Bumby Bible Questions 13

Introduction

Well, as you can tell, we’re doing things a little different this morning. This being the fourth Sunday morning of the month. This is our monthly QA. Uh and we ask just two things of you really. Number one is to try to learn that routine. We’re trying to get some consistency of every fourth Sunday at our 9 a.m. service will be our QA period. And more importantly than that is please submit your questions. We have questions, we have some questions still remain, certainly, uh, but we’re always soliciting new questions. Uh few ways you can submit those to us, but please, for Greg’s sake, his memory’s not what it used to be. Uh, submit those in writing. Uh, and that’s the only reason, is because we may free if you come up to us and say, Hey, here’s a question, we may or may not remember that.

And so if it’s in writing, whether it’s by email or on a piece of paper that you hand to us, or a piece of paper you put in the suggestion box in the foyer, uh, that would be helpful. Um also might be helpful as as Greg said, I think last month, to put your name on that. And please know we’ll never attach your name on the PowerPoint or in our presentation. It’s not our intent to embarrass anybody. Uh, but if we might have a follow-up question about your question, uh it may be simply just to ask you to interpret your handwriting. So if you put your name on that, that would help uh some uh as well. Or you can email those to us, uh all those ways that you can communicate those questions to us.

I can assure you, if you have the question, there the odds are great that there’s probably many people who have that same question. So don’t be bashful uh about submitting those questions to us, and we’ll try our best uh to address those in our session such as this. So we’ve looked forward to this, and uh hope we’ve got some three or four. What do you think? I’m at how many we’ll get through this morning, but some good questions, and we look forward to those. Uh one note on the handing them to us, first of all. Ken uh nicely for our benefit said we may or may not forget. Uh he will forget that has happened. And so you can either write it now and we’ll have it for next month, or you can write it next month and we’ll have it for three or four months later.

Uh but we will forget if you just say it to us out loud. So please write it down. But for the email, that box again is Bumby BibleQuestions at gmail.com, Bumby BibleQuestions at gmail.com. So you don’t have to go get a pen and paper. Uh this is the 21st century. There’s an email box that we always forget to check. You can send your questions there. Uh and that will be very helpful too. Uh by the way, one quick note to our guys in the booth, and for those who are missing today, we do have a pretty substantial portion who are out of town, maybe 30, 40% of us. Uh, we do uh have these recorded. They do a great job at recording these sessions and all the lessons and special service uh times and speeches that are given from time to time.

1. How Much Money Before It Becomes Evil?

And so we want to give a big thank you to the booth for doing that. But also know you can go back and go through the answers. You can see uh where Ken was wrong and uh where I had some good points to add. Uh, and then you can share that with your friends, too, by the way. So whether you’re not here or there’s a question maybe you’ve been taking from somebody else that gave us the question, please feel free to use this resource in any way that you feel is of benefit to people and in the kingdom. It was that one Sunday. One Sunday. So never forget. Okay. Alright, to our first question. Uh how much can you consider money money before it becomes evil?

One point about submitting this question. This question came to us from where? Qatar. So we assume someone was watching the video overseas and submitted that question. And so if you’re watching this on YouTube or on the internet, then by all means you can submit those questions as well. A question about money. How much can we consider money before it becomes a problem and an evil in our life? And of course, what comes to mind there is 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 10, that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. I know many people are very quick and rightfully so to say, no, money’s not evil. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and that’s true.

That’s scriptural. That’s Paul’s inspired words in 1 Timothy 6, there, that we have quoted on the screen behind us. But the question then is, at what point does it become a love of money versus needing money to exist? Whether you like it or not, we do have to live in a world that takes money, and that’s how you eat, that’s how you get necessities, that’s how we pay for a home, that’s how we pay for things that we enjoy. And those things are God’s blessings. Having a job is a blessing from God. Working at that job is a blessing from God, and a blessing from God is the fruits of those labors. And so the question isn’t is money evil, of course. It’s at what point is that line where I’ve crossed over from gaining this resource and using something to the enjoyment God intended unto the love of money that would be sinful and more problematically could lead to other kinds of sin.

