It's no secret that all of us at times deal with discouragement and disappointment. It happens in a variety of ways, but it's always interesting to me when you look around us that in the holiday season it seems to take on a more significant urgency. Secular individuals who study these things would actually tell us for what their credibility is worth that there's greater incidence of depression around the holidays. When we should be most happy and most joyous, it seems like the pressures of life can crush in on us even more. It's interesting that it seems like at this time of year is not only as we are approaching Christmas, but we've come out of Thanksgiving and then we're heading into the new year. For some reason, it seems like an appropriate time for all of us to take stock of where things are. And that's where a lot of disappointments seem to creep into our lives. Could be that in this particular year relationships didn't go the way we wanted. Perhaps in marriage, or perhaps with our children, or perhaps with our parents, or perhaps in the workplace. Or perhaps our life's just not going what we thought. At the beginning of the year we had such high expectations, and then we come to December and we look and we say, what happened? That's not what I wanted. Or perhaps it's yet another year of disappointment when it just comes to the things of the world that we thought this year we would finally get X or Y or this or that, and yet again we're without. Now the Bible makes clear for believers that that doesn't have to be our circumstances. We can learn to be content no matter our circumstances. For example, in Paul in Philippians 4.11 said, not that I speak from want, for I've learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. It's possible for a believer to have contentment. In fact, beyond that, the scriptures make it clear that regardless of the circumstances of our lives, if we know Jesus Christ, we should be rejoicing. We see in Philippians 4.4, a familiar verse, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. 1 Thessalonians 5.16, rejoice always. Yet if we're honest, that's hard to do at times. And again, Christians aren't immune from the disappointments that can come even in the holiday season. When we should really be rejoicing because of all the truths we've sung about of Jesus coming to the earth and we know the ultimate purpose of that, it's very easy for us to get so absorbed in our own trials and issues that we miss the big picture. Now, even in the trials, the Bible says we can have joy there. James 1, 2, consider it all joy, my brother. And when you encounter various trials, but we understand quite often in our trials, we experience sorrow and sadness because we lose sight of the true focus. So tonight, as we study in first Peter, I want to just encourage you to refocus your thinking. If you're thinking wonderfully, well, then praise the Lord. Excel still more. But if the holidays are a time for you to start thinking wistfully about what could have been, or if you're in the midst of a season where you're discouraged or things aren't going the way you wanted, let me encourage you to think seriously about what's in our text tonight. Because our scripture tonight is about praise. It's about thinking rightly about our God. We're studying from 1 Peter. And I taught a few weeks ago or a month or so ago on First Peter, the first couple of verses. But the book of First Peter was written to believers who were struggling, who were enduring hardships, whose lives were difficult. For some of them, it had to do with their employers. They were suffering and being treated unfairly. Some of you can identify with that. For some, they were in bad marriages where they were trying to follow the Lord and their spouse didn't care about obedience. Perhaps they were married to an unbeliever. Some of you can relate to that. For some of them, they were experiencing persecution in ways that we probably can't comprehend and most of us haven't experienced. The point was the recipients of this letter were dealing with real hard things of life. The kind of things that discourage us, the kind of things that make us take our eyes off of the Lord. Yet Peter shows them, and I believe him in the introductory words of his book, he shows them that praise is not only possible, when life is not fair and where things are hard, but he shows us we have specific things that we can praise the Lord for. So tonight we're going to look at just a few verses at the beginning of 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 to 5, and we're going to see three reasons to praise God when life is hard. And if life is easy for you, just make a note and you'll pull these out when life gets hard. But these are three reasons to praise God when life is hard. So just follow along with me as I read this text that we're going to be studying tonight. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now we're going to see from this text three reasons to praise God when life is hard, but normally I'll tell you something like that and then I'll give you the first point and jump in, but we're going to approach this text a little bit differently. There are at least three reasons here. If we divided it different ways, we could come up with a lot more reasons. But our text is a little bit different. And so I just want to make sure that you understand, and I believe that the text is teaching us, I alluded to it, but Peter was dealing with people who had real hardships. If you've got your Bibles open, look ahead to 1 Peter 2, verse 19. These are just illustrations of my point. In the context of servants who were serving bad masters, They were treated badly. Many of them were treated unfairly. He says this, for this finds favor, verse 19, if for the sake of conscience towards God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. It wasn't fair what was happening to them, but it was happening. Look a little further down. It's a similar idea. 1 Peter 3, verse 17. 1 Peter 3, verse 17. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than doing for what is wrong." Some people were suffering even though they'd done everything right. They'd played by the rules, they were suffering. Looking ahead to 1 Peter 4 verse 12, again addressing the group, he says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeals among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you. These were people practically dealing with hard things. These were real struggles, and Peter knew about their struggles. And he had practical instruction to help them with the struggles. The book is filled with practical commands for believers to show us how to deal with a variety of situations where we're disappointed and discouraged because things are not going the way that they should. But I think it's interesting, and Peter follows an approach that many other Scripture writers Do. He's got big issues in front of the people, but he doesn't start out saying, OK, I know you're having problems, so let me give you the solution. Here's one, here's two, here's three. After an introductory greeting in verses one and two, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first address is about praise. It's elevating the name of God. It's emotive, it's heartfelt. It's an expression of praise in the original language, and I'm no scholar, but it's a very long sentence, and this is at the very beginning, for emphasis. Blessed. And again, it's not generic phrase to a generic God, it's to the one true God. And He's identified in relationship to Jesus. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's praise to the sovereign God of the universe, the one who sent His Son to be the Savior and whose Son is the Lord. In these few words, there's just a picture of majesty and sovereignty all wrapped up such that Peter just says, blessed be this God. It's our God. It shows the reality of the gospel hope in our lives that Peter starts out with this. It's interesting, it's not uncommon how Peter started this letter. In Ephesians 1.3, Paul adopts almost the exact same language. Blessed be, for Ephesians 1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Again, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Second Corinthians 1.3, we see the same thing. Second Corinthians 1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Why do I point this out? Nothing about the relationship and did they know each other's letters. It's the Holy Spirit repeating the same thing in multiple places of Scripture. When that happens, we need to kind of pause and realize these aren't just throwaway words because that's how they wrote letters back then. The Spirit of God is emphasizing this over and over for us. God, our God, is worthy of our praise. That's why Peter starts this way. That's why Paul started that way. God's worthy of our praise. He deserves our praise. And when things are difficult, we should praise God, who sent His Son to be our Lord and our Savior. Wayne Grudem, a commentator that I admire in this book, said this, praising God is a, quoting, helpful remedy for hearts weighed down with discouragement because of suffering. So that's our starting point. That's where we come to the table. There's reasons to praise God. He's already been praising God. This isn't wishful thinking by Peter to sort of hope our problems go away. Rather, it's practical application of theology in our lives. The fact remains for all of us, if the biggest thing in our minds is ourselves, we're not going to get very far. Peter's elevating God, and that's what we should do. We should lift our eyes heavenward to see Him, to place our mind on things above. So Peter starts this way. Now let's get into the three reasons to praise God when life is hard. And the first reason is this. God has shown us mercy we don't deserve. God has shown us mercy we don't deserve. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Again, Peter's not writing a theology textbook. He's writing a practical letter to believers who are struggling, but there's so much theology wrapped in this, you could write a book. And the emphasis here is on God's work in our lives. In fact, I'm going to go back and read from verses one and two of this, just to see how there's a tie-in. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens gathered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. So Peter is explaining a little more about this choosing. We were chosen before the foundation of the world and part of the reason was because God was showing us great mercy. Why are you and I saved? In part because it's according to His great mercy. One commentator defined mercy as the feeling of pity and compassion towards the miserable. It's not good for our self-esteem, but we are the miserable. We were helpless. And God didn't show us a little bit of mercy. He showed us an unbelievable, unbelievably great mercy. Should be a source of endless praise. As we think about the Christmas season, we see all the imagery and we love, and it's a good thing. We do praise the Lord because he sent Jesus as a baby to live a righteous life and ultimately to go to the cross to die in the place of sinners. What makes it hard to fathom is that God did that to save you and me and he knew who we really were. He knew all the sins we would ever commit. He knows all the sins we haven't committed yet that we're going to. And God knew that this would condemn us to hell for all eternity. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and the wages of sin is death. God saw us for what we were and what we are and He had pity on us. He showed us compassion. We were not only lost, we were incapable of helping ourselves. There was nothing we could do. So God showed us His abundant mercy. God's mercy and God's love go hand in hand. Paul powerfully expressed the very same truth, Ephesians 2, 4-7, it says, but God, being rich in mercy, Because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead and our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. As we think about all that's swirling around us and there's so much busyness at the holidays, so many planning, many people are traveling, many people are trying to accommodate, a lot of schedules, this type of truth should cause us to stop in our tracks. For all of us, we get upset when life doesn't go our way. We think we deserve something and it doesn't come to fruition, so we get upset. Quite often it's because we really were subjected to an injustice and it's just not fair. I didn't deserve that. I deserve something different. I mean, that plays out everywhere. It plays out in marriages. Don't raise your hand. How many times have you been upset with your spouse because they didn't do what you wanted them to? I deserve that. I work hard or I was working and I was busy and I was tired and you should have and we're disappointed because they didn't do what we wanted. We do that with our children. They didn't do what we wanted. Happens in the workplace. Well that wasn't fair. I should have gotten a promotion. I should have gotten this. Really, this is all a reality check. And I know you know this, but sometimes it's good for us to stop and think, what do we really deserve? Punishment. Hell. We've sinned. And we can't fix it. Several around the church, if you ask them, how are you doing? They say, better than I deserved. It's because of that they deserve hell. That's the real miracle of Christmas time. When we deserve judgment, God sent a Savior. We should be praising God from the mountaintops. And it's interesting, even Peter is forcing again. It's all God. It's none of us. Who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope. There was nothing we could do. This is talking about regeneration. God did what we couldn't do. God's mercy, God's love led Him to cause us to be born again. Dead sinners given spiritual life. God's mercy made possible what Jesus said was essential for salvation. In John 3.3, Jesus answered and said to him, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" That's what Peter's praising the Lord for. That's what we should praise the Lord for. God did what we couldn't do. He used His Spirit to bring about regeneration, to give us a new heart, But it was all God's initiative. It was God's choosing. It was God's work. God did it all. We're new creatures in Christ because God showed us mercy and God did it. Did we deserve that mercy? Of course not. Peter will later describe what Jesus did in the first part of verse 18 of chapter 3. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just Him for the unjust us. So that He might bring us to God. Because there was no other way. You don't spend your time wondering why did God show you mercy and no one else. You praise Him for that mercy. In Romans 9, 15 and 16, We read, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then, it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. Just praise him. He gave you new life. He chose you. He caused you to be born again into a living hope. We worship a risen Savior. Everything won't always be perfect on earth. But we do have a real hope because Jesus rose from the dead. Again, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It's the foundational truth of Christianity. Jesus is alive. Our being born again is directly related to Jesus being raised from the dead. One couldn't be possible without the other. Paul described it this way in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 16 and 17. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You're still in your sins. But praise the Lord, Christ has been raised. And for us, particularly at this time of year. We can praise God because he's shown us mercy that we don't deserve. But it's not just at this time of year. We praise Him all the time for that. Even when life is hard. So the first reason to praise God when life is hard is that God has shown us mercy we don't deserve. The second is this. God has given us a perfect inheritance in heaven. God has given us a perfect inheritance in heaven. Again, reading from verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you. When I was a kid, Jesus was a part of Christmas. But that wasn't what Christmas was about. At the end of the day, Christmas is about the presents. That's what I wanted. I remember when I was a kid, I was so heartbroken. One Sunday was Christmas. It's like, what a rip-off. I've got to go to church when I've got all these presents? I'm just being honest. That was a childhood thing. Here was the point. It was about giving something. And even though that's a completely wrong view, There's a sense in which the greatest gift we could ever receive came because Jesus did these things. Because of what Jesus did, we have an inheritance. This is a true gift. And most of us understand the terms in a human sense. Normally when we talk about an inheritance, we're talking about someone who passed away and they left us something in a will. So we get their stuff. But this goes far beyond that. This isn't something we receive from a dead relative. We receive this from God Himself. And in human terms, in inheritance, maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. Until your relative dies, they can always change their will. It would be a foolish thing If you knew that somebody was leaving you in a million dollars in the will when they died, for you to go out and spend the million dollars before they died, because guess what? They get mad, they change it. And you've got nothing. This type of inheritance is completely different. At the moment God caused you to be born again, He gave you an inheritance, skipping ahead to the end and we'll get there more, reserved in heaven for you. There's a present reality to this inheritance. And again, picture their original recipients, but also picture us. Life can be hard. And sometimes there's not a light at the end of the tunnel for our current circumstances. Maybe it's a physical ailment. Maybe it's a financial challenge. Maybe it's a workplace issue. But what he's saying to every believer is you have something to look forward to that's different than anything else. You've got an inheritance that's the most valuable thing you could ever imagine. Particularly when I was younger and a lawyer, I used to think about safe investments. And you could read countless books. Should you buy more gold because that's safer? Or should you buy bonds because those are safer? Or should you buy stocks and just only buy these companies because they're safer? The reality is everything on earth can go away tomorrow. But this inheritance can't be touched. It's interesting, there's a lot of things about God and about heaven and about spiritual realities that can only be described in a negative. Because our finite minds can't fully see the realities of spiritual things. Often the Bible describes them in negative. It's not like this. It's not like this. It's not like this. And that's how Peter describes this inheritance. The first thing he notes is that our inheritance is imperishable. Imperishable simply means it's not subject to decay. The thing that we're going to have in the future can't ever go away. It doesn't deteriorate. I couldn't help but think of Jesus words in Matthew 6 20, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves don't break in and steal. In other words, there are earthly treasures. They can fade away. They can be gone. Whatever you find on earth, whatever you store wealth in on earth, it can decay, it can perish, it can lose its value. Not the way with our inheritance in heaven. Several years ago we had some flooding at part of our house when a tropical storm came through the area. Very fascinating. Everything flood water touched quickly started showing signs of discay. Mold and mildew. Certain things that were hard suddenly were soft and they were rotting very quickly. The point is that will never happen to this inheritance. He goes on to describe it as undefiled. This particularly idea has to do with it's unstained by sin. It's uncontaminated by either sin in general or even our own sin. No sin can ever touch this inheritance that is waiting in heaven with your name on it. It's interesting because even the good things God gives us, we can mess up with sin. You see it. Sin permeates everything. It touches everything. Praise the Lord for our salvation, but it doesn't stop us from dealing with sin taint everywhere. Even the very best human relationships get tainted by sin at some point. Not so with this inheritance. I think there's a picture of the idea that Peter is talking about in the book of Revelation. It's just a picture. And in Revelation, the Apostle John is talking about a heavenly city one day that we will inhabit. He says in Revelation 21-27, And nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I don't think we can fully imagine what even a moment would be like without sin. I can't wait. The best funeral service I ever heard of was done by John MacArthur for a man who was instrumental in guiding me to seminary. He's the first person I approached and said I may be called to be a pastor and I don't know what to do. He and his wife met with Debbie and I many times. He's the first person that gave me an opportunity