We're turning in the Word of God to 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3 today. The chapter is familiar to us. Samuel has come to take up residency in the tabernacle precincts. And he is here with Eli. God is calling him, speaking to him. And we're going to come into the chapter, the verse eight. So it's 1 Samuel 3, and the verse number eight. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, here am I, for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, go, lie down, and it shall be If he call thee that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood and called us at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant heareth. The Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle. And that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house. When I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. And Samuel lay till the morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, here am I. And he said, what is the thing that the Lord has said unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he has said unto thee. And Samuel told him every wit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. Amen. And we'll end just at the end of verse 21, the public reading of God's precious word. Let's seek the Lord together in prayer briefly. Pray that God will prepare your heart, that we'll be instructed today. Our loving Father, we come again, ever thankful for the opportunity to gather for public worship to sing thy praise. And what great things we've been singing off God, the great fact that thou art our sovereign protector, thou art the one who guards and keeps his people. Lord, thou art the one who is above all. Lord, we're even reading here in Scripture how we're reminded that these things all fall out to us from the Lord. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. We leave, O God, our nation before thee, a nation that has sinned against thee, a nation that has turned its back on God. And Lord, we come to your Father praying for mercy. O God, we do think of those, O God, that have passed away as a result of this. Lord, these individuals are either in God's heaven or in God's hell. Let us not miss it. Lord, let us not forget it. Lord, these are all precious souls. Lord, we pray that we might be compassionate in our language, what we say, what we attach to God. Oh God, we believe whatever is happening, we believe that God is over all. The reins of government are still in the hands of a sovereign God, and he is controlling all things and has ordered all things after the counsel of his will. We leave ourselves now in thy care. Bless us as we meet around the word, for we offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen. James Alexander, the 19th century American Presbyterian minister and theologian said, every church court, every pastor, missionary, ruling elder, every Sabbath school teacher, and corporator, which is simply a gospel tract distributor, out of love for the generation to come. should make the establishment of family worship an object of separate and earnest endeavor. father of a family, should consider himself as charged with the souls of those with whom he hopes to leave behind him and as contributing to the future propagation of the truth by every act of devotion performed in his house. Wherever he has a tent, God should have an altar. It is this matter of family worship, family devotions, a family altar, whatever term you want to use that we have been considering together over the last number of weeks. I'm not wanting to leave this little series of messages two-thirds complete, one-third incomplete. I believe the Lord would just have me to conclude this message for today. And to conclude then those messages on family worship, I want to consider two further matters today, namely the excuses that are used for not having family worship, and then the benefits that come to us from having family worship in our homes. We do not know what will occur in coming weeks within our province, but I trust that I have been giving you at least the tools to equip you to worship God, in your family, but we must not leave it until we cannot meet together. If that ever comes to pass, we trust it'll never will, but that you should on a daily basis be gathering family around the Word of God and worshipping God in your family and in your homes. Let me begin then by looking at this first matter together, the excuses for not having family worship in the home. Now I admit that it's not easy either to commence or to maintain family worship within the home. There are many pressing things that come upon us, many things that would suggest that such is not required and I'm sure The devil will supply families with many excuses for not worshiping God together as a family worship. And I want us to simply look at some of the excuses. These are maybe excuses that you have for why you shouldn't worship God within your home on a daily basis, whether that's a husband and wife together, or whether that's a mother, father, and children together. together, and so we come to some of these excuses. The first excuse that the devil supplies people with relates to the matter of authority. The matter of authority. You know, the devil will whisper into the ear that there is no explicit command in the Bible to have family worship. There is nowhere that we can, as it were, go to and see a family conducting, or with the elements