What Thanksgiving Looks Like

Introduction

When the days are we not scary, I know I saved my care, not seen, I spare when I read the sun when I stand and free. As a day my face is the day, my chair does not seek her as I know weakness, my dream. When the days are weary the law, my scary I know I say nothing.

When I send the light to hear this honor to me and mys time still I gave praise and sea sea.

When the days are wearing the nice spirit I know my single morning the Lord for he has spoken for me for such force and grace of praise the Lord.

No tears in heaven, no sorrow, all will be glory. There will be no sadness, all the happy man, no kids, no king, no kids of them, no kids.

Good morning. We have a lively bunch here this morning. It’s good to see everyone. We have a few visitors among us. You are welcome as well. And to our online virtual audience, we say welcome and thank you for joining us. We are, of course, here to worship and honor God. Elijah Morris will be leading us in song. Ken will have a few words for us as we uh take time to observe the Lord’s Supper in this uh nine thirty service. And so they will help us uh get prepared and ready for that. Uh at ten o’clock, of course, we will have our our Bible classes immediately following this service. And then at eleven o’clock this morning, we are going to be worshiping God in song. So a number of men will be leading us, and we’ll have some scripture readings and prayer, of course.

So we’ll look forward to that eleven o’clock hour. So, to all, welcome. Glad you’re here. But let’s now focus our hearts and minds on worshiping and praising God. Elijah.

As you know, this week is Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, or at least one of the favorite holidays of so many, probably for three reasons. Number one is the sentiment that is expressed in it. The giving of thanks, and we’ll have much more to say and to sing about that in our 11 o’clock hour. It’s a favorite holiday for many of us because of the massive amount of food that will be consumed. But I venture to guess that it’s a favorite holiday of many of us because it is a time in which friends and family gather together to eat that food and to express that thanks. It’s a family gathering holiday. This morning, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, I want us to think about this memorial feast that we’re engaged in and who we are eating with today.

That together we remember his death and his suffering.

Though we may be separated by time zones and different times of meeting and partaking of the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s people all over this country and all over this world will be gathering today. And in a way, we’re partaking with them. We’re all pausing on this first day of the week to remember. But in the book of Luke, chapter 22, we recognize that we are assembled with someone else. Jesus was instituting this Lord’s Supper during that last Passover with His disciples. He said in Luke chapter 22, beginning in verse 15, with fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

Jesus said as he was eating this memorial feast, that he would eat it again with those disciples in the kingdom.

I believe Paul echoed those sentiments in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. When he was encouraging those Christians to remember the Lord in this feast, but not to participate in those idols feast. He says in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion with the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? And so we commune in the body and the blood of Christ in this partaking. But Jesus would have us to know through that statement to his disciples that we’re communing with him. He is partaking with us in the kingdom. And so think of your brethren gathered here. Think of your brethren gathered all over the world. But remember that we are communing with our Lord.

And it’s easy to picture the suffering servant on the cross.

He was spat upon and ridiculed, as his clothes were stripped from him. He was openly put to death. As the very people that he created mocked him and ridiculed him. As he was nailed to a tree that he had created. But I want us to recognize that today, while we commune with the body and the blood, and we do remember that suffering servant. I want us to also picture another picture of Christ that we’re communing with today. In the revelation letter, John is privy to a scene that’s taking place in heaven. And in a sense, this revelation allows the curtains of heaven to be pulled back just slightly. And John gets to see what’s going on. Famously in Revelation chapter 4, he sees that magnificent throne scene where the Father is sitting upon the throne and being worshipped by those angelic and heavenly beings.

Worthy was he to be worshipped. But then in beginning in chapter 5 of the Revelation letter, it says, And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took that scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood.

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and we have made and you have made us kings and priests to our God. We shall reign on the earth. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. And they were saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

Then the four living creatures said, Amen. And the 24 elders fell down and worshipped him who lives forever and ever.

Who has redeemed us. Would you pray with me? Our dearest God who art in heaven, we’re so thankful for your wonderful plan. A plan that boggles our mind in its complexity and beauty. That you would send your only begotten Son, and he would be so humiliated and mistreated and die so that we might have life. But we’re so thankful that after the suffering, he received the glory that he deserves. And thank you for that picture that we can see in our mind’s eye. That worthy Lamb receiving worship. And not hearing the taunts and the ridicules and the blasphemies of man, but hearing the praise of those heavenly beings.

