My Identity in Christ - Part 4

Thank you for joining us for this broadcast from The Ninth Avenue Church of Christ in Haleyville Alabama. We hope that you will subscribe and we'll share our broadcast with others. Now, we take you to the pulpit of the 9th, Avenue Church of Christ. Well, good morning. Once again, going to take your Bibles and open them the first Thessalonians. 1st Thessalonians, chapter 5 are going to wrap up our time and the Book of 1st Thessalonians today. I really enjoyed the time that we have spent together in this book. As we've talked about our identity in Christ and what that means for us and how we're supposed to live and act and, and how we kind of fit into the body of cross together. Last week. I tell you. I really like you a lot of times, a lot of times I can be guilty of spending time getting ready to work into a sermon on Sunday morning and then sit down Monday morning and and that sermons over that sermons done and I'm kind of pouring into the next thing. The next lesson, the next idea and I get kind of more forward Focus than what we just talked about focus. And I know I'll just be real upset where you sit before in my life. There there. Call me some Sunday morning so I could do a car out. What did I preached about last week? And half of you couldn't tell me what I preached about last week and that's okay. I won't hold it against you not at all cuz sometimes I forget what I preached on last week, but last week's sermon as we talked about the return of Jesus. In the resurrection, I'd spend a lot of time in that kind of lesson. I was kind of there was a part of me that was kind of let down enough that time, study process was over. And then I got to really reading into the next chapter in and I have Paul 1st Thessalonians a number of different time but it didn't hit me that the section that we're going to talk about today was the first passage of scripture that I preached my first like real sermon. Not, you know, one of those youth devotional Nights by the night that I was called to a fill in at the Waterloo Church of Christ in Waterloo. Alabama, there a preacher that had a horse thing, accidentally broke his leg and they were they called and asked We have some, you guys that could come in and then fill in. And this particular passage I was in that Sunday night and I remember I mean, I was, I was fired up, I was ready to go. I was 16 years old, I was I was going to be the greatest sermon that anybody has ever heard. Or at least that group of people ever heard and I had eight pages worth of note and I was done in 7 minutes. 7 Minutes. Some of you were thinking we can we be done in 7 minutes today. I don't think I can say my name and 7 Minutes anymore but as I was studying this passage this week and looking at it. One of the things that it made me think about it. We stand my own wife is is how we grow as Christians and how the same passage that we look at today and we live our life. For the next couple years, you can come back to that passage and it can mean something new. It can mean something different, it can touch you in a different way. You'll realize something that you have never realized before. And there's I was going through this text this weekend, looking at it and thinking about him certain ways, something kind of touched me and hit me that that really kind of help me into this, this study this week because, you know, Paul spends a lot of time talking when we were talking a bit more about this, we talked about who we are who we are as Christians and and really focusing our identity as being grounded in Christ. And then he he gives the chapter 4. He says, you need to live this way because there's going to come a time where you going to be judged by God, you're going to stand before, God, you're going, you're going to have your opportunity to receive your rewards that come from being a child of God. And now is we kind of transition into the kind of transition into the very end of the book that he lets us know. Hey, this now is about you choosing who you're going to be. This is about making up your mind of what your identity is going to be and how you're going to follow Christ. And this is what I was thinking about this week. This is my kind of hit me and Neil posted. I think on our on our Facebook page, something very similar to this yesterday. But this idea every church has a choice to loving Lee surrender, to God's spirit or to allow negativity to undermine dismiss. And I thought about this this week, because because as I look at the world around me, cuz I look at the situation that were in, in our country, the things that we Face, the things that we deal with day-to-day, as I watch the news. And I, and I and I hear about things and I see politicians talk about this on this side. And that on the other side, I believe that our nation as a whole, his tilted, to a negative mindset, a little bit and argumentative mom, set a little bit that comes when there's frustration, that comes when you go to the grocery store and they do. And I've got a big family in our, our grocery bills, a lot more than some because of the size of our family that we bought six bags at Walmart. The other day of just a little things that we needed in the, in the price of that. Just totally blew my mom. Just just shocked me how much, so it'll cost and then how many of you have taken out a loan this week to get gas? Anybody, anybody taking out a loan this week to get gas, just mean okay. You know, in in, in those type of things, they frustrate us, don't they, those type of things frustrated. And when we get frustrated, our attitude can tend to become what negative? Positivity, very rarely comes out of frustration. So it's called frustration, right? And if we're not careful, if