we thought about last Lord's Day, with regard to prayer the reading of Scripture, the singing of God's praise, supplication, Scripture, and song. There's nowhere, no verse that we can turn to that incorporates all of those three different elements with regard to family worship. And yet, though there is no explicit command in Scripture, the texts of Scripture and the examples that have been previously cited within this series on family worship, I believe make it clear that God would have families to worship Him together. that there ought to be this activity of a family gathering together for worship. I remind you of those words back in the book of Deuteronomy that we read last Lord's Day, I think it was. It says, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might. These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. no clearer scripture could we have than this, the teaching of the truth of God, the commandments of God, the statutes of God by the father, by the parent, directly to the children. Thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, of my time, and when thou risest up in the morning, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between the knives, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. We are told in the book of Proverbs 22, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. We thought of examples, Noah, Abraham, Joshua, Eunice, David, many examples in the word of God. Now these are instructions, especially Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs 22. The question is, how will you then, as it were, implement what God expects of you? You're to teach your children. in the ways of God, in the Scriptures, the doctrines of faith, you are to catechize them, in the statutes, the commandments, the precepts of God. When are you going to do that? Well, could I not suggest to you that family worship is the time and the opportunity for you to gather the family and to read the scriptures and to teach them the things of God. You're never gonna be able to instruct your children in the word of God if you've never a time daily in your daily schedule to worship God together as a family. And so I believe that there are scriptures that do point us to the fact that we ought to gather. We have the authority of example We have the authority of text passages of Scripture that bring us to the natural conclusion, if I am to teach my child, then there needs to be a time, there needs to be a moment within the day that I teach my children the things of God and the ways of God. It is but the natural conclusion of what we have here in the Scriptures. The second excuse that the devil supplies to us for not having family worship in our home is related to ability. Not authority, but this time ability. Now those who use this excuse, they claim an inability when it comes to reading or praying or singing in the presence of others. An inability to lead family worship. How can I ever lead worship within my home? I'm not a minister. I've never been to Bible college. I haven't went in some kind of course to help me lead worship in the family. I am unable, I am incapable in and of myself to lead family worship. One preacher said this, it so happens, speaking of family worship, it so happens that this is almost the only case in which people pretend to have a very mean opinion about their abilities. The only case in which people pretend to have a very mean opinion about their own abilities. But admitting that you have no ability to lead family worship does not exempt you from the performance of it. You see, the Bible and the promise is as true as it was first given. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. If you doubt your ability, then I suggest start simply. Start simply. I trust that you're already reading the scriptures and praying together within your home. I trust that is already taking place. If it's not, then begin to do so and do it today. No time like the present. We're not to be procrastinators when it comes to instruction in the Word of God. You know, oft times we blame the preacher maybe for not preaching what he ought to be preaching, and we have our own thinking of what the preacher should be maybe preaching today or preaching next week or in the weeks that lie ahead, but brethren and sisters, God has given the words, God has directed me to this particular subject matter, we're concluding it today, but now it's over to you, to the implementation of it. I can't go to your home and conduct family worship on a daily basis. There needs to be implementation of the truth of God's Word. Non-implementation of it will mean that the blessings that are derived from family worship will never be yours within the family circle. That's a simple fact of it. And so it is for you, not only to be a hearer of the Word, but then to be a doer of the Word. And there is a need for rapid obedience. There is no need to procrastinate. You fear your inability. Then start simply, read the scriptures together, and then add one or two questions on the portion that is read. You know, whenever you started out to work, and many of you are in your place of employment, I'm sure that whenever you went on your first day to work, you didn't know all that was entailed in your job. There were different things that you had to learn on the job. And as you learned on the job what happened, you got better at it, didn't you? Practice makes perfect. Well, we