from that. Turn in your Bibles, if you will, to Romans 13. Romans 13. This is, I guess I could say, part of my own doings by mentioning the fact that I was praying about such a sermon that is titled, politics and Christianity. Can you believe it? I can hardly, I really can't, but I think that it's good. And I will confess at the front end that my mindset concerning that topic specifically has changed this week. And I believe that that is by the grace of God. And I'm thankful to say that I believe it's according to the word of God. I have confessedly, admittedly so, avoided such topics because I think I had an imbalanced perspective of our involvement in politics, and I don't think that it's something that we can shy away from. As a matter of fact, when we consider godliness in all of its ramifications, passivity is not godly. Okay? And so I don't think that Christians of all people should be passive. I think that we should always be loving, right? But I think that we should be aggressively godly. Amen? So let's study God's word together today as we look at Romans chapter 13. I'm going to read the entirety of the chapter, just 14 verses. So if you're able and willing, let's stand in honor of reading God's word this morning. Romans chapter number 13. The Word of God says, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fears of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. For he is God's servant for good, for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities, our ministers of God, attending to this very thing. pay to all what is owed to them. Taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and any other commandment are summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand, so then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. The grass withers and the flower fades and the word of our God shall stand forever. Amen and amen. Thank you for standing. You may be seated. couple of just introductory remarks uh... as we consider uh... politics and christianity today i think it's first of all proper and right that we understand what politics actually means And there's two ways in which the word is used. One is that it is the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. So when we're talking about politics specifically, we're talking inevitably about authority, right? We're talking about who it is that is governing the activities that are going along with the governing of, but also specifically, those who are in power, in authority. And I think it's also worthy of noting that God is the one who, in his created order, has established authorities. And typically, I talk of three authorities, three different spheres of authority, and I believe that I actually have missed one for a very long time. That being, there is a self-governance. Each of us has the responsibility to govern ourselves. And actually, we're going to see that as we continue our study of the fruit of the Spirit, right? One of them is self-control. And so we have to have a governing of ourselves. And then there is a God-instituted governing of the home. The family is a God-ordained institution. And then beyond that, we have the church. The church is an authority that God has established. And then thirdly, we have the civil magistrate, that is, the government that is over all of those things, the bigger umbrella, if you will. But each of those realms or spheres of sovereignty, of authority, have responsibilities. And when we look at those responsibilities in light of the commands that go with them, we understand the balance of the two. So again, politics is just simply related to the governance of the country, or governance of whatever polity you're talking about specifically. and those who are in authority. Now, we live in the United States of America, and so the context of which we talk about these things rests in the fact that we have what is called a constitutional republic. In other words, we do not have a king. We do not have a king in our country. Now, Jesus is king, amen, but the ruling authority of our land is actually a document. So you could actually say, you could actually say that the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights are the king, right? Everybody who is in authority under that umbrella has to function according to that document. Now, I'm also thankful to say that that document is very, very, very much rooted and founded upon the principles, largely, not entirely, but largely found in the Word of God. Amen. That's a good thing. But the Constitution itself says this. Because for myself included and many others for a long, long time, we have been told that politics does not belong in the pulpit. That's something that probably all of us have heard. And listen, I want to say there's a ditch on both sides of the road. I know churches and pastors who all they talk about is politics, and it does something to the people. They are driven by whatever they're being fed. We don't want to fall into that category, nor do we want to fall into the category of the fact that we never talk about these things. Because of the nature of where we are contextually as Christians living in America's cynicism of the United States of America We have a Constitution and the Constitution says this Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Now, all that to say this, The government is prohibiting two things, okay? This document prohibits two things. One, it prohibits the government from establishing religions. I think that's a good thing, right? We do not have a state religion. It was tried in the United States of America. I think that probably the best effort that was ever made to bring about a state religion was by a Baptist movement. And thankfully, as much as I'm unashamedly consider myself to be Baptist in theology, I'm glad that that didn't happen. Okay, because I just don't think that that is what we should want, nor is it what our constitution actually stands for. So government is prohibited from establishing religions. It's a good thing, but the government itself is also prohibited from interfering in religion. Now that's a good thing as well, right? We don't have to worry today that through the back doors, right, that somebody's gonna bust in here from the government and say, stop what you're doing. You