It’s the root of all kinds of evil. Where is that line? And so to answer that question, we have to really focus on that third word there. What is the love of money? What does it mean to love money in that sinful way? Well, if we thought about love, particularly in the context of the scripture, our mind would probably go to 1 Corinthians 13, and we won’t ask you to turn there this morning. You’re very familiar with that passage, we assume. If not, read that in your private studies. But there we have a good explanation, maybe even a definition of what love is. And one thing that that passage teaches us is that when we love something and we’re motivated by love, that we will sacrifice for that object of our love, and we will serve that which we love.

That’s the foundation for our relationship with God. We serve Him because we love Him. And if we start talking about what love of money really is, it is love is something that we’re willing to sacrifice for, and something for which we’re willing to serve. And we began to ask ourselves do I have that love for money? That is the root of all kinds of evil. Am I sacrificing things for money? Am I sacrificing my family? Am I sacrificing my morals and ethics? Am I sacrificing my relationship with God for those physical material objects? Am I serving that money? Is that really my main motivation in life? Is that why I get up in the morning? Is that why I do many of the things that I do?

Is because my drive for that money. And so we begin to see the death define this idea of love. It’s one thing, as Greg said to say, to quote that passage of 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 10. But it’s another thing to really ask what that means and to make an application to our lives. Now I think if we’re honest, many of us dismiss this concept because we say, well, that doesn’t apply to me. That’s just rich people. It’s the rich that’ll have trouble getting into the kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, and I’m not rich, so I’m excused from that. Well, there’s two problems, two objections to that objection. Number one is we are rich. Compared to many people in the world and even in our country, we would be defined as being wealthy.

There are millions of people, literally millions of people, who would like to have your current income right now. And so we are rich by some standards. But secondly, it’s not only the rich people. 1 Timothy 6 and verse 10 doesn’t say the love of money for rich people is the root of all kinds of evil. Someone has said, and it’s kind of corny, but it makes the point that you can be blinded by a nickel if you hold it close enough. And so any amount of money can, in our love, inordinate love for that, can become a stumbling block to our service to God. And so we must ask ourselves truly, do I sacrifice things that are good? Do I serve money? Is it my God in reality?

There’s a couple of ways that temptation manifests itself. One of those ways is in the Proverbs, not Solomon, but a different speaker in the Proverbs once was saying, I wish that I would either have too much or too little. Because having too little, he would lust for more to fulfill his needs. And if he had too much, he would be greedy and perhaps arrogant and feel he didn’t need God. And so there’s that one sense of which Ken talked about. We need to make sure that we’re on guard against, feeling like, well, we’re not qualified to have this temptation. Or in fact, maybe that we have too much. And so we don’t think about God. That would be a temptation because we’re allowing money to be our need, and as long as I can make money, I don’t need God.

And so there’s that pivot point where love is a problem defined by what we sacrifice for, as Ken aptly said. When we live for money or what it buys or the security it brings or the opportunity it provides, we’ve removed God from his proper place. It’s one thing to say, well, I love money, but it’s another to say, well, I love what money can do. Maybe I worry, maybe I’m I’m anxious if I don’t have enough money in the bank. Maybe I worry and I’m anxious about some sort of struggle that I or my family might have if I don’t make enough money, if I don’t work enough hours. Or maybe having so much money, being in a wealthy country that has so many different ways for us to spend our money.

We focus on what we can do with it rather than how we can use it for God’s glory, how we can take care of God’s precious children. And it might be that I have enough, but if I’m not looking towards you and your needs or vice versa, that we could say that’s a love of money. Maybe not the money the dollar bills themselves, but what it brings and what it offers. And I think if we’re honest, we say, hey, that’s a temptation for all of us. It’s not that I’m loving money, I love what it does. And God deserves to always be first in our life, not just in praise and adoration, but he is the person we should go to for our struggles. When we’re in need, it needs to not be, I need to work ten more hours, and then everything will be okay.