don't know if that's the case with regard to family worship, whether we could ever claim perfection within it, but I'll tell you this, practice will lead to an increased skill when it comes to this matter of family worship. The more it's done, the more skilled you will become in the matter of family worship. And brethren and sisters, let's not forget this. You look at your own inability. your own incapabilities with regard to the worshiping of God in your family. But don't forget, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. God the Holy Ghost dwells in you to help you, to instruct you, to lead you to Christ. He is there to help in the leading of your family in worship. Is that not the Spirit's job? Is that not His work? Is that not His ministry? To lead us to Christ? And the Spirit of God, He is our comforter, He is our instructor, He is our helper, and He will enable us in this act of family worship, He will help us and assist us as we worship God in our families. And so therefore, seek His help. Seek His wisdom. Seek His power, seek His presence. As you come before you read the scripture, pray for the help and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is He which will enlighten the mind as the Word of God is read and preached. One preacher remarked, could it be that our real problem in family worship is not our inability to pray, read, and instruct? so much as our lack of grasping the astounding promises and power God has given us to shape our children for His glory. And so there is the excuse of ability. The third excuse supplied by the devil as to why family worship is impossible in the home has to do with availability. Availability. Really, this excuse is all about time. You say, Reverend Stewart, we have got no time. We've got no time in our family to worship. No time for family worship in our home. But bring that excuse to the Bible. You know Abraham had flocks and herds exceeding many. Very much cattle we're told. Job too had the same. Joshua was a leader and a commander of all of the armies of Israel, caring for over a million individuals as they made their way into the promised land and as they conquered and subdued the land before them. Think of David, this is a man occupying the throne, all of the cares of the government in his hand and on his mind and yet each of these men that I have mentioned all conducted family worship in their homes. We have got time to do many things. Why not this? Why not this? Let me use the life of Mr. Spurgeon as an illustration of a man who, despite his hectic schedule, still made time for family worship in his home. Some of these facts you may know about him, some you may not. C.H. Spurgeon pastored the largest evangelical church in the world at that time. There were 6,000 active members within his congregation. He preached almost every day. He edited his sermons for weekly publications and thereby produced in the 64 volumes of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, the largest collection of works by a single author in the English language. He wrote an additional 120 books. That's one every four months throughout his entire life. He presided over 66 different ministries, such as the Pastors College that he founded and many boys' homes. He edited a monthly magazine called The Sword and the Trial. He typically read, listen, five books each week, many which he reviewed for his magazine, and he wrote with a dip pen 500 letters per week. And yet despite the ceaseless demands on his schedule, at 6 p.m. each evening, Spurgeon gathered his wife and twin boys who had become preachers in their own right and others within the family for family worship. After his death, his wife Susanna wrote this glimpse into the family home. After the meal was over, an adjournment was made to the study for family worship. And it was at these seasons that my beloved's prayers were remarkable for their tender childlikeness, their spiritual pathos, and their intense devotion. He seemed to come as near to God, as a little child to a loving father, and we were often moved to tears as he talked thus face to face with his Lord. A visitor resided in Spurgeon's home, and they wrote the following. One of the most helpful hours of my visit to Westwood, where Spurgeon lived, was the hour the hour of family worship, or the hour of family prayer. At six o'clock all the household gathered into the study for worship. Usually Mr. Spurgeon himself led the devotions. The portion read was invariably accompanied with exposition. How amazingly helpful those homely and gracious comments were. I remember Spacey's reading of the 24th of Luke. Jesus himself drew near and went with them. How sweetly he talked about having Jesus with us wherever we went. Not only to have him draw near at special occasions, but to go with us whatever labor we undertake. Then how full of tender pleading, of sincere confidence in God, in world-embracing sympathy were his prayers. His public prayers were an inspiration and benediction, but his prayers with the family were to me more wonderful still. Mr. Spurgeon, when bowed before God in family prayer, appeared a grander man even than when holding households spellbound by his oratory. A man, a busy man, and yet a man who saw the value of family devotions. I suppose the issue of time, brethren and sisters, really comes down to what you and I want to invest our time in. The making of money or the instruction of