Romans 8.1-11
Notes
Transcript
SLIDE 3:
Romans 8.1-2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
SLIDE 4:
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Romans
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In the last two chapters, Paul has gone out of his way to distinguish between the new life in the spirit, and the old life in the flesh.
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Just as James tells us in chapter 1.. sin when it is full grown brings forth death.... Paul tells us in … that the wages of sin, is death.
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This is the end game for the life of the flesh… but now, as we move into chapter 8… Paul begins to teach us a little bit, about life in the spirit..
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TO REALLY EXPERIENCE THE IMPACT OF THIS STATEMENT IN … we need to briefly build a summary of the previous two chapters.. This verse begins with the words: “There is therefore now...” - which tells us, that this statement, is a conclusion based on the previously given information. So, quickly… let’s see what that information is.
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Paul tells us that we are united with Jesus in His death (6.5).
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He says that our old self was crucified with Jesus in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (6.6)
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Since sin has dominion over the life of the flesh, and because of the spiritual work that was done for us… we must now must consider, as a proclamation of faith, ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. (6.11)
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NOW… we still have a responsibility to maintain this flesh which is spiritually reckoned dead… Chapter 6 ends with words of exhortation concerning this management...
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-Don’t allow sin to reign in your moral body. (6.12)
-Don’t put yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to obey its passions, because you have allowed it, like a spoiled toddler, to always get what it wants..
-Don’t present this broken flesh as an instrument for unrighteousness. (6.13)
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If we allow our flesh to have and do, as it pleases… then we essentially, are putting it in charge, and making ourselves out as slaves to it’s authority.
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Paul tells us, at the end of chapter 6… that the end of that scenario… is death, which is not an appropriate situation for those who have been freely given victory over sin and death.
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We have been set free by means of a free gift… the end of our freedom is eternal life.
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Chapter 7 continues this discussion.
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Paul explains the benefits of our new condition. This flesh… the place where sin dwells and constantly seeks to reign… is no longer qualified to bring us down into a place of eternal death.
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The broken fallen flesh of humanity, is working hard towards the process of completely separating humanity from God, unto a condition of eternal death.
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The flesh has one arm in the grave, and it is doing it’s best to pull the whole of our being into that grave with it.
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But, because of Jesus, it’s power to pull us into that grave, is disqualified.
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Paul addresses this topic with the Law of Moses.
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The Law and the flesh have a unique relationship. The law awakens the desire of the flesh to do wrong, by telling it what is right. The flesh then, tries to take advantage of the law, using it to deceive the one who hears it.
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It is a horribly dysfunctional marriage. - But, just as death releases the wife to marry another husband… the death that Jesus has accomplished for us, by making us alive spiritually , has released us from the law, so that we might belong to Jesus.
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The flesh still has a strong grip on the grave… but it no longer has the power to pull us in.
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Paul ends chapter seven by giving his own testimony of how this scenario is working out practically in his life...
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And, it’s not pretty. It’s a battle… it’s a constant battle… there are no breaks… no sabbatical… no hiatuses from this battle.
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This flesh, that no longer has the power to pull us into the grave… is still causing trouble… it is constantly waging war against the law of our minds… - it constantly challenges our knowledge, and our faithful proclamation, that we are eternally alive in Jesus.
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It’s a troublesome battle. But Paul finds hope, in recognizing… that the flesh where in sin resides… is not his true self. It is a temporary, troublesome shell that will, one day soon, be shed and left behind.
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By faith, and by what he knows… he’s going to serve the law of God.... But his flesh… it’s going to serve the law of sin.
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A battle like this will wear on you.
We are constantly in the company of our flesh, and our flesh is determined to serve death.
We know the war is won in Jesus… but sometimes… some of the squabbles and the battles are lost along the way.
This wears on us.
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So… when we fail, when we are defeated in a squabble… when our flesh ambushes us in a weak moment and we lose the battle… we are prone, in those times... to feel condemned.
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This whole lesson culminates in the grand and glorious conclusion… THAT THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS.
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Because of this incredible lesson from chapter 6 and 7… -Because we know that the flesh is disqualified to bring us down into the grave with it… because we now belong to Jesus… because we serve the law of God with our minds… by faith and knowledge..
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It doesn’t matter how many squabbles we loose… It doesn’t matter how many battles we experience where the victory is lost..
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There is no condemnation.
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This word ‘condemnation’ is a legal term. It refers to a judges’ declaration of ‘guilty’ attached with it, the implied punishment.
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The gavel has come down. The sentence has been declared. You are now hauled off in chains to carry out the sentence, and there is no further recourse for appeal.
