Luke 8:16-21 “Hear the Word and Do It”

Let’s Pray!

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Mom’s… Happy Mother’s Day!

The Bible says this of Godly women… Proverbs 31:28 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:”

V31 states, “Give her the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.”

The faithful mom and wife is to be honored.

I truly hope you are blessed in this day… and to honor you we have a gift for each of you mom’s at the table in the back.

Thank you for all you do for your children, families, and for this church.

Give a mom a hug today!

Well, let’s open our Bibles to Luke. Luke 8:16-21 today.

Today we conclude another teaching section of Jesus. Luke documented several moments of Jesus teaching in Luke 8:1-21..

… and then ends this long chapter (56 verses in Luke 8)… with miracles.

This is not the first teaching-then-miracle pattern in Luke’s Gospel… and he captures these patterns… as inspired by the Holy Spirit…

To show us Jesus’ discipleship pattern for His first century disciples… which stands today as a pattern that still... deepens and strengthens our walk with Jesus.

So often as we sit under teaching… in time… comes the miracle.

Last time… we saw one of Jesus’ most iconic parables… the Parable of the Soils… where as the seed (the word of God) is scattered…

Four soils… reflecting the hearts of people… respond in various ways to the seed.

There are those who’s heart is hard to God…

… those who receive the word, but since their heart is shallow towards God… when trials or persecution arise… they fall away.

… those who receive the word, but then become unfruitful… being “choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life.”

And finally… good soil… the heart that hears the word with a good and noble heart… keeps it… and bears fruit well beyond expectation.

These parables were part of Jesus’ larger teaching called the “Parabolic Discourse” which consists of Ten Parables altogether… 8 of which are seen in Matthew 13…

Parable means “to throw alongside”…

And Biblical Parables compare a natural truth to a spiritual truth.

Jesus started teaching this way… not to be poetic, but because opposition was rising against Him from many angles…

So He shifted to teaching in Parables… as they are a veiled way of teaching that forces the hearer to do some work to understand.

The Believer will hear and press in to understand…

But, Unbelievers (which much of the multitude listening to Him were)… would hear, but would walk away as the word would not penetrate their hard heart… or disinterested mind.

Guzik wrote, “the parable was like a doorway. Jesus’ listeners stood at the doorway and heard Him. If they were not interested, they stayed on the outside. But if they were interested, they could walk through the doorway and think about the truth behind the parable and what it meant to their lives.”

So, Parables were used to reveal truth to believers, to conceal truth to unbelievers, and… as Jesus quoted Isaiah… His teaching in Parables also fulfilled prophecy.

NOW today… we are going to look at one more parable… the “Parable of the Lamp”, and then a teaching about “Christ’s True Brethren”…

… and thematic in both teachings… and the previous teaching… is Jesus’ emphasis on hearing…

In the Parable of the Soils.. 6x Jesus refers to hearing the word… in vv 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, & 15.

In the Parable of the Lamp today… Jesus warns “take heed how you hear”…

And then Jesus states His true brethren… are those who “Hear the Word and Do It”… which is our message title today.

So let’s hear the word of God now. And, in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Luke 8:16–21 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” 21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.””

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

When we continue our journey through Luke or any book of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse… one advantage is we can take time to understand a scene…

To chew on it… and apply it to our lives… to enrich our walk with Jesus by it.

BUT… a disadvantage is by taking smaller segments… like just vv 16-21 today… we sometimes zoom in and miss the bigger picture.

Now… we could do both… take larger segments… Like all chapter 8, for ex, and dive deep, but then we would need to change our service length…

We could go back to old times… Like the days of Ezra who read from the Law from morning to midday (about 3-5 hours) in Neh 8:3…

Or Paul who taught in the hall of Tyrannus daily from about 11am-4pm (5 hours blocks) (Acts 19:9)…

Paul also, using the OT, testified of the kingdom of God and Jesus… from morning till evening (roughly 8-10 hours) in Acts 28:23.

SO… starting next week… church will begin at 10am, but we’re going to end closer to 3pm. Bring a snack!

Of course I’m joking, but what an appetite for the word the teachers and students both had… both in Ezra’s day… and in the first century.

Pretty amazing… such great stamina.

Please don’t ever complain that I teach too long at 50 min… Paul would just be getting warmed up by then.

