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A Mighty Fortress
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing.
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
That Word above all earthly powers no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!
“What the Lord has done in Me”
Let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Let the blind say I can see
It's what the Lord has done in me
Hosanna hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna hosanna
Jesus died and rose again
Into the river I will wade
There my sins are washed away
From the heaven's mercy stream
Of the Saviour's love for me
Hosanna hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna hosanna
Jesus died and rose again
I will rise from waters deep
Into the saving arms of God
I will sing salvation songs
Jesus Christ has set me free
Hosanna hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna hosanna
Jesus died and rose again
Hosanna hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna hosanna
Jesus died and rose again
“He Will Hold me Fast”
When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life's fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast
Chorus
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Verse 2
Those He saves are His delight
Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He'll not let my soul be lost
His Promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast
Chorus
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Verse 3
For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When He comes at last
Chorus
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Chorus
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Out of Hiding
Verse 1
Come out of hiding You're safe here with Me
There's no need to cover what I already see
You've got your reasons but I hold your peace
You've been on lockdown and I hold the key
Chorus
'Cause I loved you before you knew what was love
I saw it all still I chose the cross
You were the one that I was thinking of
When I rose from the grave
Now rid of the shackles My victory is yours
I tore the veil for you to come close
There's no reason to stand at a distance anymore
You're not far from home
Verse 2
I'll be your lighthouse when you're lost at sea
I will illuminate everything
No need to be frightened by intimacy
Just throw off your fear and come running to Me
Chorus
'Cause I loved you before you knew what was love
I saw it all still I chose the cross
You were the one that I was thinking of
When I rose from the grave
Now rid of the shackles My victory is yours
I tore the veil for you to come close
There's no reason to stand at a distance anymore
You're not far from home
Bridge
Oh as you run what hindered love
Will only become part of the story
Oh as you run what hindered love
Will only become part of the story
Oh as you run what hindered love
Will only become part of the story
Oh as you run what hindered love
Will only become part of the story
Chorus
'Cause I loved you before you knew what was love
I saw it all still I chose the cross
You were the one that I was thinking of
When I rose from the grave
Now rid of the shackles My victory is yours
I tore the veil for you to come close
There's no reason to stand at a distance anymore
You're not far from home
“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”
Verse 1
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Verse 2
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
Verse 3
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Ebenezer CRC - March 22, 2026
Adam Veenstra
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE I invite you to turn to page 1668 in the Bibles in front of you, to John chapter 11. We’ll be reading about the death of Lazarus, and what it means for Jesus to bring life even in the midst of pain and grief.
I invite you to follow along starting at verse 17, when Jesus has heard the news that Lazarus is gone.
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
MESSAGE
Part One - Context
John goes on to describe how Jesus famously raises Lazarus from the dead, as a sign of the SLIDE 1 Lord’s power for “the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe” that God sent him.
The people standing there - particularly Mary and Martha - are in a deep wilderness of grief.
Death changes a person’s circumstances so quickly.
It changes practical circumstances: you have to deal with the immediate reality of someone not being there.
But it also changes circumstances of the heart: anyone here who has ever lost someone knows the impossibilities of that kind of grief, and how it can change you forever.
SLIDE 2 So both Martha and Mary express what so many of us have likely thought or said at some point - “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
My brother, or my sister, or my Dad, or my fiancee…where was God when this horrible thing happened?
SLIDE 3 And it can be really hard to see the hope and colour in the midst of that.
But I suspect that one of the reasons you’re here today, in a church service, is because even when it’s hard to believe, you know God was right there with you.
You know that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
So we celebrate that together in Lent and Easter, even in the midst of the deep wilderness of grief.
Because here we see that even Jesus himself was “deeply moved”, and is calling us back to life.
SLIDE 4 Jesus arrives when mourning is slowly starting to ease up.
Jewish tradition reserved the heaviest mourning for the first four days after a person’s death, when the shock and sadness were most imminent.
But it was also in these four days that people believed that the soul remained near the body, and might actually return to it.
In the midst of the heaviest grief they experienced, there was still hope; there was still the possibility of life.
When Jesus arrives the weight of grief has started to lessen, but so has that hope.
SLIDE 5 Our passage says that he was deeply moved in spirit, and troubled.
It’s language used to demonstrate a deep grief, and agony.
It is out of his empathy for them, but also for his own loss: the beginning of chapter 11 calls Lazarus “the one you love.”
This is Jesus’ friend!
If I lost one of my friends, you could say I’d be troubled. I’d be a wreck - I’d be inconsolable.
And I think it’s important that we have a Saviour - if he really has come to be God with us - who is the same.
Because grief is inevitably human; grief is necessarily human.
It cannot be avoided - it must be recognized and experienced and lived with.
I love avoidance and disassociation, and I’m a big fan of compartmentalization.
And I’ve gotten pretty good at it, which I don’t know is a good thing: as we also said last week, we have to feel, or we can’t heal.
And I say it again with confidence, because even Jesus did that: before raising Lazarus from the dead, something completely in the realm of his power, he felt. He wept.
SLIDE 6 Verse 35 uses the Greek word for a quiet, but constant, crying.
Something that lasts, that isn’t quickly or easily consoled.
Jesus - a grown man with all the divine strength and power of the universe - WEPT!
SLIDE 7 This week’s assigned colour is purple.
Artists have commented how it’s a colour that can be rich and vibrant, but also have a quiet melancholy - think Barney the dinosaur, but also a spring twilight.
