Okay. Well, don't break it. And they're all pretty cool. So it's going to be awesome to have all of the controls and everything around it. Yeah, I like it. One of the things that I hate is that I have to start it. Yeah, me too. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to start it. I have to You're welcome. Yeah, I don't know. Because they play it late. Did you take your thing? What do you mean? Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're pretty low. That's all we've got. I don't know where we are. We ordered more box. What are you guys talking about? I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, yeah, that's true. It's not going to be good? I don't know what you're talking about. That's the crowd. I figured it would be there because I had a text from Cheryl. But I was used to this picture that they come in a box and they buy it here. And I was recently, weeks ago, and I thought, yo, we're gonna do this picture one more time. And I was like, sure, let's do it, let's do it. And they assume we have a unique experience. So we're gonna do it one more time. Yeah, I'm one of them. Oh, I don't know. It's down at the bottom it looks like. Maybe this is him. Did you find it? So show me. So that's what we want to do. No. These are leaves. I thought I had the right weather. We got lots of leaves. Yeah, you can put them right here. And I've also started working with my small female, and now I've got a small one. And just by looking at these people, and how they are, I feel like I can do a lot more. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm going to try to get all of my classmates out of here. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to show you how to do it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun. I'm Chuck from Brooklyn. I've been small since I was 10 years old. I've been sitting around since I was 4. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, I grew up in Pennsylvania. So, I grew up in Pennsylvania. So, I grew up in Pennsylvania. So, I grew up in Pennsylvania. So, I grew up in Pennsylvania. Good morning. Please find your seat, Grace Church. Good morning, Grace Community Church. Please find your seats. There's a lot of people. Good morning, everyone. Let me start our service this morning by reading to you from Psalm 44. This morning I'm reading from the NIV. Psalm 44. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what you did in their days and days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers. You crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land. Nor did their arm bring them victory. It was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. You are my king and my God. who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies. Through your name we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow. My sword does not bring me victory. But you give us victory over our enemies. You put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long. and we will praise your name forever. But now you have rejected and humbled us. You no longer go out with our armies. You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. You gave us up to be devoured like sheep, and have scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale. You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations. The people shake their heads at us. My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame at the taunt of those who reproach and revile me. because of the enemy who was bent on revenge. All this happened to us, though we have not forgotten you or been false to your covenant. Our hearts had not turned back. Our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness. If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a foreign God, would not God have disowned it? Since he knows the secrets of the heart. Yet for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered a sheep to be slaughtered. Awake, oh Lord, why do you sleep? Rouse yourself, do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face? and forget our misery and oppression. We are brought down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us. Redeem us because of your unfailing love. Let me pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we are reminded in this psalm that you are mighty to rescue us from our troubles. You are able to deliver us with your strong arm when our weak arms fail us. You possess great power to deliver us from the difficulties we face, just as you have delivered Israel many times in the past. And so we trust in you to save us. Remind us how feeble we are to solve life's problems. Let us always turn to you, depend on you, and place our confidence in you. You are ready to discipline us for our waywardness, idolatry, worldliness, and sinful action. During times of discipline, turn our hearts back to you. Let us see our need to repent of all wrongdoing. Restore us back to fellowship with yourself. You know the secrets of our hearts. Expose to each of us the sins we harbor there. Let the Holy Spirit reveal to us who we really are, what we really are. Without this honest and accurate spiritual diagnosis, we will think too highly of ourselves. We will remain blind to our faults, and we will continue to rationalize and defend our disobedience and sinfulness. Let us humble ourselves and renew our allegiance to you. Make yourself great and lovely, and intensify our desire for you, for you alone are the God who saves. Amen. Good morning everyone. Please stand as we sing a few songs together this morning in worship to our Lord Jesus Christ. Just give me one second, I had that wrong song. Let's just start again. Rock of Ages, laugh for me. Let thee hide thyself in me. Let the water and the blood from thy riverside explode. Lengthening from its guilt and power, none the labors of my hands can fulfill thy lost demands. Good tidings forever flow, All for sin could not atone, Thou wast saved and Thou alone. I am. Wash me, Savior, o'er I die, While I draw this bleeding breath, When my guidance flows in death. ♪ When I soar to worlds unknown ♪ ♪ Seeing the arms I've just been thrown ♪ ♪ From no ages left for me ♪ ♪ Let me hide myself in thee ♪ I am writing a song, a hymn for us this week, and he made his own tune for it, which is really simple, and we'll get it immediately, but we'll sing the first verse twice. Okay, Klaus, now sing the first verse twice. ♪ I may not find the Lord however dark it be ♪ me. or however dark it be smooth let it be or rough it will be still the best ♪ The path that I seek is mine, so let the way ♪ ♪ At least to live benighted, I must surely stray ♪ ♪ I dare not choose my love, I would not if I might choose you ♪ ♪ Take vow by vow and in with joy or sorrow fill ♪ ♪ As best to thee may seem to doubt thy good and ill ♪ ♪ Not mind out by the choice if things are great or small ♪ The joys and things are great or small. Be Thou my guide, my strength, my wisdom, and my all. I'd like to open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4, as we continue our consecutive reading this morning, Matthew chapter 4. Beginning in verse 1, it says, Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus said to him, again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship your Lord, the Lord your God, and him alone only shall you serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came, and they are ministering to him. Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. And for those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death on them, a light has dawned. From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And while walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, and he called them. And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and Decapolis and from Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Christ finds himself being tempted by Satan. And in each case that Christ is tempted, he rebukes Satan by the Word of God. Every one of us here this morning, saved or unsaved, finds ourselves being tempted every day to do things or say things that we ought not to do or say. There's one thing that can help us fight that battle, and that's to use the Word of God, and to be in the Word of God, and to study it, and to know it. The only way that we can defeat Satan, as Christ did, is to know the Word of God. So that when Satan comes to us and we hear these words alluring us and drawing us away from what we know to be true, we can just simply bring to mind the Word of God, and again, trust in it, in it alone. The Word of God was used in these temptations of Christ, and not in its true meaning, nor was it quoted fully. We must know the Word of God inside and out. To know that what we hear is the truth, and not false teaching. As you sit in this church, or you sit in any other church, Be mindful to make sure that we are held accountable as elders, that what we say is the truth, and the whole truth, and not just part of it, but the whole truth. We need you to help us to remain accountable as well. But for your own souls, do the same thing on a daily basis as well. Be in the Word, study it, meditate upon it. Christ goes on from being tempted, and immediately goes to preaching the Gospel. And his message was very simple. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. There's probably people, and there are people sitting here this morning who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior, who have not repented of their sins. So Christ this morning asks exactly the same thing of you as he did when he began his preaching. Repent from your wickedness, Turn to Christ, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Christ is returning, and he will take his people to himself. But those who are not his people will find themselves in hell. And so, we beg of you this morning, if you're here and you don't know Christ, repent. Turn to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Turn to Him now. Turn to Him immediately. We never know what the next hour brings or the next minute. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We're going to go to prayer this morning. There's various ministries we need to pray for. I would just like to say Still have a hard time. Just saying thank you for all those who prayed for us and the loss of our niece, married to our nephew. This is a week ago today. It's rough. It's very difficult. 15-year-old is having a very hard time handling the death of her mom. The other children, Holly R, her husband, is greatly grieved. They trust in the Lord. They know that she is in heaven. But it is still a very difficult task because death is not normal. It's the byproduct of sin. And so we still have to go through the grieving process and trust in the Lord. So thank you for your prayers. Tomorrow's the funeral. So help us as well to be an encouragement to where we can tomorrow as well. So let's just go to prayer and just ask for the Lord's blessing upon our church especially and the preaching of the word as well. So let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, thank you for your word this morning. Thank you for the reminder that you give us that we must know your word. We must know what the truth says. We can so easily be led astray by false teachings which are so close to the truth, yet so far away. And so, Father, help us, all of us, Lord, to be in your word, to read it, to study it, to learn it, to memorize it, whatever way we can, Lord, and just help us to hold fast your truth and to do all that we can, Lord, with the help of your spirit to continue to fight against sin that comes into our lives each and every day and tempts us, Lord, to do things or say things we ought not to say as well. Encourage our hearts, Lord, even this morning as we hear your word. Give us the ability to leave this place this morning, Lord, knowing that you have spoken to us And Father, we know that in our congregation this morning, as I prayed earlier with the elders, there are many needs. There are many circumstances in various lives this morning. Everybody has a different need. Everybody has a different problem in their life. But Father, you can use your Word to minister to all of them this morning. And so we pray that your spirit would take that word and implant into the hearts of every one of us this morning those things that we need to hear most of all. And Lord, that you would strengthen us in our faith and give us the ability, Lord, to carry on in our battle against sin and temptation in the week ahead. And Father, but we would also use that strength to continue to share with others and to help encourage others and to do whatever we can to minister to others in this world as well. Thank you, Father, for your word and for all that you have taught us. We pray this morning, especially for the church here. We ask that you would sustain it, keep it, keep it, Lord, from sin and temptation, help it to remain unified, and help us, Lord, to glorify you in everything we say and do. And we pray especially this morning for the church in Afghanistan. Father, Our brothers and sisters over there are struggling. They're under much stress and much need of your help and your protection and your grace, Father, and the peace that only you can provide for them. And I pray that you would pour out your spirit upon that land. And Father, if it would be your will that you would even convert even the Taliban leaders, Father, give them the ability, Lord, to change their hearts. And Father, that you would just do a miraculous work in converting them and changing them, Father. They need you, Father. Otherwise, they're doomed for that hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for eternity. And so, Father, we pray that you would spare them that and that you would save them and that you would stop, Lord, murderous onslaught of the people there as well. So Father, only you can do it. And so we plead with you that you would use that same grace that you poured out upon us, that you would pour out upon those leaders over there and those wicked men, Lord, and to change their hearts and drive them to your Son, Jesus Christ, as well. We do pray that, again, you would just continue to be with the other ministries of the church here, and that you would strengthen us, Lord, especially with the work of the building committee and the work that still needs to be done on this place, Lord. They need much help as well, and so we just pray that you would give them direction in what needs to be done, and also that we as individuals would be willing to help wherever we can as well. And Father, you would be with Vijay and the church over there in India. Father, again, that's another country that falls under much persecution, and I pray that you would just open up doors for the leaders in that country as well, Lord, to hear the gospel, and that they would quit, as in the case of Paul, they would quit kicking at you and fighting against you, and Father, that they would just simply fall on their knees and bow and worship you as they ought to do. So Father, if it takes making them blind, stopping them in their path of where they're going, and putting somebody in their way, Lord, that would point them to Christ, I pray that you would do that. So Father, bless your church there in India, save it, and continue to have it grow And may your name be glorified in every point and every contact in that place, and they're made up of billions of people as well. So Father, thank you. We pray that you would just use the word here to save people, that you would use the word to strengthen people, and that you would bless the leaders of this nation, Father, to, again, even just as we prayed for the other two countries, that you would just cause them to bow their knee and to worship you as well. Father, we live in a world that hates you. We live in a world that wants nothing to do with you. And Father, only by your grace and only by your power can they be changed. And so we just come to you this morning and just commit this nation to you and we commit our land to you. And we ask, Father, that you would bring up blessings upon it and that the gospel would be shared and known by many people. So Father, revive your land, revive your people, strengthen us all, Lord, and give us grace to continue on in this day and in the days to come. Bless each one now, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Stand and we'll continue to sing. When I survey the wondrous cross. When I survey the wondrous cross. ♪ On which the Prince of Glory died ♪ ♪ My riches may I count by loss ♪ ♪ And pour down death upon my grave ♪ ♪ More with more that I should boast ♪ ♪ Save in the name of Christ my God ♪ ♪ All the great things that charm me most ♪ I sacrifice them to his blood. Seek from his hand his hand, his feet. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, ♪ The love of nature fine ♪ ♪ That birds when far too small ♪ ♪ Love so amazing so divine ♪ Good morning. If you're able, open up your Bible to 1 Peter 3. Short text. We were joking with some others that maybe I'll just read it and pray and dismiss the men. But my guess is that we need to sit under this teaching and be reminded of what Christ has called us to do and how we can be a light to the nations as we love our wives and live with them according to knowledge. Let's pray. I'll read the text and we'll get into it. Father, we want to thank you for your goodness to us. Father, that we can gather on the Lord's day, sit under the reading of your word, pray together, sing to one another, fellowship with one another, enjoy one another. What a blessing. Father, we want to continue to pray for those around the world, our brothers and sisters, who are living and hiding, who cannot gather the way we have. We pray especially for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. Father, we pray that your Spirit would be poured out upon your church there. Oh, Father, how differently would they read 1 Peter than us? that when others not only malign them, but slaughter them. And yet you say that this is blessing, to suffer for righteousness' sake. We pray, Lord, as Marvin did already, that you would be pleased to blow over, but with your spirit on the Taliban. Father, they do not know what they're doing. They're blind. They worship a false god. They live according to their lustful passions. And so, Father, we pray that the Christians there would preach the Lord Jesus Christ with their words and their deeds. And we pray, Lord, that these Muslims, these extremists, these jihadists, would see something radically different. That even though they're like sheep, who are led to the slaughter, they love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. And like even Saul of Tarsus, as he watched Stephen be slaughtered, you would convert him in your sovereign and electing grace. Oh Lord, that there might be many elect in Afghanistan. We pray for Haiti. Lord, they didn't even have good buildings to start with and then they're rocked with an earthquake. Oh Father, that this would wake them up, and in that dark, dark, dark nation, full of voodoo and Satan worship, oh, that the light of Christ might shine in and through his people. And so, Father, we pray for ourselves this morning. We also live in a dark nation. Father, the idols of comfort, consumerism, complacency, they still hold sway and residency over this land, and we pray, God, have mercy on us. COVID wouldn't wake us up. The looming famine didn't wake us up. Only a work of grace can, Father. We would be just like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. And so we cry out, have mercy on your church. Revive us for the sake of your steadfast love. And we ask that we would live radically different lives. that wives would submit to their husbands in reverence of Christ, and that husbands would submit to Christ as they love their wives, and honor them, and respect them, and spoil them, that a watching world would see these people are different, to which we could say, we have a hope that we're not inherently better. Christ is our hope, and Christ is the difference. The Holy Spirit is the one who affects change in our life. Not religion, but Christ. Father, we pray that many would be able to see and evidence, Lord, that we are different by our good works, and that when you return, Christ, on the day of visitation, many will glorify your Father and ours. And so, Father, We come to you this morning, the all-seeing one, all-knowing one, the searcher of hearts. Would you change us this morning? Would you help us to love Christ more? Would you not only help us, would you enable us to love Christ more? We can't work this up. And so pour out your spirit, incline our hearts to Christ, and then incline our hearts to your testimonies and not selfish or sordid game. Lord, if there are those here this morning, I just echo Pastor Marvin's prayers. Would you convert them? Would today be the day of their salvation? When Christ is not just a word they hear, but they see him by the Spirit to be the source of all goodness and grace, the all lovely one, to those who believe he is precious. And so Lord Jesus, by the power of the Spirit who was poured out at your ascension, would you make Christ precious to us afresh or perhaps for the very first time to someone sitting here dead in their sins even now? Father, would you especially help us husbands? God, even just thinking about this text, I fall so short. Would you help us, and would you raise up this church to help us needy husbands? I pray that wives or children or single people would not tune out, that we would even see in the next section that we're a family. And for those who struggle, we need the assistance of those to come alongside and help us, to pray for us, and to encourage us, and to set us straight when necessary. Father, I pray that our desire to be better husbands would be in the context of the local church. And so that even when visitors come or when neighbors see husbands now living differently with their wives, they would ask, why are you doing this? And we would be able to, by our conduct and the preaching of the gospel, see them one to Jesus Christ. So come Spirit, please help us. Please help me. Help me not to preach a moralistic message, but to lay the foundation of Christ and to build upon Him as Paul would command me in 1 Corinthians 3. May we leave here edified and encouraged. And for those of us who have fallen short, those of us who are not living as we ought, as husbands or wives or single people, as we come to the table, May we be reminded we are a forgiven people and a people upon whom you continue to pour grace upon grace. And even where our sin and our shortcoming abound, may the table celebrated remind us that your grace super abounds upon us sinners. Give us faith even now, triune God, to believe the gospel afresh, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we find ourselves in verse 7. Last week, we looked at the wife's duty, we'll call it, in verses 1 to 6, that she, by submitting to her husband, is able, without a word, to, as it were, preach that silent sermon. We move now from verse 1, which says, likewise, to the exact same word in verse 7. Likewise husbands, literally likewise the husbands, the husbands in the church. And I want to emphasize the context that Peter's writing to those who are scattered, but they gather as Christ's people. And so think about the context that this is being read, perhaps in a house church, by the elders that we've seen in chapter five, to those who have gathered. And they're going to be the husbands. The husbands, likewise, dwelling according to knowledge as to with the weaker vessel, namely the woman. displaying or apportioning honor upon them as fellow heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. That was a literal. Let me read it in the ESV. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Thanks be to God for his word. Let's dig into it. Now before I get into verse 7, I want to remind you of the context we find ourselves in. Look at chapter 2 verse 11. This is the transition to all of that glorious theology that Peter has unpacked for them in chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. He reminds those gathered that they're a chosen race. The LSB translate, a chosen family. That we're a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. Why? That we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's verses nine and 10. And we proclaim with our lips. We proclaim the word. but we also proclaim with our lives that we are different. And so after saying this is who you are in Christ, Peter transitions into the application. Beloved, deeply loved ones by God, his chosen ones, whom he has poured out grace, I am urging you as sojourners and exiles to abstain. What do you abstain from? The passions of the flesh, or more literally, fleshly passions. And there are unique passions that characterize different kinds of people. Despite what critical race theory says or intersects, we are different. We have strengths and weaknesses as we gather in families, as we gather as Christ's people. We all have peculiar weaknesses. my fleshly passions as a man and husband might be different from my wife. And so Peter is going to address them all, but the context is that we as God's different people who live in a foreign land, if you will, awaiting heaven, are to abstain from passions. And that will help you understand the passions of not submitting to leadership, whether in the civil realm, in the work realm, or in the household realm. The passions of the flesh, we hate to submit. And what Peter is saying, that our submission on earth is to flow out of our ultimate submission in heaven. Christ is Lord, and we proclaim his excellencies, yes, from the pulpit, but also, in our deeds and our actions abstain from fleshly passions which do what? They wage war against the soul. Verse 12, keeping your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. That's very important because Peter's going to say this is what honorable conduct among the Gentiles looks like. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." So let's unpack that for husbands. What does it look like for you to keep your conduct honorable or good? That's that word, kalos, do good deeds, have good conduct. Well, for husbands, the conduct that the Gentiles need to see is that you live with your wife differently than they do. The context then is that wives were sort of those who did the dishes, and they cooked, and they were the slaves of the husband. And the husband would go out, and he would have his friends, and he would come home to his man cave, and he would go to the sporting events, and he would go hunting, and he would come home, and the wife's role was just to do everything he said. That is how the pagans viewed women. Not so among you, says Peter. That you are to live with your wives honorably, differently, sanctifiedly. Likewise, husbands. And I would take that likewise, not to verse 13 in submission, but that likewise to verse 12. Likewise, your conduct should be honorable. The wife's honorable conduct, submitting to her husband so that she might win him without a word by her conduct, by her good, quiet, and gentle conduct. so that when others accuse her and slander her as an evildoer trying to undo the family and undo culture, even the unbelieving husband who say, that is not my wife. It is incredible the submissive posture she has, even to me. She is radically different from all of her pagan women friends. who take cheap shots against their husbands, and gossip against them on Facebook, and have all kinds of little curt comments about them when he's not around, and despise his authority. Oh, how different is her conduct? You see how it works? Not only for wives, but also husbands. When they're at the water cooler and other husbands are jesting and jeering and making all kinds of chauvinistic jokes, the husband who is a believer says, oh, my wife is precious to me. She is more costly than you could imagine. I would not trade the world for her. That next to Christ, she is my most valuable, honorable, costly, precious vessel. That preaches well, actually. It really does. Likewise, husbands, live honorably. How? Well, Ephesians 5 would say, loving your wife, 1 Peter 3 says, living with your wife. Oikos, living under the same roof. Now, everybody can live under the same roof with their wives. So the exhortation is not merely just live in the same house as her, but live in the same house with her according to knowledge. I remember hearing years ago about a husband and wife. who didn't divorce right away, and they would sleep at separate ends of the house, and they could say, see, we're living in the same house, we're dwelling, we're living together. Not really. You're under the same roof, but you're worlds apart. But it does mean, husbands, you need to be home with your wife. She needs you to be home. with your wife. And I want to say this, I have to be careful because I don't know everyone's calling, but some of you young men who are wondering about a career, if you're gone all the time, you can't live with your wife the way you should. And so you should think about maybe giving up that high-paying job where you're away all the time and maybe settle for a job that keeps you around so you can dwell with your wife under the same roof, for she needs you there. I'm not getting legalistic, but I thought I would sneak that in there, especially for young men. As you're pursuing, what career should I do? If you want to be married, you need to consider this, because your wife is far more valuable than how many figures you make and put into your bank. She don't care half as much about how much you make She would rather you be at home. Ask her. I'm certain she will say that. Husbands, likewise, live honorably by living with your wives in an understanding way. Decent translation, the King James is the best. It literally says, according to knowledge. What in the world does that mean? knowledge, not only of your wife, but ultimately knowledge of God and his will for you as a Christian husband. Because what will happen is you'll listen to sermons like I did, and they will emphasize, live with her in an understanding way, study her, get to know her. A pagan can do that. A pagan who does not know God can do this. And yes, you should, but first you need to know God. You need to know Genesis chapter one and two, that God made your wife in his image, that she's not less than you, that he bestowed upon her dignity and honor and value and worth, and that God prizes her. See, husbands, if you see her that way, you will think twice about dishonoring her or disrespecting her or trampling over her or thinking that she is your personal slave. Husbands, living with them, your wives, according to knowledge. How did God make women? He made them in His image. Turn back to Genesis 1, because I want to show you that we need to know not only who God is and who our wives are, we also need to know some of our propensities as husbands and wives. See, it just says according to knowledge. And that's helpful. So the first thing I would say is in Genesis 1, verse 27, it says, so God created mankind, or man, in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. I don't want to re-preach Genesis 1, but this is an important reminder. According to knowledges, first of all, she has been created by God. That she therefore, as an image bearer, is worthy of dignity and respect. See this would preach powerfully in India or in lots of countries where the wives are sort of just seen as chattel or property. But the gospel has come actually to free women. And so when they read, be submissive to your husbands, it's not us putting women under our thumb. We're saying that no, this is how God has created them, in his image. And then if you were to read in chapter two, that she is Adam's helpmate, right? So when he says that you're fellow heirs, that you're joint heirs, it's because that's God's purpose. that actually I need my wife as much as she needs me. And Paul talks about that in Corinthians. So your wife, husband, is made in the image of God, and she has a purpose. She is necessary, not only in Genesis 1 and 2 in the yielding of children, but as we saw in Sunday school moons and moons ago, that actually women are necessary in the Great Commission, in the supernatural birthing of God's elect. That it's not just guys who go out with their fists raised preaching the gospel, but that we actually work together in our households and in the church. See, this is according to knowledge. You need to see your wives this way. Not as accessories, but as necessary. As your helpmate. Helpmate. Edzer. Oh, that's a terrible word. You know that Hebrew word is used of God to Israel? God is our helper. So it doesn't diminish who God is. We need God. And the husband, if you have been called to be married, therefore, needs his wife. Chapter one we've seen, creating the image of God. Chapter two, she is her help, or his help me, but chapter three, we need to remember, like you husbands, she is a sinner who has fallen. Okay, and so the dastardly deed of disobedience, right, God says, I am enough, trust me, and wife and husband, see, this is what happens when husband doesn't lead well. Adam was there when Satan, was deceiving Eve. They believe the lie, they eat of the fruit, and dying, they will die. And God, as he promised, has repercussions for their disobedience. Look at verse 16. Right after the good news of a coming deliverer who will crush the head of the serpent at the cost of a bruised heel, God says to the woman in Genesis 3.16, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing, in pain you shall bring forth children. Here it is. Husbands, you need to know this. To the wife, he says, your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. I'm not gonna preach it, you can find lots and lots of resources, but there are unique passions that husbands and wives struggle with. Husbands will struggle with either being a pansy and not ruling at all, that's the one hand, like Adam in the garden. The kid's