Oh, Jim. I don't know what I'm talking about. Thank you very much. Yeah. Okay, okay everybody just like to invite you to find a seat I'll find your children and then find a seat probably Best way and we'll get started with our call to worship in about 30 seconds Okay, we're gonna get started here. Welcome to Grace Community Church this morning. Nice to see everybody here. Our call to worship is from Psalm 52. Psalm 52, so I invite you to take your Bibles and head over there, it's right after Psalm 51. An interesting thing to think about before we read it, I'm gonna give you a couple quick, a little bit of a background on Psalm 52. But one question I have is, or not really a question, but just a statement, is that a lie, a small lie, can lead to death. A small lie can lead to death. So Psalm 52, the background on this, I'm going to give you the cliff notes on this, 1 Samuel 21 and 22. So if you want to go back and read 1 Samuel 21 and 22, I welcome you to do that. Very important to do that, because there's a few main characters and a few things that are happening. Some of the main characters are a guy named Doeg, the Edomite. Also David, Saul, a priest named Ahimelech. Those are the main characters that you'll find in 1 Samuel 21 and 22. And there's lots of crazy things happening there. David's on the run from Saul, as you know. He's hiding in caves. He's acting crazy before kings. And there's also a time when he goes up to a priest named Ahimelech. And he's asking for food. He's eating the consecrated bread. And essentially he tells a lie to Ahimelech. A small lie about why he's there. But it leads, it's part of a story, part of an evil plan. that leads to the death of 85 priests. 85 priests, a sad story. As you read, you'll find it. But that small lie gets interwoven into more small lies and some bigger lies and some evil hearts. Doeg was a guy that was dedicated to King Saul. He was actually a herdsman. And as I was thinking about that, there's two real, two things you can be dedicated to. You can be dedicated to evil, to lies, small or big, to death and to destruction, to folly, to wickedness, or it can be dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we come here today is because I'm hoping and praying that we're all dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is our only refuge, as we're going to hear from Psalm 52, from hearts that lie, from hearts that are prone to wickedness. But Jesus can change your heart. Jesus can change your story from being a part of wicked stories that we read in 1st Samuel 21 and 22. He can deliver you from this. So I'd ask you to consider these things as we read Psalm 52 and pray for your own heart, pray for others that they would be dedicated to Jesus and not to foolishness and corruption and evil. Psalm 52, to the choir master, a mascal of David. When Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Your tongue plots destruction like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right, say Allah. You love all the words that devour, oh deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever. He will snatch and tear you from your tent. He will uproot you from the land of the living, say Allah. The righteous shall see in fear and shall laugh at him saying, see the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever because you have done it. I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the godly. Let's pray. Father God of heaven and earth, we love you and we thank you for today. We thank you for your goodness and your kindness to us that we can come here and offer up our praises and our thanks and plead to you for grace and for mercy. Lord God, I pray that you would keep us from speaking evil. You would help us to watch our tongues and understand the mess that it can lead and most of all the disgrace that it brings to your name when we act this way. Father, please forgive us and help us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we might be able to, as this psalm says, be like a green olive tree in your house. That we might be able to do things like trust in you and give thanks to you. and worship you and wait upon you. And so, Lord, stir up our affections now for Jesus, who never spoke an ill word, who always spoke what is right, who himself is the truth and the life. Thank you for this deliverance that you have provided for us, Lord, to help us to believe on the name of Christ this morning, to celebrate, to sing with hearts full of worship and adoration to the one whom you have sent. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Good morning. If you're able, please stand. We're going to sing the psalter of the song. My guess is that almost none of you have ever thought about singing Psalm 52 on a Sunday morning. But I would encourage you, if you're able to, to listen to some of the psalters. a couple of months ago, and when he was in prison, you know what he sang? He sang psalters, and he didn't grow up in a reformed family, and the reason why psalters are so helpful is that they keep us balanced. They really address every part of our life in a fallen world. What do you sing when someone has treacherously lied to you? What do you sing when someone is persecuting you? How do you remember that God is on his throne? And I'm all for the happy sloppy stuff, but sometimes there's a need to deal with some of these heavy things. How do you deal with evil, corruption, within leadership, within a world? Well, the psalms and the psalters help us with that. So I want us to sing an unfamiliar psalter to a familiar tune. This is Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. So sing it nice and loud if you know that melody. Mighty mortal, most evil, I want to miss you every day. Your sharp tongue is like a razor Cutting with each word you say You the needle for endless Harmful words that wielding power Lying more than speaking truly, oh, you sound of awful power. God will bring you down to ruin, found your place In the sight of righteous people, God will pluck you from your tent, and the righteous will give after He'll cry out, behold his school. He would not have made love his refuge, but he was his school in rule. In the house of God I'm furnished, like a growing olive tree. Trusting in God's love forever, I will praise Him faithfully. For I know that you have done this, I will open your good name. In the presence of your people, I, your goodness, will proclaim. Amen. I hope you appreciate the psalters. That's amazing. And I pray that if you're one of those fools who make the love of money your golden treasure, that you will not be a laughing stock on judgment day, but rather that as you gather in God's house, in the saints, in the house of the godly, to remember and to praise his name, that you will be delivered from such falling. This song's a little more familiar, so sing it lustfully, as Luther would say. ♪ Show the grace of our loving Lord ♪ ♪ Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt ♪ ♪ Honor of Valory's crown shall pour ♪ ♪ Ever the blood of the Lamb shall flow ♪ was still. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will guard it and bless with it. Grace, grace, God's grace, ♪ Grace that is greater than all our sin ♪ ♪ Sin is there like the seed we sowed ♪ ♪ Bread in the store, bread in canopies ♪ Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that will harden and cleanse within Grace, grace, God's grace God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin. Time is the sting and we cannot hide. What can we do? ♪ Washing away ♪ ♪ The clearest flow in the crimson tide ♪ ♪ Wild and slow you may be today ♪ ♪ Grace, grace, God's grace ♪ Amen. Please be seated. Well, good morning, everyone. After being away for a brief time, just one Sunday away with my family for holidays, it felt weird not being here. It felt somehow like something was missing. You were. Yeah, I was missing. But, you know, God is so amazing and he's so faithful. And when He brings together a body of believers to worship Him from so many different places and backgrounds, even locations, we know that it's not just a human interest that brings us here. It's to worship our living, faithful, all-sufficient God. And I'm grateful to be here. I'm grateful to be with you. Let's look to our Lord and let him fill our souls today. I'd like to start by doing something a little different than we've done before. This is a first for us. And that is I'd like to invite Cliff and Willow and their family and their new little girl up here. And we are going to celebrate as a church the arrival of their little one. And going forward, we look forward to doing that many more times as the Lord shows us mercy and gives us more children in our church family. We're gonna pray with them, and we're gonna ask for God's strength in helping them to bring up their family and their new little girl, Penelope Joy, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Lord gives us a mission field, a precious soul, every time a new little one comes up and is born. And we know in our hearts that it's not enough just to be born into the church. It's not enough just to be in a Christian family or attend Sunday school or be raised in the church. We know that they need the Lord's grace in their lives. So isn't this beautiful? Isn't she beautiful? The Lord has done such a Marvin and Charles, you want to come up too? We'll just pray with them for a moment here. Can you hear this mic? This blue one? and continue to raise up not only our natural children, but our spiritual children in this place. And Father, as we commit to you and give you thanks for Penelope Joy, we just pray, Lord, put your hand upon her, put your hand upon her brothers, and upon her parents, and enable them to, with all that is within them, raise up their family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And we know, Father, that your promise is faithful, that you will bestow your spirit upon all who call upon you. And where your word is brought home and brought to bear and instructed to little ones, it does not return void. faithfulness continues, soul by soul, heart by heart, till we all, as the family of God, join you around your table and we are truly home. And Father, we pray that Penelope Joy would become, through your work in her, through your grace in her life, one of your daughters, and that she would reflect your glory to all in this world and throughout eternity. Thank you, Father, for this little one. Thank you for her parents and her family and her brothers. And we just commit them to you this day. In Jesus' precious name, amen. What a blessing. So I'd like to cover a few announcements here this morning. There is actually a lot of them. First on the list, ladies study tomorrow at all the various locations. So if you have not or are interested in starting to attend, I believe most of the studies are going through Esther. There's a study through the book of Esther going on and talk to Deanne or one of the other ladies in the church and we'll be certain to be able to steer you in the right direction to get connected there. Next week is the Lord's Table and if you're a guest with us this morning and you are interested in celebrating the Lord's Table with us, We do ask, as the elders and shepherds of this church, that you come and talk to us prior to partaking. And the reason we do that is because we want to hold the ordinance of the Lord's Table as a holy and as a pure celebration. And it's not our job to read hearts. But our desire is to know that those who are celebrating with us are believers in Christ, and they want to partake and remember our Lord's death for them as a part of this community, this family of believers. So come talk to us, one of the elders, Marvin, Ryan, Charles, or myself, and we'd be happy to just hear you share why you want to partake before you do so. So we're looking forward to that. So, the end of this week, Saturday, October 23rd, is a clean up and work day here at the church. And I'd like to encourage any who can to come and participate. Lunch will be provided. And there's a number of things we need to either build or clean up here at the church. And please do talk to the building committee members, John or Mark, and who else? Johnny, to see where you could fit or how you could contribute to that. Do be in prayer. Also on that day, the elders are planning a prayer and a planning retreat. So be seeking the Lord for us as we pray for and seek to lead this church, we desperately need the prayers of the people of God, because we realize that this is something that is far bigger than we could effectively and graciously carry out and lead this body of believers. So be in prayer for that. Just a quick reminder of prayer meetings. And then looking a little further out, October 31st, for believers is not marked as a spookfest, but rather as Reformation Day. And Reformation Day is a special thing, especially for us, as we mark the proclamation of the gospel in the events around the Reformation, Martin Luther nailing up the 95 thesis, or 99, 95. I got it right the first time. And many of the other things that happened in those times. But what we're planning is actually a hymn sing at 5 o'clock at the church here. So plan to attend that. I think it will be just a wonderful thing. If you have an instrument and want to help with the music, you're welcome to do that there as well. But our goal and objective is to just rejoice in the Lord and His faithfulness in Reformation Day by singing. And I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to sing a lot of our favorite psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that evening. With that, I'm going to ask you to bow in prayer with me. Oh, yes, Matt and Ryan are flagging me down earnestly because I missed something. And that is this Friday at the church will be a youth night. So children and teenagers, part of the youth group, plan to attend. Lord willing, it'll be a blessed time. And it'll be here at the church at seven, seven o'clock, Friday night. Thanks for that. So let's bow our heads and let's keep in prayer not only those who are rejoicing but also those who are grieving in our midst. I know that a number of families within this last week in our church experienced loss. Marvin and Dini are grieving the loss of their brother and sister, Dini's brother and sister. And our sister Kathy Giesbrecht and their family is grieving the loss of their father. And our brother and sister Dave and Shirley and Kimmy and Josh and Matt and Lisa as well are mourning the loss of Andy Weems, Dave's brother. So, you know, we celebrate together. We rejoice together in God's faithfulness, but we also mourn together. And we encourage one another with the words that God has given us, that death is a conquered enemy. And it's not all roses. It's a lot of pain and hurt. But we look to our Lord for encouragement and comfort and hope in these times. So let's bow together in prayer. Father, Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you that we can come to you as Father and call upon you. And thank you for the knowledge that this body of believers is actually a family brought together by you. And it will be a forever family. And we look at our hearts, and we look at our times, and we look at the sin in this world, and the pain, and the hurt, and the tearing away, the confusion. And we think, how could this be? But we stand upon Your faithful, true, unchanging, imperishable, undefiled hope that You've given us. Your Word, which is a rock. and your son, whose blood shed for us is the blood of the covenant, which never can be broken. And Father, that's how we call upon you this day. And Lord, we pray that even in spite of