can't do that, right? We have the privilege, the freedom, the right to assemble and to worship however we please. I say that also carefully because we don't actually have the privilege to worship however we please when we're talking about as Christians, right? God has given us instruction of what we're to do as Christians, and therefore we are free as so far as the state is concerned to worship however we desire, but we are under the sovereign authority of Almighty God to worship in the way that He has prescribed in His Word. And then there's also another part of this that's, I think, extremely important and could be quickly overlooked, and that is that the government itself is actually to provide for us that protection, that nobody can stop you and I from doing what we're doing here today. In other words, if somebody were to come in here and interfere with the worship of God, they could actually, by law, be prosecuted for interrupting what we are here to do. So the government is prohibited from establishing religion, the government is prohibited from interfering with our religion, and the government is also responsible to protect our freedom to worship God. I think that's important to know, amen? I think it's really important to know. Then we move from the bill of rights, right? And the amendments and the constitution. And we go to some other laws that are again, are in our land today. And we have to, we have to abide by them and we have to abide by them because that's what the word of God. political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501c3 organization as one which does not participate in or intervene in, parenthesis, including the publishing or distributing of statements, close parenthesis, any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. So tax exemption is based upon the fact that we're a church. Now, we actually just decided as elders and deacons that we would not apply for a formal 501c3. But we are considered by the IRS a 501 c3 because we're a church Okay, so automatically you you fall under that category you there's certain benefits that come from applying for it formally we've chosen not to because we don't we don't intend to get into to businesses right to that would require us to do such a thing and But the exemption exists because we are a church, but because we are a church, there are certain avenues that we are to avoid and others that we are free to operate in. But one of the areas that a church can lose, they lose their tax exemption is if I were to stand before you or any of us for that matter, and we would begin to promote a particular candidate for the office, okay? And that's not just when you're talking presidential elections, that's any state or local as well. We have to be careful about that. Now, I say we have to be careful about that, but I also say that it could very well be the case that in the future, we would have to make such a position, and firmly, because of the morality that is being legislated or not. So I don't think a church I don't think a church can ever shy away from telling the truth for the sake of its Monetary gain you understand in other words if we would lose our exemption as a 501c3 as a church it would just simply mean that we would have to pay taxes on the money that's received and Again, if it if it comes down to it right when it's a battle of truth and lies I think you should you should say we'll pay the taxes and Right? I don't think we're there yet. Don't think we're there yet. But who knows? Who knows when that could happen? So anyway, let me also say this. I am not, I'm not here today to tell you who to vote for, okay? And I won't tell you who to vote for. And furthermore, here's another thing that we have to, on the front end, address. The Word of God does not give us a command that we have to vote. and therefore I do not want to bind anyone's consciences here this morning to that idea, okay? I think that's important to know as well because it's wrong of me. It would be, I think it would be an overreach of my influence to tell you you have to do something that the scripture simply does not say that you have to do. And the reason I point that out is because in this particular situation, As we'll quickly see, we really don't have good options. Okay? We really don't. So let's begin to look at the Word of God, and I want to start by... you can turn there if you'd like, but you don't have to. 1 Timothy. Chapter 2. The Apostle Paul, in like fashion of what he's writing to the church at Rome, he says in 1 Timothy 2, verses 1-3, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior. Why do we pray for those in authority over us and furthermore for all people? Because we're commanded to do so. To the end that, notice, right, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. One of the benefits of you and I participating in the life of politics, government, voting, is that it directly affects our ability to live that peaceful and quiet life, right? And God is making it abundantly clear to us that that is a desire that we should have, a prayer that we should pray, and a goal that we should desire to reach. So in other words, the more that a country is governed by leaders that are informed biblically, the better the people under that authority will prosper. And we also know from the Scriptures itself that God will in fact use ungodly rulers to bring about judgment to a nation. He did it to His own. Right? Nebuchadnezzar, right? Babylon. Okay. These are realities that God will in fact use ungodly leaders to bring about judgment to nations, whether they're Israel or United States of America. Okay. So that's something that is, that is real. So let's look here. The first, I broke it down this whole chapter. in three sections. The first section is, one, God is sovereign, or God in his sovereignty has declared that you have a responsibility, and that responsibility is submission to Why is that the case? Well, because verse 1 of chapter 13 of Romans says that we are to be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. You say, but, but, but, but, but. Nope. It's a blanket statement. Every government, every authority in government today, today is, has been instituted by God, okay? It's a hard pill for us to swallow, I think, when we think about an evil regime in North Korea, right? Instituted by God. God has decreed, or else he would not be the ruler of that country. Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, by the eternal decree of God, is the president right now today. Well, we might think he is. Anyway, sorry, I should not have said that. And because God is sovereign over this, we are called to submission to it. This is because God has determined who will rule when we incur judgment. It is not godly to resist authority. And listen, that is a broad brush, right? We're talking about children resisting the authority of their parents. There's a judgment that goes with that, amen? The fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land, right? There's a promise there, all authority from the least to the greatest ordained by God and resistance is grounds for judgment. Verses 3 and 4, authority or government has the obligation to uphold that which is good and punish that which is evil. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good. and you will receive His approval. For He is God's servant for your good, but if you do wrong, be afraid, for He does not bear the sword in vain. For He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." Well, now here we learn that God, in His sovereignty, in His order created, has established a function and responsibility of the governing authority, right? That they are to punish the wrong, and they are to reward that which is good. 1 Peter 2. We did the entire study of 1 Peter, and in chapter 2, verses 13 and 14, Peter echoes the same sentiment what the Apostle Paul writes here. He says, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. So then we move to verses five through seven. Submission is for your own good and for God's glory. Now I know that we left a little on the table with the previous point and hang in there, we're gonna go back. But the next section, verses five through seven, submission is for your own good and for God's glory. Therefore, one must be in subjection not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities or ministers of God attending to this very thing. pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whomever honor is owed. So again, submission is for your good and for the glory of God. Now, here's the objection that should be raising up in your heart, okay? The objection is this, what if government or, or, The authority, period. Again, this is a broad brush, authority. What if the authority is commanding what God forbids? What if the authority is commanding what God forbids? Answer, your obedience to God supersedes or transcends all earthly authority. In other words, it is never okay to simply obey the government when they are telling you to do what God forbids. And I'm also thankful that our constitution actually makes that abundantly clear. Uh, and I'm not going to read it for you, but it basically says when the government stops, uh, punishing evil and rewarding the good, you need to defy it. Wow. Wow. Those are principles, but hey, I think it's wrong of us to stop there. I think it's wrong of us to stop there because again, I'm telling you, the Lord worked on me in so many ways when I was thinking through all these things and studying. And so thank you for those of you who kind of prodded me along to do this. When we think about authority in general, there's a lot of times when I think that we submit to things that we don't actually have to because of the sinful nature of what it is. In other words, some of you here will no doubt understand this and know this personally, that there has been time when there's been pastoral counsel given when there's an abusive spouse. the the the advice or the counsel given is that spouse who's being abused is just supposed to Deal with it because you're to be in submission to that authority hogwash hogwash listen Whether it's a husband or a wife Who is being physically? verbally or sexually abusive They're not they're not operating within their responsibility and therefore you do not have to submit to them. Does that make sense? And I think that we need to hear that today because it's just so prevalent. But where do you draw the line? Well, it goes back to the point where if they're not causing you to sin, then submission is indeed required. But if there's sin involved, and you can't say, well, they're a sinner, therefore, no, because you are too. Huh? Amen. But you understand, if they are forcing you to sin or forcing sin upon you, then there's a line drawn right then and there. So, when we think about this in light of what we're talking about, with all of us knowing well that Tuesday there's a huge election in our land, right, how do we think about this? When given the opportunity to participate in the choosing of leaders, again, a freedom that we've been granted, right? That we get to participate in this process. When you're given that opportunity, always choose those who stand for what God loves and punish what God hates. Pretty simple, right? Choose those who punish what God hates and stand for what God loves. There are some very specific issues on the table, and they've been for a long, long time. And one of those issues is this, that there is indeed a party that is fighting for the unrestricted abortion that literally, quite literally, is for the shedding of innocent blood, okay? Can we all agree on that? There is clearly a party that stands with an unrestricted. Now here's the bad thing though. Both of their parties have gone left on this subject, okay? In other words, we do not have a truly pro-life candidate on the ballot, okay? So if you only have a one issue voting agenda, You're kind of out of the loop on this one because We have to go to that old saying which is you have to choose the lesser of the two evils But but here's the reality. That's always the case You're always choosing the lesser of two evils when you're talking about politics because they're all sinners Secondly there is a clearly a clearly There's clearly a party that is also for the mutilation of children's bodies, which is sick. And, and the reason that it is entirely wrong is because it is a direct attack upon the image of God. Amen. Thank you. Legislation that prohibits the freedom of speech. I got one more and then we're going to move on Legislation