A Fragrant Aroma Pleasing to God
Notes
Transcript
Key Question: What is required to come before the LORD for His good pleasure?
Atonement
Washing
Anointing
1 “Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 “Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 “You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it. 4 “You shall make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two side walls—on opposite sides—and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 “You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 “You shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 “Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. 8 “When Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 “You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. 10 “Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” 11 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13 “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. 14 “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord. 15 “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. 16 “You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.” 17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. 19 “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; 20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. 21 “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.” 22 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, 24 and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 “With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. 29 “You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. 30 “You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. 31 “You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 ‘It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 ‘Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people.’ ” 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. 35 “With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 “You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 “The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. 38 “Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people.”
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It’s been a moment since we’ve been in Exodus so I’d like to take a moment to recall where we’ve been and look ahead to where we’re going. We’ve been looking at the tabernacle for some time now, and recognizing God’s overarching plan of redemption in all the details and features of the tabernacle. From the moment sin entered the world in the garden of Eden, God’s fellowship with man has been disrupted, but in that same moment God gave a promise that the seed of Mary would come crushing the head of the serpent. We recognize in Christmas as we celebrate the coming of Christ the restoration of that fellowship as Christ came bringing forgiveness, redemption, and salvation to those who believe. In Exodus we find Israel still wrestling with the curse of sin as God seeks to dwell among them once again, and it’s in the all the features of the tabernacle we find a beautiful picture of God’s intention for His people to serve Him and worship Him in holiness. Even now as the church of God, we recognize ourselves as His holy temple, the sanctified dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and so we too can glean from the tabernacle and see God’s intentions for us as His church.
The close to chapter 29 where we left off leaves us with this declaration from God.
46 “They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.
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This intention of God’s carries all the way to the end of the book even through the blatant idolatry of Israel which we’ll see in a couple weeks. In spite of their rebellion, the LORD remains gracious and faithful to His people. He will dwell among His people. My hope this morning and through the end of the book is that we would realize all the more just how faithful the LORD is to us. Even through all of Israel’s rebellion over the centuries, Jesus still came to walk among us, to die for us, rise from the dead and sanctify for Himself a people holy and pleasing to God.
There’s a lot going on in this chapter, but you might remember that we left off with the priesthood making their way into the tabernacle as new priests. They were washed, ordained, and consecrated for service to fellow sinners. There was an emphasis last time on the holiness of the priesthood being for the benefit of their brothers and sisters. This morning, there are some similar themes, atonement, washing and consecration but we finally make our way back to the holy of holies. We’ve come full circle from where we began with the description of the ark of the covenant, but now God isn’t by himself in the holy of holies with the ark, there’s a priesthood coming before Him in service, holy and pleasing to God. The priesthoods service in the every day is absolutely for their fellow sinner, but their ultimate service is unto the Lord for His satisfaction.
The holy service of the priesthood is first and foremost pleasing to God before it is beneficial to any of God’s people.
The holy service of the priesthood is first and foremost pleasing to God before it is beneficial to any of God’s people.
Atonement for a pleasing holy service
Washing for a pleasing and holy service
Anointing for a pleasing and holy service
Atonement for a pleasing and holy service
Atonement for a pleasing and holy service
Chapter 30 begins with a new piece of the tabernacle we haven’t seen yet. If you know the tabernacle well it may have seemed like we skipped it when we addressed the table of showbread and the lampstand, they’re all in the same room, but here find it on our way back into the holy of holies. In fact it’s placed right in front of the curtain that functions as the entrance to the holy of holies. It functions as the place where an ongoing offering of incense is presented before the Lord. This isn’t like the little candle that sits on your counter either. This is a small bed of coals burning incense 24/7. As a priest entering the holy place you’re not going to miss the aroma as soon as you pass through the curtain. It’s going to absolutely fill the space.
In previous passages we’ve looked at the various pieces of the altar and asked what function this piece accomplishes. I tend to be a bit mechanically minded. I like to know how things work. If we look around the holy place we can see the lampstand. There’s a very clear function to the lampstand. The holy place is going to be dark and the priests need light. The table of showbread on the other side has bread for the priesthood. The priests need to eat! There’s a very clear function there. As we turn to the altar of incense though, there isn’t really a clear function for the benefit of the priesthood. I believe one reason the altar isn’t mentioned until now is because we’re now approaching God in the Holy of Holies. Previously we’ve been oriented outward looking at how God is going to provide for His priesthood, He is the light of the world, the bread of life, he provides a sacrifice at the altar, all this for the clear and evident benefit of a sinful people in darkness and hunger, but now we have a holy priesthood ready to come before God in worship for His satisfaction.
