Today is Sunday. This is the traditional day of worship for all the followers of Jesus. We’ve prepared for this day. It’s not like it slipped up on us or something. We are ready.

We went to bed at a decent hour, 9pm or 10pm, because we wanted to be sharp this morning. We’ve got our clothes laid out so that we won’t have to rush. We’re going to get up about 8am because we wouldn’t want to be late for Sunday School and that will give us plenty of time to eat breakfast, read our Bible, and cleanup before worship. We are ready.

Most of us aren’t anywhere near that prepared. I know that I usually am not. Why is that? I get ready for every hunting trip I take. I lay out my clothes and check all my gear before I go to bed. I get in bed early so that I am rested for the next day. I rise up early, most of the time without the aide of an alarm, because I am so excited about the hunt. I can’t wait for the sun to rise and the fun to begin.

Maybe that’s why we aren’t excited about worship. Maybe we aren’t anticipating the rising of the Son. Let me help you with that. Listen, this morning we get to come to worship. When we arrive there will be people here to greet us. They’ll be glad to see us and they’ll give us hugs and smiles. We’ll see friends and family and the church house will be clean an warm. We’ll get to study the Word of God in a small group setting with some people we respect and love and maybe some folks that we’ve never met. We will get the opportunity to encounter the God of the Universe through the study of His Book.

When Sunday School is over we will all go over to the Sanctuary or the Worship Center, if you prefer. We’ll get to hear some wonderful music and we’ll have a chance to lift our voices and praise the One who gave His life to give us eternal life. The One who spoke the world into existence. The One who changed water into wine. Who healed the blind man with a piece of clay. Who made the lame walk and the dumb talk. He who loosed the captives and bound the captors. The One who walked on water and stilled the waves. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. Maniacs were some of His closest followers. He cried at funerals and had compassion on the poor as well as the rich. He was betrayed by one of His own, arrested under false pretenses, wrongfully accused, condemned without cause, beaten and spit upon, rejected and abandoned. Even His Father forsook Him. He went through Hell for us so that He would not have to go to Heaven without us. He took all our sins and all our shame and died for us so that we might live with Him. He was buried in a borrowed tomb but He rose on the third day and stands at the right hand of His Father, waiting for the cue to come and get us and take us home. He eagerly anticipates the rising of that days sun.

So, get up. It’s time to give glory and praise and honor to the One who deserves all that we have and more than we can ever give. Today is Son-day.