Actually… today my message is only about 45 min…

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mom’s… today you’re gifted with flowers, gift cards… my message is shorter… and I even wore a pink shirt for you all today…

… because somehow… in my mind… the pink shirt connected well with Mother’s Day… I’m not sure why…

Anyhow… since we’re NOT going to have a five hour church service… I do want to step back for a minute… zoom out… and discuss a theme that Luke has weaved into chapter 8…

Because we are NOT JUST looking at a series of shorts…

Luke 8 is truly thematic… not exactly chronological (as the account of Jesus’ true brethren occured prior to the Parable of the Soils)… but Luke places that teaching here to carry the theme.

Luke groups teachings to develop a spiritual idea rather then simply narrating events.

And the connection between the Parable of the Soils… the Parable of the Lamp… and Jesus’ true family… center on one major theme…

Which is hearing God’s word and responding to it with obedience.

The foundational parable is the Parable of the Soils…

Where each soil receives seed… each heart hears the word of God… each heart is exposed to truth…

… but the four soils… respond differently… with either no belief, no endurance, no maturity, or abundant fruit.

And that parable leaves the listener to evaluate: What kind of hearer am I?

What does the word produce in me?

Which sets up everything else in Luke 8…

The Lamp… what we will look at next… pictures authentic discipleship…

He or she who is good soil and receives the seed… who hears the revelation of the word, believes, and bears fruit…

If the word truly has taken root… the lamp now explains what authentic reception looks like.

The seed enters the heart… and light therefore will be visible.

Internal reception of the seed manifests in external light.

And the light of a true disciple should not be hidden, so Jesus warns, “take heed how you hear”… which is like a hinge that connects everything in this chapter…

For hearing is not to be merely intellectual, but receptive hearing that produces visible fruit.

Again, making this parable of the Lamp a picture of authentic discipleship.

And then in the account of Jesus’ true brethren… the theme progresses from “hearing” to “doing”… where discipleship is defined… as those who are obedient hearers as evidenced by doing… are revealed as Christ’s people… His true family.

And then in the rest of the chapter… where Luke describes miracles… and responses to revelation… moving from hearing to faith in action…

In the storm, faith is tested.

With the demoniac at Gadara, transformation is revealed.

With the woman and Jairus… the theme is persistent faith.

SO… Luke 8 takes us on a journey from hearing, to understanding, to obedience, to tested faith, to visible transformation.

This is NOT a disconnected narrative, but a very intentional lesson about the theology of discipleship.

And each step of the way… we should be examining ourselves to identify where are we on the journey…

Last week we were challenged to contemplate which of the four soils best represents our heart.

And if you don’t believe, have fallen away because of trials, or have become unfruitful because of life’s distractions…

Your aim is to become the soil of a good and fruitful heart… prioritizing Jesus and His word in your life.

For those of you who DID identify with the good soil… the Parable of the Lamp… is kind of like… now what?

So… let’s look a little closer at the Parable of the Lamp now…

V16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.”

Some of your minds may be drawn to a similar teaching of Jesus’ during the Sermon on the Mount…

Where Jesus said in Matt 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Unlike the Parabolic discourse that was addressed to the multitude…

Matthew 5… was a teaching aimed at the disciples, and Jesus shared how they would impact the world.

Giving them an encouraging commission “You are the light of the world”… and it was instructive “Let you light so shine before men...”

Marching orders notably absent here in Luke 8, because this Parable of the Lamp has a different intent.

When a lamp is lit… the intention is for it to shine.

It would be abnormal to light a lamp, and then cover it with a vessel or bowl.

What is normal and proper is to put it on a lampstand… to display the lamp prominently in order to dispel darkness… and for all who enter the house to see it’s light.

And in light of our context… the lamp points to that person who has received the light of God’s word… and now has an expectation to let it shine… to let their lives shine… not to conceal that which they have received.

I remember a story that Pastor Clark Van Wick shared… He is a great Calvary Chapel teacher out in Temecula, CA…

And when he worked in construction, one day a co-worker got in his truck and saw a Bible on his seat, and said to Clark, “Oh I didn’t know you were a Christian.”

Clark cannot tell that story without crying… because he was pierced through realizing that his light was hidden.

Throughout scripture, light stands to represent God’s word… God Himself… and His followers.

Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

David said in 2 Sam 22:29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.”

Jesus proclaimed in Jn 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (also in Jn 9:5)…

And Jesus told His disciples in Matt 5:14, “You are the light of the world.”