all the things we're going through in our lives, whether that be pain and sorrow or confusion or doubt or questions, or even exciting things, Lord, that we would never forget that our hope, our joy comes from the fact that Jesus died and bled for us. He bought us and he is risen again and has defeated death for us. And Lord, help us therefore to proclaim this day that you are the Lord, you are alive, you are worthy, and You are bringing us to Yourself. And Father, how we pray for our grieving brothers and sisters this morning. We pray for Deanie and for Marvin, who have experienced so much loss in this last few weeks, and for Kathy, for whom, and for Annie, Travis and their whole family, Lord, who is just grieving the loss of their father and grandfather. And for Dave and Shirley, Lord, who are grieving the sudden loss of their brother Andy, their uncle. And Lord, I just pray, have mercy upon them. Comfort them with your own comfort. Give them a clear sight of the hope that death is a conquered foe and that it has no hold on your people. And give them a sense of your nearness that just passes all understanding of peace. Father, we pray that you'd be with our children even the new ones that You've added to our midst, our young people, as they're growing up in a world that hates them. A world that hates them just for who they are and if they're believers, Lord hates them for Christ's sake. And I pray, Father, that You'd raise them up to be faithful, believing disciples of You. That they would be faithful to the end. And they would be bold proclaimers of the gospel. And oh Lord, we are conscious even as we pray for our children of how we need you to be faithful to, to teach them and raise them and also to live out for them the gospel as you are worthy of it. And Lord, I pray that even today, this morning as we gather, that would be a reflection of it, but also as we go home, also as we go through our weeks, Lord, As we get up each day, call upon your name. I pray they would see that you are worthy to be lived and died for. Father, we pray for grace. I pray, Father, that as we contribute to the needs of your church and your work around the world, that you would bless it. And Father, you would continue to stir us up to give generously to your work. and use those contributions, Father, mightily. We think of the Stone family and the Lamp Project, Father, and the work in Central Asia. Father, bring many people, particularly from the Islamic religion, to the true faith in Christ, where they know that bankruptcy of Islam and see the fullness of and the beauty of the Living Lord. Father would you be with our government and our authorities in this time. So much in our government Lord causes us to have concern and fear and worry about the future and where things are headed. But Lord you even say that the hand of the, the heart of the King. It's like a stream of water in your hand. And you can change hearts and you can shape laws and governments in such a way as brings about your ends. But Father, I pray that it would be an end in which the church may blossom and shine forth the light of Christ boldly and that believers may live peaceable and quiet lives. Testimony to your grace and that we may have the freedom to proclaim Christ, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the government. But Lord, we pray that we may have the freedom to do so and we may use it and earnestly and boldly proclaim, Jesus is Lord and He is coming. So Father, we pray. Bless us today. We pray, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We pray, help us to be faithfully watching and waiting, even this day. Bless your word as we proclaim this day, Lord. Bless our brother Charles as he preaches it. Give him boldness and strength and great grace. And Lord, prepare our hearts like fertile soil so that the seed of the word would fall in and it would take root and not be snuffed out by hardness or thorns. or distractions, but rather it would bring forth a mighty harvest, glorifying your name. We pray all these things, Lord, thanking you once again for your faithfulness and your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, for the preaching of the word this day, we are going to read through our consecutive scripture. That's found in Matthew 10. We'll start in verse 24. And we'll read through to the end of the chapter. Jesus is commissioning his disciples and he is explaining to them and laying forth how they should think and how they should act and what the significance of their work is as he sends them forth. And he says, a disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and a servant like his master. If they've called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light. What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father? But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. The one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. These are stark words from our Savior, the One who loves us, as He calls us to serve Him, as He calls us to lay our lives down, to lay our rights down and proclaim and acknowledge Him before men. And it's becoming less comfortable for us these days, but let's remember, let's remember our faithful Lord Jesus. who trod the path before us. He says, you'll experience what I've experienced, but you're safe in your father's hands. Not a hair of your head will fall that isn't noticed by my father. There will be division, there will be pain, There will be strife even within one's own household because of the name of Christ. And Jesus demands our complete loyalty. Our unswerving loyalty. But he says, if you're faithful to me, you will by no means lose your reward. Every little thing counts. Everything done for Christ. There's not one thing that will be forgotten. Even a cup of cold water gets a reward. And it's not a works reward, it's a grace reward, but it is a reward nonetheless. And let's fix our eyes on Him because He is our reward. So be encouraged with that and live out. Let us all live out and pray for grace to be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We'll now sing a song once again, and then we'll hear the word. Again, if you're able, please stand. Our brother will be dealing with us in his text, and we ought to be a people of prayer. ♪ Thou who bringeth all things ♪ ♪ From the world up here ♪ ♪ And bidst me at my father's foot ♪ ♪ With all my heart and wishes grow ♪ ♪ And takest of this present brief ♪ My soul has often found relief, and often, seeing the tender spare, my heart returns to the hour of prayer. Yes, we are a prayer. The joys I feel, the bliss I share, are all to thee. spirit through, with strong desires for life returned, with such a haste to the place where God my Savior shows his grace. And let me take my speech in ear, and make ♪ Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer ♪ ♪ Thy weight shall my petition bear ♪ ♪ To Him whose truth and faithfulness ♪ ♪ Gives a raging soul to bless ♪ And since He lives, we seek His grace. We heed His word and trust His grace. I'll pass on here, by every care, and think for years. Interesting how he refers to prayer as a person. I was actually convicted as we're singing. I don't know prayer that intimately, but I pray that I would have a great friend in Christ and prayer would be spoken of such. Well, our final song before the preaching of the Word, Take My Life. I let it be. ♪ Make my life and let it be ♪ ♪ Consecrated, Lord, to Thee ♪ Let them flow in speechless praise. Let them flow in speechless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee. with their beautiful glory. Take my voice and let me sing, always loving for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee, filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold, what of my food I withhold? ♪ Select and use every power as thou shalt choose ♪ ♪ Every power as