that prohibits the freedom of speech which has been defined as misinformation Will lead to persecution of those who proclaim the truth of God's Word Again, there is a party today that is making it abundantly clear to us that if if put into office they are going to take an all-out war against freedom of speech and Do so under the guise of misinformation Here's the here's the hard pill we have to swallow Freedom of speech is the right for people to say things that are wrong okay, if You want the freedom to say what is true? Which is right and good you also have to accept the fact that people can say that which is wrong at the end of the day You're responsible for what you believe right? You have an obligation to to find out what the truth is And I should not, I should not, and none of us should be the ones who have to tell you all these things. We have to do our due diligence, right? It's our responsibility. Remember that self-governing thing, right? So don't just take my word for it or someone else's word for something. You have to seek the truth for yourself. But when we start saying, well, we can dictate what is misinformation and what's not, Make it, make it abundantly clear here today. If that is the case, if that becomes true, there will be a persecution upon the pulpits of this country like never before. Because let me just remind you, the gospel of Jesus Christ is extremely offensive to those who hate God. All right. God is sovereign. Your responsibility is submission. Number two, You're also responsible to love, to love everyone, everyone. But what about everyone, right? We're called to love. Verse number eight. owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love, love is so good and so right because it actually fulfills the law of God, which is right and good. Love also lives according to the law of God. So you can't say you love and contradict the law of God. Verse nine. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, or any other commandment are summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And I'm reminded of an advertisement I seen this week, endorsing a candidate, and again, I'm not naming names here today, I wanna try to talk as ambiguous, I guess you could say, as I can, but I think a lot of us know, but anyway, The the I had to laugh at it because it was so it was so childish There are there's a a group of people Called white dudes for this candidate. Okay, and the whole the whole Emphasis of their reasons for why you should vote for this candidate get this. I Number one for money's sake number two so that you can get girls and number three so that you can have freedom to sleep With those girls whenever and however, you'd like to okay Hey, they're not even hiding Right what they're about Can I just tell you that in those three things, they summed up the fall of mankind, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it, but I thought to myself, how many professing Christians will buy into such hogwash? Why? Why? Gratification of the flesh. It's unreal. It's unreal live according to the law of God love lives according to the law of God love love warns Let me say that again love warns in the authority of the Word of God verse 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law Listen, you can't lie to somebody and tell them that you love them It's contradictory. You cannot affirm a lie and love someone. You cannot affirm what God hates and love someone. It's absolutely, positively unrealistic and contradictory in every way, shape, and form. cannot love someone if it's not rooted in the truth of what God's word says. Love is your responsibility, but finally, the gospel is your hope, okay? Because I think a lot of us right here, right here this morning, right now, are thinking to ourselves, well, if it goes this way, we're doomed, or if it goes this way, we're doomed, right? And you know, I just got to say this too. I gave up assuming where people stand on things because I have been blown away by some of the conversations that I've had. I'm just absolutely blown away. I don't assume anything anymore when it comes to politics and religion because people that you think would think one way won't necessarily, right? Or that you're sure the other way. I just don't know. I don't know. So where do we find our common ground? Truth, first of all, but ultimately the truth in the gospel itself. The Apostle Paul, not by accident, envelopes this section, which is hard. It's hard, it's straightforward, but it's controversial, right? He ends it with the hope of the gospel. Jesus is coming again to judge the earth in righteousness and to receive his bride unto eternal glorification. That's our first hope, verse 11. Besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. That's true for every single person in every single generation, that salvation is nearer than when you first believed, right? If you're here today and you're, I think probably the youngest person here today is 13 months, and the oldest person here today is likely in their 90s or very close to their 90s, right? And everybody in between, you're all closer to eternity today than you ever were before. And so we need to live in light of that. Life is a vapor. Here today, gone tomorrow. C.T. Studd said it like this, only one life to live soon will be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Live in light of eternity. Jesus is indeed coming again. Live also in light, as we've already stated, in the reality of life's brevity. Verses 12 and 13, the night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual morality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. Walk and live in light of the reality of life's brevity. And then verse 14, trust in Christ. Repent of sin. Trust in Christ and repent of sin. Verse 14, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. What is the most important thing in our lives here today? It is our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. There have been wicked presidents. There are wicked presidents. And yet our hope in the gospel does not change. It does not change. And listen, if you... I got to get really specific because I think we don't understand these things. I think a lot of us miss it. If you are more concerned, you're more concerned about this election than you