Ephesians 5:1-2

Yeah, there's a lot to be thankful for with everyone that serves as part of that team in the guys who helped lead that team and and will undoubtedly, undoubtedly be training up Future Leaders to take their role in leading that team as we disciple. Cuz that's where we're at. What we're about as a Church of God is making disciples, you know, one other

Thing we want to communicate to you this morning. You may have you may have seen it on the email this week, but I'm trying to set my eyes on her right now. Is Jenny Peachtree in here or she says, not in here intentionally. Okay, Jenny petrey has. Let us know that she's going to be stepping down from serving as our ministry assistant. She her kids are getting to the age where they're requiring more time and attention. And she wants to be able to invest as much Focus time as she can and loving and serving and discipling or evangelizing orchids and in serving our family. And so she will be serving through. I think about another 2 weeks, 15th of September will be her last day. And So speaking about, I'm just reacting excellence and really trying to be behind the scenes and not be noticed. That's largely a part of what, how Janet Jennings Ministry goes. There are things that happened in here every single Sunday and things that are prepared for communication that that she Is that she helps in in her job? So, so number one, when you see her, just give her a hug and I thank you for her. Tremendous work ethic and skill and joyful heart that she expresses as she serves a lord. And so I know will we would definitely hate having haven't heard as part of our ministry staff, but she was still be here quite often which is still great. So that'll be wonderful and also praised you hopefully have seen the email but Taylor Wiley is home now. And so that this last 11 12 days of their life has been upended, but it has been incredible to see Todd and Rhonda Wylie, and really their entire family. The Wylie family, the white family, all giving praise to the Lord, as they put their trust in the Lord, in the midst of life, being very fearful. Did Emmitt fear at Taylor's, what happened with her heart and what the cause was, and all of these sorts of things. They went right to prayer, right? To ask in the body to pray and say, I don't know how it's going to work out, but we trust in the Lord. In friends, when we talked about living as wholehearted, followers of Christ, that's one demonstration of what that looks like. When life is upended and we first run to the Lord. And then as things get better, or even worse, when we begin to understand how how things are coming together or understanding what's going on in our bodies. We say, no matter how it turns out. We going to get, we're going to give praise to the Lord because he's wise and everything. And that's been true with the Martha and Walter Bruce to is Walter has been in the hospital. He's had several vertigo spells over the last two months and I haven't known what's causing them. And they think they they have thought that they might have an idea here or there. And then this last time he was in the hospital and had a stroke. What do I do? If a minor heart attack and he was in the hospital little bit longer than anticipated cuz he stayed for some therapist and physical therapy down a couple floors and, and is now doing well. We had a good conversation last night and, and he was his jovial self, you know, which is wonderful. So he likes to have fun with life and he's tired, of course, so, continue to pray for them. And for, for those who are, you know, caring for Tailoring and Walter is they continue to recover? So with that, and we prayed a couple times. I don't think we can pray enough. We're going to ask for the Lord's help. As we look at his word tells me.

We pray a lot Lord because we need you a lot. We're depending on you. Cuz I preached your word this morning as we leaned in, to listen to what you have for us this morning, Father. We need you. I want to say the things that are yours for our church family as we understand. Ephesians 5:1 and 2 this morning and is a church family lower. We want to listen. Well, we want to lean in and listen to the the

All-knowing all-powerful all presents God. Speak to us now. And as we hear you, as we see what you have to say through your perfect word. We pray that you would help us to understand exactly how you want. Each of us to apply it as we leave from here today. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Hey, man, when I was a child, I watched my dad closely. I watched him work. I would go help him cut firewood. And I would just watch longingly for someday when I could work that chainsaw and I, which took far longer than I thought it should have course. Right? I wanted at that thing right away. And then when I did have the chance to do that, of course, it was with my do my dad's safety. And you know what? I thought he was just like looming over me and, and constructing all my freedom. I'm just like, let go of me and let me have this thing, but my dad was smarter than that and he didn't my arms intact. And all my fingers, they are and all that sort of stuff. But it is, you know, waking up in the morning sometimes or or getting ready for bed, or as we ate dinner around the table and we would joke as a family. And one day. I watched him enough to know. I think I can do this. And so one day I Thought that I needed to to shave the seven-year-old stubble on my face because I mean I'm growing into a man. and so it's already starting to grow and so,