thou shalt choose ♪ ♪ Take my will and make it thine ♪ ♪ Here shall we no longer be ♪ It shall be thine alone. It shall be thine alone. It shall be thine alone. My Lord, I'm poor, and my need is treacherous poor. Take myself, and I will be. You may be seated and you can turn your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 4. Well, good morning. Welcome here this morning. It's good to be here together and for the next while to just focus on God's Word. There's so much here for us this morning. I hope that we will be refreshed and restored and we're going to pray to that end as well. Why don't we stand together and I will read God's Word for us this morning. This is the holy and inherent Word of God. Starting in verse 1 of chapter 4, Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God. For the time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in a flood of debauchery, and they malign you. But they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead, For this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh, the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks is one who speaks oracles of God. Whoever serves is one who serves by the strength that God supplies. In order that, in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Father, we Read these words this morning and we must recognize that apart from your spirit, apart from the new birth, we as natural men cannot understand these things. They won't make sense to us. They won't connect with us in the way that you have intended them to. And so Father, we pray, I pray, that right now your spirit bubbles up within the hearts of your people. And that you give us ears to hear. You give us eyes to see what is in your word. Father, that even as we speak of the things that deal within the body of Christ, that you would even bring hearts alive in the congregation that don't know you yet. When they see what the body of Christ is, when it is filled by you, would they long for it? And would they long for Christ, our Savior? Father, work in us this morning. Use this message. Use your word to sanctify us, to make us stronger, to sustain us for the week. In order that you would get glory. We pray this thing in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we continued on in the book of 1 Peter as we have been doing with the idea of living rightly in this present age while suffering, as we work out our relationship in this world with unbelievers. That's been a very central part of this primary body of text in 1 Peter that we are actually now coming to the close of. Chapter 4, 1 to 11 is sort of bringing to an end the big main point as Peter will then go into kind of his final statements for the end of this letter. And so last week, Ryan worked through the first couple verses and he reminded us that there is an attitude to be cultivated, that there is an abuse to be expected in terms of our relationship with the world and unbelievers, but there is an account that is going to be settled by Christ, the judge, at the end of this present age. And so this week, we look at the other half of this finishing section. And this week, the focus changes a little bit, it transitions, it kind of hinges right on the idea of the very last part of history, the judgment, the end times. And so he transitions over from our relationship with the world, to our relationship with ourselves, the body of Christ, one another. So we move forward. So last week, Ryan, he alliterated with all A's. And I thought, as soon as he said that, I said, I'm going to alliterate with all Bs. So I have. But it did it really easy. This is not creative. Really, there's three phases that I want to move through. And typically, as I often do, I shorted myself on the last one. So we're going to focus mostly on the first two. But this morning, we're going to look at being focused in these last days, being about the body, and being about the glory of God. Simple. Be focused, be about the body, be about the glory of God. And that's what we're going to work through. Peter hinges his discussion from last week to this week on this idea of judgment. And the first words of our text today, if you just read through 1 Peter, they will jump out and grab you. They will. The end of all things is at hand. You read that, and I would say most of us, your mind just stops for a little bit and you think, wow, We really, what is the end? We are in the end. Are we in the end? What does Peter mean? That was a long time ago. The end of all things is at hand. And it's interesting, because Peter has brought this concept of the consummation, the end of all things, he's brought this up a few times. And I think it's interesting, I think it tells us something about how Peter thinks about the end. He's brought this up a number of times in the book already. Think about just in the first chapter. Chapter one, verse seven. Peter speaks of our tested faith, being revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is something that should be in our thinking. Christ is coming, right? Verse 13, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter has an eschatological, that is an end times motif, working in his mind as he thinks through his Christian life. In verse 20 of the first chapter, speaking of Jesus, he says, he was made manifest in the last times. That's the days that Peter was living in. That's the days that we're living in. That's what I want to argue. Now, even the New Testament writers outside of Peter, they seem to have the same kind of thinking, that there is this last and final phase that we have entered into with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Acts 2, verse 17, Luke, quoting Old Testament prophecy, says that we are in the last days in which God is pouring out His Spirit. He uses that terminology. The author of Hebrews, in chapter 1 verse 2, assumes the very same kind of thing. We are in these last days. That's what he says. We are in these last days. That was 2,000 years ago. John, likewise, to the Ephesians in 1 John 2.18 tells his readers that they are in the last hour. This is a mindset that we as Christians too often, I think, fall out of. We get so bogged down in the imminency of what is happening in our lives today, we forget to have a more eternal perspective. Remembering that any day could be our last day. We are living in the final stage of redemptive history. And the next and final event is the last trumpet. The consummation, the return of Christ for his church, and the final judgment. And I think that must be how Peter's thinking, because he references the return of Christ a few times, then he references the final judgment, and then he uses this term, the last days. So, has Peter grabbed your attention? Has he got you focused? Are you listening to what he has to say? That's often what we need to get us back into the Word. We need the Holy Spirit to give us a little smack in the face and say, hey, this is important, look at it. So, in light of this, we are called to something very specific. We are called to, and I've lost my place, stay self-controlled and sober-minded. In these last days, we are called to stay self-controlled and sober-minded. Now, I was reminded again, too, of the first verse of this chapter that Ryan brought up for us last week, that we are to arm ourselves And this is kind of a battle motif again, that we are to arm ourselves with a particular way of thinking. And then down here, in light of all things coming to an end, we are to have self-control, or the NASB says sound judgment, and a sober mind. When things are coming to a close, when things are coming to a head, we have to stay focused. And this is really big. And so we need to be self-controlled, sober-minded, basically meaning clear-headed, without distraction. Right? And there are how many countless things in this life that have us