to teach. And it was very sad to be at his funeral. He was a young man in his early fifties. But I remember John MacArthur talking about the fact that one of the things in heaven is there's a complete absence of the struggle against sin. There's no temptation anymore. You're not fighting against sin anymore. And for the first time in my life, I was ready to go then. This inheritance will never deal with sin. Nothing will ever touch it. And he says it also, and it will not fade away. The idea here that it never becomes less beautiful. Several different commentators painted this picture. You see a flower when it first blooms and it's beautiful. And what happens? Very quickly it starts to lose its beauty. And you give it a couple of days and the flower's already died and it's not pretty at all. Nothing like that ever happens in heaven. The glory that we see in the beginning will always be the same. It'll be just as bright. It will never lose its vibrancy or its color. There'll be no dimming of the glory of that inheritance no matter how long we're there. So there's this inheritance. But let me try and personalize it. Because on earth, we're not really anybody. Most of us aren't going to be billionaires. Most of us aren't going to have blissful lives with no hiccups, no bumps in the road. My name is not on speed dial for the President of the United States or any other leaders of any country. And I'm guessing yours isn't either. By and large, for most of us in the body of Christ, if we disappeared tomorrow, besides our small circles, nobody would miss us. But in heaven, they know your name. God knows your name. The inheritance that's in heaven that is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away is reserved in heaven for you. Now this is a plural you for all believers, but it's very personal. If you're saved, there's an inheritance with your name on it. And unlike earthly things, which are often the source of our disappointment because we didn't get as much of them as we wanted, or the ones we had went away, or the things we coveted were always just out of our reach. That inheritance is sure. It's there, it's waiting, and it will be yours. When times are discouraging, it's very important for us to look to the future. Not to look in the mirror to see our problems staring back at us, but to look to heaven and remember what's waiting for us there. Peace and joy and praise forevermore. Being in the presence of God forever. Doesn't mean that we don't live here, we still do, but it means that everything here has a new focus. Brings us to our third point. Three reasons to praise God in times of darkness. God has shown us mercy we don't deserve. God has given us a perfect inheritance in heaven. And finally, God is protecting us with his power. God is protecting us with his power. And this is particularly encouraging for those in the midst of trials. Verse 5, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. It really brings it all together of how to keep an eternal focus and a heavenly focus even when things are difficult now. When we've been born again, not only were we recipients of God's love and mercy and of a wonderful inheritance, we're also recipients of protection now. The best protection anyone could ever have. What God has put aside for us, nobody can take away. Paul said in Roman 8 31 what then shall we say to these things if God is for us who is against us? If we can't praise God for this something's missing and I'm not saying it's easy all the time It's just requires us to step back from the immediacy of our problems and remember what God has done for us and what God is doing for us and what God one day will do for us and Now it's interesting, we're protected by the power of God. It's clear, it's all in Him. He chose us, He caused us to be born again, and He's protecting us, but there is a part for us who are protected by the power of God through faith. This is us exercising our discipline to believe. We can only ultimately believe in a salvific sense because God caused us to be born again, but in terms of the daily focus of life of putting one foot in front of the other, it's by faith. The whole book of Hebrews, particularly Hebrews chapter 11, which if you've been here, you've heard me teach on this, It's all about people who live by faith. They overcame hurdles by faith. They did what God called them to do in seemingly impossible circumstances by faith. And certainly for every believer, when times are hard, we have to live by faith, placing our trust in the God who loved us and showed us mercy, not in our circumstances. God's protection doesn't come just because we protect ourselves. I get concerned when I see and hear Christians who are preparing for the end of the world through material means. What do I mean? They're talking about stockpiling weapons in case the government ever turns. They're talking about stockpiling and having a place to go hide in a bunker. I read an article years ago about some guy in Idaho who professed to be loving the Lord but was building a bunker to fight back against everybody. That's not necessary. We're protected by the power of God. Nothing on this earth can ever touch us. What can they do? They can kill us. What happens then? We get our inheritance. Peter's giving us a powerful reminder that even