Well, let's turn to the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis. The chapter is the chapter number eight, Genesis chapter eight. I want to read the first 12 verses of the chapter together. And so Genesis chapter eight, and beginning our reading at the verse number one. And so let's hear God's word. God remembered Noah and every living thing. And all the cattle that was with him in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. The waters returned from off the earth continually, and after the end of the 150 days, the waters were abated. The ark rested in the 17th month, on the 17th day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. The waters decreased continually until the 10th month. In the 10th month and the first day of the month were the tops of the mountains seen. It came to pass at the end of 40 days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. And he sent forth a raven which went forth to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot. And she returned on to him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in on to him into the ark. And he stayed yet another seven days. And again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. The dove came in to him in the evening, and though in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked it off. so no one knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more. Amen, and we'll conclude at the end of the verse 12, and we'll briefly engage just in a short word of prayer before the word. Loving Father, Lord, prepare our hearts now for thy word. Speak into hearts, and lies we pray, We're aware, Lord, that, Father, we are too many times found in a state where we're dull of hearing. O God, open our ears, we pray, and grant, O God, a receptiveness, even in our lives, with all that is spoken of this very day. Help the preacher. Lord, fill me with Thy Spirit. I cry to Thee, for I pray these are prayers, my prayers, in and through the Savior's lovely, precious, and holy name. Amen. After Christmas many people find themselves facing the all too familiar disappointment of receiving gifts that don't fit or match their style or something that they already have. Whether it's a pair of shoes two sizes too big or an ill-judged present from a relative or close friend, unwanted gifts will be returned to retailers in their millions in the month of January. The UK's biggest dedicated parcel delivering company, which delivers some 800 million parcels a year, has examined its own returns and parcel data and they have predicted that this year 2025 will be a record season for them with a record four million gifts and parcels returned just in the month of January. As I started to think about the unwanted presents and items that will be returned during the month of January, I came to think about the many the great returns that are mentioned in the Word of God. Over the next number of weeks, I want us to consider those together in our family worship service in a series of messages that I've entitled, The Bible's Great Returns. The Bible's Great Returns. The first return that we want to think about tonight, or today, want to consider, is the one that we find here in the book of Genesis, in the chapter number 8, the returning dove, the great return of the returning dove. It had been revealed to Noah, in Genesis chapter 6 and the verse 17, that judgment was about to befall, and was about to be unleashed upon a sinful world. That judgment would take the form of a flood of waters upon the earth in which God would destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything that is on the earth, God said, would die. However, alongside that message, of judgment. God, in his mercy, was going to provide a means whereby deliverance and salvation would be secured for those who were facing the judgment of God. Namely, in an ark of gopher wood, pitched within and without, that God directed Noah to build. Having completed the ark, Noah and his family entered into that ark, along with fowls after their kind and cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing upon the face of the earth, after its kind, two of every sort, as well as all the food that was required to keep Noah, his family, and the animals alive. For forty days and for forty nights the rains descended. The great aquifers of the deep, they were broken up and poured forth their waters onto In the opening verse of this chapter we are told that God remembered Noah. Every living thing and all cattle that was with him in the ark and God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters assuaged. That process of the subduing of the waters continued for the next 150 days as those waters ran off the earth into the ocean basins. In verse number four of the chapter we're told that the ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat in the 7th month and on the 17th day of that month. And in the verse 5, we're told that on the first day of the 10th month, the peaks of the mountains now became visible. Noah was going to wait another 90 days before he began investigating whether the conditions were right for him, his family, and the animals to begin to replenish and repopulate the earth. We're told that Noah first of all opened that single window in the ark's roof and he sent forth a raven. What we're told in the verse number seven, went to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Now many commentators believe that that animal, that unclean animal, the raven, fed off the rotten the rotting carcasses of those