Amen.

Will you pray with me again? Our Father, we praise you, and we thank you for that sacrifice and for the glory that followed. Truly worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on that throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

Before we dismiss our classes, let’s send one more song.

I speak your name to God through the day, your name and then I will not fear for you and honest and I need my will. I will give you things to my love in favor, and I will tell you your salvation for all your love and I need some before you and honest and I will pray for me for everyone I give you face and get my life in favor and I will tell you salvation.

Didn’t get much time between classes, did we? Between the other thing in here. For those wondering, I was coming off of a cold this week, so that’s why I’m wearing a mask when I’m not when I’m running around. And I’m gonna stay a little bit further from you guys today. Just out of curiosity. Okay. What chapter we book it we in today? Huh? Chapter two of Second Corinthians of Second Corinthians. Okay, let me get my notes together. Uh we only had two minutes before the bell rang from the time we got dismissed. So okay, we are in chapter two. Um we I’m gonna start at ch at verse twelve. Okay.

Oh well before we get started, uh John. Would you like to leave a prayer, please?

Right. Okay. In verse 12, I’m a little hot up there. Cut down a little bit on bus two, Janelle. Bus one. Um. Furthermore, when I came to Troyes to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door of opportunity was opened to me by the Lord. I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus, my brother. But taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

Not much here, we would think, but it’s going to add it to some of what he’s going to say later, some stuff he’s going to say. But it appears from this we know Titus is the one he’s expecting to return back after the previous letter was delivered. So he’s, as we’ve discussed in the previous verses, he’s a little worried about how he’s gonna the thing is gonna be received the previous letter. So he was worried when he got to um um Troas. And so he finally went on to Macedonia. Macedonia is really close to where Corinth. So it’s it gets him a lot closer to where he’s gonna be. And he’s gonna sit there and wait for uh Titus. Now we learned that Titus did return while he was shortly after this point, but really it’s uh it that’s just more of a historical aspect than it is what we want to discuss in this in this book.

So I’m gonna, unless anybody has anything they want to say about 12 and 13, I’m gonna keep going to the main next major thought, which is starting in 14.

Now, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other, the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? Oh man. A lot of little things here. When you when you ladies put perfume on, it smells good to you, doesn’t it? That’s why you put it on. Can it also smell bad to others? Yes. It usually depends on their nose, how much you put on, how much you didn’t put on.

It’s there’s a lot of variables, but it amounts to that when a lady puts on perfume, that it’s supposed to enhance the fragrance, make it great, better, um, a lot better than our normal BO. And so it’s there. But some people are sensitive because of things you might be not be aware of. They may be oversensitive to a certain piece of that scent that you may not smell, but they smell it. Well, kind of like this in the same way. This fragrance of Christ, that we are we are the flower of Christ, and we’re producing this fragrance by our life and our example. Okay. And what does that example do the others? Well, in one regard, it could spur them on to be better Christians. It can be the example, you could, it makes you you the example they need to maybe to find salvation in their life.

But what does it do to those that are not seeking Christ and are actually opposed to Christ? They don’t like it, do they?

Now, when you do that, you would say, well, you know, what does the the using a couple of names in the right sense? Uh and mentioning Christ and his salvation mean. Why does it bother somebody so much that they get all upset and start screaming that you’re trying that’s you know, separation church is state if you’re in the school or if you’re somebody you’re evangelizing, and all you mentioned was I went to church this Sunday. That could be enough to get people really hyper. What is it all, what is it really all about? Thoughts.

Well, I’m yeah, the cancer culture is part of it, but I mean, why are these people so upset with you mentioning Christ? What do they really say? Well, according to the call speak. You smell like death, that smells bad. Yeah, death smells bad. I am been lucky in my life, and I’ve never had to smell human death, which some people say is pretty bad. I have smelled dead animals, I’ve used smell dead skunks. None of it’s fun. But they say the human stench of death is even worse. I had another hand back here. Somebody else, I thought. Okay.