So, I grabbed his razor. And I grab the shaving cream. And I put some shaving cream on. Like enough for about a month's worth of shaving or I'll deny my hands. Put on my face, the whole thing. And then I took this razor and I went one time made it safely. And then another time, barely made it safely. And then that third time I couldn't pull down that time right now in slow motion and they stopped me. So, no damage ensued, but I made it out by the skin of my My face, yes. Thank you. But, you know, we do that. We watch, we watch parents, we watch grandparents, watch friends. We watched Superstars, you know, and all of that end in in Ephesians, as we move into chapter 5 of Ephesians, the Apostle, Paul is saying we're to imitate God. And we might think, wait, how are we supposed to imitate. We can't see God. Well, he's been building on this point of what it means to be in the school of Christ. Right? What it, what it means to live in such a way that we speak the truth in love to one another. That's how I got is, giving us the body of Christ or the church has given pastors elders and teachers to help us grow up and learning how to speak the truth in love to one another. Now. It's a learning process. It doesn't always go smoothly when you're speaking something that might be challenging or hard to another person that doesn't always go smoothly or when somebody is hearing truth being spoken in love, the listening doesn't always go. So well or the receiving of it doesn't always go. So well, and so the Apostle Paul has been after speaking about speaking. The truth in love. He's been speaking about what it means to be in the school of Christ. Which means when you became Christians, you you, you have, that means something that's happened in the past with an enduring impact, right? It's not just something that happened in the past. But again, as happen again, it has happened. You have put off the old self with which is corrupt through deceitful desires.

And we need to be renewed or we have been renewed in the spirit of our minds, which happens to intimate engagement with God in his word, in the context of biblical Community as the church, Gatherings here, week in and week out as we gather and smaller Pockets throughout the week. And we have put on the new self created after the lightness of God in true, righteousness and Holiness, but I can look at my life. I can see plenty of unrighteousness in my life. I can see plenty of Holiness in my life. And so, the Practical outworking of this is an ongoing practice may be the single most important always difficult to say when they may be the single most important concept for how we are to change, which essentially to repeat how we came to Christ. But we're not coming to Salvation over and over again. And so what we do is we recognized when we have a sinful activity in our heart or that we see Express through, The members of our body, the words of our mouths. What do we do? What we we put off that, which we know is sinful that which we know does not line up exactly the way the Lord wants us to live in the Bible but simultaneously and it doesn't always happen in this order. Maybe it would become aware of it and we become and this will be the second part. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds because our minds Have deceitful desires. That means I I look at this aspect of worldly living and I think that's going to satisfy my hunger. And I realize it only satisfies for a moment and then it just begs for more. And so I want to go out for more and I want to go for more or maybe I need to add more things to it. And so, what are you saying is no, you need to be transformed. Do not do not be conformed to this world. Romans 12:1 and 2 says, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So that you may have proved that which is good and acceptable and perfect. So we would have put off the sin, the City full of belief system. We want to be transformed and they're ruining our remind always seeking to follow the Plumb line of God's work and then we want to put on, right? Just living right. Rather than speaking falsehood. We want to speak truth. Why being renewed in the spirit of our minds because I don't want to speak falsehood to those who were members of the same body. We're working to build up or God is working to build up one unified body under the head of Jesus Christ. And we want to contribute to that as much as we're able in his life. And so we want to put off also, then when I speak truth to one another, we would have stopped stealing but rather we want to work diligently so that hear the being transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we have something to give to someone in need. So now I'm no longer thinking about myself and nnn being that ever fill in the adjectives right here, lazy or wanting to cheat or wanting to have more than I actually earned it. My own jobs, rather than thinking about things coming to me. I work diligently so that I can give to those who are in need. Great, we've asked this question. When is the thief? No longer become a thief? When serving someone else when he has something and he is working to give that or encourage or help someone else with that. And so, then he follows all of this thinking into Ephesians chapter 5 where he gives two strong commands and he gives to constructive commands here Paul. If you remember, one of the things we've looked at since the beginning of our series and I'm repeating it offered to help us is Paul laborers and love to show us what it means to be in Christ. In chapters 1 2 and 3 specifically What does it mean to be in Christ? And secondly, the application of that is so that we eagerly welcomed what God demands of us as we walk in him as a result. Pastor Kent Hughes has said, it's not so much a question of what we will do with Ephesians, but what it will do with us. As well as we've looked at Ephesians 1 2 and 3. And if you miss those sermons or at the very least, go back and read those chapters because that is the that the important reality of what God is doing what God has done and what he is working toward as he is redeemed of people unto himself, in order to build us up Enterprise Cerritos me Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 this morning. Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. A fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.