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Now… when a judge makes just such a decision, he does it based on the law. - It’s nothing personal… it’s simply a matter of one person’s behavior being held up to the code.
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IN the verses that follow… we find out that we are now judged by a different code. The judge looks upon our behavior, then, the judge looks upon the code of the Spirt… and sets us free.
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SLIDE 5
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2-
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Verse two repeats a prepositional phrase from verse one… and that is: “IN CHRIST”… a phrase that Paul uses multiple times throughout his letters.
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Biblically, grammatically.. and culturally speaking… this phrase… to be ‘in Christ’… carries the senses both of ‘in union with’ and ‘through the work of’.
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There is an intimate connectedness that should instill confidence in us...
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If the redemptive work of Jesus were a circle… we would be within the strong and secure bonds of that circle.... and yet, as we are in HIm… He is also in us through the presence and work of the Spirit.
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This new status puts us under a new law… We are now judged under a new code..
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God looks upon us, and sees that all the righteous requirements of the old covenant law have been met… as if… we were the ones who actually met them.
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We know we didn’t. We know we couldn’t… But we also know, that Jesus has fulfilled them on our behalf… and since God cannot condemn his perfect, holy and victorious Son.
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He cannot CONDEMN US.
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We get further insight in the following verses...
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SLIDE 6
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
rom 8.
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This is a message that we have expounded upon repeatedly and often over the past several weeks.
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It’s a message that cannot be spoken enough… I don’t know if you remember this or not… but we humans are prone to forget… therefore, we humans require constant reminders.
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WE ARE WIRED TO GET THINGS BY MEANS OF EARNING THOSE THINGS. We work to attain things… we want to experience the reward of accomplishment. We want to look at our accomplishments and say, “I did this!!!”
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But the Law proves to us… in terms of salvation… in terms of life… in terms of pleasing God… in terms of being righteous… - that WE CAN’T DO ANY OF THESE THINGS…
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Verse four ends with an outcome… a product… of what happens when we embrace our victory in Jesus and live according to the Spirit...
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“who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit”
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now, your translation might have this phrase also written, in verse one. And if it does, hopefully there is a footnote explaining why it is there.
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We can confidently conclude that Paul did write this phrase in verse four, but not in verse one..because we have access to ancient texts and documents that prove this….
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It is universally accepted… that, at some point, a scribe or a translator added this note in verse one, to further clarify.
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However… even as they meant well… I believe it does a disservice to the message of grace.
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It makes it seem like the lack of condemnation is based upon a condition other than the simple redemption of Jesus...
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With this phrase present in verse one… it’s almost as it says… Jesus has redeemed you… AND.. if you walk according to the Spirit, and not the flesh… then there is no condemnation for you…
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This would be a contrary message. Paul has gone out of the way to ensure that we are not giving value to the efforts of the flesh in regard to our salvation.
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However… when we get to verse four… and consider it in context to the following verses… - we see, that our lack of condemnation and the life we are given… is not conditional to our walk… but rather.. our walk is a product of the life we now have in the Spirit.
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We’ve already established… that Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law for us… that is, on our behalf… But now, in verse four and into the following verses… the fulfilling of the righteous requirements become a personal thing.
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Verse four doesn’t say that the requirements of the law were fulfilled for us… even as we know that they were… But verse 4 tells us also… that the righteous requirements of the law, are to be fulfilled in us.
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When we live according the leading of the Spirit… we will see a change… - this change is further explained in the following verses.
SLIDE 7
Romans 8:5
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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When you go into the hospital with an injury, or for a surgery, they immediately want to know what your blood type is.
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If the right type of blood flows through your veins, then it doesn’t matter if it was your originally, your body is wired to use that blood type to fulfill it’s purpose.
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If you are given the wrong blood type, your body will recognize it as an enemy, and attack it. So, the attempt to cure you, would cause autoimmune disease. You would also, possibly go into anaphylactic shock, you might develop infections… - If you are given the wrong blood, it’s very possible, that you could end up dead.
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Why? Because your body appropriately is able to use one blood type, but not the other.
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Once we are redeemed by by Jesus, and His Spirit comes into our lives… once we are in Him, and He is in us… there becomes an appropriate way that we should walk.
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…not because the rules say we should walk a certain way… but rather, because we have become a new creation… and we are now spiritually wired to walk a certain way.
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God has redeemed us, so that we would now be free to live according to the Spirit.. and therefore, set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This is wired into our spiritual make up… this becomes, like our new blood type.