completely distracted from the imminency of the coming of Christ. And we are called to clear those things out of our mind, right? Prepare our minds for action, gird our loins. We've been starting, it seems every single fall, we start going through the Lord of the Rings stuff. And we just started The Hobbit the other night, and so we've been watching, you know, little sections of it in the evenings, kind of to wind down. But you have all of these battle scenes, especially in the last part of The Hobbit. There's this massive, long battle. And what do you see? The camera comes in, and there's two men, and they're facing off. Their eyes are wide. Their feet are planted firm. Their weapon is drawn. Their mind is focused. Because the end of all things could be at hand in the next swing of the sword. That, for us Christians, is a spiritual and mental posture that we need to be about cultivating in our lives. Because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. The devil prowls around like a lion, we're going to find out in a few weeks, seeking who can devour. We are in a battle. But why does Peter want us to be like this? Why is it so important to have our minds clear, free from distraction as Christians? Why? You look at it. If you look at the text, it says, for the sake of your prayers. Or for the purpose of prayer. Isn't it interesting that Peter makes prayer the first response to the reality of living in the last days? That's the very first thing, as he's closing off this section. You need to clear your mind, be focused on Christ, be focused on his mission, and you need to pray. Something that We don't see in our English translation, but has to be assumed here, we know Peter is writing to churches, right? That's what we find right in the very first part of chapter one. He's writing to churches, so clearly he's writing to groups of people. But in here, what you don't really see in verse seven here, you don't really see the plurality of the command. That Peter is calling on not just you as an individual, but all of you as the people of God. Both the word for self-controlled and sober-minded are in second person plural. That means all of you need to be sober-minded. We as a church, as a group, need to be collectively sober-minded for the purpose of our prayers. Our many prayers. There's a little town where I went to school in when I grew up, and the people in that town, they wouldn't say you, but they'd also say you's. We're going over you's place tonight. That is a way of turning you into plural. But you's prayers have to be many in these last days. As a body, corporate prayer is so vitally important to the glory of God and the sanctification of this church. Schreiner writes this, sensible and alert thinking is to be used for prayer. The realization that God is bringing history to a close should provoke believers to depend on him. And this dependence is manifested in prayer. When we are focused, right? First section, be focused. When we are focused on Christ and His mission, we will want to pray. We don't want to pray about the Great Commission, that we could carry it out. When we are focused on God's desire for our holiness, as we have been called to over and over and over again in 1 Peter, we will employ prayer to that end. Sanctify me Lord." When we are focused on the extended body of Christ, i.e. in this church, Grace Community, we will want to pray for one another. And this is going to have to be a large part of our lives. Yes, your personal prayers are so vital and important to your spiritual health. But brothers and sisters, Peter's telling us corporate prayer is vital and important to our spiritual health as a church. Are we a praying people? I remember when Kaylin and I first came to Grace Community And there were a lot of things that really stood out to us. Just the community was so wonderful. The preaching was so intense. The potlucks were a thing that were in our lives again. It was awesome. Everyone seemed to want to talk about the gospel, and it blew us away. But I remember very, very distinctly, the first time I went to prayer meeting, and it felt like half the church was there. And I thought, what is going on with these people? This is not what I expected. I thought maybe like one, two, three, maybe five people would be there. So many people were at prayer meeting. And I thought, this is legit. This is a church that understands the need for prayer. And my question to us, is are we a church that really understands the need and the commitment to prayer, both individually and corporately? Is that still a defining characteristic of Grace Community Church? Peter would want it to be. Because the end of all things is near. We just sang about this, and since he bids me seek his face, believe his word, and trust his grace, I cast on him every care. Every care. And wait for the sweet hour of prayer. Interesting what Ryan said about the personification of prayer there. So, let's be focused. We need to be a focused church, especially in these last days. And sometimes history will feel more like the last days than others. And I think that that intensity in society is ramping up. We need to be a people of prayer. But not only must we be focused in our minds and in our actions and in our prayers, Peter wants us to be also about the body of Christ. So be focused, but also be about the body. Now, he says, above all. I have read over that so many times, and I just read right past it. And again, it caught me. The end of all things is near. Above all, and then at the very end, we see again, all things are for the glory of God. There's something very big picture, all encompassing, summing everything up, going on as Peter brings us to this close. But above all, we are supposed to keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. In these next three verses, we see that next on the list of priority things in our lives in these last days outside of prayer, or in addition to prayer, I should say, is one anothering within the body of Christ. Oh, friends, this is so important for us. This is so important for us. And before I pick apart these three one another's that Peter's going to give us, let me just remind you of all the one another's in the New Testament. First of all, we are to love one another. That's where we're going to start. And that is mentioned as a command at least 12 times in the New Testament. First and foremost, one of the greatest one another's given to us is by Jesus himself in John 13, 34 to 35. He says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. So do what I did to you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So this is a defining characteristic of Christian character. love. It must encompass all of our lives. But what binds, what is found inside the love for one another that we are commanded over and over again is all of these other things. To show hospitality for one another. To honour one another. To have the same mind for one another. To welcome and accept one another. to physically greet one another. How important is that? It's a big part of what helps identify us as brothers and sisters in Christ. When you come together on any day of the week, or you come together on Sunday morning, that there are these holy interactions, whether it is a kiss or a hug or a handshake, that's mentioned four times. But that is supposed to be part of what we do as a church. We need to have peace amongst one another, build one another up, wash each other's feet or serve, take the supper with one another, be tender-hearted, kind, forgiving one another. We need to comfort and encourage one another. I think of the lives lost in various families in our church. We have a duty now to comfort and encourage one another. We have an obligation to seek the good of one another. And we should not lie to one another. We should not envy or provoke one