As God beloved children, we are to imitate him by walking in love toward one another in the same way that Christ has sacrificially. Loved us as key and sacrificial love. Which is a love that the Bible describe, which is a love that that the Bible lays out for us and we'll see in this passage of Paul describes these positive truth or constructive commands about true Godly love. And then as Craig will preach on next week. He he, he then contrast that by saying therefore stop living this way and it gets a little bit in their face. Tupac is is constructive commands to walk in love. We are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. You might remember from Ephesians 4. There are several there for them, this text and then these are pointing back to Ephesians 4:1 to walk in a manner worthy of our calling Ephesians 4:17 differently than the world. You must no longer walk as the Gentiles are, the unbelieving do because of their Hardness of Heart and then most recently he's called us to put off bitterness and anger math.

Call the kids were just like.

Do math. You're welcome pictures, bitterness and anger a slander in the walk-in kindness tenderhearted as forgiving one another and these are all characteristics of God who is love God doesn't have, love God is love every attribute. Every characteristic. Every trait about God is an, is because that's who he is as his person as his nature. If you were to strip away, one ounce of any of those things away from the Lord, he would cease to be God because he is not everything. Good perfectly to Infinity. This Is Our God and so Paul calls us to walk in lights a call just to walk in wisdom and will see this in the in the coming weeks. Uses his word mimetic, which is an imitator. It can be used positively or negatively, right? And so it's the term we get mimic from someone who copies specific characteristics of another person as Christians. Which was originally a derogatory, derogatory term. Where to be little christs, we are to imitate. God, we are to imitate God made visible through Jesus Christ. Remember, they're not too different people. Jesus is god with a belly button, right? And so, the whole Christian Life is the reproduction to reproducing, the imitating, the mimicking of godliness as we have seen it in the person of Jesus Christ. And if we read about it, in God's inspired word, right? God's purpose in Salvation, is to redeem us from sin and to conform us. Romans 8:29, tells us to conform us into the image of his son. Teacher to become perfect. Just as God as is perfect. As obedient. Children. Peter tells us do not be conformed to the former lusts. That sounded familiar. Didn't know if he's going to 4:20. Which were which are yours and ignorance. But like the one who called you is Holy, so be holy. Also, it all your behavior because it's written, you shall be holy for. I am Holy which originates from Leviticus 11 one. But even as we pursue that Holiness, we get frustrated, or at least, I find myself frustrated, because I'm not wholly yet. I'm holding in the sense that I'm set apart positionally. But we always need to remember to practice our position. Have to walk in Holiness. I'm to walk in righteousness. There's sort of a negative air that can be. That can be may be spoken about other all they think their holier-than-thou. Well, as long as they're pursuing Jesus, in striving to be humble and grow in their Holiness. That's exactly what we oughta. Be striving for.

We ought to be pursuing christlikeness.