our family in the ways of God. You know, it's an amazing thing that we can find time for everything and anything else. The watching of television. surfing the net, playing computer consoles for hours on end, meeting up with our friends, participating in some sporting activity, listening to music, talking on the telephone, reading off a newspaper or some novel, the list is endless. And yet, we cannot find time to worship God and our families? Where are our priorities? Where are they, brethren and sisters, that we can't find a little time within our daily schedule to pray with our children, to read the Scriptures together? What are we exhorted to do in Scripture? We are to redeem the time. Because the days are evil, and we're to instill into our loved ones the truths of the gospel before they fly the nest. And our influence for them and over them is not as great as what it once was when they were found in our homes. Availability. The fourth excuse supplied by the devil is related to appearance. Appearance. You know, some people might say, preacher, we fear being ridiculed by others. We fear that we should be thought to be too strict in our family. One preacher said, the irreligion of the multitude should be a powerful incentive to us to cherish religious habits and the fear of God in our houses. You know, Joyce was not of that mindset. Whenever Joyce came to say those great words, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, it wasn't looking over the garden fence or to the person up the pew and thinking, what's that person going to think about us gathering together for family worship? He wasn't thinking about what others thought, how it appeared to others, whether it appeared that there was a strictness within the home. I tell you, brethren and sisters, nothing wrong with it. If Eli Haddath instructed his boys, if Eli Haddath restrained his sons by way of counsel, I tell you Eli's home would have been a happier home and the nation would have been a better place. Brethren and sisters, may God save us from concerning ourselves with what others think about us and give concern about what does God think about us. What does God think about me as a father? What does he think about me as a father? As a mother? The fifth excuse that the devil supplies for not having family worship quickly has to do with amount, the amount. When I speak of the amount, I'm speaking about the number of people within the family. I'm talking really about the size of the family. Some people might be of the opinion that family worship is unnecessary because the family is too small. There's only a number of us in the family. However, it was the Puritan Richard Baxter who said that to form a family, You only need one who governs and one who is governed. That's all you need for a family. One who governs, a husband. The one who is governed, the wife and the children. You only need two for family worship. What did Jesus Christ say? Matthew 18, 20, where two or three are gathered together in my name. There, am I in the midst of them. Your family's not too small, not too small. And so these are but some of their excuses. They're not really reasons. They are simply excuses that the devil will furnish to try and dissuade you from gathering the family together for worship. But let me quickly move on to the benefit of family worship, the benefits of family worship. There are advantages that come As we gather together for family worship, we highlight a number of them. First of all, can I say that family worship honors and glorifies the Lord. That ought to be the primary reason why we do anything in our homes. We're told in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. All things are to be done to the glory of God. And what could be more glorifying? Think of it. What could be more glorifying to God? What could be more honoring to God than the instruction of the family in the scriptures of truth and the worshiping of God? by prayer and by praise. You know, family worship can have the blessed effect of centering our homes upon Christ. We're centering our home upon Christ. That's what we're doing. We're honoring Christ, we're glorifying Christ, whoso offereth praise glorifyeth me. It doesn't say whoso offereth praise in God's house glorifyeth me. No, whatever praise is offered to God, this is glorifying to God. And surely, surely, family worship is honoring and glorifying to God. Second of all, it fortifies the home against sin and the devil. We're Christ-rein. And where Christ resides, the devil and sin have no place. Where Christ reigns and where Christ resides, the devil and sin have no place. Matthew, Henry, if religion does not rule in our families, sin and wickedness will rule there. The way to keep sin out of the house is to keep up religion in the house. which will be the most effectual antidote against Satan's poison. If you want to fortify your home, brother, if you want to fortify your home, sister, against the enemy, then Christ needs to be in his preeminent place. Christ in the preeminent place. Thirdly, family worship enriches the home. The worship of God in the home setting will enrich the home in a number of ways. It will enrich the home with peace. Peace, I alluded to it last week, but it would be awfully hard for a father to lead the family in public worship or in family worship if he's just shouted and had an argument with his wife. He is going to lead the family before the throne