animals that did not survive the flood. And thus that animal, that raven, never returned to the ark ever again. Unsatisfied that the conditions were just not right, were then told that Noah would send forth another animal, this time a dove. Let me read to you again what took place in verse 8. He says, He sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot. And she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days. And again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. The dove came into him in the evening, and though in the mouth was an olive leaf, plucked it off, so no one knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. I believe that Noah's dove is a picture of every Christian. But I believe that there are many similarities between the dove of Noah's day and every Christian, every child of God. And that's really how we want to consider this passage because, brethren and sisters, there are times in our Christian lives when there is a call to return back to God. There is a call to return back to God. We're going to think about this, a returning back to God. These great Bible returns that must take place at times in our lives. We find ourselves straying. We find ourselves lapsing into a cold and an apathetic state. We find ourselves with the world cramming in and crowding into our lives and the call from God is always a return to God. And so we're going to think about some of these great Bible returns. I want us to think a number of things about them, this dove that returned to Noah. I want us to think first of all of the dove's attributes, the dove's attributes. You see, the dove has certain characteristics that ought to be mirrored in the life of every child of God. Can I say in the first place that the dove is a clean animal? The dove is a clean animal. Whenever you read the Old Testament scriptures, you find that the dove was employed in the ceremonial sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood for the Jewish nation. That was only possible because the dove was deemed as a clean animal by God. You may say to me, well there's mention of turtle doves and there's mention of young pigeons in the passages of scripture that speak about the various offerings that could be brought to God as a sacrifice to God. But you may say there's no mention specifically about doves. And in that you would be correct, at least in the English. Though there is no mention of doves, as it were, in the English, I want to remind you that the word dove that we find in Genesis 8 is the exact same word, Hebrew word, that is used for young pigeons in passages such as Leviticus 1 that speaks of the burnt offering and Leviticus 5 that refers to the sin offering. It is the exact same Hebrew word. It is the exact same animal. And thus the dove or the young pigeon was a ceremonially clean animal. It could be used, employed by the sinner to bring to God. Now those sacrifices could never take away sin, but they pointed away to the once and for all sacrifice for sin that Jesus Christ would offer upon the cross. But this animal was a clean animal. God's people have been washed and cleansed by Jesus' precious blood. Our sins, which were many, have been washed away. They've been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. And therefore, we are legally clean. But we must be careful that we do not defile ourselves in this defiling world. By prayerful diligence and by circumspect watchfulness, we are to keep ourselves unspotted from this world. This is pure religion. James tells us that. What is pure religion? It is to keep oneself unspotted from this world. This world will defile you. The media, will defile you. Your smartphone will defile you. The internet will defile you. Your company has the possibility of defiling you, what you watch, what you listen to, what you engage in, the activities. This world is a defiling world and therefore it is incumbent upon every child of God by the grace of God to abstain from all appearance of evil and to avoid all that is defiling. We are not as God's people to return to the weak and the beggarly things of the world. We are not to return to the things that we once gave ourselves to whenever or before we first trusted in Jesus Christ, but rather the people of God, they are to walk on a particular way. And what is that way? It is the way of holiness. It is the way of holiness. God's people are to be a holy people. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. And thus we need God to come and to keep us and we ourselves have a part to play with regard to that which we do, the things that we say, the places that we go, the things that we few. We must be careful that we do not defile ourselves with the sins of this world. The dove was a clean animal. Second of all, the dove was a communal animal. Doves are birds that, I'm told, they roost together communally. I think I've got a pair of doves outside the manse, and I hear them every morning. And they toot and they roost, and I don't know what they're doing. But doves are, they're very social birds. We often refer to what? A pair of doves. Rarely do we ever see a dove on its own. Living isolated lives is just something that doves do not do by nature. Rather, doves, they commune together, they live together in a community. And God's people are communal beings. We find the saints of God in Scripture. We find them worshipping together and praying together and serving together and battling together for truth and for righteousness. And how important it is that the family