we're not careful, we can let that frustration in the world since creep into our attitude, creep, into our heart, and then as we begin to deal with each other, as we begin to walk with each other and live with each other, we let those were only frustration come in and affect our spiritual man said all the way really shouldn't be a difference, but it affects our spiritual monsters. And if we're not careful, we allowed negativity to become something that we're fighting amongst ourselves. So we have to make up our minds as an individual. And as a church, are we going to love and Lee surrender to God's spirit, okay? And let God Spirits, dictate and push us where we need to go, or are we going to allow negativity to undermine its Mission, whose mission God's missing. God Spirits Mission, the mission of making disciples of being like Christ and helping other people. Become like Christ. And as we read this section and through this section, what I kind of gathered from it cuz he says, looked in a nutshell you are this in Christ there for you to make up your mind? Are you going to live in a positive way for you to live in a negative way? He's going to talk about some things that will cause us to live in a positive or the negative. But this idea is so important because someone told me one time I was dealing with some things in my own life and he says your perception defines your reality. And I think that's very true. Your perception defines your reality. And if we go through life with a negative perception, and we're kind of a kind of got that negative filter, in our life, our reality around us going to be perceived as what Negative, if I'm a half a glass-half-full kind of person, every situation. I look at is going to be half-full. Now, the flip side of that, if I'm a positive person, if I choose to live in a positive frame of mind, if I press the frame, seen things in a positive way, no matter what's going on, then things are round. They will seem more positive and in churches can can can do that. We can be, you know, what you said things and any negative kind of stamps or we can choose to look at things in a positive, kind of sense in those things are so important. We make up our mind to be a loving Church. Full of God's spirit, then that's going to help us as we have to face and deal with challenges to look at those challenges and deal with them in a positive way. Can you deal with a negative thing in a positive way? Absolutely absolutely. So Paul's going to talk about some things here and then we're going to dig into some of these things together this morning. The first thing that I want you to see As we wrap up the end of a dress from a lot of Paul's riding is that the indicative comes before the imperative, the indicative comes before the imperative. Now, someone raise your hand and tell me exactly what that means. Raise your hand if you're like, okay, that's a great statement, but I have no clue, have no clue, okay? So the word indicative carries the idea of a state of being or who we are, okay? So and then imperative for like, the things that you must do you have to do it. So here's what I want you to see from this entire study, first and foremost is who we are comes before. What we do. Comes before what we do now, let's back that statement up just a little bit and let us, let's not have any confusion cuz I don't want any confusion. Once you become a child of God, that that is the first step in this process. Having your sins washed away. Jesus says you know what believe believe and be baptized. You should be safe Peter says on the day of judgment Acts 2:38. Repent. Be baptized everyone of you for forgiveness of your sins, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We talked about that within this lesson, okay we've talked about the words from 1st Peter of your baptism. Now saves you? Not the it's not the removal of dirt about the the pledge of a good conscience to God to the power of the Resurrection in Jesus K. So we can have all we get we got all these. That's the first thing OK. Google, a child of God you become a child of God. Now I'm now a child of God. I've gone through that process. I've had my sins washed away. I've been baptized, okay, I'm in that save states with Jesus. That's where this comes in. The indicative, now comes before the imperative, who I am comes first and I think that's something that sometimes within our fellowship within the hour history within our past that we thought maybe the other way around that, the imperatives come before the indicative, put it this way. What we do makes us who we are, if I want to be holy, if I want to be holy than I have to do these things to be wholly. Okay. Does that make sense? Paul says, though, you are so go do he does not say go do. So you can become you're already a child of Christ. In my research, this week, I came across some of it was very interesting. It's it's from, it's from a book called a Jesus now, and he says that there are 30 different things. That once you become a child of God, you are defined by, you are defined by these things not by doing anything else. Then becoming a child of God, let me read some of them to your real quickly. Not all 30 of them, but he says, music of a child of God, you are dead to your sins. You have been made alive with Christ. You are born of God, you are God's. Masterpiece you are. Are of God, you are more than a conqueror. You are beloved by God, you are free in Christ. You are forgiven, you are healed. You are strengthened. You have Christ Living inside of you. You are a citizen of Heaven, you have everlasting life, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. God is for you. Even when others are against you, that's just a few of those things. There's 30 of