disobeying, and I'm guilty of this, and he pretends to be busy doing something, hoping the wife will discipline the child. That's not ruling. The other hand is that he's that tyrant who comes home and demands a whole bunch of things. Do all with her according to knowledge. Know thyself. Know your weaknesses. Martin Lloyd, uh, D.M. Lloyd-Jones said that we need to not only know God, we need to know ourselves. Husbands know that. That you will probably err on one or both of those ditches. That you won't lead her well. but also know that there is something within even the fallen woman that seeks to usurp that. Now don't take that personally, I'm just saying what the text says. And there will be different degrees of hostility, but understand that she also is a sinner, so do well with her knowing this. and don't foment these things. Her desire is to be contrary to her husband. Oh, you mean like sexual desire? No, like the very same Hebrew word when sin desires Cain to master him. And so that's what Peter is saying. You need to know things. Dwell with her according to knowledge. So how do you then help her to not seek to usurp or overthrow your headship? Right? It's there. Don't get mad at pastor. Get mad at Moses for being inspired to write that in Genesis 3.16. You know that. So husbands, how do you lead in such a way that she delights to respect your authority? And she sees from scripture that the worst thing she could do is seek to steal your headship. Well, Ephesians would say love her and nourish her and cherish her. because she is part of you. No man ever hated his own flesh. It's in your own best interest, man, to be smart and to love her and care for her and sacrifice for her as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. But I am preaching in 1 Peter 3. You can read Ephesians 5 later, but Peter says, husbands, as you are living with her according to knowledge, showing her honor. I don't like that translation of showing honor. It literally means apportioning honor, recognizing someone's wage, as it were, or what they deserve, and giving it to them. Do you remember the parable Jesus told of the guy who goes out into the marketplace and he hires people at various times of the day, at various hours, and at the end of the day, what does he do? apportions to them what they deserve. So husbands, you need to understand this. Your wives deserve honor. Why? Well, we go back because God made her in the image of God. She bears the same image as you. Yes, there are different strengths and different weaknesses, which complement one another for God's purposes, but you don't just show her honor, you give her honor, or you apportion to her what she deserves. If you knew my wife, she don't deserve honor. According to knowledge. This is why you go back to the book. Just like the wife, if you only knew my husband, you would never submit to him. Wives don't talk like that, I don't think. But this is why you go back to the word of God, right? You give her, show her timay. It's an important word in 1 Peter. It's honor, value, cost, worth, preciousness. So if you're using, I think, the NIV, Look in chapter two, verse seven. Okay, it's used elsewhere, but this helps us understand what the honor is. So the ESV rightly, I think, translates, so the honor is for you who believe. God gives you honor as you believe Him, irrespective of the circumstances you find yourself under, a tyrannical government or a boss or a husband or wife. As you believe Christ and as you hope in Him, the honor is for you. God will apportion honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's chapter one, verse eight. But it says here, so the honor is for you who believe. Or if you have the NIV, you could also translate the Greek, Therefore, for you who believe, he is precious. You might not think she seems so precious, but you live with her according to knowledge. How does God see this woman in Christ? She's precious. Now live with her, knowing that, understanding that, and then show her honor. There's so many ways you can do that. Chivalry is a word that has gone by the wayside, but show your wife honor. When you come home from work, what does that look like to show her honor? Maybe some of you can help me out. It's not running quickly to the TV, running to your man cave. It's maybe addressing her, and I'm guilty of this. Address her, I missed you. I need to probably say it more often, you're precious to me. My wife always wants me to read the Song of Solomon because I guess I'm not very, what's the word, emotional when it comes like that. Her teeth are like flocks and not one is missing. But show her, give her, apportion out the honor that God says you should, okay? Now we get to the next little phrase, which can really offend those in our day and age, especially feminists and egalitarians. Can I tell you what an egalitarian is? Because it's in most churches. They say that women and men are identical, not only in worth, but in function. They say that whatever a man can do. There's a song Christina showed to me. Whatever you do, I can do better. I hate that song. You ever heard that? The guy's saying this and then the wife's always saying I can do it better. No, you can't. There are things that you can do, wife, that he can't do better. It's so unbiblical, be careful. Oh, but it's from the 50s. We live in a fallen world. And so an egalitarian is someone who says, women can preach because men preach. Women can be pastors because men are pastors. Women can do, no. God made us all of equal worth, but we have different strengths. And we compliment one another. I'm so glad that the women here serve in their strengths. And they submit even to the eldership. that God has put in place, because ultimately submission to these authorities is submission to God. Husbands, use your authority for her good. Use your authority to honor her, not dishonor her. What does it look like to lead? This is how husbands lead. They live with their wives according to knowledge, and they show her honor as the weaker vessel. What does that mean? Well, some feminists that I read online, I didn't buy their books, they would say, see, this is the Bible, full of chauvinism. See, putting women down again. That's all those Neanderthal Christians do. Back to the Bronze Age, guys. That's not what Peter's saying. Women are not intellectually inferior, nor spiritually inferior, or even emotionally inferior. Oh, she's just more sensitive. Trust me, I've seen some of you. The guy's ballin' and the wife is like stoic. They don't mean that. So what does it mean here? Probably what anyone with a thread of common sense would see is that men have more physical strength. So guard her, defend her, prize her, make her feel safe. Don't use your strength to make her fear you. Use her strength so that she will trust you and feel safe around you. However, and Alistair Begg says this, and I agree with him, not only does the weaker vessel sort of point to the weakness or being weaker physically, but perhaps it also means that as she submits to you, verses one to six, that she is in a position of vulnerability. I like that. So here's a submissive wife, and the husband can abuse that submission. She, quote unquote, is the weaker vessel. She's submitting to him. But know that as she submits to you, that you aren't to exploit that, but to honor it. So here are some texts that came to my mind. It's in Matthew chapter 20, but also in Mark 8, 9, and 10. And the disciples often are missing the gospel. Jesus is like, in three days, I'm gonna be handed over by the Jews to the Gentiles. They're gonna scourge me and spit on me and crucify me, but oh, I will be risen on the third day. And the disciples are like, so who's the greatest? Right, do you remember that? And in chapter 20 of Matthew, right, James and John, they come, and while the other 10 are sort of, I don't know, catching up, they're like, Jesus, we have a favor of you. Actually, Mom, can you ask for us? You remember that, right? We're gonna rule with you on the thrones when the Son of Man returns. Yes, we're gonna be those in authoritative positions. And Jesus says, you know how the Gentiles, Lord it over those under them. And I love the King James. Not so with you. You want to be great in Christ's kingdom? You use your authority to serve. And I think that's what Peter's saying. Remember, Peter's right there. He's with Jesus for three years learning this, hopefully. And Peter says, I remember Jesus saying, those who have been given authority or headship, if you will, we are to