When any person believes in Jesus Christ they become a light bearer… no longer walking in darkness… but having… holding… becoming “the light of life.”

Light is that which is observed with our eyes. We don’t hear light… we don’t smell light… we see light.

In much of this chapter Jesus spoke about hearing the word… and once the work of hearing is accomplished…

NOW… that one is to shine light.

And, LIGHT IS SEEN, NOT HEARD.

Sow seeds by speaking… by share the gospel… and sharing scripture…

BUT ALSO… let the witness of your life speak just as loud… if not louder than your words…

Francis of Assisi stated, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”

Even without our words… people should observe something that testifies of Jesus by observing our life.

The things we are about… AND the things we ARE NOT about.

However you want to interpret light… your good works… your witness… your testimony… being an Ambassador… truth… the gospel… all of it should point to Jesus.

And then Jesus says in V17 “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

Understanding this verse can be tricky, but when you think of light as truth… it’s much easier.

We read in John how Jesus said “I am the light of the world”… and Jesus also said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is light… He is truth… and while God previously kept the plan of redemption a secret or a mystery…

Jesus in His first coming was God’s revelation of that plan… and

And those bearing light… are not to keep the truth of the Gospel… and Jesus as Messiah a secret…

It should be heard from our lips… and seen in our lives and our good deeds.

Better… it is our responsibility to spread truth… whenever God the Spirit opens a door for our lamp to shine.

And whether you do your job or not… it will be revealed… which is great news…

You can’t hide it… you can’t keep it a secret… the good news of Jesus Christ, even if the rocks cry out…

Jesus… will be made known.

MacDonald adds, “Verse 17 seems to suggest that if we allow the message to be confined because of business or laziness, our neglect and failure will be exposed. Hiding of the truth will be revealed, and keeping it a secret will come to light.”

The big picture about hearing the word and doing it… and shining our light… it’s a challenge about what heart are we… and what are we gonna do with the word that we heard… and received.

Are we going to do anything with him? Will will share it… or hide it?

As we walk out of these doors and enter into the world… and the workspace… as we enter into our homes… and classrooms. What are we doing with the word?

And the idea of warning seems echoed in Jesus’ own words as we keep reading…

V18 “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

NLT renders this verse, “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”

This is a warning… similar to the law of sowing and reaping.

In the parallel account Mark. Immediately after Jesus said these word of V18… Mark 4:24 records He said, “With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.”

How we respond to God’s word is how He responds to us…

And in context of Jesus teaching this parable to a mixed multitude…

Where four soils were represented…

He was admonishing them to listen to what He said and respond to it…

The word was being sown… true hearers would retain it (even more they would believe it)…

And they would produce fruit and light… their internal faith would become outwardly visible.

And at the end of V18… Jesus presents a contrast… those who have… and those who do not have.

And what they have or do not have is hearing ears. They are either believers or unbelievers.

To those who had faith… those of good soil… lamps that shine… those who are faithful believers… Jesus promised them more truth… further revelation…

… blessings now… kingdom promises later.

But to those who did not have… whatever they thought they had… God would take it.

The truth of the word was presented to them.

And even if they listened… they did not hear… certainly not with their hearts…

These have rejected the words of Christ… thus they do not have… not now… not later…

They would not receive the free gift of salvation now… and will suffer entire loss eternally… “even what he has will be taken away from him.”

One must receive what they hear or lose it.

And then Luke takes an account that happened just prior to the Parabolic Discourse… and weaves it in here… though not chronological… for it suits the theme he is teaching…

And this is the account of “Christ’s True Brethren.”

V19-20 “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

One might read this verse and think, “Oh that’s nice… Jesus’ mother and brothers have come to visit. Jesus is so busy with this huge crowd that He’s ministering to… and His family is there to support Him.”

Scrub that image from your mind… Jesus’ biological family came opposing what was happening in His second year of ministry.

Just prior to all of this… Mark 3:21 records, “But when His own people [His family] heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” [or insane]…

What they heard about was Jesus’ fame spreading… multitudes flocking…

Some recognized Him as their Messiah… some just wanted a healing from Him… and others attempted to discredit Him and sentence Him to death.

And, the demand for attention was so great that Jesus and His disciples “could not so much as eat bread.”

They didn’t even have time to eat a meal.

Which… frankly I don’t understand… because ALL Pastor’s do is show up to preach on Sundays.