And they’re being hopefully.

It has to do with perception, it has to do with where the heart is. Because at the name of Jesus, those of us who are believers are filled with hope and love and peace and calmness and joy. But at the name of Jesus, those who are non-believers, there’s a sense of dread of rejection of the unknown.

I like the way you put it. I’m going to go a little further. I think part of it is people expect are thinking that you’re going to judge them. Today’s society wants to do whatever they want to do without any judgment. It’s wrong. Everything from adultery to actions with ch sexual actions with children are being proposed that should be good nowadays. The news is that they want to rename paedophile to something else that sounds nice. Well, it’s bad to us as Christians. It’s bad to most society, but they’re trying to redefine things. And the minute you bring up Christ your God, then all of a sudden they have a there’s a judgment side. If it’s this just how they feel and how they judge themselves, and they have they’re lawless, they don’t have any problem to do whatever they want to do because there is no final judgment.

The minute you bring up Christ, they think, oh, well, there’s the you know, they they just fear it because there is a judgment of what is right and wrong if there’s a God. If there’s no God, then there is no right or wrong judgment, and it’s whatever we feel like is right and wrong. Jim, you had your hand up.

If anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but save the world. He who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him, the word that I have spoken will judge him in that last day. So if we are walking as Paul was walking in the world and was exuding a fragrance, the word of God is such that it will judge. It does judge. It proclaims the definition of what the judgment will be basically. It provokes action. It would provoke a response.

In Corinth so far, showing them a perverted way of worship or of acknowledging God. And with that, they have to prove that Paul, what he is saying, isn’t so much the right way to God. The people they they know God, they they seem to love God, they’re just being told a different way to get to God. And with this, Paul is saying, I’m telling you what Christ has told me what I as an apostle, what I know about what Christ and God wants, you have to follow. Now, if they’re hearing this and they don’t want to follow, and they know that they’re not following, that is putrid to the senses. It it is not an aroma, a sweet smelling aroma. But those to those that are following, it is very sweet.

And that’s what he’s addressing here. Um, if you don’t want to follow God, if you’re already living this perverted gospel, you’re not going to like what you hear. You’re not like gonna, and he puts it in the the sense of a spell, you’re not gonna like it because you’re gonna find that you’re wrong. And so after a while, yeah, let’s say let’s switch the way around to say this. I used to live in North Alabama, and about 20 miles away, used to be champion paper mill. Luckily for us, it was downwind. But the people that worked there daily couldn’t smell it anymore, could they? They went to work there and it just became normal. So if if you have a smell that you that’s terrible, but you get used to it, you get desynthesized to it, it doesn’t matter.

When we go back to previous comments of Paul in regards to the bringing the sinner back to the fold, church discipline, this fellowship, whatever however we want to term it. The point in that is that we need to do that soon enough that the stench of their sins, they realize it. If we wait too long, then they become desynthesized to the smell, and it no longer becomes an issue. So there’s I’m going to say that there’s actually a timing aspect to church discipline that is very important. Otherwise, once they get into it, and after a while, it gets easier and easier and easier to do it. Once read a statistic that if you look at marriages in the United States, half of them failed. But at the same regard, a statistic was that if you look at how who failed, everybody that failed usually had three or four failures, which really messed up the statistics.

But once they had one failure, they continue to have failures. Once you get into a lifestyle that is sin and you get used to it, you don’t think about it anymore. And you just do it and you think it’s normal. So the stench of being corrected by the church because you’re doing something should help bring you back to the aroma of Christ. But if it’s gone too long, it’s it’s harder and harder. Not that it can’t happen, but it’s you guys know that if somebody’s been out there doing things the longer they are doing it, the harder it is to get them out of that life. Okay. Um I at? Okay. Now, before we go to the next verses, I want to ask a question. What are the two types of false teachers?

There’s two types of false teachers.

Out of ignorance are purposeful. What we’re going to get into in the next chapter is the ones that are teaching purposeful. We know that if you look at Apollos, you could be you it’s teaching wrong may not be correct, but it’s if you think that’s the truth, and you’re, you know, it’s it’s it’s different from when you’re doing it yourself. Umbody read verse 17. Um, let me just read it because I want to read 17 of this chapter and continue into the next few verses. For we are not as so many peddling the word of God, but as a but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commentation from you?