another. We should not pass judgment on one another. These things are above all, must be necessities in our life. Which means you need to be part of a local church. It's very sad. Two weeks ago, Matt Bollock and myself were talking to a lady at a rally. And you get this all the time. People say they're Christians. And you say, oh, and my first question always is, where do you go to church? Oh, I don't go to church. No, no. And she was very adamant. I don't go to church. No. I just read my Bible, she said. We can go down that trail another time. She's missing out on all of this, which Peter tells us is essential for our life, essential for our stability and growth and maintenance of our Christian lives. Above all, this is comprehensive, because God brings all kinds of circumstances and situations into our life. Not one of them is reason, for us to give up loving one another or being hospitable. Certainly not COVID. Certainly not governmental edicts that specifically order us not to do these things. Above all, we need to be above one another. So, Peter says, keep loving earnestly. And that's very important that you see that, keep loving. Right, because when you first become a Christian, when God saves you, maybe the first time you really understand the gospel and you see the body of Christ in a different way for the first time, or you come to a new church, there is this kind of natural first-time love that you have for people. But Peter says, you need to keep that going. Why? Well because as Jesus reminded us in Matthew 24, lawlessness increases in those days. Most people's love will grow cold. And so this admonition is vital to us as a church. Because our love can grow cold. Has your love gone cold for this body? Have God's people grown wearisome to you? Do you find yourselves drawing more and more inward, being more spiritually introverted? Are there irksome qualities about a brother or a sister that you have decided to no longer tolerate? That would be a sign that your love is growing cold. And this is a slap upside the head. Keep loving one another fervently. Pour yourself into it. How are you going to do that? Back up. You need to be praying about this. It's always going to start with prayer. The self-controlled and clear-mindedness, if you don't have that, start with prayer, pray for self-control, pray for a clear mind, and then pray, because now you have those things that you need. You're having a hard time loving one another? You're having a hard time keeping on loving one another earnestly? Then you need to bring it to the Lord in prayer. You need to confess your sins to someone else in this body. Maybe it's the person that you've been holding a grudge against. Maybe it's the person who inadvertently did something wrong to you. They don't even know. During COVID, we have seen every single facet of society cut in half or cut in multiples. Everyone is divided these days. And it is because they do not have the love of Christ working in their hearts. This is the reality. And as I look out over this peoplescape, and I see the faces of my brothers and sisters at Grace Community Church, I am so thankful that I be, I really think that fervent love has kept us together the way it has. Really, it has. And that is all of God's grace. We need to have this fervent love. It must keep working among us. Why? Because it covers a multitude of sins. There's no one in this room that's perfect yet. We're all gonna continue to screw up and sin against one another, sometimes on purpose, because we have bad attitudes, unresolved bitterness, accidentally hurt feelings, slander, jealousy. These are all the footholds of strife that can tear this community apart. But if the overarching ethic of Christian character is love, then that will hold us together. That will keep us unified. You see, we love them because Christ first loved us. We forgive because we've been forgiven in everything. We endure because Christ endured so much more than we ever could. And we learn all these things in the gospel as we look to Christ. Let me belabor this point by just reading a small section of 1 Corinthians 13. This is what needs to keep on fervently happening in this church. 1 Corinthians 13, 4-8. Love. Why? Because it is patient. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not brag and it is not arrogant. It does not act unbecomingly. It does not seek its own. It is not provoked. does not take into account wrong suffered. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but it rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things. Love keeps on earnestly. Love never fails. So with that principle, by God's grace, back into our hearts for contemplation, for meditation this week, we can move on to other aspects of one another in the church. And that is something that is very important to Peter evidently. It was important in his time. And that is the need for hospitality in this church. It was a need in Peter's church, it was a need in all of the churches that surrounded him. But of course, the hospitality of Peter's day may have looked a little bit different from how we think of it today. Right? Today we call it hosting. And we do it at our convenience, to a greater or lesser degree. Company for us is usually planned in advance. House needs to be clean, at least for me. House needs to be clean. Food and drink need to be perfectly prepared. Hosting, as we know it, brothers and sisters, if we're honest, it's too often a show. And that's the reality of it. But that's not what Peter is trying to get us to do. He's not trying to get us to be better housekeepers and have a better calendar with all of the schedules in there for when people are going to come over. That's not what he's trying to get us to do. For Peter, in his day, hospitality was a matter of necessity. Christian travelers would need a place to stay. Worship meetings would need a venue to gather at. And it may be in case, it may be in some cases, that you are not adequately prepared for that. That would really actually be the heart of what we need to understand about hospitality. Say a traveling evangelist is passing through Lethbridge and for whatever reason he is Can't get a room in a hotel, maybe he's not allowed to get a room in a hotel. And he's been sent to your door because you would have room. And knock, knock, knock, you're just putting the kids to bed. Right? You're just putting the kids to bed. This is the wrong time. I've still got a whole bunch of clay pots and pans to scrape lasagna out. Grumbling. So that's what Peter's listeners would have been dealing with to some degree. Actually, if you look down in verse 12 and 13 into next week's text, I think here this might explain a little bit too why grumbling could have been a problem. Incidentally, the Greek word for grumbling is gungusmu. And I just think that sounds so appropriate. Gungus mooing. Verse 12, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you, but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, not Gungus mooing. This is the heart of what hospitality needs to be for us. If times continue to get more difficult, as I really do think that they will, by God's grace, maybe it'll turn around. But if times continue to get more difficult for us as a church, some of us are gonna have to open up our houses more often than we ever thought we would because God has blessed us with the right kind of facility and the right kind of giftings to serve the body. We might have to meet in someone's field. We might have to meet in an area where we know our neighbors are going to be angry at us and maybe report us. And it's not going to be easy. And there's going to be opportunity to grumble. Maybe we're going to have to share or give up the little of what we have left. And we're going to have to guard against Gungus Mooning. We're going to have to guard against