Not a, not a loose. But distant Association from Christ, way to be striving to come as close to the character of Jesus. As we can. It would be wrong for us to read be holy for. I am Holy as a while. I can't ever be wholly, so I'm not going to try. That would be to say that God aired in communicating his word to us in that way. And God never airs. He doesn't rely.

so, he says, Be holy. He says imitate God. Here's the great hope for us as we imperfectly pursue this in. Our great hope is that we know that when Jesus appears. We will be like him. Just like that. We will be made like him. We will be glorified. For we shall see him as he is. And Romans 5 tells us as possible because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts to the Holy Spirit who was given to us. That means that you have been given the tools you haven't given the resources to increasingly slowly progressively become more and more like Jesus of church. Let's get after it. Let's put all of our spiritual sweat into becoming more like Jesus rather than exerting all of our effort. Pushing away from the very thing that we need to be running to and cleaning to write, rather than the very one that we need to be running to and clinging to Let's do with us, do away with the, this is good enough mindset which serves no one and serves as a, as a broad. Excuse for, I want to live in my own ungodliness. We just aren't we know better than to say that it. What? I can't do that. What the Bible says you can. So do you believe God and you believe that God gave us his word. I do believe that God wants the very best for you. Why would he have sent his son to die in your place on that? Old Rugged Cross? If he would not give you everything you need to fulfill the command that he's called us to. Now it's going to happen. We're in this room, people some who've been following Jesus for seventy or eighty years. Some of them following Jesus for less than a year. We're older were younger. Our spiritual maturity is not necessarily tied to our age or the length of our walk with price of what you and I are responsible for today. Is to make a commitment.

To imitate.

And to walk in love.

And you will either make a commitment to do. What is necessary to pursue Christ in that.

Or not deciding. To make that commitment is also a decision. So at the onset, I want to ask you. What do you think your decision will be? I pray that everyone of us would say. I'm nervous about it, cuz I know I don't do it, right? And we all raise our hands. But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who has given us everything. We need in Love by what would cause we're beloved children were adopted member. Ephesians one tells us that were adopted into God's family God in a way that we can't comprehend, Sovereign, Lee predestined us for adoption, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Remember, he's working in all of history. So that all of the angels, all of the demon everyone would wood would in the end of times, see that God is the worthy want to be praised. He is the only worthy one and God got called people to himself. And he sets them up. If if you will on this trophy shelf, if you will as, as proverbial trophies of God's grace, not one of us will get to heaven and say, are you proud of how? Well I did it by myself?

You say that he'll say something to the effect of away from me you workers of iniquity. I don't know you.

But if we get there and we get asked this question her. I was going to go down and Eternity. Why should I let you in heaven Jesus?

Welcome. Well done. Good and faithful servant. Jesus.

Would it be imitators of God since we've been made? A new creature in Jesus Christ with a live as new creatures in our daily life 1st, John 2:6, that's whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way, in which he walked and then he gives us a pattern. So he gives up the constructive command and then it gives us a pattern for it. We are to copy the specific characteristics in the Bible reveals to us about God, and which we see most visibly in the life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. These are called his communicable attribute. We cannot image God perfectly. We cannot image God, fully because God has attributes that are incommunicable. That means they are attributes of his person and his nature that he does not share with anyone else.

God is omnipresent. No, other being is on the present. God is all-knowing. No, other being is all knowing. But God is love. And God generously and kindly shares. His love. With humans. And so, every communicable attribute, shared attribute, of God, we are to pursue and pursue to the degree of copying him. But we don't get points for creativity.

We see grace extended through just being faithful.

What? I see, how you loved. I want to love in that way. In order to imitate God. It can't go without saying that you need to be a Christian. You need to be a beloved child of God, which means if you stood under the preaching of the word of God weather, in this church were in another church. Are you you've done religion for a very long time. I understand church is going to do Church differently. But but we stand firmly on the foundation that we are dead in our trespasses, Ephesians 2. 89, Paul tells us, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We don't do anything to make our self alive. God made us alive for Peter tells us it is called him to himself. Has made his life together with Christ.