are that souls are dying every single day and going to hell. Your emphasis and your priorities in life are out of whack. We need to be people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. First and foremost, get involved in politics. Yes, and amen. As a matter of fact, maybe some of us here, not me, maybe some of us here need to run for public offices, right? That would not be wrong of you to get involved. Why? To make a difference, to share and show the love of Christ and to publish truth in the land. That's a good thing for a Christian to do. But at the end of the day, our hope is not in an agenda politically. It's in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I wanna close with four applications to voting. And I believe wholeheartedly, I'm not enforcing any of these things onto the text. I believe the principles are there and I believe that we've brought them out as we've gone along. So this is summary of what we've just discussed. Number one, there is no perfect candidate. But there is one that stands clearly opposed to the truth of God's created law and order. Number two, we need to be more interested in principles rather than parties. You are foolish to vote definitively based upon a loyalty to a party. In other words, listen, if you are registered one or the other, and the only reason that you're registered that is because your daddy was that, and his daddy was that, and his daddy was that, right? And therefore, I can't vote any other way because of my family history with this party. That's foolish. It's absolutely positively foolish and you need to think more in terms of principles of the platform itself than you do the party itself. Number three. Your priority or priorities in the voting booth must be, not should be, must be biblically informed, not prejudice on personalities. Both candidates, listen well, folks, both candidates have proven moral failures. But let me remind you, we're not choosing a pastor. We're choosing a president. Right? I'm going to say this against my better judgment. Both of the people running for office right now drive me crazy. They do. I just can't. You know it's bad when comedians can make a living off of poking fun at them. It's the truth that they have not had to search for content in the committee the the comedy world Because it's just daily thrown on their laps Right. It's it's ridiculous. So so Don't choose based upon personality chased upon choose based upon the principles of the party informed by your Bible and then number four When you vote, prioritize generational consequence over immediate benefits. What do I mean by that? There's a lot of people I believe cast votes because they say, well, this person said they're gonna do this and it's going to bring me more money. If money is the driving force of what and who you vote for, your priorities are in the wrong place, okay? Generational consequence over immediate benefits. In other words, Christians, we shouldn't be primarily concerned about what our 401ks look like right now. We should be more concerned about what this place, should the Lord tarry, is going to look like when our children are raising their children and their children are raising their children. You understand? There's a lot riding on the decision of Tuesday. Well, let me burst your bubble. Unless it's a landslide, you're not gonna know who the next president is on Tuesday. Very unlikely, but here's the truth. Here's the truth. Regardless of that, God is still on his throne. Jesus is still Lord and King. And all who trust in Him, all who believe upon His name, those who confess Him with their mouth and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved. Will be saved. And that knows no bounds when it comes to the politics of a land. That is eternal truth. And I hope and pray, I hope and pray today. Inevitably, I probably offended someone or many people or maybe everyone, I don't know. But I want you to know that the reason that we've covered these things this morning is out of an abundance of love for the truth, and in the truth, a love for you. I do care about what you think. I do care about what you believe. And I do care about the future of this place, of this nation. And so God help us. God help us to do the right thing, whatever that is, right, when it comes to this election. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for your wisdom and guidance. Lord, your word tells us that those who desire wisdom should ask for it and you give liberally. And so Lord, we pray. I pray for the wisdom for each and every one of us, Lord. I pray specifically this morning, if there's somebody here today who maybe was sitting on the fence about who they should vote for, I pray that today by your word and by your spirit, in spite of me, dear God, that you would direct their hearts. I pray, Lord, if there's somebody here today who's decided they just simply cannot participate, I pray, God, that you would give them comfort in their choice. I pray also, Lord, that you would help each and every one of us, Lord, above all these things. Maybe we have a neighbor or a family member who thinks completely opposite of us. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to love them. Love them not superficially, not generically, but genuinely and compassionately. Lord, we need your love to permeate this land. We need it to permeate our hearts and our lives, our families. And so Lord, I just pray, I pray that you would help us above all other things to love those around us. And Father, that we would do so in a way that is glorifying and honor to your word and that glorifies and honors the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, we need Your help today. I pray, Lord, that You would help us, Father, to not hand our children a mess as concerning this church. I pray, Lord, for generational blessing upon this assembly that, Lord, we would continue to pursue the truth of Your Word and always be reforming according to Your Word for the glory of God and for the good of Your people. And I pray also, Lord, that you would help us to be salt and light in our communities. And Father, that our priority would be on the gospel and the brevity of life, the glory that Jesus has shown, the way that he has demonstrated the love of God to humanity by dying for their sin.