grumbling. MacArthur writes this, and this is what I've said already, but it sums it up. The spirit of hospitality extends beyond the tangible acts of providing meals or a place to stay. It includes not just the act, but the unselfish attitude. That's the heart of Christian hospitality. It is the unselfish attitude, so that what is done, no matter the sacrifice, And that's another part of Christian hospitality, is sacrifice. It is done without complaint. Now you might say that for some, for some, hospitality is particularly easy for them. Last spring when a number of us men went up to Edmonton for a weekend, we were blown away by the hospitality of a particular family up at Grace Life Church. That was amazing. And not everyone can serve in that capacity the way they did. But they truly loved and they lived for being a blessing to people who came to Edmonton to open their home to them, to feed them way more than they should ever eat, to make sure they had nice beds and all of the accommodations. I mean, this was, it was so clearly a gift, a spiritual gift that God had given them. And of course, not every one of us in this church is going to be overdosed with the gift of hospitality. We are all called to it, but not every one of us is going to have that as our one gift. And that's important, and maybe that's what Peter has in mind here, because he moves from hospitality in and of itself to just spiritual gifts as a whole, reminding us that they are so important in the body of Christ. So the next thing he says, as each has received a gift, use it to serve, here's our third one another, serve one another. Love one another, be hospitable to one another, serve one another. Be about the body. Serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. We need to be servants to one another and everyone here has been given what they need to do that in the church in their particular capacity. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Turn there. Now this is, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, this is really one of the most powerful, extensive passages in the New Testament on spiritual giftings and all that that entails. But 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and just to prove my point, particularly in verse 7, Speaking of what God does, it says, to each is given, to each one, to every single member of the body of Christ. Every regenerate person has received a manifestation of the Spirit for... Puffing yourself up? No. Look at the text. For the common good. For the common good of their local body. Every believer has a spiritual gift to put into practice for service here at Grace Community Church. And over the past year, as we have stood up here and done announcements and asked people to step up in various avenues and ways in this church, I have been really encouraged in the ways that people have wanted to come forward and get involved. And I think that there's lots of places for people still to serve. And so I've been very encouraged in that because it's true. Everyone has been given a certain spiritual gift to use in this body for the common good. And as Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And so every single one of us has received a gift. to serve one another, and when we use it, we prove ourselves to be good stewards of what God has given us. If you're in 1 Corinthians still, look at verse 18, chapter 12, verse 18. This really sums up the importance of this. But as it is, God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them, Again, every one of you, each one of them, as He chose. It's a good thing that God's doing the organizing, right? Because then everyone ends up where they're supposed to be. That's really helpful for us as a church. As Nathan said, God's grace is on this church. It's amazing how we can move forward with us four elders. God does so much that we don't even understand. in making all the pieces move because he can get into our hearts and make things happen. So, each one of them as he chooses. If all were a single member, where would the body be, right? If we're all just arms, it wouldn't work. As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. Never think that what you're doing in your service for the church is not important. It doesn't matter what it is. If you are serving here, it's important. God has put you in that position because it's important. and it contributes to the edification, the common good of this body. And so if you are involved, you are a good steward. You are doing what God has called you to do. And you are a good steward of God's varied grace. Now that word varied, if you look at it, some of your translations may say manifold, varied. That word, it means colored. And it brings to my mind kind of just a picture of a garden. Actually, in Winnipeg, there is a Cittaboyne Park. And Caitlin, what was the name of the English garden? The English Garden in Assiniboine Park is just, it's a beautiful, huge garden with many paths and all kinds of flowers and plants and ponds and trees. And you walk through it and it is just amazing to look at God's creation, at all of the beauty and all of the color and the shapes and the sizes and the textures that God has made. It is colored, it is awesome. And when the church is working as it should, When people are committing to a local body, putting themselves under the care of the elders, committing to work for the common good of that body, it is a beautiful thing. And the Holy Spirit is, He is the beautifier of this church and other local churches as God's varied, as His manifold grace works in this church. Now, could I take a moment, and we did this last week as we brought people into membership, but could I take a moment and encourage those of you who have maybe been coming to Grace Community for a while now, and you have benefited, you have received blessing from being part of this body. Can I please call you to join us in membership? To join us in membership so that you can get involved and serve and be a good steward of God's very grace, the gifts that he's given you to contribute for the common good of this body. Would you consider that? And if you are coming here and you don't want to do that, then maybe there's a different church, a different one of God's churches that you can get joined into and that you can serve. Because that's what God has called you for. And so go there and serve with joy and be part of that body. But it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, I'm not going to belabor 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Peter doesn't. But he simply breaks down these gifts of service into two categories with two exhortations. So, he says, as you are serving, as you are serving one another, there's really two camps that you're going to fall into. You're either going to be a talker or a doer. That's ultimately how it's going to look for a lot of us. And I suspect that most of you are able to fairly quickly ascertain what category of giftings you fall into. And so, a word to the talkers. Now the Bible has a lot to say about the tongue. There's a lot of warnings for us who have the gift of the gab. And there is a dangerous tendency for us talkers to want to impart our own wisdom. Right? How many books have been written? How many lectures have been given? How many sermons have been preached where the thoughts and the wisdom of man have been the primary focus? And what happens when that happens is that the benefits of what God has intended for the body They get tragically diminished. I remember six or seven years ago, there was a little bit of a brouhaha because a preacher, Andy Stanley, took some shots at other preachers who were preaching verse by verse. He said, that's cheating. Andy, Andy, Andy. No, those who have the gift of speaking are to speak, it says, as one who speaks oracles