of God is for our progress in our Christian lives as we make our way towards heaven and home. We think of those who encourage us along The road to heaven. We think of those who come alongside and help us when we stumble and we fall in our Christian lives. We think of those believers who pray with us and pray through those many trials and the troubles that we face in life's journey. We think of those who inspire us to step out in faith and to go for God in our Christian lives. Where would I be today if I hadn't have brothers and sisters like that in my Christian life? I'll tell you, I certainly wouldn't be here as a minister. I read this quote from a Reformed preacher, he said these words, he said, A Christian who lives in isolation from other believers will fail to receive the blessings as well as the maturity resulting from godly interaction. We are to be like iron that sharpeneth iron. We are to better one another in our interactions with one another in the work of God. And that's why God places us into a fellowship and into an assembly of believers. Mr. Spurgeon, he said, some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude, but believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep, that they love, in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God's people. And we thought about that on Wednesday night at our midweek prayer meeting. We thought about ourselves represented as the sheep of God's pasture. Thomas Watson, the great Puritan. His books are worth the reading. He's one of the easier Puritans to read. Thomas Watson, he said this, quote, I'm going to quote it to you. It's not only worth your consideration, it's worth your implementation in your life, child of God. He said this, associate with sanctified persons. They may, by their counsel, prayers, and holy example, be a means to make you holy. with sanctified persons, they may by their counsel, prayers, and holy example be a means to make you holy. Let us be that community of saints who help and support and encourage Yes, and also reprove, and by that reprove, improve one another in our Christian lives. Let us pray for one another. Let us encourage one another. Let us watch out and look out for one another. And most importantly, let us love one another. Brethren and sisters, we are not simply to tolerate each another. We are to love one another. Some people say, well, I just tolerate my brother and sister. You're not to do that. The command of Scripture is very clear, that you are to love the brethren. You're not to tolerate, but you are to love the brethren, because by that all men will know that we are Christ's disciples. Oh, may God help us to see ourselves then not being those who live in isolation, but those who live communally within the family of God. A dove is something else. a characteristic of a dove. A dove is harmless. I know which I would rather prefer to meet coming down the road. I'd rather meet a dove than I would a lion or a bear. A dove is a harmless being, a harmless animal. And that is the trait that Jesus Christ, he emphasizes when he takes the dove and he takes the picture of a dove and he applies it to his disciples. They were going to go out into a world, a lost world, a dying world. They were going to go out into a world that was hostile to God and to His gospel, to the truth of God. And this is what He said to them in Matthew 10 verse 16. He said unto the twelve disciples, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless, In other words, the Savior was saying, be like me, be like me. Because we read that he was harmless, Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 7 verse 26, Harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And in the book of Philippians we are commanded to live and be harmless individuals. Philippians 2 verse 15, What does it mean to be harmless? Well, according to Dr. Gill, he said, it refers to doing no injury to any man's person or property, behaving in an inoffensive manner toward all men and to the church of God. That word also, it refers to being sincere, not being mixed, not being one thing to one person and something else to another person. In other words, not being a hypocrite. Not being a hypocrite. Oh, to live our lives in such a way as believers, that we do not harm our testimony or the testimony of Jesus Christ. Let's be genuine. Oh, let's be sincere. Let's be honest. Let's be as free from hypocrisy as we can. That dove, you'll know that it is an international sign of peace. The dove is used as a sign of peace. Oh, that we would be those who seek peace. living peaceably with all men as we are encouraged to do in Romans chapter 12 and the verse 18. And so we find these characteristics and these characteristics are to be evidenced in our lives as Christians. We are to be clean. We are to be communal. We are to be harmless, and I'm sure there are many other characteristics and attributes. But having considered the dove's attributes, let's think about the dove's association. The dove's association. Now, in relation to the first mention of the dove, a dove was closely associated with two things, at least with regard to its first mention here in the Holy Scripture. Can I say it was firstly associated with Noah? Noah. We're told in Genesis 8, in the verse number 8, that Noah sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. This was Noah's dove. Now in Genesis chapter 5, if you turn back there, we want to read something about Noah. So Genesis chapter 5 and the verse 28, it says, The name Noah means