We may need to do that, but we need to trust that God will allow us to find the time to work in the ways we need. That he will bless us with exactly what we need, and maybe not all of our wants, but all that we truly need to please him and to live in this life. And so the idea of loving money is so critical to understanding where is that line. So where is that line? Well, as the third point tries to get at. It’s somewhere when we take God off the pedestal he belongs on.

2. Do We Still Need to Fast and Pray?

Question number two is about a topic that’s mentioned many times in the Bible, many times mentioned, but probably infrequently practiced by most of us today. And the question is, do we still need to fast and pray? Our assumption was that the emphasis on this question was upon the word fasting. We’re not going to spend a whole lot a lot of time talking about the need to pray. We would assume that that is something that all of us as Christians are practicing and are praying without ceasing. But do we need to accompany fasting to that prayer or practice fasting in any facet or way in our Christian lives is question number two. And of course, fasting would be the temporary deprivation, generally a food and or water, just to be on the same page there.

And so when we look at this, we’ve got to say, okay, well, what does the Bible teach about fasting in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and what would that mean for us? In the Old Testament, it does several things. It’s not just a single avenue. It’s not a one time event. So if you look with us in our in your old testaments with me, we’re going to start in Joel chapter 2. In Joel chapter 2, just to look at a couple examples. In Joel 2, beginning in verse 12, notice God is trying to beg his people to return to him, his chosen, the Israelites, the people of Judah, to be the people that they should be, his covenant people. Joel 2, verse 12, yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God. So you notice in verse 12, he wants them to return to repent. What is repentance? Turning from a life of wrong and towards and going down an opposite life. In this case, away from sin and towards God. But how are they to do that at the end of verse 12? With fasting, with weeping and with mourning. This is one of the more common uses of fasting in the Old Testament. That when the Israelites were guilty of sin, they recognized that they needed to do something about it.

And it wasn’t just to say a prayer, it was to offer the necessary sacrifices. It was to have the necessary attitude change. And so fasting would accompany that change of heart and that change of action. So fasting would definitely found in conjunction with repentance for one. And it’s found in connection with repentance in these other subjects because it was at its goal was the idea to humble us, to humble mankind, to see our need and our dependence upon God. And so in places such as Ezra chapter 8, we have prayer and fasting, but here the fasting and the prayer was done, seeking God’s help and God’s guidance. In Ezra chapter 8, it says in the beginning in verse 21, Ezra says, Then I proclaimed a fast, there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him the right way for us and for our little ones and our possessions.

For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road. Because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all those that forsake him. So, verse 23 says, so we fasted and entreated our God for this, and he answered our prayer. So Ezra says, rather than asking the king, we asked God. And in asking God, we fasted and prayed. Rather than just praying, we fasted, and again the stated reason was so that we might be humbled. And so fasting, and if you think about it, the idea of depriving yourself of food andor water would certainly humble you.

It puts you in that state of the feeling of need, but also the recognition of where those sources of sustenance ultimately come from, and that is from God. And so in the Old Testament, we see fasting associated with prayer, prayer for repentance or sorrow for the sin that’s been committed, prayer that would humble the the seeker in a right state to be able to ask request of God. Then even in a third instance, it was done in times of sorrow. If you’re in a paper Bible, just a couple pages, or if you’re on an electronic Bible, a couple clicks over, Nehemiah chapter 1. In Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah has just heard this terrible news that Jerusalem has been absolutely destroyed and it’s remained absolutely destroyed. And notice in verse 4 his reaction.

As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Of course, he goes on to have a wonderful prayer beginning in verse 5, and it details some of what he said. But if you notice in verse 4, upon hearing this terrible news, he not only was mourning, he was not only praying, but he was fasting and praying while mourning. And so you see, even that third element of fasting and praying together, it was with repentance, yes. Asking for and entreating God’s guidance, yes. But even also in times of sorrow, it would that humility that we need God’s help. If you read the prayer, Nehemiah acknowledges sin basically on his and everyone in Israel’s part.