of God. What are the oracles of God? They are the teachings, they are the words of God. And so in order for us to do this, this means that we have to be deeply entrenched. I clearly am one of the gift of the gab guys, right? That's why I'm up here this morning. This is the gift that God has given me for the common good. And what it means is I need to be in the word a lot. Because I don't want to sit down with one of you over coffee when you're in a crisis and give you the philosophy of men. That's not going to help you. That's not going to be for your good. You need the Word fed to you in every conversation. And so whether you have the gift of preaching or teaching or counseling, whatever it is, if you are one of those talkative, gifted persons, be in the Word. Don't impart your own wisdom. Peter would rebuke you for that. Now, maybe you're not a talker. In fact, there's probably a lot more doers than talkers as spiritual gifts go. And so, if you are a doer, then you are also called to a particular spirit-filled way of carrying out the acts of service. They are to be done only in the strength that God gives. Now, As I thought of this, it occurred to me, as I was thinking of these two categories, it seemed easier, as I tried to figure out how to give you application, to say, if you're a talker, use scripture, not human philosophy. Okay, I can do that. But if I say to you who are more in the servant category, okay, what I want you to do is I want you to serve by the strength that God has given you, not in the flesh. So how do I do that? Do you see it's a little more difficult to put that into practice maybe? And so I had to read. And it's amazing when I'm prepping for a sermon, sometimes God brings people along, and yesterday Lazar showed up at the church, and I didn't know he was going to be here. And so we just talked about it, and it was wonderful because through talking I got to kind of work this out. But then I read as well, and I read the commentaries, and I came to the same conclusion. How do you as a servant, how do you do what you need to do? How do you serve in the strength that God provides? Instead of just doing it. One guy is vacuuming over here in the strength that God provides and another guy is vacuuming over here in the flesh. How does it look different? I think this is what it is. Activating this strength is done through, first and foremost, I think it's done through It's a mindset. That's the answer, it's a mindset. It's done through our identity, remembering our identity in Christ. It is done by cultivating an attitude that is focused on doing everything for the glory of God. It is done by knowing, in the mind, this sounds a lot like having a self-controlled and sober mind. It is done by knowing that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in us. And it is done by bringing every day and every action of that day first and foremost to the Lord in prayer. Back up to the top. Get your mind right. Get your prayer life right. Understand that what you are doing, that you are doing it for the glory of God. So whether it's vacuuming the church, or making a meal for potluck, or keeping track of the accounting, or shoveling the sidewalk, or opening your home to unexpected visitors, when your mind is in that right place, then you're doing it in the strength that God provides. And then that's not always easy. But that's actually the point, because that's what gets us over the hump, that's what gets us through that act of service when we don't want to do it. I don't want to do that. Do it for the glory of God. Do it and thank him for giving you the gift of loving to cook. And that's why you're preparing that casserole late at night before potluck. You do it in the strength that God provides, and that will give glory to Him. To bring this together, I wrote you a poem. It goes like this. Some of us are talkers, and some of us are doers. Some are in pulpits, and some serve in the sewers. One uses speech, and the other a vacuum. He can stack chairs, and she counsels in the back room. When it comes from our tongue or the way that we live, we must draw from God's Word and the strength that He gives. That's what it's about. And when that happens, what is going on in our lives, that means that we have moved from being about the body to being about the glory of God. And that's how Peter sums this up. When you are focused and persistent in prayer for the sake of the body of Christ, You will then want to love one another fervently. You will want to open your home when it's difficult. You will want to find out your spiritual gift and use it for the common good of the rest of the body in order that in everything that you do and think and say, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, our Savior. And that's the whole mindset that ties this all up in a bow, that we are doing everything that we're doing for the glory of God. I'm not going to belabor this point, and to be honest, I did what I often do. I ran out of time, and I ran out of energy, and I often fall short on the last verse. I think that's the preacher's plight. But I'm thankful that Peter uses this as a doxology. It's a sum-up statement. Why? So that God gets glory in our life. Right? Not us. Not you. Not me. It's not about me. This sermon is not about me. You may have enjoyed this sermon, it may have come out well, maybe it didn't, it doesn't matter. It's not about me. Are you blessed this morning by what has happened here? Give glory to God. Give glory to God. That's the point of our worship service this Sunday morning, and next Sunday morning, and the next Sunday morning, and every single one that we've ever done here. The point is that God gets all the glory. Not to us, not to us, but to His name be the glory. Friends, it's not about us. It's about Christ. It's about the Father receiving the glory that He's due through the Son. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, how good it is to just marinate in Your Word for a while on the day of Your Son, on this special day, the Lord's day. So Lord, would you use what just happened here, the singing, the preaching, all of the different facets and all of the different contributors that happened this morning that you chose and placed in all of their places for the good of this body, would you use it to sustain us and strengthen us for the week and months to come? And Lord, we pray to that end, that you would do it every week. Or we pray that we would become more and more a church focused on prayer. Father, we thank you that you have kept us together in the bonds of love. And so we give you praise and glory and we want to sing to you now one last song this morning to the praise of your glorious grace. In Jesus' name, amen. If you're able, please stand for our final song. And I was corrected. Luther didn't say sing lustfully, he said sing lustily. My wife corrected me on that, so, you know, lustily. We can sing that way now. ♪ When I surveyed the water's cross, on which the grave was laid ♪ ♪ Of glory divine ♪ ♪ My vicious king ♪ ♪ I count among us ♪ ♪ That for contempt of all my crimes ♪ Sing in the depth of Christ our God. ♪ The great things that charm me most ♪ ♪ I sacrifice them to his blood ♪ ♪ See from his head he is dancing ♪ it's peace. Sorrow and love will be no doubt. There's such love ♪ Let us follow thee ♪ ♪ O'er thorns of gold so rich a crown ♪ ♪ That were a treasure far too small ♪ ♪ But so amazing, so divine ♪ ♪ Deep as my soul We have been ministered to very richly this day. Thank you brother and I pray that we would not miss that the ability to serve comes from the grace of God and we feast on God's grace which sustains us and nourishes us and our closing doxology this morning. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Grace to you, you are dismissed. Go and bless someone this afternoon. serving Walmart.