rest. Rest. His father Lamech regarded Noah as the one who would be the rest giver, the giver of rest. Also Lamech, as he named his son Noah, he also realized that this one would provide deliverance from the curse. or from the toil of the curse. Look there again at that verse, in the verse number 29, it says, And so Noah is the giver of rest, he's rest, he's also the source of comfort, and he's also the deliverer from the curse. Now do you get the picture? Do you see the typology? Do you see the shadow that is being presented to us? This dove, he belongs to the giver of rest. This dove belongs to the one who is the comfort of his people and the deliverer of his people. And so we find the fulfillment really, the fullness of fulfillment with regard to Noah. We find that fulfillment in regard to the one of whom this was written in Isaiah 11 verse 10. And his rest shall be glorious. And the one who, when he came to earth, he said these words, Come on to me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The one who said that, you know, was the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the dove was associated with the one who was the giver of rest. He was the one who was associated with the deliverer from the curse. And such, brethren and sisters, is the one that we have come to associate with in the gospel. We associate ourselves with Jesus Christ, the one who gives rest, the one who brings comfort, and the one who saves us from the curse. I wonder, I speak to you today, you're in this meeting, are you associated with such a one? Are you savingly united to such a one, the giver of rest? Your weary soul, your sin-sick soul, your wandering soul, have you found rest in Jesus Christ? Have you found comfort in him, the comfort of the gospel? Aye, and have you experienced his deliverance from the curse and its fallout and its consequences? Here was one, this dove was associated with Noah. Noah is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you associated with Jesus Christ? Do your neighbors know that you belong to Jesus Christ? Do your work colleagues know that you are associated with Jesus Christ? The dove was also associated with something else, not only associated with Noah, but this dove was also associated with the ark. And again, the ark is a picture. It is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where does Noah and his family find refuge? In the day of judgment and in the day of storm. It was inside the ark. That ark was covered with pitch. You'll know that that word pitch there in Genesis 6 verse 14 is the same word that is translated atonement in Leviticus 17 verse 11. And so we have pictured for us a place of safety behind the atonement or sheltered by the atonement. There's a place of safety in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. That is the picture that is sent forth. And where does the dove find its safety? It's whenever it finds itself inside the ark. When it's in the ark. And where will you find safety from coming judgment? It is whenever you are hidden in Christ. When you find yourself united to Christ in Christ. This is where the dove finds its safety. It is in the atoning work of Jesus Christ that we find ourselves, we find our refuge. with regard to the storm of God's judgment. You see, as the flood of God's judgment came upon the earth in Noah's day, so the flood of God's judgment came against sin upon Christ at the cross. Just as that ark was battered by the storms of the flood and then rested on Mount Ararat, so the Lord Jesus Christ bore in His body the penalty of our sins, and now He rests, just like the ark rested, He rested from his work. The dove sheltering the ark under the flood or during the flood pictures are hiding in Christ, the one who was smitten of God and afflicted and stricken off God. A man once came to D.L. Moody and he said to him that he was worried that he didn't feel saved. Mr. Moody asked the question, was Noah safe in the ark? Certainly he was, the man replied. Well, what made him safe, his feeling or the ark? Well, the inquirer got the point. And he replied, how foolish I have been. It is not my feeling, but it is Christ who saves. And so the dove was associated with that which saved it from judgment and destruction. And as Christians, we are associated with the one who has saved us from eternal judgment and destruction. How do we come to associate with Jesus Christ? Well, we first associate with him in the gospel. When we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, when we renounce all other saviors and we place our faith alone in Him as our Savior, and then having done that, we then associate with Him in the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and Baptism. We come to associate with Jesus Christ in that. We identify with Him in that just in the same way as the dove identified with Noah and with the ark. So we identify with Christ in these means. And also, we come to identify with Christ whenever we're members of a local church. And also, as we go out into the world and as we witness for Jesus Christ, wherever providence will guide us and lead us. Oh, we may never be ashamed of Jesus Christ. May we gladly identify with Him. May others know that we belong to him by our conduct and by our conversation. May I ever, may I ever be associated with the one who lived and died and rose again for me. And so the dove was associated with Noah. Do you remember? Whenever Noah came out of the ark, Genesis chapter nine, you can read all about it. God established a covenant