these things that he says, when you become a child of God, you are these thing that is what defines you and you don't have to do anything to have those things other than be a child of God. And I like I said, sometimes were backwards in that. Sometimes we teach you have to do this and this and this and this to have this and daughter to be right with God. If you really study this book, You're really study this book, Paul spins, there's five chapters in this book, Paul spends three chapters of the five talkin about who we are before, he talks about what we need to be doing. And that really jumped out to me, this go around. Because I want you to know that there is value in your salvation, there is a purpose to your salvation and it's not just to make you work. It is your salvation that moment you become a child of God, it changes your identity. And that's what these 30 things are really about. It changes. Your identity, it changes, your state of being changes who you are at the most core fundamental level at the spirit level inside of you. I want you to know that this morning if there is value in your salvation, it changes and makes you something very special to God and should make us very special to each other. Now what why, why why make that difference? Why, why say it's about being and then doing rather than doing to become? And to me, to me is I'm study this week, it's an issue of motivation. It's an issue of motivation, you see, if I'm working in this process of, I have to do this, do this, do this, to then become this, it will be easy for me to stand back and go. I'm never going to get there. This is unattainable. We talked about this before. God says be holy because I'm holy and a lot of us here that statement and go, there's no way that I can never be wholly. How many of you feel that way? There's no way I can never be. Holy, like God, but God's. Not going to tell you to do something that you can't do. Agreed if God says be holy because I'm holy guess what? You can become. Say it. What can you become? You can do it. But if we have this idea that the only way I can become holy is to hit this, Mark is in this month and then this March and then this March is going to be so easy for me to stand back here and go. There's no way I'll ever get there. I think the reason we feel like I can't be holy because God is Holy is because we don't feel like we can do enough to be holy and that statement is true but our relationship with God is Not frame that way. Not frame that way because you become a child of God. Guess what You Are. Holy You Are Holy now. If I look at this and say, I have already obtained these things, I am these things. These are gifts from God. Then I can find motivation to then go serve. I have these things from God. I appreciate these things from God. I love these things from God and as a show of my love and appreciation to God, I will now go do for God. It's an issue of motivation. I had this kid in my youth group, and I was in McMinnville and I never forgot the statement. And he says, when I talk I was talking about setting the bar in your life and goes when I set the bar, I said it as low as I can, which was completely backwards from what I was talking about, right? And I was talking about what setting, the bar. We're setting the bar in your life, High, you know? Clear that bar live up here and I go gray, why do you want to set the bar so low? He goes that way. I can do all cleared every day and that's true. And that really I thought about that and I thought about that mindset of God wants us to succeed in this walk with him. He is not set the standard so high that we can't live it. He said, you are these things? You're saved already, don't question it. Don't don't worry about that. I have given you my spirit. Ok, I'm giving you my spirit just live this life. I've got all this other stuff taken care of, just serve me because of how much you love me now So, it's not that the imperatives aren't there? It's not that the executives aren't there's just sometimes I feel like maybe we teach at the In-N-Out in a sense that makes our Christian walk somewhat unattainable to those from the outside looking in our for those young Christians, I don't want you to know that you are these things in Christ and because of those things, there is a line that you can live to show him how much you appreciate those things. And that brings us to the next idea. Hear the imperatives from our study from this particular book. The things that we need to do the do's and don'ts if you will from this particular text. So it will look and see what those are in. This is the way I want you to look at it these imperatives here or it would, we can live one way and be a positive church or we can live. Another way, we could be a negative Church. Okay, this is this is all about Framing and in these ideas. So he says, the way you have to live. The first thing you mentioned, here is the way we live towards. Our leaders are towards our elders, in this particular passage were to look at. He says respect. Think highly of them and get along with them. So, Are you? So let's look at our Arctic 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 and 13 together, okay? Now we ask you brothers and sisters to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you and the Lord, and who admonish, you hold them in the highest Regard in love because of their work live. In peace, with each other. I'm going to tell you what I have. I've worked under a handful of different eldership. Same number of different Elders. I've worked in a few different congregations. Everybody's every church has relationship with their eldership is it is different and has its own personality and different things I have never though in