follow the example of Christ. For even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give up his life as a ransom for many. It's your limited atonement text, Matt. Paul, do you remember in 1 Corinthians 9? I know Matt alluded to it a couple weeks ago. Here's Paul, he has authority as an apostle. Do I not have the right, the exousia, the authority to take a life or to demand money from you? How does Paul exercise his authority to the Corinthians? Not for tearing down, but for building up that many might be saved. In 2nd Corinthians, that many might be sanctified. And that's the example of Christ. So when you see this weaker vessel, yes, maybe you are physically stronger. But you're not gonna use your physical strength to bully her. You're gonna do it to protect her. And yes, she may be more vulnerable. How are you going to use your authority, man? According to knowledge. If you're writing in your Bible, cross out with understanding, or in an understanding way, and write according to knowledge. That will help you get the text. According to knowledge of who God is, and what God's will for you is. If you know who God is, who you are, who your wife is, and what he wills for your marriage, you will live with her differently. And as she submits to you, and as you bestow on her honor and make her feel cherished and safe, people will be converted. Why? Because they see that you're living radically different lives. It's not easy. This is why Peter says, I urge you as sojourners, don't live like your Roman neighbors. Live the way Christ would have you as a sojourner and exile and abstain from those passions of the flesh. To subvert authority or to abuse authority. Kill those suckers. Chapter 1, verse 14. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Right? We have passions that belong to the old person. And Ephesians 4 says, kill them! Put them off! It's not just passions about, yeah, I used to have a sailor mouth and I swore, or the lust of the eyes. Yes, those are my old passions, but they're also cultural passions that we imbibe whether we realize it or not. Passions about what a husband should look like, or a wife should look like. No, no, Christ transforms those. And so husbands, as an obedient child, Don't be conformed to those old ways of seeing things. Do not abuse your, but rather, I read this last week, but it's worth repeating, but like the Holy One who called you, you also be holy in all your conduct. It's an important word in Peter, right? Conduct yourselves honorably. Verse 18. Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 118, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile conduct. That's literally what it says. ESV says the futile ways, literally it says the futile conduct you inherited from your forefathers. Maybe some of you grew up in an unbelieving home and the dad did not lead the way he should. You will struggle more, which is why you need to go to the word of God, according to knowledge of God, which you find in the Bible. Which is why I would encourage if you grew up in an unbelieving home and you're a new Christian husband, get around other more godly men who have been doing it a lot longer. See how they treat their wives. See how they lead their wives. See how they bestow honor on them. See how they wash them with the water of the word. That's why we need a community. Now, I want to encourage you one more time. You might be a single girl. You could still pray for the husbands of this church. Because as the husbands of this church conduct themselves honorably toward their wives before a watching world, God uses that to draw his elect through the word. And you say, well, I can't do it. Well, you've been born again. not by perishable things such as silver or gold. You've been born again. You can do this because the spirit of holiness resides within you, husbands. You really can. You can really abstain from those things. You can really not live the conduct that you inherited from your forefathers. You can keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. So here are the husbands now living with their wives as with the weaker vessel. And here's an image Cliff gave me and then I read about afterwards. But think of a weaker vessel not as merely its fragility, but because it's precious. Like a one-of-a-kind, I don't know, vase. That's what the Latin word means for vessel, vase. And it's delicate and it's a one-of-a-kind How do you treat it? You throw it around, hey kids, look at this new juggling trick. No, you're delicate with it. Why, because it's weak? No, because it's precious and costly and valuable, okay? And that's what I think Peter's saying here, this Greek word skeuos for vessel. It's used over and over in the Septuagint, but also in the New Testament of the vessels in the temple. which Peter says, as you come to him as living stones, you are being built up as a spiritual temple, and it's filled with vessels. Oh, women inhabit the temple of God equally as men, and they're precious to him. Why? For he shed his blood for them, his precious blood for them. Why? Since they are heirs with you of the grace of life. This undermines any notion that men receive more or less by dint of their gender than a woman. They're co-heirs. That's literally what I mean. Joint heirs, the King James rightly translates. They're joint heirs. So live like it. I need to remember that. Christina's a joint heir in the ministry God has entrusted to me in Grace Community. I need to remember that. And you need to remember that, too, and pray for her, that she'll put up with this bozo, but I'll also be able to lead and love her the way I ought to. Why? Because she's an heir of the grace of life, the free gift of eternal life. God grants it to a woman the same as a male when she comes to Christ penitently, repenting of her sins. She, too, is forgiven. freely by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. And we'll close here. So that, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Here's the cost, men. Here's the consequence. If you do not live with your wives according to knowledge, or in an understanding way, here's the consequence. You see it, right? This is how I do it. I have little arrows. If you were to look in my Greek New Testament, I got arrows everywhere, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Interesting word. That they'd be slowed down. that they would be sort of not heard immediately. Again, in talking with a dear brother last week, this means nothing to a man that doesn't pray. That really struck my heart. If you don't pray, who cares how you treat your life? No, God does, of course, I get it, but at a practical level. But if you realize the power of prayer, and you understand That all that you have comes as a result of God's grace. And you have not because you ask not, or you ask wrongly that you may consume it on lusty passions, James 3 or 4. See, if you're a man of prayer, you will be a godly husband. Because you would rather lose anything than your prayer being heard by God Almighty. Now he's a prayer-hearing God. Jonathan Edwards is dead on. But there are certain things that get in the way. Peter says it very clear. If you don't live with her according to knowledge, if you don't bestow and apportion honor to her, your prayers won't be hindered. Now, the word prayer is only used one more time. Look in chapter four, verse seven. Of course, we'll get there. But look at the weightiness and worth that Peter puts on prayer. The end of all things is at hand. Christ could return at any moment. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded. Now, husbands, this is gonna require you to be self-controlled and sober-minded to live with your wife according to knowledge. See how I put that together? It's like magic. or hopefully good interpretation. I'm not saying it's easy. It starts with the mind. Be self-controlled. Living with your wife according to knowledge requires self-control. You gotta say no to a lot of things that that flesh wants, that old man wants to do. You also need to be sober-minded, and that comes by immersing your mind in the Word of God. But this is all for the sake of prayer. So you're like, well, do I love my wife for the sake of prayer, or am I sober-minded for the sake of prayer? You got it. Loving and living with your wife in an understanding way requires effort to be self-controlled and sober-minded, which is another way of saying being filled with the Spirit and saturated with the Word of God. So, husbands, You gotta get to it. This isn't easy. Right? The wives are like, oh, we got six verses. How come it's so hard for us? Men, you need as much and more grace for this one verse. This is not easy. Understand to whom much is given. Much is required. That yes, you're the head of the household. But you're gonna have to give an account for that. So? Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Oh, I am, but I don't love my wife the way... No, you're not self-controlled or sober-minded then. So I would say, are you a man of prayer? I had in my notes somewhere that men should be leading the household in prayer. Not to the neglect of the wife. Of course not, of course not. I'm not saying that, but lead her in prayer. Do you pray with her at night? Do you lead the prayer before you eat? Do you pray with her before you go? Do you pray with the kids? Men, lead in prayer. And as you pray with her, you will realize, oh God, I want you to hear these prayers. Don't let me be a buffoon the way I treat my wife, because if you don't hear these prayers, I'm sunk. So let's get to some encouragement. Christ has given us his example. Verse 24 of chapter two, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, not only to forgive us of our sins, I know Charles preached on this. Okay, great verse to memorize. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. But notice that Peter doesn't say that you might be forgiven. Now that's true. He died once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God. But look at the emphasis here in the application section. It's so hard to submit to my husband. It's so hard to live with my wife. Ah, but Christ bore your sins in his body on the tree so that you might die to sin and live to righteousness. Husbands, this is your righteousness. Let it be seen. So that others might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. This is your good conduct. And Christ died to enable you to. He's given you the Spirit. The Spirit who enables you to obey by faith. Romans 1 16. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were formerly straying like sheep, but now have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Many are struggling. And I encourage you to return afresh to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Would you pray that I would? This is where it starts, because you can beat yourself up. I'm not the husband I should be. This is why the Christian needs the gospel just as much as the non-Christian. We return to the shepherd who forgives us of our sins but enables us to live righteously. So. This is how we are to live, that others may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Let's apply this quickly, very quickly. How do you live with your husband? You need to be around your wives. The Greek word just simply means that. Okay, I'm not saying quit your jobs. I get it, I'm not saying that. But before you go out with the boys, make sure you spend time with the bride. Okay? And if you're a young male who wants to get married, this is what you need to aspire to. Now, I get it. I'm not saying don't go out with the boys. I'm not against that. But some guys are always out with the boys and leave the wife at home with the kids. Not cool. Your prayers will not be answered. Know your wife. And I need to be better at this. I study the word, but we need to study our wives, too. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? What are their propensities? What do they love? When is their birthday? When is your anniversary? Don't give me a pop quiz, I know. Study her, okay? And there is an application, right? Know God first, but also know your wife, okay? And show her honor. I don't think she deserves honor. The text doesn't say that you're the one to determine that. God has bestowed upon her honor. And understand what it means to cherish her and prize her and care for her as the weaker vessel. She will share eternal life with you. And as you live in this understanding way with her, your prayers will not be hindered. Let me, I'm forgetting something that I wrote here for my application. Just give me a second. Ah, this was it. Memorize the verse. and pray through it this week. Not just husbands. Can I encourage you to memorize more scripture? As I was memorizing this, it was really revealing sin. So this is what it would look like, likewise. Likewise to what? Likewise to the example of Christ in the very preceding context. who used his authority for the good of his bride. Likewise. Likewise, husbands, living with, Lord, would you help me to be around my wife? Not as a nuisance, but to be around her, to love her. Would you help me to live with her according to knowledge? Oh, Lord, would you give me a greater hunger for your word? Would you help me to know you? Would you help me to know myself? Would you help me to know my wife? Would you help me to live this way? Would you help me to give her the honor she deserves? See, I'm just re-preaching the message. But as you pray through this, it's amazing. Would you help me to see her as a co-heir of the grace of life? Would you help me to cherish the grace of life more than any earthly treasure? And would you help me to do whatever it takes so that my prayers are not hindered. Well, in our grace group on Friday night, I sent out some notes, and there was one quote by Alistair Begg that seemed to stick and resonate, and I'll end the message with it, because I said, well, maybe if it stuck with you guys, maybe it'll stick with the congregation. Men, Begg says that if the gospel does not work at home, it does not work at all. So where is sort of the first area you need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, work it out in the house. The power of the gospel is not just seen on a street corner, it's not just seen at work as you're ministering to your friends. The power of the gospel will be seen by your wife and if you have children, clearly and most repeatedly in the house. Let the gospel transform your home. Men, let the gospel transform your heart. If the gospel does not work at home, it does not work at all. Let's not breed a whole bunch of hypocrites who see us speaking one thing and doing something completely different. Helpful? If you feel like I've beaten you up, please forgive me. The Lord's table is a great reminder. Christ came not for the righteous and not for awesome husbands. He came for people like me and like you. He came to die, not only to forgive us of our sins, but to live righteously. Let me pray, and then we will sing a song, and we will Father, we want to thank you for your goodness to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are heavy words, and yet, Lord, you don't give us these words to beat us down. You give us these words to remind us of who we are and that you've called us to be holy, even as it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. Father, would you help us as men, as husbands, to conduct ourselves with fear throughout the time of our exiles? knowing that we have been ransomed from our futile ways inherited by our forefathers, that you have, Jesus, not only forgiven us of all those old sins, but you have called us away from those old sins to walk in newness of life. Father, how we thank you that as men and women of various ages, we are co-heirs in Christ, that we're all vessels, all weak vessels, some weaker than others. But Father, I'm thankful by grace we are all vessels in this living temple, equal priests with the privilege of proclaiming your excellency in Christ. Father, I pray that we as husbands would more imitate Christ. Would you help us to shepherd our wives and families well? And we will only do so as we are near the good shepherd. So Father, I pray for us and I pray for all that Christ would become increasingly precious. And as we partake of the table, may He become precious as we remember His body was broken for all of our sins and shortcomings, all of our transgressions and rebellion. And His blood was poured out for all of our guilt and all of our condemnation. And that by grace we would recommit ourselves afresh to living in a manner worthy of the gospel, setting our hope fully on the grace that will be revealed to us when Christ returns. Help us, Lord, to walk by faith and live by hope. If there's any here, Lord, who is unconverted, O Spirit, convict them now of sin. Show them that they are a sinner. Even if they're single, they have broken your law, they have earned death, and you will apportion to them the wages they have earned, hell, and yet you offer them forgiveness. Oh, that they would not only be