I’d like us to recognize that sometimes those things which don’t appear to have any function or purpose for our benefit are still pleasing to God. Two steps there that may be unfamiliar to us. Beauty in addition to function. And Beauty for God not for us.
I think perhaps our culture has lost a historical appreciation for the aesthetic that previous generations had. As the years have gone by I think the emphasis has been more on function, production, and efficiency over beauty and aesthetic. It’s perhaps a category we don’t think about as often, but even if we did think about aesthetics and beauty like in years past it’s not any more or less praiseworthy. If we’re not thinking about beauty for God’s pleasure and not our own then we still miss the point.
Let’s make this practical. What does worship accomplish? There’s an appropriate way in which we ought to view worship as a grace for our benefit. It teaches us in the lyrics. The Psalms in many ways minister to our souls as we sing together. Hearing my brothers and sisters sing on Sunday ministers to me, but at the end of the day worship isn’t worship if we miss the pursuit of God’s satisfaction.
We can think about prayer as well. What does prayer accomplish? Again, scripture itself says, the prayer of a righteous man avails much! Prayer works! But let’s not overlook the prayer of adoration that simply exalts our God for His glory and majesty. Let’s not overlook the prayer of thanks which brings our full and content heart before the Lord that he might be satisfied.
As David says in the Psalms,
2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
There’s a good and appropriate sense in which we ought to come into this very worship gathering and be asking what can I do for my brothers and sisters. That’s what it is to be a part of the body, but we can’t be the body without first being attached to the head and devoted to His good pleasure!
The big questions there is how? How do we make sure we are seeking the good pleasure of God?
There is an atoning sacrifice through which this altar of incense is made holy and prepared to please the Lord, but it’s not just this ornate altar in the holy place, it’s every citizen of Israel!
You may have noticed what appears to be a rather abrupt transition from the holy place to instructions on taking a census. in verse 11 and 12. What do these have to do with one another?
There are two consistent points here. Both the people and the altar need to be atoned for, and both contribute to the service of the tent of meeting.
There’s a reminder to every citizen of Israel whether they approach the tabernacle or not, an atoning sacrifice - a worthy ransom - is required from every citizen because every citizen stands guilty before God. Without this atoning work. Without this ransom, the altar of incense isn’t holy and pleasing to God. Without a sufficient ransom this people cannot hope to sustain this pleasing service to God. It’s going to be expensive to sustain this priesthood and all the incense offered on this altar day in and day out!
For us this morning, if our hope is to come before God with pleasing offerings we must first come in the name of Christ! Let’s not overlook what God has explicitly said is pleasing to Him! It was God’s good pleasure to reconcile us, atone for our sins and ransom us through the blood of Christ.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
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You’ll notice every citizen of Israel paid the same price for this atoning ransom. (vs. 15) The same is true of us. We stand as equals before God with regards to our sin. None of us have an advantage or disadvantage with regards to our ability to please Him. We have no reason to boast knowing the same price has been paid for all of us, the price of the blood of Christ.
What does this mean?
When we come to him in worship, we don’t come comparing ourselves to the people next to us. “Surely that person is going to please God more, look at all they’re doing for the kingdom, look at all their gifts and talents.” No, we all come in the name of Christ with whatever the Lord has entrusted to us. It may not be the most functional gift with all the impact and fruit of a gifted evangelist, but if it’s given in the name of Christ then it is pleasing to God!
No matter who we are or what our gifts looks like, we pray in the name of Christ and we worship in the name of Christ because we are all reconciled by the atoning blood of Christ. It is Christ that makes us pleasing before God above anything else.
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Here we come to the final piece of the tabernacle and our second point. The bronze laver.
Washing for a pleasing and holy service
Washing for a pleasing and holy service
Before any priest can venture into the holy place to offer incense before God or perform any other service pleasing to God, he must first be washed. Even as a priesthood who has had the blood sprinkled on them, the atoning sacrifice has been made, there is a routine washing every time the enter the holy place or even venture to offer a sacrifice on the altar.
I’m in a season now where Rachel and I are helping the boys at every meal to wash their hands. To them they don’t really understand why. What are germs? I can’t see germs. What’s the point of soap? What happens when I clap my hands under the faucet? It’s a routine that doesn’t mean a whole lot to them at this point, but we hope they’ll understand more later just like with everything else.
There’s something similar going on here. What’s the whole purpose of washing hands and feet before offering sacrifices? What is God trying to teach them? If you ask me, I’d be washing hands and feet after offering sacrifices. Also, why does God care about what my hands and feet look like?