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men. Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tables of flesh that is of the heart. Okay.

This indicates that they’re in that set that category of they’re teaching false doctrine, knowing it.

I like the term peddling. Um another version says adulterating for gain. The teachers of Christ. Do we see that today? Yes, we do. Okay. Now I’m not going to condemn all the televangelists, but there are specific ones that we all see that appear, the appearance is that they are doing it for gain, not for saving souls. Now, God will judge each one of them on what they’re really doing it for, but that appearance of gain for profit sure does look like it’s there. Okay. So these people were doing it for gain. Just like some of our people. We understand that. We don’t like it, but we can understand it happening because we know what they were seeing. Now I think that the next few verses continues that about these false teachers.

Do we be um do we begin to commend ourselves or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation to from you? Okay, so they’re waving some piece of paper that says something, okay. I find it humorous about documents. In a prior life, before Khomeini and what happened in the uh Iranian revolution, I was a mechanic. I was college train mechanic. I was a master mechanic. I was licensed to to do mechanics in the state of Michigan, okay. And then I would go in these little garages and they’d have this plaque up on the wall that said, I went to muffler training at Mood Mufflers, or who are, you know, I went and did suspension training with this company. When you know that what they did was they spent 20 minutes reading a piece of paper and then send it in and they got a certificate back half the time.

That paper was pretty much worthless, and you see that today in my current field, IT. IBM’s got to where they give people badges for attending sessions at conferences. I went to one of their sessions with a new guy we had hired, and what they were pretty much, if you could spell Z-O-S, you are worthy of a badge on their training thing. As somebody in the field, I saw how worthless that was. Well, these people are we’ve got these letters of introduction, letters of commendation from somebody saying that they are rightful teachers. And Paul’s saying, you want me to produce the same thing when you can look at your hearts. You can look among yourselves and see that I’m teaching right. As a data processing person, if I’m told to do a job and I do the job, you can tell I know what I’m doing.

When I was a mechanic, I’d fix something. Somebody come in, they want something fixed. I fixed it, I knew what I was doing. I really didn’t need that piece of paper saying I knew what I was doing. It’s by your actions you can judge somebody. And here they are, these people are saying, look, we have this letter from somebody, and that proves that we are better than Paul because he doesn’t have those letters. So you can’t trust him. You know, he never took this online course for 15 minutes on how to change shocks on a car, so he’s not eligible to change shocks on a car. And Paul’s saying, that stuff’s worthless. Look at what is being done and what it’s doing. We are told in the Bible that by our fruits we will be known.

We are told that if false teachers will be found out by their fruits eventually, he’s saying, What are they doing? They’re trying to belittle me because of something there got or falsified. I mean, right now you can get a you can get online and you can get your certificates. You have been vaccinated. Does that piece of paper say you’re that says you’ve been vaccinated mean you’ve been vaccinated? No, it doesn’t. It it can be forged really easy. I thought it was very interesting, and this was this is a little sidetrack on it, is I got my vaccination shot on a on a Friday. I had a doctor’s appointment with my primary care physician on Monday. And when I walked into her office, she came in. Well, I was in there, and she came into the room I was in, and she said, Oh, I see you’re vaccinated on Friday.

Turns out there’s a national database I didn’t know about. And she pulled it up before my appointment on Monday that it got in there. That says I was really vaccinated. I could produce a card that I buy on the internet that says that says I was, and it doesn’t really mean that I was. So paper can lie, actions can tell the truth. Jim, you had a handoff.

You’re right that actions speak louder than words, but all you utilize letters of recommendation for those who send out. And the fact is that he had something better than a letter of commendation. He they knew him. So a letter of commendation is simply saying, based upon the testimony of someone presumably known. Now, if you don’t know the issuer of the commendation, and then you just look at a piece of paper. Yeah, that’s meaningless. Because it’s supposed to really a commendation needs to come from someone who isn’t known source. And yes, it can be forged, but they were used. I mean, you have to trust a preacher coming in to lead your your your worship services just because they say they can. That’s a self-commendation. You don’t have their works yet to see.