of grace. He's going to then have to ask and seek for forgiveness from his wife and first of all from God. And that wife will find it hard to worship God unless she willingly forgives her husband. And so it brings a peace into the home, a peace between the relations within the home. It brings a unity within the home. Did you know, I'm sure you do, in our society, families are spending less and less time together? On the 4th of September last year, 2019, the Independent newspaper carried the following headline, British parents spend fewer than 30 minutes of quality time a day with their children, 30 minutes. However, family worship is a time when a family can unite together We all enjoy that time of the year known as Christmas. And one of the things that we enjoy is that the family gets together. We join together. You know, you can have that experience in your home every day. When your family gathers together for worship, the coming of together will keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. It'll also enrich the home with reverence. Family worship instills into the heart of children that father is the head of the home. The father is the head of the home. And children, as they come to see their father leading in public or family worship, they will start to reverence their family and their father and their parents. Godly fear is nurtured in the home as the word of God is read. And then it also enriches the home with a God awareness, with a God awareness. When God is worshiped in the home, we are dearly reminded that God sees us and that God is listening to us. In days gone past, the little plaque hung up on many a home. Christ is the head of this home. the unseen guest at every meeting, the silent listener to every conversation. And yet I fear that we do not live in light of the truth of that very simple, simple statement. Whenever God is worshiped in the home, then an awareness of him is the outcome of that worship. God has met with us in this home. God is in this home. We have just worshipped him. He has heard our prayers. His eye is on us. His ear is attentive to our cries. It instills the thought of a God-awareness. And whenever there's a God-awareness in our home, do you know what that will do? That will guard what we say. That will guard what we watch. and that will guard what we listen to. Something else, it promotes the well-being of the church and society, family worship. The spiritual health of the family ought to have a profound effect upon the church and secular society. The Puritans were convinced of that. Cotton Manther said, well-ordered families naturally produce good order in other societies. When families are under an ill-discipline, all other societies will be ill-disciplined. Richard Baxter said, keep up the government of God in your families. Holy families must be the chief preservers of the interests of religion in the world. William Gouge said, all will be well with the Commonwealth. where families are properly regulated. Let me ask you, are you adding to the spiritual health of this nation? Sadly, much of the vice and the godlessness of this nation can be traced back to the neglected practice of true religion in the home of its citizens. That's why we read Samuel, Eli, the priest, to restrain his sons in the home which led them to becoming an evil influence in their society in which they live if you want to turn you're maybe there in 1st Samuel 3 turn to 1st Samuel 2 verse 24 will soon be finished Eli addressed that his sons with these words nay my son Let's read verse 22. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear ye make the Lord's people to transgress. It wasn't only that they were involved in sin, but they encouraged even the Lord's people to forsake God and to go the way of godlessness. And where can it all be traced back to? It can be all traced back to what God told Samuel that night. Whenever God said that Eli failed to restrain his sons. He could have done that at the family altar. He could have done that when the Bible was open. But Eli failed as a father. And his failure in the home, listen, this is what we need to see. Failure in the home is not contained to the home. It works out into society, into society at large. And so let us endeavor to do our best while we can to instruct our children in the ways of God so that they are a blessing to our nation, not a blight to our nation. A blessing, not a blight. Something else, it regulates behavior in God's house. There's no doubt that the practice of family worship aids in the behavior of children in the public place of worship. reverence and attentiveness are not natural traits to any child. Remember that. I trust that those in this congregation of an older age that you remember that when maybe a child is a little bit disruptive within the worship service. Remember that you were once a child. Remember that you couldn't sit. for an hour, 10 minutes, at one point in your life. Remember it. They need to be taught these traits. And it is much easier to teach children how and why to be reverend in the Lord's house if those same lessons are being enforced in the familiar surroundings of home throughout the week. That is not to say that children will not play up at times And so I want to speak to those mothers that are maybe in the house here, the main building, those who are maybe in the church hall. Mother, do not be disheartened. Do not be disheartened. We