I have never seen a test of church relationship with their Elders in the way that I did during covid. And, and not just here across the board in Church's, most people, it was just be real. This is be honest for a minute, most people love their Elders, when their Elders. Don't do anything that rock the boat, drag the elders. Just do what's always been done or they do what the majority of people want. Everybody is usually pretty happy with the elders. It is when the elders have to make decisions that that are challenging or hard, that that tends to get people a little rough on the one of the things interesting in our relationships with our elders of the church. Is it can't we think about our world and our society we live in a society that is a Democratic Society where we always have a boat in a, in a say in the in the laws and the things that go around a long around us and in the the leadership that leads us and our country you know, where one of the very few countries that can lead a Revolt a revolt against its leadership every four years and get rid of one party and add another and it be peaceful gave most of the time that involves a war in other countries, but we get to do that every four years. We get to completely if we so choose overturn. Our government and put new people. That, that is something that does not happen, really the way it does here. Anywhere else in the world has such a blessing. We get a safe. So sometimes we bring that into the church and we go well, I should have a say in the process I don't like walk the elders decided, so I'm going to, I'm going to have a say in this process. I want us to understand something first as we think about our elders, Always frame it with this idea. That our elders are ordained leaders from God. They are ordained leaders from God. One of the interesting things in my relationship with Elders is I like to have a friendly brotherly relationship with the man that I serve under. But along with that, I also have to realize that there are times that they are my brother. They deal with me in that sense. And then there are times where they are my elders and they are my boss, if you will, and I have to respect that relationship and that Dynamic. And I have to be able to notice that and see that it's so in those moments, what does he say here? He says acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord. And then that's something I want you to know about the leaders of his church is that our leaders are Elders, they care for you. I care for you. They, they, they think about you. They pray for you, they worry about you. They're concerned about your life. And he says, hold them in the highest regard. Hold them in the highest regard and love because of their work and live in peace with each other. That answer this, what he says, he says, respect them, not just in the room not just to their face. But away from here, one of the things that I make sure that is is if the elders ever make a decision that I don't agree with him that I don't like and I wish you had gone a different way. I don't ever want anybody to know that I've disagreed with them, I don't, because it's not good for you to hear me. Say, I will they made this decision, but I don't like it. Okay. Cuz it causes division. It causes friction. I never go out and talk about those things and I think highly of them then he says, get along with them. Sometimes I can be a challenge when you have a difference of opinion or different of direction or a different idea, but it does look if you're going to be a positive churches, start with how you respect your leaders. And if you don't respect those, then it's going to trickle down in negative ways. But you do respect them, it's going to trickle down and positive way. So the first imperative here is how we look at our leaders or allergies has respect them being highly of them and get along with them. Then the next imperative is towards our brothers and sisters towards each other. All right towards each other he says Warren encourage help and stop keeping score. Oh, I see what he says here. 1st Thessalonians 5 starting in verse 14. And we argue brothers and sisters. Warn those who are idle and disruptive encourage the disheartened. Help the weak be patient with everyone. Make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do, what is good for each other and for everyone else. So it's break this down for singing first. He's he's got three. Kind of category is Warren encourage and be patient, okay? I think these are interesting things because he first he says, warn those who are idle and disruptive back up and just look at this word bottle for just a second. Sometimes people who are idle sometimes people who are disheartened or maybe not involve can look from the outside as the same type of person. I'm just not doing a whole lot. I'm not really that involved. But these words here, first and foremost, tell first and foremost tell me that I have to know you to know where you are. I'm supposed to know how I'm supposed to deal with you. The know how I'm supposed to approach you do? I, if I don't know you I may not know if your idle or if your disheartened I may not know if your disruptive or if you're just really frustrated and down and just need some encouragement okay but the first thing he says to do here is there comes a time and a place where our brothers and sisters who just sit there and decide not to do anything. and then in the process called problems, he says, when those people Warn those people to not be that way. Tell him he looked this in a while we're not doing negative. We're not doing negative where we're not doing disruptive, okay we're not just going to sit here and and lobbed grenades into the situation and I think that's a difficult