You trust them immediately. When do you know that there are wolves roaming about to prey upon other congregations? Now, I don’t know about these Jewish people who were disparaging Paul. We don’t know the letters of commendation they came from and whether or not they were inspired or authentic or whatever, or what they were commending for. And certainly they were trying to charge Paul. But that was a ludicrous charge because, as Paul said, you are my letter of commendation. Meaning that’s, I mean, of course, they trust their own memories of his actions. That’s better than any letter of commendation. Yeah, and the presumption that he was a peddler, he he’s very specifically denied being supported by the Corinthians so that he could not be charged with that kind of bias or or ill motive.

Right. Exactly. But letters of commendation, though, were used, can be used. We’ve written them here. It’s a manner of saying you can take them too far. But they have a putting. Yeah. In this case, we do know though that they were using letters of commendation to downgrade Paul. So we know that there was something totally wrong here. This is using the idea to have the letters of commendation.

There was no need for a letter of commendation from some other source from Paul if they knew it. And they were used that, well, we’re better than Paul. And trying to change what he had the doctrine he had taught.

You are my letter of commendation. Right? I don’t need it from some other three. I have better than a letter of combination for some of them. So they’re saying we got a letter, so you gotta listen to us. Paul don’t have a letter, so you don’t have to listen to him. You have to listen to us when we contradict each other. Yeah. And he’s saying, yeah, you guys know that that’s that you have the, you know, you’re you are my letter because you’ve had me. Um what is a true test of knowledge of what he’s doing is by the fruits that he presented. Anything else before we go to the next section?

I mean that these false teachers would present themselves as I guess the term we’d use as successful based upon maybe wells or um notoriety, things such as that. But how did Paul start his letter in 2 Corinthians? He’s talking about his hardships and and all of this. And uh I think that it seems that some of these people that are certified are saying that you can’t trust, you can’t believe Paul because of all of these things. Look at how well we’ve prospered, or how many people know us concerning what God wants, not what Paul says that God wants. And that’s something that we have to be very careful of today in all aspects. We are very swayed by appearance. Somebody comes in to preach and he’s got bib overalls on.

Do we think much about him? Or a guy comes in with a nice suit and tie, we think more of him for some reason. It’s not, but we don’t we have to remember to look at the what they’re saying, not their outward appearance. Um there are some people I know that were simple people, they knew the gospel, they knew what it was, and yet you gotta somebody comes in and you know tries to degrade them for their not being as good as they are. And who got judges that here?

We’ve got to put this time period in context because what 51, 55, something like that after Christ. You know, um this wasn’t available yet. I mean, his word was available, but not in this form. It wasn’t readily available. I mean, there’s scrolls and things such as that. But a lot of times they’d have to go back to the old law, and then from the letters that were written that were passed from uh place to place, you know, what what God wanted from them through the death of Jesus and things such as that. They they could not just say, Well, let’s let’s confirm these things that these false teachers are teaching us. They didn’t have that ability. Paul had to prove his his. This is why it was important that Paul uh show them that he truly was an apostle of Christ.

That that what he is saying is the truth, no matter what anybody else says. This is still the truth. At this point, there were might have been a few letters floating around. But you’re right. They were most where was their knowledge coming from? The direct teaching of the apostles, some a few letters of the apostles had written at this point, and those with the spirit that were actually been given gifts so they could be in these congregations and help them. Jim.

Was it apostle? Which apostle? In this case, Paul. Exactly. And yet they were ignoring the well, we think they’re they are vulnerable to ignoring it. Okay, vulnerable to so it’s hard to say whether or not these Judy’s and teachers were winning the argument. They certainly were seeming to have some sway. Whether or not they were completely turned over to their side, I don’t know. It was certainly a threat and something that Paul needed to impose. Whether or not he had to bring them back from fully believing them, we don’t know. We know that some were yeah, let’s not let’s remember these people had received Paul’s previous letter, fixed the problems as they knew it, and were trying to do their best. I’m we should not say that this was a bunch of bad people.