convicted of sin, but also of Christ's righteousness and of the judgment to come. Help us now to partake of the table as we ought, Father, we pray. In your precious Son's name, amen. Well, I believe we're going to sing a song before we partake of the table. You can just stand. Brother, thank you for that message. And I don't know, for me, I think some of the few times in my life when I've broken down in tears is when I've been kind of faced with my own, the reality of my shortcomings as a father and a husband. And in those moments, you can feel quite wretched. But the father has sent his son to make a wretched struggle. And we're going to celebrate that at the table in a few moments. So if you feel wretched, Met with your shortcomings this morning. Bring it to the grass. Let's sing together. How deep the Father's love for us How vast beyond all measure He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss The Father turns His face away ♪ As blues which mar the chosen one ♪ ♪ Bring pretty suns to glory ♪ ♪ Behold the man upon a cross I see ♪ ♪ Did I hear thy walking voice ♪ ♪ All out among the stroppers ♪ ♪ It was my sin that held him there ♪ ♪ Until it was accomplished ♪ His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything. No gifts, no power, no wisdom. I know those in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? Well, you can be seated. Marvin just let me know, I guess not everyone got a cup this morning, so our apologies for that. How many people don't have a cup? A few? Okay, well. Husbands and wives could share, yeah. Raise your hand if you don't have a cup. We can probably pass a few. Yeah, does everyone have one? Who needs one now? It must have just been short, so our apologies this morning for that. Yeah, we are going to partake of the Lord's table together right now. And, you know, we do this every other week, perpetually, until the Lord comes. And we need to. One of the reasons that way down inside motivated me a little bit to even want to move back here, and there were many, but to be part of a church that takes the Lord's Table bi-weekly is really precious because we need that moment, we need that remembrance, we need to have the actual death, the crucifixion of our Lord burned back into our mind week after week, or else we forget. And meals are so important as memorable events in our life. I wanna read from Exodus chapter 12, one to 14, because that's where this precious meal really found its roots. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, Tell the whole community of Israel, in the tenth day of this month, they each must take a lamb for themselves according to their families, a lamb for each household. Your lamb must be perfect, a male, one year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You must care for it until the 14th day of the month and then the whole community of Israel will kill it around sundown. They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and the top of the door frame of the house where they will eat it. They will eat the meat the same night. They will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs. Do not eat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains until the morning. This is how you are to eat it, dressed to travel, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborns in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the house where you are, so that when you see the blood, I will pass over you. And this plague will not fall on you to destroy you when I attack the land of Egypt. This day will become a memorial for you. And you will celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. My kids went through a season where they loved the Exodus story and they always wanted to read the Exodus story. But could you imagine going out of Egypt and your emotions would be everywhere because God had just demonstrated judgment on his enemies and you were saved because of the blood. It must have been an incredible moment to walk away knowing that because you had that blood on your doorpost, you were walking into freedom. And in the same way, when Jesus was sitting with his disciples before the night when he would enact the ultimate understanding of what had happened almost 1,500 years earlier, he gave us a new supper, and that's this supper. so that we would never forget that His blood was poured out so that God's judgment would pass over us in Christ. What a precious thing. Right fathers who aren't perfect fathers and perfect husbands or wives who are not perfect wives to their husbands and in so many ways we fall short every week and we're reminded by God's word when we come And the blood of Christ, which we just take a little sip of right now, a symbol of it, and His body that was broken for us, which we just take a little nibble of, reminds us week after week that we're forgiven. So, Marvin, would you pray for the body and Nathan for the blood? Fathers, we just read a lamb had to be sacrificed. And Father, thank you for sending your Son, who became that Lamb, who willingly gave up His life, so that we may have that blood, as it were, put on our doorposts as well, so that our sins could be forgiven. But Father, we recognize that it was a sacrifice that was beyond anything that we can even think of. And why you did it, Father, we totally don't understand. But Father, we come to this table now, and we have the bread, and we simply thank you, Father, for the reminder of what you have done for us, poor, wretched sinners that you have brought into your kingdom. Thank you, Father. Thank you for this reminder. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Fathers, we take up the cup that represents the spilling of the blood of the Lamb, the blood of our sacrificial Lamb. We pray that you would apply that blood to our sin-stained, unworthy hearts. And Lord, help us to receive with gratitude that passing over that you have promised us when you see the blood. We cling to you, Lord. We ask you to cover us. And we give you thanks as we take up this cup, the cup of salvation. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we take this together, know that your sins are forgiven in Christ, wherever you're at this morning. In Luke 22, 19 and 20, it says, and when he had taken it, that is Jesus, When he had taken some bread and given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Let's remember the Lord Jesus together this morning. And in the same way, he took the cup and after they had eaten, he said, this cup, which is poured out for you, poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. So let's drink together to the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Let's sing together. Can you stand? Give to our God immortal praise. Give to our God in immortal praise, Mercy and truth are all His ways. One year's of praise to God belong. Repeat His mercies in your songs. ♪ Give to the Lord of Lords freedom ♪ ♪ The King of kings with glory crowned ♪ ♪ His mercy shepherds shall then feed ♪ when lords and kings are no, no more. He built the earth, he spread the sky, and fixed the starry lights on high. ♪ Wanders a bridge to a god beyond ♪ ♪ Bringing his mercies in your song ♪ ♪ He fills the sun with morning light ♪ His mercy shall ever endure. When suns and moons shall shine o'er He sent his Son with heart to save from guilt and darkness and the grave. Wonders of grace to God belong. Repeat His praises in your song. He guides our fleet, and leads us to His heavenly seat. His mercy forever shall endure, and this great world shall be no more. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your precious gift of self to us. We bless you this day. Amen. Go in peace, but before you go, remain standing as Diana has announced. Thank you, Charles. Just a reminder that Women's Study is coming up, and there is a newsletter. If you didn't get one, please pick it up by the mailboxes. And a reminder, if you're interested in Secret Sisters, please come by the mailboxes and pick up your form. Ashley would like that sooner than later. And girls 12 and under, sorry, girls 12 to 18, if you're looking for a mentor, we've got a form for you to fill out, and we'd love to have you do that. We have gotten rid. Nice way. All of our books. But I have ordered more. They are coming, Lord willing. So please, if you're interested, just come and contact me. I'll make sure and save a book for you for the Esther study. And as I was listening to the prayers for Afghanistan, for such a time as this, the women of Afghanistan need our prayers. Thank you. you.