Well… Jesus’ family with all this business… and people proclaiming Him as Messiah… they thought He was out of His mind.… and sought to lay hold of Him… they intended to restrain Him… and likely take Him home.

And from their perspective… there was a lot of change happening with Jesus.

He left His career in the carpentry business… which made Him not a hypocrite when He called the fishermen to leave their nets…

He knew exactly what it was like to lay down career for calling into ministry.

Today… if you get passionate for your career… working 70-80 hours a week… people of the world call you “dedicated” and applause you.

But, walk away from that career and pursue ministry… and they’ll think you’re insane…

That you’ve wasted your potential.

I remember being a manager in the insurance business… and after 8 years of a successful career… I felt called into ministry…

And I was telling my State Manager… and he couldn’t understand… he thought is was nuts…

He told me, “You really need to consider… what is the best long-term decision for you and your family?”

I thought to myself, “What’s more long-term than eternity?” Storing up treasures in heaven… being a hearer and a doer of the word?

Going back to Jesus… so He leaves carpentry… and then in Home town of Nazareth in Luke 4 He reads Isa 61 in their synagogue, and announces, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

He proclaims Himself a prophet… and offends them… and the people in Nazareth try to throw Him from a cliff.

He begins using Messianic titles for Himself… like the “Son of Man”…

He’s whipping people (driving them out of the temple) and overturning the money changers tables…

And, telling people He will die and rise three days later. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

He was being threatened and still He wouldn’t relent.

He picked Twelve Disciples in Luke 5 who were untrained and uneducated men… a questionable bunch… several fishermen… a tax collector and a zealot.

And, now He’s working so hard that he doesn’t even have time to eat bread.

And, perhaps this skipping meals… was the final straw for His family.

And for sure they did not believe in Him… which is not speculation…

During Jesus’ third year of ministry… before the Feast of Tabernacles… a conversation between Jesus and His brothers concluded with this statement in John 7:5 “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.”

And so here… in Luke 8… Jesus’ brothers were NOT saved believers.

We don’t know about Mary… I would be surprised if she didn’t believe knowing all she had seen and experienced talking with the Angel Gabriel… then her virgin birth… the prophecies… the multitude of heavenly hosts praising God… the wise men…

Luke wrote, “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

I can’t imagine that she didn’t believe.

But she was still there concerned for her son…

Some would hold she had general belief, but had not yet fully understood Jesus’ mission at this point.

Hard to say.

Regardless… this had to have been difficult for Jesus…

True were Jesus’ words in Mark 6:4 “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

Maybe in becoming a Christian you’ve experienced similar rejection by friends and family. I know I have.

It’s not fun… but it shouldn’t be surprising… for Jesus said in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”

Continue speaking truth… continue being light… know you are blessed when your motivation is for Jesus’ name’s sake.

So… back in Luke 8… now that Jesus’ mother and brothers come to Him a second time… and Jesus is informed that they are there and wish to see Him…

Interesting how Jesus’ biological family is outside of the house… and access to Jesus is blocked.

This may be an intentional contrast pointing out that those close to Jesus are close to Him not because of biology, but because of belief…

When Jesus hears of their presence, Matthew 12:48–50 records, “But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples [Mark states, “He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him] and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.””

This was not Jesus rejecting Mary and His brothers…

but Him redefining family around belief… discipleship… and hearing the word of God and being obedient to it… which is the will of the Father.

Believers… obedient hearers are His true family… for God looks past this physical realm and into eternity… and only believers are those who will be face to face with God in heaven.

Jesus’ biological family were standing in unbelief… and opposition… at best some of them may have been neutral towards Him… but they weren’t FOR HIM…

And Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me...”

You can’t be neutral towards Jesus… if you’re neutral… you’re outside… you’re not in the circle.

The line has been drawn.

And it this account… and in this chapter… once again… the connection between the Parable of the Soils… the Parable of the Lamp… and Jesus’ true family… center on the theme of hearing God’s word and responding to it with obedience.

Matthew and Mark record this as “whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

And Luke writes, V21 “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Are we truly His mother and brothers and sisters… are we His family? His spiritual family… IF we only hear, but do not do?

In the Parable of the soils… only the good soil would have been His family.

All the soils heard, but one never believed… one departed when life got hard… and one became unfruitful being distracted by life.

Three of them were outside the house… they did not take heed how they heard… they did not do the will of God.

And look… this word… it stands as a warning to us today. Only those who actually do something with the word of God… namely in belief are Jesus’ spiritual family.