I mean that they are being pulled different directions, and he’s trying to address some of that, but we don’t know how much. But the old adage, one bad apple in the basket will rotten the whole thing. He’s gonna have to nip this in the bud right away. And it could be there’s only a small segment of the group that is listening to these teachers, but it’s enough that he needs to stop the rot before it goes any further. Anything else before we go to the next verse 4. Okay. In verse 4, and we have such trust through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit.

For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. I think at this point, Paul is now going to back up just a second. Throughout his letter, he wants to be humble, but sometimes he has to say things. Like when he was talking about all the trials he went through.

So at this point, he is trying to step back and make sure that nothing he said, they can say, oh, wait, look, he just said we’re doing this, but now he’s doing the same thing. He’s bragging. He’s telling you what he has. So he’s trying to back step here and say, as he’s all as he did several times, I can brag about all this, but that’s not the point of it. The point is we’ve got to do what’s right. And so he’s trying to back up a little bit here. Um in the last verse of that, he talks about the letter, for the letter that kills, but the spirit gives life. This is a he’s using this as a segue into what he’s going to next talk about.

And sometimes I’m wondering when Paul, if he’s rambling, if he knew what he was going to do, or if he rambles and finally gets it out, but he’s so eloquent that I think he knew how he was switching gears here. Because he’s now he says, not the spirit, letter of the spirit, for the letter kills, uh not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, the spirit gives life. And then he goes into verse 7. But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away. How will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious?

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what has what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that exceeds. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains will be more glorious. This is why we consider that these teachers were teaching uh Judah were called Judaizing teachers.

Throughout this area of the cut of the world, whenever Paul finished someplace, there’d always be people that want to add circumcision or some other thing to the worship to being a Christian. They wanted to add things from the old law into the new covenant. And so since he’s switching this year, we think we that gives us the why we think that’s what they were teaching. These false teachers were teaching. Now how many of you guys had a nice apart uh and a decent apartment when you first got out on your own or married? Raise your hand. How many people moved into what would be called a you know, a two-bedroom, three-bedroom little house with white picket fence or something like that? You move into one and you think you got it made, right?

Then you have kids. So now you have to have a house that’s bigger. Now, as you move through life and you move from a small apartment to a small house to a larger house, every time you think it’s great, and then you realize it’s not doing what I need. I need something different. Does that make the first house that you were in bad? It can still have glory, but the new house has more glory. And I’m this is a bad, but not a great allergy, so you know, bear with me. The old law, was it good? Okay? Would God have given it if it wasn’t good? Was it the was it what they needed at the time? Was that little house when you first got married, that starter house, what you needed at the time.

But was it the final thing you were going for? We don’t expect our children to stay in their first house. Because we know they’re buying a house for their start, their starter house. When they have kids, our twins and a kid or two, okay. They end up being a bigger house, don’t they? So old houses good, better new houses, better for their needs. And we’re addressing needs, not fanciness. Okay, we’re addressing the the aspect of the needs. Um so the needs of the Jews were one thing when they were brought out of Egypt, and they were given a law, which led to a point where they could accept Christ, and Christ could come, do what was needed to do the final salvation aspects, and then they were brought a law that was even more perfect.

So it wasn’t that the one was bad and one was good, but one was good and one was greater and better. So he looks at the thing that Moses came down from the mountain with his face shiny in glory, and they couldn’t look upon God with our salvation we have because Christ has finally, finally created a way for us to remove the sin that so hides us from God. God don’t like sin. He don’t want to be around sin. He is perfect. Sin can be is not what he wants or needs. So we can now be washed from our sin. I mean, they didn’t have tied in the Old Testament. We got tied now. Okay? Wouldn’t take the grass stains out before, now we can get the grass stains out.

We have a salvation that can actually wash our things. And why would we want to go back to using live soap to wash our clothes? We got tied now. That’s probably not a good example either, but okay. I think I get the point. Jim, you raise your hand.

Okay, maybe you just look like you did. Okay. Well, I mean, this whole thing toward the end there where he was talking about the veils, it’s mixing together a whole bunch of different things. So, of course, yeah, Moses used a veil over his face and see. Because they couldn’t stand to see. He had to do that because of their reaction. But also we know that when Christ died, the veil that separated the holy of holies the holy place from the most holy place, which represented coming into the very presence of God. Going into the most holy place was represented that the high priest was the only one who could enter in that place and atone for so our relationship was built with God in the Old Testament was by proxy through the high priest.