thing to do. Because a lot of people think Had this conversation once I'm with an elder at another place. It was an interesting conversation. A lot of people think the lack of Conflict equals peace with the lack of conflict equals peace. That's a lot of people's mindset. Hey. So there may be tension between Jonathan and I but as long as I keep him at a distance and I don't create conflict and we don't have a knock-down-drag-out argument, then there's peace in that, okay? But is that really true? We know, that's not true. Sometimes conflict is the only way to get to what peace and not negative conflict. But saying, okay, this is the problem, this is the issue, this is the challenge you need to work on DS. I need to work on this. We need to work through this together, okay? Warn them and say we're not going to do sometimes, we have to work through difficult moments to get the peace within the next thing here is encouraged the disheartened, okay? Encourage the Departed. We have to sometimes roll our sleeves up and say I don't know what's going on, but I'm here and I just want to be here with you, all right? This is about relationships that this this right, this, this verse is so much about relationships that if we don't have relationships with people, we don't know where they are, okay? And then help the week. But then, the last idea here is what, what is he say? Be patient with some people. Nobody says that the Tyler was he say, be patient with everyone, even the ones who are causing problems. The ones you're most frustrated with just be patient with them and then he goes and in this is so human nature. Make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong. Don't keep score. You got me. So I'm going to get you but always strive to do what is best for yourself. I want to say this. This verse has nothing to do with your feelings whatsoever. Has to do with who's the other people make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do, what is good for each other and for Everyone else. Your feelings aren't even mentioned in their are they they are, but it's mentioned in someone else. Making sure you're taking care of, not you taking care of yourself. Spend your time and energy taking care of other people and then other people spend their time and energy taking care of you. That's how we create positive things in our church towards yourself. He talks about yourself here. He says, Rejoice, pray and say thank you.

Sorry you were 16. Rejoice always, I love this. This is a command. How about we take it as a strong suggestion sometimes because sometimes were negative nancys and we don't rejoice and Things We Should Rejoice. Always, pray continually give thanks in all circumstances for. This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Okay. So he says, look in your own life, you need to have a sense of Joy. Once I realize that I am all of these things, I mentioned in Christ. I should have an abundance of Joy. All right, I should overflow with joy. That should be where I am. That should be. My mom said that should be my disposition. I should be a joyful person. If I'm not a joyful person then I don't understand and grasp who I am and Jesus, I truly believe that. If you're not a joyful person, you don't understand the power of the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have put out the spirits fires, he's going to talk about here in just a moment, we just be rejoiceful, always, always be prayerful about things. And then when you are talking to God, Give thanks regardless of what's going on in your life for this is God's will. This is why God wants for you out of your life. He moves only said, then there's this idea of what we do towards God. He says, don't distinguish or despise the spirits work, do not quench the spirit.

Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all, hold on to what is good and reject every kind of evil. This is an interesting verse to me.

Because it is the opposite side of the coin from a Biblical perspective, what's going on in car at, okay? So in car rent, as you read the book of 1st Corinthians, they have really bought into the idea of spirit lead things, right? I mean, to the point that they're like, hey the spirits giving me this and giving you that. But I'm better than you because of what the spirits giving me my my gift, and in the way I'm serving I'm better than you in like they're taking it to a whole like they're only there on this side of the spectrum and Paul comes in and he's got to pull them back from that is going to pull them back to the center of that. And this church is a Savannah cat seems to be on the other side. Almost to the point that they're afraid of the spirit of God. And they're trying to put the spirit out and I think, for a lot of us in the Churches of Christ, this describes where we've been, as a church that we are afraid of the spirit of God. I'm going to say, why I think we're afraid two things, two things, one is because of what other people say that the spirit doesn't is and we don't want we think that's wrong and so we don't want to be wrapped up or or accused of being that at all. So we're going to run all the way over here and we're going to put it out and when I do have anything to do with it and then, secondly, we like things we can quantify We are things we can quantify and in our minds. In our minds, we feel like we can quantify who goddess. We can fit him in a box, God the Father. Okay, and we think we can quantify Jesus, Jesus God Son, but then there's this mystical nest if you will sometimes that surrounds our thought of the holy spirit with the Holy Ghost. And those words seem unquantifiable, if that's the word and we can't fit him in a box to make sense out of him. so, we just ignoring