And now is those who are a lie. The moment that happens if I was says we're Justified, the means were made right now that the judge who is God drop at another incoming? To go buy a true. But by the way, the, the gavel drops, He says you are right with God. And so when he looks at it as he sees the righteousness of Christ and we stand on that we live and die on that fact. It is one thing that we will never buy the grace. And mercy of God. We will never recant. Persecution ever comes to this nation. And it's coming. We will not turn away from the reality. That Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And no man comes to the father. But by him. It's not a horse message. Horse message. These are the words of life.

There's a popular line of thinking that says, what everybody is a child of God? When there's a sense in which were created by God's image God.

Created by Him for in him. We live and move and have our being

But the Bible is clear that in order to become a child of God, will only become a child of God, when were born in his family, through the spiritual birthday. A package says it this way. What is a Christian question? Can be answered in many ways. But the richest answer, I know, is that a Christian is one who has God for his father.

Brothers and sisters, let us not live like orphans who live with the Perpetual fear that they're not, they're not cared for by anyone. They're not loved by anyone. They're not. They're not the possession in the in the most generous kindest sense of the word. We are. We we go from being an orphan to being adopted children of God. John 1:12 and 13 says, what to do all who did receive him. Who believed in his name, he gave the right. To become children of God, who were born out of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of, man. But of God for 1st, Peter, 1:3 blessed, be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great Mercy. He has caused us to be born again to a Living, Hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And as we saw in Ephesians 1:5, God predestined us for adoption to himself as Sons through Jesus Christ. According to the purpose of his will and his imitators of God. We are to imitate his characteristics and above all. Walk In Love.

Walk in love. Our daily lives are to be characterized by love as we imitate. Our Father. How do you imitate your father? You look.

You study, you try and full and you watching it and you walk on. Imitating Our Father. Romans 13:8 through 10. Speaking of love says, I owe no one anything except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled, the law.

For the Commandment you shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not covet. And any other command are summed up. In this one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does not does no wrong to a neighbor in there for love is fulfilling the law. So that's that's the second Commander that maybe the the how, how we're to do it. But then here's the pattern that we see if we are to walk in love as or in the same way as or or like or following the pattern of Jesus who loved us and gave himself up for us.

Hold the Christian Life is this. This imperfect, so sought after. As we said earlier, reproduction of godliness, as seen in the person of Jesus.

How quick are we brother and sister to to, to excuse our behavior of living is that we're not able to attain it all the while turning with the other hand and reaching for the very thing that we know we're not supposed to be the very thing that we think is going to give us life. The very thing that we think is going to give us joy. The very thing that we think is going to bring happiness. The very thing we think is going to protect us from being hurt and all the while we're guarding our cells were protecting. Our own hearts. Are building a fortress around our own hearts. And God says, laid out all on the line, walk to the garden and pray with your father begged, your father for another way. Sure. But at the end of the day, when the Lord makes it clear that you're the walk. In this way of obedience, we say, not my will, Yours be done, yours, be done. Father. Give me the grace to take one step of Faith field, obedience. Give me the grace to take another step of Faith filled obedient. Father. Give me the self-control really. Give me the God, the spirit control to be able to keep inside the things that I know shouldn't be coming out of them, at my mouth or shouldn't be expressed through my life. And while I'm working on controlling those behaviors, putting off those patterns that are not glorifying to you. I want to be continually renewed in the spirit of my mind so that I can see. So then I can attest to that, I can celebrate all of the wonderful goodness. That is to be had when I follow you and Faith Hill's obedience, your ways, God our best and I do believe that. But like this insecure and we would say, Lord I believe Would you help my unbelief? Who was the psalmist? Who said, Lord, unite My Heart To Fear your name? I love you. And I want to obey you and I want to walk in love and yet there's a part of my heart. My heart fractured and there are parts of my heart that are floating around over here. And I went to walk in selfishness. I want to walk into seat. I want to walk my own way. So your night, my heart package. It up tied up. Hold it together.