Our approach, our our access to God, access to God has been removed because now our proxy, our high priest is Christ Himself. And so we can come boldly before God when we could not before. That’s the boldness that he’s talking about. We have access directly to God, whereas before it did not. We have forgiveness of our sins now, and the hope that comes with that when they have it rolled forward. So there’s it is profoundly superior. And this is where I this out this statement he’s made in this thing. One of the makes me wonder if the way they were becoming these false teachers were gaining was the same way that we can see nowadays with a few of the religious groups, mainly the Catholics, where there’s a person in between.

You gotta go speak to him, you gotta do penance.

I’m wondering if that was actually starting back here only enough with these people because it you know we see it nowadays. It puts somebody artificially between you and Christ, so that you now have to go through that person and they get something out of it. Okay, now let me say I’m not trying to condemn sick priests as saying that they’re doing it for money. Nothing like that. Just take that, don’t say that. The church, though, has done this, that the Catholic Church has done this in essence to put something between you. And um, because those I’m gonna say most of these priests are good men. I’m not trying to be little what they’re doing from the they’re not in for the game themselves, usually. Now, our some of our televangelists though have done the same thing.

Send us your prayer request with a donation. Okay? So now all of a sudden you’ve got to have a donation to get a prayer request done. It’s starting to see some of this same stuff, Jim. The difficulty here, of course, is those who were holding to the Old Testament, the the Jewish way of things, is that was a way given by God. That was what they were talking, and that was what was right.

He had to be shown, you know. Even then, even he went through and followed to his credit, but large part of it was just no, this isn’t right. This is unclean, this is unclean. And he did it. You know, but now some of these others, they yeah, they were seeking me. But I I suspect that there were a great many Christian former Jews who struggled with leaving behind the old testament. Yeah, because you know, you know, it’d be just like someone coming out of a denominational area and understanding, you know, I don’t really need to do this that way anymore, yet you’re you feel obliged to because that’s in your gut what is right wrong, you know, and see how to relearn that. And I think there’s a lot of before we disparage all Jewish Christians who might have been following old Jewish customs, it took some time.

Yes. Now there were people who were abusing it, like these here. That’s clear. And that’s the Judaizing teachers who were doing it for gain, similar to the prophets of old who were false prophets who were going against the likes of Jeremiah. They were doing it for gain. Remember that at this time, there was pretty much two types of people that were converted to Christianity. Those that had a Jewish history and those that had a pagan history. Now, I believe at this point we had already had the first uh time that the emperor had run all the Jews out of Rome. Uh that happened twice. I think the first one’s already happened at this point. But there was Jews throughout, spread out throughout the Greek Empire. What was well, what was originally the Greek and now Roman Empire areas.

So think about it. If you’re a heathen and you’ve just been converted from a multi-theism system to a monotheism, with Christ and Jesus, you know, Jesus as you’re representing you to God, you’ve just made a great switch. First thing you’re going to do is look to the people that you everybody knows has a single God, the Jews. So even if you’re coming out of idolatry, you’re looking at the examples of the Jewish people, because that’s the closest you’ve known for years. Everybody knew about the Jews. If you’re even if you were a, you know, it’s kind of like everybody knew it. They knew that they were there, they knew what they thought, and they a lot of them hated them for it. But it was a known quality in the in the Roman Empire.

So now I’m coming out of heathenism, and I’m converted to a monotheism with the same God of the Jews. I’m gonna try I’m gonna go to what they’ve been teaching too. So it’s not just the historically Jewish, but it’s also the new uh unheathen, non-heathen people. Heathen converted, okay. Whatever, you know how I’m trying to say. So they would have been looking at the Jews too. Because God has been 14 something hundred years been working with these people and giving them rules, and now this, you know, this is all that to them, it looks like a new Jewish faith, okay? And they’re gonna use the Jewish historical aspect. So that’s what they’re they’re thinking of. Let’s see. Let’s see where we’re gonna start next week. Um, it’s time for the bell.

Any final thoughts from anybody? Because we’re about done with this chapter. So I’m trying to catch up today. Anything else? Okay.