when times are hard, actually especially when times are hard, our hope and trust should be in God. We live by faith, not by sight. I know it's my own struggle, But we want to live by sight. We want to know the answer now. We don't want to wait to see what happens next month. We want the answer now. And God doesn't have any obligation to do that for us. We have to live by faith. We have to trust that He's protecting us no matter what's going on. Peter talks about a salvation ready to be revealed and the last time it's not talking about a different salvation. We're already born again. We're already saved. What he's talking about is the fullness of the benefits of our salvation. When we exercise all the rights of our citizenship in heaven, when we experience all these things, when we're absent from the body and we're present with the Lord. Philippians 3, 20 and 21 expresses a similar reality. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself. One day in the future, everything will change. Jesus will return. He'll return to rule and reign on the earth in the millennial kingdom. And then for all eternity, we'll be with him in heaven. One day we're going to be outside of these decaying bodies. We're going to be given glorified bodies. There's going to be no more death. There's going to be no more dying. There's going to be no more sin. There's going to be no more temptation to sin. The struggle will be over. That's the salvation that's ready to be revealed in the last time. That's the salvation we look forward to when we receive all the benefits. But what we take comfort in, and what Peter knew, some of the believers to whom he was writing, life was really hard now. So he starts them out with praise, reminding them of what they already have. Are the problems real? Yes. Are there ways to deal with the problems? Yes. But the ultimate issue is to praise God now for what you already have. I'm always drawn to John chapter 10 verses 27 to 29. At different times, the verse has different emphasis and depending on what causes my mind to go to it. But for a believer, we're ultimately protected. No matter what is coming against you, no matter what struggles and trials, in the big picture, Jesus wins, so you win. Jesus said this, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give eternal life to them. That's all that we've been talking about. And they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. That's being protected. That's a cause for rejoicing. Can bad things still happen? Of course. Peter addresses those very practically. But his starting point is to remind us that regardless of what we're experiencing, we have reasons to praise God now. So let me encourage you. Whatever you're dealing with, if life is bringing you challenges, if these holiday times are hard for you, if you're struggling, reflect on Peter's words, and begin to prescribe the praise of God for the troubles of your soul. Please join me as I close our time in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we can't truly fathom your mercy. Lord, you've given us your spirit You've caused us to be born again, so there's a sense in which we can see somewhat. Lord, we read in Your Word the truths that come to Your children, and as Your children, we say thank You. But because we still inhabit these bodies, and because we still struggle against the flesh, and because we still live in a sin-tainted and sin-filled world, Sometimes we take our eyes off the truth. Lord, we should be praising you. You are blessed, Lord. You've shown us great mercy. As we are celebrating the holiday season and decorations are up and lights are up and we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Lord, help us remember what it's all about. Lord, I thank you for the reminders from your word of what you did for sinners like us. And Lord, we can be tempted to become self-focused. Even your children can take their eyes off of Jesus and start focusing on their problems. Lord, I pray that you would help us stay away from that temptation. And Lord, if there are any of my brothers and sisters who are struggling, who are discouraged, who are depressed, I pray even now, you would help their lips form praise to you for the miracle that you've already worked in their lives, for the mercy you've shown them, and for the inheritance that is reserved in heaven by you, and help them feel the power that you are exerting to protect us. And Lord, I pray for those who don't truly know you. who've not truly understood Your mercy, Lord, who are still lost in their sins, pray that You would give them clarity. I pray that as all of our country celebrates Christmas, that they wouldn't be distracted by the baby in a manger, but they would understand that that baby didn't stay in the manger. That He grew and became a man who lived a perfect life, a life that we couldn't live, and He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. for sinners like us who deserved it. Lord, I pray that you would draw them to yourself. I pray that you would cause them to be born again so that they could place their faith and hope in you. Lord, we love you. We pray that you would protect us this week and help us to become more like Christ as we leave this place. We ask these things, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.