And that they needed only God’s help to restore what was right, both their spiritual nature and the physical city of Jerusalem. And so that humility comes out in prayer. That care for others came out, and that fasting again linked to times of sorrow, in addition to prayer for guidance and of repentance. Now to close out this section on fasting in the Old Testament, we see that the purpose for fasting, we see God’s people oftentimes fasting associated with these different topics that we’ve talked about. But, and we won’t turn over to the book of Jonah, chapter three, but you remember the story of the book of Jonah, Jonah reluctantly, but yet finally going to the city of Nineveh and preaching to the Ninevites of the coming destruction upon them.

And they were told to fast, to repent of their sins, and that associated with that was them fasting as well. And so we see not only Jews, God’s covenant people fasting, but we see that Gentiles, when they were seeking God, and they were coming to God in humility and in sorrow, we see them fasting as well in the Old Testament. And when we turn the pages to the New Testament and say, okay, what does the New Testament have to say about fasting? We’re very early on introduced to fasting in the New Testament. In Luke chapter 4, you’ll remember of the gospel accounts of the temptation of Jesus, as we often call that. What preceded that in Luke chapter 4, verse 1, Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil, and in those days he ate nothing.

And afterward, when he had they had ended, he was hungry. And so we see our Lord at this particular time at the beginning of his earthly ministry, doing what we read about in the Old Testament, humbling himself before God, and he did so by fasting for the remarkable period of time of forty days, he had nothing, it says.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And so as we’re examining this question of fasting and prayer for us today, when you see, not only was it an Old Testament a part of recognizing God’s power and the need to submit to Him, it’s very much a part of the New Testament of Jesus Himself and of the New Testament church. They were involved in praying and fasting over these important and crucial decisions. So we’ve seen fasting prevalent in the Old Testament. We’ve seen fasting being carried over into the New Testament to some degree as well. But then the question is, well, what about us today? Are we to fast?

3. What About Us Today? Are We to Fast?

Well, let’s deal with the idea of it being so prevalent and even commanded upon God’s covenant people in the Old Testament. We recognize as New Testament Christians today, emphasizing the word New Testament Christians, that we’re not bound by the Old Law. And so those passages, though we may learn something from the principles of repentance, sorrow, and humility, that we’re not commanded to serve God in those ways. Colossians chapter 2 says in verse 15, having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them. Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or new moon or Sabbaths, which are things were shadows of things to come, not the substance of Christ. Those things, including the festivals, the Old Testament observances, including food, whether that meant the abstinence of food or the participation in certain foods, he says, let no one judge you in those regard, because those are, to paraphrase, those are things of the old covenant, which were just shadows of the new in which we live.

And so if we’re talking about fasting, we can’t really go to the Old Testament to say, see, they did it, we must do it. Then the question is, okay, well, what about the New Testament? Well, prayer and fasting are found in the New Testament, both with the case of Jesus and the Christians in Acts chapter 14. We do see that example. And so the question left is, is it a binding example? Because it’s clearly found before Jesus was crucified and after Jesus was crucified. In Colossians chapter 2 and verses 13 through 15, there is the idea that we’re no longer bound by the old law. At what point? Well, when Jesus nailed it to the cross. And so now we’re in this new covenant and we have this example.

So prayer and fasting is certainly at least going to be a valuable tool that we have access to and would benefit from. The question would be, is there some sort of precedent or need to bind this example or some outright command that teaches us Christians must pray and fast. And so we read about it again prevalently in the Old and New Testament, but we must kind of end on this point. It’s nowhere commanded in the New Testament. Is it a good practice? I think we see the example of Jesus, New Testament Christians, even Old Testament saints practicing it. And I think we can come to the conclusion it’s a good practice. It teaches us humility. It brings us closer to God. We might use it at times in our own sorrow, our repentance, or in times when we need to be brought low before God.

