent by the London Mission Society to be the first Protestant missionaries to Korea. Soon after arriving in Shanghai, China, Thomas’ wife took ill, worsened by the day and died. Yet he went on alone to Korea where he began to learn the language and share the Gospel.  In 1866, he was aboard an American ship The General Sherman along the Taedong River (where the capital of North Korea is today).

 

 Introduction
    In a mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square lie the embalmed remains of Vladimir Lenin. His crystal casket has been viewed by millions of people. On the casket it says, “For he was the greatest leader of all the people of all time. He was the lord of the new humanity. He was the savior of the world.”

Colossians 3:12-17

Introduction
    Most people think of the church as a building. Where is the church? “On South Temple and C Street,” we say. In this sense, New Testament time Christians never went to church at all. Church buildings didn’t appear until about the fourth century.

 Introduction
    The witness of the apostle John quickly became the “beloved Gospel” for the church. Many people have favorite Bible verses that come from John’s witness for Jesus. “For God so loved the world… I am the resurrection and the life… In my father’s house are many rooms.” John is the “beloved disciple” and his is the “beloved Gospel” because he probes the depth of Christ’s character with a simplicity and majesty that cannot easily be forgotten.

Introduction
    Today we heard the testimony from a woman who claims to have been healed of some kind of spinal condition that she’d suffered for 18 years. Throughout the gospels we read how Jesus did many signs and wonders to show the love of God and to demonstrate the kingdom of heaven. But he did these things mostly to proclaim who he was – the Christ, the Savior Messiah, the unique-one-of-a-kind Son of God. His miracles and healings were also signs of the sort of kingdom he was ushering into the world and into our lives.

9:9-13 

Prosecutor:        We call to the witness stand Matthew, also called Levi. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole                            truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
    
Matthew:            Yes.
    
Prosecutor:        According to the records we have, you’re a tax collector for the Roman government.
    
Matthew:            I was a tax collector.

Matthew 26: 57-66 

The Prosecuting Attorney    
     Ladies and gentle men of the jury: there are those who claim that Jesus never had a fair trial; that no defense witnesses were ever heard; that it was all a plot crafted by both religious and political leaders; that Jesus never had a chance. So, now we’ve called you together to hear the belated testimony and then declare a verdict.