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This process of believing, of thinking, of walking in the Spirit… this is the true manifestation of our identity in Jesus… - This is where we experience spiritual health… the manifestations of which would be, according to vs. 6 / life and peace.
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We are now designed to experience life and peace… but, if we walk in the wrong blood type… figuratively speaking… if we set our mind on the flesh, which is not an appropriate action for a spiritual being… the experience is… death.
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It’s not life and peace… instead, it is spiritual sickness… it is turmoil… it is distress… it is fear… it is hardship… it is anger… it is jealousy… it’s envy… it’s hatred and fighting… it is division… it’s hopelessness… it’s confusion… it’s self absorption…
it is anything but… life and peace.
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God has brought you into a personal, loving, and intimate relationship with Him. He has paid so much… sacrificed so great an offering… SO THAT… you might know Him and be known by Him… for all eternity.
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The most inappropriate thing that you can do… in response to His love for you… is to be hostile towards Him. You are now wired, to please God… But when you walk in the flesh… everything is messed up… - the wrong blood is in your veins… - your body is suffering… it is fighting itself… there is illness… and there is the pending possibility of death.
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If you ever wonder why you are not experiencing life and peace… it’s probably because, you are living in a way, that is contrary to your spiritual creation. The old person, apart from Christ.. - worried about everything… they were selfish and prideful… they chased after their lust… they were self absorbed.
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CHRISTIAN… You can’t live like that anymore. It is like poison in your veins.
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You are not created to be stingy and selfish. You are created now, to be generous and selfless. Not a scornful keeper… but a hilarious, cheerful giver..
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SLIDE 8
I Cor
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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People always ask, because they are so worried about their money… “How much should I give? Should I go with the standard 10%, because that seems like a lot. Maybe I should go with 2%… or maybe I should only give a tip on the random occasions that I show up in church and feel a little guilty…
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Consider Paul’s words here for your answer. Think not, about the amount you will sow… but think rather, about the manner in which you desire to reap. - Paul explains the heart of the Christian who wants to reap bountifully… that heart is not reluctant about giving. That heart doesn’t give because it feels pressure to give. THAT HEART GIVES, CHEERFULLY… literally: hilariously.
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This is what you, Christian, are made to do. To be stingy and selfish… is like… having the wrong blood type.
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You are not created, to walk in dishonesty. Lies can be habitual.... they just roll off the tongue naturally.
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SLIDE 9
3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
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We are not wired to be crooked… or dishonest. It is not appropriate to our making and new creations… it’s like, having the wrong blood in our veins.
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Christian, you are created to grow in your knowledge of God… and in that.. you are created to be a worshipper of God.
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If you give your life to Jesus, and then, never learn what the scriptures have to say to your life… then you are not living as God created you to live…
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If you do not find opportunities… in your heart.. in your mind… with your actions.. in the root of your motivations… - to worship God and glorify God…
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Then you are out of step with your making… it’s like having the wrong kind of blood in your veins..
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We could go on and on talking about the practical applications of what it means to have our minds set on the Spirit as opposed to having our minds set upon the flesh..
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But maybe, instead of looking at examples.. we simply look at the fruit. Would you say, that your experience of living, right now, is marked and defined by life and peace? Or, does your heart and mind continually struggle with all the death stuff?
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The answer could be as simple as… -Set your mind on the things of the spirit, rather than upon the things of the flesh.
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SLIDE 10
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Rom
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VERSE 9 clarifies for us… that life in the spirit is not some kind of higher Christian life; no… it’s not something special for a select few… - But rather, it is the normal experience of the authentic Christian life.
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Simply stated… if the Spirit is in you, you are Christ’s.
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And if you Christs… then your life is no longer an issue of the flesh… but now it an issue of the Spirit.
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Our life, our being, our existence, our identity… IS SPIRITUAL. - Therefore, we need to make sure… that we are getting the right blood type… - We need to make sure, that we are walking according the will of God’s Spirit… and not according to the will of our dead flesh.
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If you have never received Jesus as your Lord and SAvior… know this… in Him, you will find life, and you will find it abundantly..
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But maybe, you are in HIm.. and you are not finding life abundantly. You are not experiencing peace. - If so, and if you are honest, with a little self inspection… you will easily recognize…- Where your life is centered more on the selfish lustful desires of your rotting corpse… than it is centered upon the LIFE GIVING, PEACE GIVING, will of the Spirit.
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Today, if you do not have peace and life… or are not experiencing peace and life… I would encourage you, to repent, to get things right, and to get the right kind of blood in your veins.
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We’re going to close now with a song and time of sharing in communion… Please take some time to reflect… and if you want to pray together, or talk further on this topic, please find me after the service.
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