But we cannot say that it is specifically commanded in the New Testament. The New Testament commands us to pray, to pray without ceasing. It does not command us to fast without ceasing, or even to command it to fast with any kind of frequency. And so I think we’ll just leave it there by saying we’re not commanded as New Testament Christians to fast. But certainly the principles that we can learn about fasting, the examples that we read, even in the New Testament, can tell us that this might be a good practice to incorporate into our lives. Anything that would humble us before God and bring us closer to God should certainly something we should at least contemplate adding into our Christian arsenal today. And so we’re going to look at one final question this morning.

4. Explain Mark 9:1: The Kingdom Come with Power

Can we please explain Mark 9, verse 1, since no one from then is still alive today? So, as you can guess, we’re probably going to read Mark chapter 9 and verse 1. Look at that and understand the question. In Mark chapter 9 and verse 1, Jesus is speaking, and he says, Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. So the question, of course, is twofold. It’s centered around those who are going to be alive for a certain period of time. And then until that certain event happens. So the question is, what is the kingdom of God? When did it come? And what do we do with that information?

Now this question is really prompted from the idea that the mistaken idea that many people in the religious world have today is that the kingdom and the coming of Christ’s kingdom is still a future event. In 2019, it is still something that we’re looking forward to. And so that does raise a difficulty. How could Jesus say it’s going to happen in your lifetime to people that he spoke to in the first century? And now in the 21st century, we’re still waiting for it. And so that is a difficulty. And so we asked, to answer that question, let’s just kind of quickly analyze this idea of the kingdom and the coming of the kingdom. We recognize in the Gospels, that was one of the themes, a very common theme in the Gospels, was the idea of not just the kingdom, but the coming of that kingdom.

And not just the coming of that kingdom, but the impending coming. Look in Mark chapter 1, verses 14 and 15. Now, after John, that’s John the Baptist, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. Jesus repeated the message of John the Baptist, who was his forerunner in saying, the kingdom of God is at hand. That’s the message of the gospel story.

So with regards to the idea that there might be a future kingdom to come, we have to see what the scriptures teach. Jesus says it’s near, it’s at hand. So does that truly mean in the lifetime of those standing there? If so, what would it be? Well, as you’d expect, it finds its way throughout Jesus’ ministry and teaching. In Mark’s gospel, if you look at Mark chapter 4 and verse 11, Jesus is continually teaching this idea of the kingdom. Verse 11, he says, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But for those outside, everything is in parables. And he gives the reason for that. As we think about this, the kingdom of God is constantly taught. The kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven even is taught.

So, what are those? Kingdom of God’s in heaven. Matthew’s account speaks of the kingdom of heaven. Mark’s account speaks of the kingdom of God in those parallel passages. And so that tells us that those are the same kingdoms. Kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, is that which Jesus was promising would come, would come soon. In fact, in Mark 9 said would come in the lifetime of some of them who were standing there. And so if we start talking about the kind of the timing of this, again, we don’t go back to Mark 1, but Mark 1, Jesus said, it was at hand, or some translations say, it is near. The coming of the kingdom is near. Jesus would say very early in his ministry. And then, of course, it was to come with power.

That’s an important note. Going back to Mark chapter 9, verse 1, not only would it come in the lifetime of those who were standing there, but it was going to come with something distinct, and that is power. And by the way, imagine for a moment when Jesus, the Son of God who can do miracles, says, This kingdom that belongs or is of God is going to come with power. Do you think that would be noted and noticed by everybody? Yeah, it was going to be a big event. He spoke about and said would be marked by coming with power. And so early in his ministry, he says, it’s near. It’s at hand. Kind of in the middle part of his ministry, he says, it’s going to come in the lifetime of many of you who are standing here.

You will not taste death until you see the kingdom of God come with power. Later in his ministry, in Luke chapter 24 and verse 49, he narrows it down even more and is talking about this power in Luke chapter 24. Remember that in Mark 9, he said the kingdom would come with power in their lifetime. And in Luke 24 and verse 49, he says, speaking to the apostles, he says, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. That seems to be indicating that it’s coming real soon. Don’t leave town, Jesus says. Stay here in Jerusalem until you’re endued with power. The power that he said in Mark 9 that would usher in and indicate the coming of the kingdom.