In John 6:28-29… After the feeding of the 5000… some Jews asked Jesus, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Believe in Jesus Christ… and you’re part of Jesus’ family forever…

1 Jn 2:17 proclaims, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Believe… and abide forever.

But after belief… our works… our obedience… these determine fruitfulness.

Remember in the Parable of the Soils… that the good soil had varying degrees of fruitfulness…

Some thirtyfold, some sixty, some one hundred. This is not by greater intensity of belief, but by what one does with the word.

The fruit did not earn salvation, but was the result of genuinely receiving the word.

And when we hear the word and respond to Jesus in belief… followed by doing the will of God… in our works… as seen by our fruitfulness… this is truly poetic to God.

And I’m not just saying it’s poetic because that sounds nice… it’s literally poetic.

Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

The word “workmanship” in Greek is poiēma. From it we get our English word “poem.”

Believers… quite literally are God’s poem, created in Christ Jesus (through belief) FOR good works…

God’s will is for us to believe… and then to do something with it. James instructed believers to be “swift to hear”… to “receive with meekness the implanted word”… and then in…

James 1:22 he wrote, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

The word “doers” in Greek is poiētēs… from it we get our English word “poet.”

James instructs believers to be Poets of the word… and this happens by putting the word into practice.

We are the poem or workmanship of God in that we were created by God for good works… for belief in Jesus… and then persevering in God’s will… even when tempted and tried in life.

Many Christians deceive themselves by thinking they only need to study God’s word… and they never put feet to their faith. They are not doers, but hearers only… and are deceived.

Deceive means “to miscalculate, to reason falsely.”

Continuous learning without action leads to an unspectacular Christian life. Lots of head knowledge, but lacking the miraculous testimony… that so often occurs by taking steps of faith.

It’s been said that “Impression without expression leads to depression.”

Listen to the rest of what James says… James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

He or she who hears the word, but changes not their behavior… they hear but do not do…

James likens that one to a man who carefully observes himself in a mirror, and then completely forgets what he saw.

Making it pointless to look into the mirror at all.

We look into the mirror each morning because it informs us of the appropriate action in our life…

For guys… comb your hair… shave… wash your face…

If you just look in the mirror and forget what it tells you… it serves no practical use.

And James compares this to the word of God. If we simply read the word casually… or occasionally… and don’t apply it’s truths to our lives…

And don’t allow it to inform our actions… we’re just like the man who looked in the mirror and then forgot what he saw.

With that one… there is not spiritual progress… no fruitfulness.

Now in contrast… one who “looks into the perfect law of liberty”…

Which is just a poetic way of saying God’s word… as it is perfect… it’s God’s perfect law… and it is liberating… freeing of all who hear and do.

It’s not a burden. Jesus said, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The person who looks… meaning “looks intently” into God’s word and continues [or abides] in it…

Some translations read they “persevere”…

This one is blessed… for they have not “become a forgetful hearer but and effectual doer” as the NASB states.

They are a doer… a poet of the work… and they will be blessed meaning “happy” in what they do for God.

So… Luke chapter 8… once again this chapter is taking us on a very connected journey… this is not a chapter featuring disconnected events… or a disorderly narrative.

Luke… in the very beginning of this Gospel stated his intent was to write an “orderly account.”

And he does so with the inspiration of the Holy Spirt.

Wrapping up… and recounting the theme of Luke 8…

The good soil.. the good hearted person… hears the word, believes and bears fruit.

With reception of the word… they are likened to a lamp on a lampstand… Internal reception of the seed manifests in external light.

And they do not hide their light… it is visible… for they are an authentic disciple.

And as a authentic disciple… they not only hear, but also do the will of the Father…

And in so doing… they are identified as Jesus’ spiritual family.

I pray you all see the theme… and are living it out… that you are poets writing poems by being informed by God’s word… and then doing good works for which you were made.

(worship team please come)

Read ahead… next time we begin looking at several miracles of Jesus…

The faith of the disciples will be tested when they are caught up in a storm on the sea of Galilee.

One of my favorite accounts… rich with application.

As is the whole counsel of God… that we are SO blessed to hear and do.

Let’s pray!

If you believe… and receive God’s word… let your light shine… and be a doer… a poet of God’s word… as you enter the week ahead.

If you need prayer, there will be people on the sides to pray with you as we close in one final song.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”

May God bless you richly, as you enter the week ahead!