are aware that an hour and a bit more is a long time for any infant to sit, but even a short time in family worship in the home, I believe will help when it comes to worshiping God in the public setting. It'll teach them at home, and then that will work itself eventually out in the church services. Another matter, it establishes family worship, establishes a good foundation upon which others can build. Too often we think that the minister, the Sunday school teacher, the children's meeting worker, the youth leader is the one to establish our children in the truth, not so. Not so. I would have to say that such people must be seen as auxiliary helps, not as the primary help in instructing our children. It is the parents' responsibility to face up to their duties, to see that their children are instructed in the ways of the Lord. then the minister or whatever other Christian worker they come to sit under, they will then be enabled to build on the foundation that you have built, that you have put down in your home. They're building on your foundation. God gave you the children. You're the one in the family that had them. And now it is your responsibility to ground them in the truth. The minister will do his part, the Sunday school teacher, the youth worker will play our part, but we are auxiliary helps. You are to be the primary one that establishes your children in the faith. Timothy's grounding in the scriptures by his mother and grandmother was the ideal foundation upon which Paul was then able to build and see then to Timothy becoming his son in the faith. Paul had something to work on when he spoke to Timothy. Mum and grandmother had done their work. And Paul just came in and was, as it were, the final link in the chain. Finally, quickly, it may lead to the salvation of your children, family worship. Children can know the Lord. Children can be saved. Samuel is a good example. A young man, a young boy who came to know the Lord, became God's servant at a young age. He was only but a child. And so children can be saved. Romans 10, 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And while many come to faith in Jesus Christ through the public preaching of God's word, there are those that do come to faith when they hear the word of God spoken in the home. Would that not be the greatest blessing as a Christian parent? To sit with your child at the age of a bed or to kneel with them at a chair and to lead your child to Jesus Christ. I tell you that's a blessing that ought to be prized and cherished and sought for by every Christian parent. Father, Mother, have you viewed your family as being your first and primary mission field? you ought to be, for there is much lost as the heathen in the mission fields of the world. The salvation of your child and your offspring ought to be the thing that you prize and pray for the most as a Christian parent. Time's away. Richard Baxter said, you are not likely to see any general reformation till you procure family reformation. We seek for revival in the church. We look for revival in our community. But it may be that we need revival in the home, first and foremost. May God help us in the matter of family worship May our homes become bastions of the truth. And may every Christian parent be able to say, because of their instruction of children that they received in the home, that they'll be able to say that I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth. Because they came to know the truth in my home. and under my care. May God help us, and may we reap the benefits of having family worship within our homes. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Thank you for your time, your attention. This message concludes. The messages on family worship will be making our way elsewhere, God willing, next week, in the will of God. But with heads bowed and hearts open before the Lord, let me encourage every person to do business now with God. Pray, God, that your home be a home where God is honored and God is praised and God is given his rightful place. May he not be standing outside the door and knocking to get in. Our loving Father, we give our homes to thee. Thou hast set the solitary in families. Thou art the one who ordained the family unit. Thou art the one who instructed and gave differing roles within the family. We pray that as fathers we will fulfill our duties, our responsibilities. As we said last Lord's Day, it is no guarantee that our children will come to faith. This is the need of the Spirit of God to work, we are well aware of that. but we pray that we'll have put enough truth into the minds and the hearts of our children, that in the days that lie before, Lord, that thou will then take that word, take that truth, and bring it to its harvest, bring it to its natural end and conclusion. Spare our families, O God, from becoming the instruments of a greater evil within society, we pray for our sons, our daughters, our nephews, our nieces. We cry to Thee, O God, on their behalf, that Thou wilt save them, and may they be those who will be righteous in this community, and may their lies count and tell for God. Keep Thy good hand upon us all, Bring us back to the house of God tonight to worship Thee. And may, dear Father, our time around the Word be a means, O God, of bringing others into the Redeemer's kingdom. Answer prayer, save the lost among us. We offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen, amen.