It’s meant to capture the full spectrum of emotions that Christ himself also felt.
Because purple is also a royal colour: this man who is weeping over the loss of his friend, is the King of Kings.
Whose power overrules even death itself.
And whose sacrifice that we celebrate at Lent and Easter means that physical death is not the ultimate end, and that suffering is not forever.
Part Two - Mission & Application
We’re promised that grief is ephemeral. But it’s also important that we acknowledge that grief can be bigger than we often define it.
One of my seminary courses was the pastoral care of grief, but the focus of most of the course material was on only two causes: death and cancer.
And despite the story we’ve read this morning, we know that our grief can encompass so much more than that.
There is so much that we weep over.
SLIDE 8 “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” in your life might be, “If you had been here, I wouldn’t have lost my job” or “my marriage wouldn’t have fallen apart”, “my parents would be more involved in my life”, “I wouldn’t have failed”.
There is so much that we weep over.
SLIDE 9 Only next week on Palm Sunday, Scripture will tell us that Jesus’ heart breaks for the city of Jerusalem.
He’s grieving for them, for reasons that aren’t singular and concise.
Scripture itself tells us that there isn’t time and space and ink to capture everything Jesus said and did and experienced.
As a kid, he lived in exile in Egypt, hiding because his life was threatened.
Then he was uprooted back to Nazareth.
We can safely assume that at some point his grandparents died.
Many scholars believe his Dad died.
He would have known people with financial and relational struggles.
As an adult he spent years working on the road, away from his home and family.
His friend betrayed him.
SLIDE 10 He was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
Grief is a holy thing.
According to Isaiah, grief is a sign of the Messiah, as much as the miracles he performed in our story last week.
Grief and lament demonstrate love, and that we need life!
That we need Christ.
SLIDE 11 1 Thessalonians 4 reminds us that we do not grieve without hope, because we know the power of Christ over death.
Jesus wept even knowing he could - and would - raise Lazarus.
We weep even knowing God is present.
SLIDE 12 We’re told that “blessed are those who weep, for they WILL be comforted!”
We are never left alone - God will always be with us, bringing us life.
SLIDE 13 His people have always been promised that “I will restore you to health and I will heal your wounds.”
The power of that promise is at work even now, in all our circumstances.
We have life even in death, we have the hope of spring even in winter, there is colour even in Lent!
SLIDE 14 In his book The Tears of Things, Franciscan friar Richard Rohr writes that you “cry yourself into a new way of thinking and feeling. Because tears are a form of allowing more than willing [you don’t make yourself cry so much as allow yourself to] they lend themselves much more easily to the language of the spirit.
Tears are an outpouring of our hearts, expressing the wordless groans of who we are, and what we are truly moved by.
That movement is vital to our walk with Christ.
SLIDE 15 Jesus is moved into a new reality for all of us. In which hope is never lost, even as grief continues.
A reality in which grief is allowed because we know it will not be forever, because the resurrection and the life is with us.
Rohr’s book is all about the prophets, and he writes that shedding tears and being deeply moved into a new reality is a vital characteristic for those who are called to proclaim the truth about Christ.
SLIDE 16 We are called to be deeply moved.
We are called to have our tears move us towards the truth of Christ - his power and his presence at all times and in all things.
Grief is holy and it is good because it demonstrates that our hearts are in tune with the Spirit and know that this is not how life was meant to be; this is not how life will always be.
Richard Rohr goes on to say that “Felt reality is wept reality, and wept reality is soon compassion and kindness.”
It is movement.
In Kenya, there is a group of people called the Massai.
In their culture, before their warriors can truly be considered real men, they must go to what are called the “caves of grief” - caves where they are meant to literally cry over the state of the world.
They must feel and weep for the reality that they have felt moved to protect.
I think it’s a good reminder for the Western world (especially men in the Western world1) that there are parts of the world that see tears as a sign of strength.
That see tears as necessary.
That see grief as necessary for life.
Weeping for the world demonstrates that these warriors are deeply moved to save it.
Weeping for his friend demonstrates that Jesus was deeply moved to save him.
We too are called to be deeply moved, towards colour, towards life.
Conclusion
The topic of grief might seem out of place in a service when we’ve celebrated baptism.
You might have all been waiting for some reference to Annika - even today’s slide deck isn’t very exciting!
But I think it’s an important contrast.
Because grief is never really scheduled or convenient; it is always present in some form.
But there’s also nothing like the arrival of a baby to remind us of life.
To remind us that grief is not all there is.
To remind us that even in death and grief there is new life and colour.
I don’t know all the details of what’s happening in the DeVries and Haveman families right now.
But whatever difficult times there may be in your families, your circle of friends, your community - or our world! - here’s this incredible new life full of hope and promise…and joy!
Even her name is a powerful reminder of God’s faithful presence.
Because no matter what, the sun still rises every morning.
The river is still running.
Winter still turns to spring.
There is still joy and life and colour!
And since Annika is from a family of redheads, I’ll quote the most famous one: as Anne Shirley once said, “God’s in his heaven, and all is right with the world.”
The sacrament and celebration of baptism signifies that in the midst of sin, there is still hope.
That in the midst of grief, there is still colour and life.
Christ is still with us. All of us.
Our prayer for Annika today, for all of our kids, for all of us, is that we never lose sight of his presence with us.
So I’d like us to close our time together, as we opened it, with words of blessing from Ephesians:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
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