You’ll see however that God takes this washing very seriously!
20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord.
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So, what’s the LORD trying to teach the people with such a severe penalty for not washing your hands? We talked about this some from chapter 29 with an emphasis on humility as a prerequisite for service. When Jesus talks to Peter as he’s about to wash his feet, Jesus challenges his pride. He says it pretty bluntly,
8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
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If there’s an unwillingness to acknowledge our need to address our sin before God continually then we are plainly unfit for service to our brothers and sisters, but as we’ve noticed, the emphasis in this passage is simply offering pleasing sacrifices to God. Before we even get to serving our brothers with humility we need to come before God humbly that He might be satisfied with us.
An important routine facet of our coming before God is repentance. Throughout Scripture, there’s a close relationship between washing and repentance and I believe we can see the same here.
I’d like us to see how David puts it in Psalm 51.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
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The conclusion to David’s Psalm comes with a desire to offer pleasing sacrifices to the Lord, to sing joyfully before the Lord, but what is it that David says the Lord delights in? Not the outward sacrifices of burnt offerings, NO. A broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
We stand today as God’s Holy priesthood by the blood of Christ. In the name of Christ we can boldly approach the throne of grace, but the sufficiency of the blood of Christ does not mean we boldly approach while we actively ignore our own sin. Sin does not separate us from God such that we need to be resaved or reunited by repentance, but sin does distance us from fellowship with the Spirit. Sin does keep us from abiding with Christ as we ought.
I don’t think this is anything too foreign, we know what this is like on a human level. If someone seriously wrongs us in some way, we’re not real inclined to return back to the enjoyment and fellowship of a friendship until that wrong has been addressed. This happens in marriage often. If a husband says something he knows he shouldn’t have, there’s going to be a lack of enjoyment and fellowship until those offensive words are addressed. On top of that, a husband can’t just appeal to the covenant he’s made with his wife and expect that to smooth things over. A covenant provides a foundation for fellowship, but when sin enters the relationship that fellowship is maintained through humble repentance.
In a similar way the atoning sacrifice of Christ is the bedrock, unchanging foundation to our fellowship with God. There is nothing that can separate us from his love, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to be washed in repentance again and again and again in order to abide in his fellowship and His delight in us.
These two things go hand in hand as we seek to glorify and please our heavenly Father. There is no pleasing repentance apart from faith in the atoning blood of Christ, and it’s faith in the atoning blood of Christ and the fullness of his kindness and mercy that ought to lead us to repentance. Faith and repentance is how we walk into the kingdom and it’s how we go on walking in the kingdom giving of ourselves as pleasing sacrifices to God.
As we close out the chapter you’ll see there from verse 22 to the end, (vs. 38) the emphasis is on the anointing oil and incense. This is the end of God’s instructions regarding the tabernacle. We’ll conclude the chapter in the Holy of Holies right where we began some months ago. Oils and incense may seem like an odd place to end, but it’s an important final touch to how the priesthood are to worship in a way pleasing to God.
Anointing for a pleasing and holy service
Anointing for a pleasing and holy service
The theme of holiness runs throughout the tabernacle and the priesthood, but I would argue it’s the exclamation point to this whole section on God’s instructions regarding the tabernacle. From verse 22 through to verse 38 the word holy or consecrate, That is to make holy, they have the same root word, it’s used 12 times.
There’s a reason God is particular about the recipe here. This isn’t any ordinary anointing oil. This isn’t any ordinary incense. This aroma is going to be unique because God Himself is set apart and deserving of a service holy and devoted to Him.
You could be a blind man being guided through the camp of Israel and smell this anointing oil and know, that is one of a kind. That is no ordinary perfume, that belongs to the Lord, because it’s holy!
25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
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This isn’t like some scented candle though that sits by itself in the holy place, it’s an oil meant for anointing. It’s meant to be poured over everything that’s used in the service of the temple: the tent, the ark, the table, the utensils, the lampstand, that altar of incense everything even the priesthood are going to be anointed that they would be consecrated, “Made holy” as priests to Me.
30 “You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.
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Notice again the orientation here. God is certainly still concerned that these men be equipped to serve one another and the people of Israel, but in these final instructions there’s a reminder of their ultimate service. They are to be consecrated, they are to be made holy as priests to ME.
The same emphasis is there with the incense. The recipe is very precise and it too is holy. It’s to be placed in the holy of holies before the presence of God. It’s purpose isn’t for anyone else!
37 “The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord.
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As if to make one final reminder about why the whole tabernacle and the priesthood even exist, The oil and the incense remind all of Israel, “This is for God!”