with Noah. It's called an everlasting covenant. Again, that is a picture of Jesus Christ. For who has God the Father made a covenant with? He has made an everlasting covenant with his Son. And it is with the one with whom God has made the everlasting covenant with that the dove associates with. And so we associate with Jesus Christ, the one with whom the Father has made an everlasting covenant with. Thank God for that. the God of the covenant. And so we think about the dove's attributes. We think about the dove's association. Let's think thirdly about the dove's activity, the dove's activity. Noah's dove was sent into the world on a mission. That mission was to find evidence of emerging life after the waters of the flood had subsided. What I find interesting is that the dove was the best animal. The dove was the animal that was best equipped for the task for which it had been selected by Noah. Noah had sent forth the dove and he picked the best animal to do that. Can you imagine if Noah had sent out an elephant and the waterlogged land? That elephant would have sunk into the mire. But he picks the best animal, a dove with clear vision and with swift wing. It was an animal that was most suited for the particular mission that Noah had in mind. And it reminds you and I that God sends into the world those whom he deems best equipped and suited for the task that he has appointed for them. You know it is God who equips us. It is God who equips us with the qualities and with the gifts that are required to perform the task that He has appointed for us in His work. Just as the dove was the right worker for the task, so you are the right worker for the task that God has put into your hand. I ask you the question, are you discharging then your duties in that task? Are you being faithful in that which God has called you to? we might feel ourselves to be better equipped for another task. But brethren and sisters, we're reminded in Scripture that every man is to abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Every Christian at their post, performing their duties, as if the ability that God gives is how the work of God goes on in any local assembly and within the church of Jesus Christ. And so this dove was best equipped for the task. And whatever task God gives you to do, He has equipped you for that task. As I thought about the dove's activity, it struck me that the dove's mission in some way is reflects the mission, our mission in this world. Are we not sent forth by Jesus Christ into a world that's under the judgment of God? Are we not there sent out seeking life, as it were, spiritual life where spiritual death reigns? Every day we go forth from Christ, having met with Him in prayer, having met with Him in the Word, into a world that is ripening for judgment. And what are we doing? We are seeking the lost, and we are witnessing to those who are perishing in their sin. Let us not lose sight of that, brethren and sisters. This is a world that needs to be reached with the gospel, and you and I are to engage in that mission on some level. Eventually, after a number of unsuccessful missions, the dove returned to Noah with an olive leaf in her mouth. It was evidence that the floodwaters had abated from off the earth. And so we could say about this dove, now think of it, this dove was a messenger of good news to Noah and his family. The dove was a messenger of good news to Noah and his family. It wasn't the first time that the dove found the leaf. It had to go again. It just reminds us that there are times that God does send us on errands in which we do not receive fruit. We do not get to see the reaping of the harvest that we're sowing. We're sent out into the world, we preach the gospel, and we return, and few ever come to Christ, and we're a little bit like this dove. We go out on the mission, and we return with nothing. But, brethren and sisters, we're not to give up, because this dove didn't give up. This dove didn't, as it were, roost in the eaves of the ark, whenever Noah came and asked it to go out again into the world that was under judgment on a mission and then say, well, I did that before. And what did I get in return? What did I reap in return? No, this dove just went out on the mission that God had given that dove or Noah had given that dove to do. And so, brethren and sisters, we're not to leave the work of God because we're discouraged. We're not, as it were, to throw in the towel because we simply do not receive or we do not see anything for our labors, but simply we are to keep at it. Keep at it. Because you know what? We are messengers of good news, just like the dove was. The messenger brought good news. And we are messengers of good news. And what is the olive leaf? What is it a picture of? Olive leaves are used as a picture of what? Peace. Peace. And we are messengers of peace, the gospel of peace. We speak about the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. And thank God we are bearers of good news, and we ought to be to all that we come into contact with. This is the activity that the child of God should be giving themselves to in these days, the communication of good news. We thought about the attributes of this dove. We thought about its association. We thought about its activity. One last closing thought, the dove's astuteness, the astuteness of the dove. Whenever the dove realized that the conditions on the earth were not conducive for living, the dove had enough astuteness or enough wisdom to return to Noah. into the safety of the