Through desire. That only comes from you too. Love you.

to please you

So, what is this pattern of Love? Look like Steven cold to find it like this biblical love is a self-sacrificing. Caring commitment that shows Itself by seeking the highest good of the one love. You see the five commitments that are in here. One is God's greatest. Love is costly. God, love is cost a costly love. If you say you love someone, you're not willing to sacrifice Beyond a certain measure. Well, then at some level, it's it's a human love. God has called us to live with us. A christ-like self-sacrificing. Love Like Jesus who gave himself up for us. God love is a carrying love. Just as the father has compassion on his children. Psalm 103:13 says, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him those who who review him and want to walk in his ways.

If we think about someone that doesn't share her interest or, or maybe they offended us, or maybe we've been wounded and we've been clinging on to that, that wounding rather than simply putting off bitterness anger, rather than malice. What to put on? Love. Express through. Kindness tender-hearted, this forgiveness.

Forgiveness, always reconciles relationship there a time that that you're not able to forgive someone cuz they haven't come and ask for forgiveness and that's really another conversation. But what we're saying is I have a, I have a posture. I have a disposition, that is willing and ready to forgive. And how do you act when you have that disposition? Will you walk in love your tenderhearted toward them, you don't wish them harm. You want the best for them, you pray for them?

Got love is a committed, love.

it in a very real human, since Jesus didn't go to the Cross cuz he wanted to

He wasn't taking old man. This is going to be. It's against going to be a tough fourth quarter, but man it's going to be great afterward. It's going to, it's going to feel good while I go through this. No is a committed. Love not my will Lord. You're sweet. He committed to it and he followed it through, it's a conspicuous, love it shows itself. Right? In other words. It's not just thinking nice thoughts about others, but it's also evident in our Deeds, very similar. They took the passage that we read about actually not but it still comes from Jame, right? They were talking about, show me your faith without works and I'll show you something. There's no faith at all Loosely paraphrased, and God's love is a consecrating love. As already mentioned. It's committed to seeking the good of the one that is loved. And because Christ loved the church, he purpose, he committed. He made it visible that he would sanctify the church wife for this purpose, which will see later on in a fusion5 that he might present to himself the church in all her glory with no spot of wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.

That means as a, as a consecrating love is a love that that seeks to to in the ways God has made. Accessible to us. To be consecrating ourselves and working together to consecrate or or make holy. One another for the day, when we'll see Jesus.

For the day, when will get to be with him forever. Hey, brother, and sister. If you're not in a relationship, where someone else can speak truth in love into your life. You were on a dangerous. Precipice.

We need to be in committed relationships. In some way, I can look like a lot of different formats but committed relationships where there's someone or many, someone who can come to you and speak into your life. Things that, you know, that you don't want to hear and then, you know, you don't want to hear but they know that you desire christlikeness. They know that you desire to walk in love and they love you.

By helping you become more like Christ.

If you know someone who is in a nice in that they are committed to, it is unloving to allow them to continue in it. We think well, I'm just being nice. Why? I don't want to be judgmental. Well, if I say this they may respond in this way. All of the responses are God's to worry about. Ours is to walk faithfully and circumspectly and help one another grow to be like Christ.

So how long are we supposed to do this? How do we pursue this? As we as we close together? What one we need to look to the future. We need to focus, take the focus off of our present reality. That doesn't mean minimize. It doesn't mean it's an important. We need to make it the Lesser Focus, right? Paul said, so we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but I'm what is unsafe for what is seen is temporary or transient? And what is seen or what is unseen is eternal, Focus your minds on the things that are Eternal that's called walking in faith. We also know that imitating is of as possible because as we mentioned earlier, God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Spirit. We were able to bear fruit. That's not ours. It's here it is. We don't seek to produce the fruits. We abide in him and he produces the fruit. As we grow in him, history tells us that when Alexander, the Great's discovered a coward in his army who also had the name Alexander. He told the soldier renounce, your cowardice. I renounce your name.

Those who carry God's name. Are care more about God's name and we are our family name. Those who carry God's name.

Alex change their identity.

On this Earth. For being associated with the one true Eternal God.

For commitments on, ask you to consider.

Actually, real not really mine.

And I really don't want to ask you to consider them. I would ask you to do them.