so, we just ignoring And Paul says, you're dealing with your relationship with God. An imperative, a do in a don't hear, is he says, don't quit the spirit. And we do that in a couple of different ways, but I think ultimately, we do that by putting our own desire over what the spirit wants. Now, this is an interesting conversation because we can get in the New Testament, you know, spiritual gifts in, and today, spiritual gifts, and to what degree does the spirit got us and then, give us ideas, and thoughts and lead us. And we all believe that if we see God's will God's going to motivate us and, and, and push us in certain ways. But what I've seen this goes back to respecting our elders and respecting each other is is the elders. Must be spending some time, praying about something and they met they maybe they may still at the spirit is leading them to make a certain decision. And the spirit is really pushing them in that way. And I say, okay, we going to pull the trigger and do this. The spirit is leading Us in this direction and then my own personal desire is not in that direction. So I'm going to do everything I can to put that out. And in that moment, I'm breaking this command. Just because you don't want, it doesn't mean the spirit doesn't want to see it happen but our own personal desires can put the spirits far out. Quench that word is the word that means to drowned out to 2 exhaust. But he says look in those moments be diligent test them. Take a look at it from a true biblical perspective. Pray about those things and the good things hold on to him and if they're not good, then don't get away from have nothing to do with them. Please just respect the spirit in the process of your walk. With God, we're running out of time. So let's keep going here. Here's the last thing that I want you to get that helps a sprained things. The gift that keeps on giving. Call starts out this book, talking about Grace and as the ends it he says, may God himself, the God of Peace sanctify, you through, and through May, your whole Spirit soul and body. Be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord. Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and will do it. Brothers and sisters. Pray for us greet. All God's people with a holy kiss, I charge you before the Lord. You have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters the grace of our Lord. Jesus Christ. Be with you must back up. You know what? I'm not how to hurt a lot of lessons on lately, vs26 greet, all people with the Holy kiss. So we spend time on that has Kobe taken that out? I don't know. So that's supposed to be funny. Nobody laugh. That's okay. Back up, one more the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. He starts with Grace and ends with Grace and this is what I want you to understand. God gives us Grace to start and finish the race.

God gives us Grace to start and finish the race. God is on your side this morning. I want you to know that God is on your God is pulley for you. God is rooting for you. God wants you to succeed. In in this life. As his child, he wants you to all these things that he has made you. He wants you to continue being those things. And he says, when you struggle with those things, understand, since I'm right here, beside you, I'm right here, beside you.

In the boat with you. Jesus tell his disciples will not go, take it in the boat. Let's go to the other side in the middle of the night. A storm comes up, and they look at Jesus, he was leaving. So, don't you care that? I drowned, he says, you still have no faith. He calms the storm that question for a lot of reasons, but one reason is this, don't you realize, who was in the boat with you? Because I told you, let's go to the other side of Jesus says, you're going to go to the other side then where you got to go to the other side. It says my grace is right here with you. I'm here with you at the beginning of this journey, I'm going to be with you in the middle of it. I'm going to be right there with you at the end of it. God's grace gives us the ability to start and finish the race. And our identity can be grounded and rooted in that on this day. So, that brings us to the end of this study of 1st Thessalonians. I hope that you have found it beneficial. I hope that you have grown in some way from, and I hope you've learned something from it. I hope that this book has has has touched you as it has touched me over this study together, what's the clothes are less than with a word of prayer? And then we'll have the invitation God. We thank you for the chance to just be in your presence. This morning, we thank you for those in this room. We thank you for those who have gone before. I send have begun to live with you in heaven. As we all wait, the coming of your sign so that we can all spend eternity with you. God, we thank you for your spirits and we thank you for Paul and his willingness to listen to your spirit. And write these words that we've studied over the last six weeks. We pray that we've been encouraged. We pray that we've been uplifted and that we continue to focus on who we are through you, and continue to walk in that identity and always being on known as a child of yours. God, I pray for those this morning whose identity is not rooted in you. Cuz we talked about this process starts was becoming a child of years of having our sins washed away of listening to your word. Being baptized for the weekend that we can, so we can truly come in contact with your grace. From their God, be with those that are struggling. That need your grace. Maybe more than others in this moment. Give them strength. Let them know that you were there. So your son's name we pray. Amen.

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