ark. Genesis 8 verse 9, But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark. For the waters were upon the face of the earth, and he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark. You know, beloved, if you're a Christian, you and I will never find rest in this world like the rest that we find in Jesus Christ. How many a backslider has come to realize that in their lives? They wander from God and they never find the rest that they once enjoyed. The person who is astute realizes, just like the dove realized, that the only thing to do is to return, return to the place of rest, to the giver of rest, to the God of comfort, to the place of comfort, to the place of safety, to return. That's the course of action to take, to return to Christ. I wonder, is there some believer here today, and maybe that's what you need to do? Return to the one in whom you first found rest. The words of the Psalmist in Psalm 116 verse 7 are words that you should take to heart Return on to thy rest. Return on to thy Noah. Return on to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee. Isn't it wonderful? That little detail in the verse at the end of the verse number nine, I think this is wonderful. Can you imagine that dove being out in the world? It's found no rest in the world. It's found only but corruption and pollution. And there it comes, weary-winged. It's almost about to drop from exhaustion. And Noah does something. Note Noah does. Puts out his hand. And he takes the dove. And he pulls that dove in through the window and back into the ark. It reminds me that God meets the wandering one, just like the prodigal fathers did whenever he ran to meet his son. And just like this dove about to drop, as it were, into the ocean and into the waters, here's the loving Noah reaching out, desiring to bring you back to himself. I know that there are people here today you have wandered far from God. I know there are individuals here today and you're wandering far from God. I want you to see your Christ. I want to see your God. I want you to see Him as He reaches out to you, reaches out a hand, a hand that will draw you and pull you back to Himself and into Himself. I wonder, is there a young person or an older person who's flying from one sinful pleasure to the next and learning as you do, you're learning the emptiness and the disappointment of it all? If there is, oh, could I encourage you to return to Jesus Christ? He will kindly extend his hand and take you in, even after you have wandered so far from home. Because he, like Noah, he waits for your return. It suggests to me that Noah was waiting for the return of this dove. And he's waiting for you. He's waiting for you. Where are you today in your Christian life? Have you wandered from God? Will today find you coming home? Would you say in the words of the hymn writer, I've wandered far away from God, now I'm coming home. The paths of sin too long I've trod, Lord, I'm coming home, coming home, coming home. Nevermore to roam, open wide thine arms of love, Lord, I'm coming home. The dove's great return. The dove returned to Noah and to the ark. Oh, that today you would return to Christ, and Christ will draw you to himself. The dove returned to the place of refuge, the place of rest, the place of fellowship. May you return to that place today, not living in God's second best, If there even is such a thing, isn't that the cliche? God's second best. Oh, return to Him. Live in the best. Live for Christ. Return to Him. Oh, may God bring you to that place where you're found, returning on to your rest. For the Lord, through Christ, has dealt bountifully with you. In the will of God, we'll consider another great Bible return next Lord's Day. But with that, we'll conclude in a word of prayer together. So let's seek the Lord together in prayer, please. Our Father in heaven, we come to Thee in the Savior's name. We're so glad, Lord, those of us who know the Savior, We're so glad to be associated with the one who has given rest. Rest, O God, with regard to the work that's required to reconcile us to God, for he has done the work, the one who has made atonement, the one in whom we find shelter and safety in the day of storm. O God, we pray for those who find themselves, as it were, flying about this world, eating off the old dead carcasses of the world's sinful pleasures, like the old raven, dear God. We pray, O God, that thou wilt save such and bring them into the ark, bring them into Christ, we pray, and for others, Lord. Lord, those maybe have wandered from God, thy children. Lord, they're not where they used to be with God. Lord, it just seems to me that they're drifting through one week to the next with no reality and no desire for God. O God, we pray that thou wilt deal with such. Return them, Lord, we pray, Return them on to the shepherd and the bishop of their souls. We commit all things to thee. Lord, may we be honest and frank with ourselves. May we come to understand where we are with thee. And Lord, if there is a return that needs to take place, may we take the opportunity, even this afternoon, or as we even make our way home, we're seeking counsel even from the minister. Oh God, that there might be a return to God and a return to that which we used to do as a child of God. Answer prayer, and part us in thy fear. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit, rest and remain and abide upon all of thy believing people. And Lord, work even in these days, for we offer prayer in Christ's holy, precious, and glorious name. Amen.