In one sense the people of Israel may be able to consider the tabernacle the tabernacle of Israel, or later the temple of Jerusalem, but in the end it’s the tabernacle of the LORD.
In another sense, the priests may rightly consider themselves priests of Israel, but in the end they are priests to God!
It begs a question of us, “At the end of the day who are we devoted to?” “What have we been set apart for?”
In this first week of January there might be some conversations going around about New Years resolutions. I’ll admit, I have a few myself, but we recognize it to be a season when we devote ourselves to new things. There’s a lot of good that can be found New Years resolutions and devoting ourselves to good habits, but at the end of the day let’s not forget who we are and what we are. We are sons and daughters of God, priests of the kingdom of heaven made holy for the glory and good pleasure of God. We are the Lord’s!
There’s an appropriate sense in which we should all identify with some body of believers somewhere. For many here you might say, “I’m a member of Two Rivers of Community of Church.” Praise God for that, but even we need reminded at times that as much as we are devoted to this body in membership we are above all devoted to the LORD!
For myself there’s an appropriate sense in which I might identify as pastor of Two Rivers Community Church alongside Jeremiah and Steve, but even I need reminded that my service here is a service to God! My devotion ought to be to the Lord above all.
Our holiness and our devotion as the people of God very much ought to benefit the people in our lives, but if we forget that “We are for God!” “We are the Lord’s” then we risk abandoning our purpose entirely. Helping a friend or neighbor begins to turn into an opportunity for our own glory. Preaching becomes a means of personal advancement. Helping out around the church becomes a means of self-preservation in the community (as long as I do my part, I’ll be welcome). Things can get ugly pretty quick if we forget who we belong to - when we forget whose glory we are devoted to. If however we do remain on that foundation knowing, “I am the Lord’s” “I am here for His glory” “My devotion and holiness is for the glory and pleasure of God!” It empowers and enables a life of extraordinary service in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps you’ve already established those New Years resolutions, maybe you don’t have any, wherever you are, we’ve all committed ourselves to things in this coming year. I’d like us to ask ourselves, why? For what purpose are devoting ourselves to those pursuits? Whose good pleasure is being pursued in that endeavour? What would it look like to devote those pursuits to the glory of God? If you don’t have any New Years resolutions, maybe there’s room for one inspired by that pursuit of the glory and good-pleasure of God.
I’d encourage you to look at Romans 12 if you’re looking for some inspiration. Look at how Paul starts the chapter.
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
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It’s easy at this point to continue to fill in the blank. Paul doesn’t leave it up to us to determine what that looks like, but this is the foundation we need to build our life and service on!
Just like our text this morning. Our service is only made possible by the mercy of God in Christ. The atoning blood of the lamb is the name we proclaim as we seek the good pleasure of God, and it’s his mercy to us in Christ that enables a life lived as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Our very lives are to be lived in worship with the glory of God in view above all. In all of this year’s endeavours and commitments and ambitions, that is who we live for.
So what does this holy pleasing service to the Lord look like?
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
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A holy sacrifice continues to walk in holiness, set apart from the world, with a mind devoted to the things of God.
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10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
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In our devotion to God he calls us to love one another as He has loved us.
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13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
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We bear one another’s burdens and share the abundance of our lives with one another in hospitality.
We all are united together in Christ, likewise devoted to His glory. Let’s walk as one body sharing life with eachother.
Tying it all together.
2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
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At the end of day we do come back to loving one another! What is holy and devoted to God is always beneficial for the well-being of our brother and sister or neighbor. The priests of Israel were not to remain in the holy place isolated from the people of Israel and one another, but that service was above all a service before God just like ours.
In conclusion,
As we seek to live that life holy and pleasing before God we must first appeal to the atoning blood of Christ and the mercy of God. The only way we can be pleasing to God is Jesus Christ.
As we walk in the assurance of Christ’s sacrifice we commit ourselves to holiness through repentance. We continue to seek the renewing of our minds by putting off the worldly and putting on Christ.
In all of this we love! We walk like Christ in the love which He has shown us to the glory of God above all and the good of our brothers and sisters.
Might this devotion to God’s glory define this coming year for us. May it be evident to all who see us, “They belong to God.” “They are pleasing to God.” and “They are holy”.
Let’s Pray
Prayer of Devotion
Pastoral Prayer: Steve and Kirstin English
Prayer of Missions: Bill and Kelly Housley - Ramu Valley Academy in Papua New Guinea
Lord’s Supper
If you are a member of this church, or a baptized member of another evangelical church in good standing, where you hear the same gospel preached that you hear in this church, then you are welcome to join us at the Lord’s Table.