And so he says, Stay here in Jerusalem until you’re endued with that power. So can we track when that power comes? Well, yes, we can. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, after Jesus has been crucified, he’s resurrected, he’s come back, he’s giving his final message to the disciples. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, he tells them, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. So now we know power is coming. We know who it’s coming to, who it’s coming with, and where it will be. It’s going to be in Jerusalem, on the disciples, the Holy Spirit giving them power. And is there a place that we see that? Yes. In Acts chapter 2, verse 1 through 4, we see a great power as a mighty rushing wind comes in, and tongues as a fire rest upon their heads.

And of course, what happens in Acts chapter 2? Well, the apostles are able to teach in different languages, are understood from their teaching. And they’re teaching the message of the crucified and resurrected Jesus, marking the good news, this turn. It’s punctuated in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. When Peter was asked, what shall we do? He said, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. This kingdom was now open. What’s in the kingdom? That we can be with Jesus, that we can have our sins forgiven. That’s the beauty of God’s kingdom. It’s not earthly at all. And the language isn’t coincidental. Gospels are full, both John the Baptist and Jesus speaking of the coming of the kingdom that was at hand.

Jesus saying it’s going to happen before some of you die, speaking to the audience that heard him preach on that day. He said he’s going to come with power. And the power is going to come upon you when the Holy Spirit descends on you. And in Acts 2, we see what? The Holy Spirit coming upon them with power, them preaching the power of the gospel story. And also not coincidental is that after that, after the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, that language stops. The language of the coming of the kingdom, of it being soon or at hand, is no longer there. Jesus and John the Baptist, that was their message. The kingdom of God is at hand. But after Pentecost, after all of those things happened that would accompany the coming of the kingdom, no longer do we hear the kingdom’s coming.

It’s at hand. Why? Because it had already been ushered in. And we’d expect to see that in the teaching. If you look at one final passage this morning, Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13, we see exactly that. Years after the resurrected Jesus, years after that day at Pentecost, in Colossians chapter 1. Notice very specifically the language of if the kingdom is active and what it does for those who are members of the kingdom. Colossians chapter 1, verse 13. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Matching the message of the apostles in Acts chapter 2, and the Holy Spirit came with power upon them in Jerusalem, matching the idea of being part of the kingdom of His Son in verse 13.

We have been, the Christians of this day have been transferred into that kingdom, which means it’s open. And what happens in there in verse 14? We are part of Christ’s body. We can have the forgiveness of sins. The kingdom is not to come later, and so going back to Mark chapter 9 and verse 1, we don’t have to look for somebody who’s 2,000 years old. Because the kingdom of God came in the lifetime of some of those who were receiving Jesus’ teaching all the way back in Mark 9. From the teaching he started with, even beginning with John the Baptist, to the life that he lived, the crucifixion he endured, the resurrection he had. The message was always the same. The kingdom of God is coming, and now, Paul says the kingdom of God is here.

Conclusion

And so what do we do with that? Well, be joy be rejoicing that we have a great King who wants us to be part of His kingdom and that we can have our sins forgiven. So that kingdom, that reign of Christ came in on the day of Pentecost, as was promised, in the lifetime of those who heard Jesus speak it. We can be a part of that kingdom today when we submit to the reign and the rule of Christ in our lives. And we can be thankful that what Jesus said was at hand came about, and we can participate and we can be translated into that kingdom today. All right, appreciate the questions and comments that we’ve had. We look forward to next week or next month, excuse me, and the future questions that we’ll have then.

But right now, let’s be dismissed with a word of prayer. Dear God and Father, we’re so thankful that you’ve loved us. We’re so thankful that we can find the answers to life in you and in your word. Make us students of your word, Father. Make us disciples of your will. Bless this church, the work that we do, the studies that we have together, the love for you and your word, that it might grow and increase. Continue to bless us. Continue to love us, keep us, and most of all, Father, own us on that day of judgment. This is our prayer in your Son’s name. Amen. We’ll now be dismissed from the world.