Commit yourself to living entirely for the glory of God. Say God, whatever you bring in my life. I Pray by your grace that I will live For Your Glory.

I know it won't be perfect. Friend, if you think we're going to surprise God through imperfect pursuit of Holiness. You're sorely mistaken. He's not shocked, you send. I sent my son to die on the cross, for all these people said, No, not a chance, commit yourself to learning God's ways, a little everyday friends. I can't tell you how frequently I hear. Somebody say something about the way that their living and say, well, I just I just don't know that much about the Bible. That's fine. The question is will, you know a little bit more about it tomorrow? Or you just going to continue walking with that, excuse in pocket. And then every time after you're pursuing your own ways, or just doing it, how you think it might be might be giving it your best effort. Problem is if you're not doing it according to knowledge. Well, it's still going to lead you down a faulty Road and then every time somebody challenging. Are you just with that bad boy out? Well, I don't know that much about the Bible. Well, I'm not much of a reader. What God gave us a book. I don't know how to do this perfectly in or I'm nervous about her. I'm afraid of what will happen if these are all legitimate conversations. The question is today, you have the opportunity to commit and say I'm going to learn God's ways a little bit every day. Through his word. Three. Commit yourself to ask God's help. God loves to help those who call on him, what it glorifies him. So you ask for help, you open your book and say God. I want to live For Your Glory three-in-one right there.

And to love others, we need to commit yourself. You need to commit yourself to active participation in the local church. If you're a regular Tanner and Oak Grove Church.

You really ought to come to consider being a member of Oak, Grove Church, making a commitment thing. I want to commit to joining in an agreement in a partnership with the other members of this church to pursuing christlikeness and everything. If you send another Another Love, Like Mine did Jesus preaching Church. Wonderful. Get engaged in that local Body of Christ. Commit yourself to walking in love with those. God has sovereignly placed you in the proximity of work to build up the body of Christ. Don't work. That are they on the body of Christ? Don't work to gripe about the church don't work. That complain about how things are going work to walk in love with you melody. And all the while. With a constant awareness that we're imperfect in it. God. I sent his son. God, demonstrated his love and that while we were yet, sinners Christ died for us.

And from that moment on, when we come to faith in Christ. We pursue righteousness. And when we fail, which will be often. We cry out to the Lord and confess it and we receive is forgiveness. And then we walk in confidence. All by his grace. As we take the Lord's Supper to Paris. This is a wonderful time for you to sort of, I was calling whisper preach, the gospel to your kids, or whisper talked to gospel to your kids. As as we take communion, hear. This may be different from a church. Do you attend will have four servers at 2-2 in the front corners and two in the back quarters, and we want to encourage you. If you attend a church, that's a Jesus preaching church. We want to encourage you to share in the Lord's supper with us. If your profession, is that I'm a Child of God. I am saved by God's grace and by God's grace alone to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If you're not sure that you're a Christian, we would encourage you just to remain seated and use it as a great time for prayer. It's really no but there's really no better of a request in to say Lord search me and know, my heart test me and shorthand help me see what my relationship with you is like if I have one. There's no better time than a cast off yourself and put on the Lord Jesus Christ than right here right now.

It knowing that we live in community with one another. This is a wonderful time to go in Courage. A brother or sister who's encouraged you in the face or if there's someone you know, there's Discord with this is a very appropriate time to to grab a brother or sister or maybe even a family member and say hey we need to talk about this at some point in time. We can't do it. All right now but Can we work toward reconciliation?

Can you help me know how I offended you?

Want to grab another brother or sister and just take a moment to pray together. The worship team will lead us in a minute as they do will sing and you can you can move straight away to communion as we begin to worship together. Or you can pause, you can sit in your seat and you can pray for a while. And then when you're ready, you can get up and go to Any Corner. Servers will stay there until the end, and and they'll gladly serve you whenever you're ready.

Children. If you're not sure what this is all about, ask your mom and dad. Why do we eat this bread and drink this juice? No, gladly tell you about how Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross for you. Osprey. father, we are indebted to you and we are filled with the