Tendency to follow the old law. Um, I mean, everything that’s been talked about in the last few minutes is Hebrews chapter 7 through 10. That’s exactly what that’s teaching. Uh sacrifices. Why would you still sacrifice animals when you’ve got the perfect sacrifice? Even the priests that give the sacrifices have sins themselves. You know, you’ve got one that died for all your sins under this new law, and and so on. I mean, everything that was said is comes right out of Hebrews. Yeah. I mean, it was not unique to this one group. It was throughout, you see it throughout Paul’s travels in Acts, you see it throughout his letters. There is a tendency to fall back into old habits. Okay?

If you were heathen. So it’s easy to do that. I got a handle we’ve been back.

It was hard for them to give up with the new law.

Let’s stop there, and uh, we will pick up in the next chapter on Wednesday.

Good morning, everybody. We’re so thankful for everybody that is here today because we know why you are here. You’re here to worship God in spirit and in truth, and in so doing to be uplifted and to edify one another. And we want you to know that we truly appreciate that, and we’re so thankful that you’ve come and be a part of our assembly this morning. Those who are joining us online on our live stream, we thank you for coming and being a part of our worship today as well. And we hope to see you in person soon as things are getting back more and more uh to normal. It seems like every Sunday we’re seeing new faces or old faces that are coming back, and we’re certainly we rejoice in that uh every Lord’s Day.

Today, as we’ve announced for our eleven o’clock service, it’s a special day. We’re going to do what we call a sermon and song. It’s not just a song service. It is that, but it’s a song service surrounded surrounding a theme. And we do those from time to time, and it’s been a while since we’ve been able to do one in person at least.

The idea of being thankful. I’ve shared with you the sentiment before that I stole from someone else that really, rather than having Thanksgiving day, we should have an unthankful day. Just one day where you can complain and be unthankful, and then you’re grateful and thankful every other day. And that’s what said in jest. But really, for Christians, every day should be Thanksgiving day. We have so much for which to be thankful and to sing and praise God for. And we want to do that. And so we thank you for joining us today. We have several men who will be leading us in song and Bible readings and prayer. And then we’ll have an exhortation to close out our service this morning. But thank you for coming.

Get your minds and spirits and hearts ready to worship God.

All you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy, mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures unto all generations.

Number fifty seven, all people that on earth do dwell with my for me for me.

Please come with me before the Lord in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, our Master and Creator, Lord Jehovah, the one true and living God, we humble ourselves before your great throne. We humble ourselves before you, recognizing that you are all powerful, that you are merciful, that you are loving.

And as we come before your throne this morning, we recognize we recognize our state and understand that we are weak, that we are frail, and that we succumb to sin, that we succumb to temptation, and that we need your mercy, we need your love, and we need your care. As we have sung, we are your sheep, and we pray, Lord, that you would care for us, that you would allow us to come before you this morning, that you would forgive us of our sins as we repent, and that you would strengthen us, that we may be bold in your name, and that we may show our lights to this world. Our Heavenly Father, we love you and we thank you for your love shown through your Son Jesus.

And Lord, this morning we give you thanks for the many blessings that we enjoy, and there are so many we can’t even begin to count. And we know that all the things that we need on this earth you provide for us. We know that you give us blessings great and small. And our Heavenly Father, we know that none of these compare to the blessing we have through your Son that provides us with salvation, that provides us with a hope of a home in heaven. This morning, Lord, as we sing and pray to you and give thanks, we also ask, Lord, that you would help us this week. We ask that you would help us to look out on this new week and give us strength. We pray that you would help us to make the right decisions in our lives based on your word.

We pray that you would help us to live rightly, to show our light and to not shirk from the truth and to shirk from being an example, but help us to stand up. And that does take strength, Lord, and we pray that you would help us, that you would guide us in our footsteps to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. And our Heavenly Father, as we count our blessings, we remember the things that you have done for us, that you have helped this congregation, you’ve helped those who are ill and that need strength. We pray that you would continue to be with us in our weakness, to be with those that are sick. Pray that you would comfort them and give them strength. We pray that you would be with the Melda Sours and continue to strengthen her and bless her.

We pray that you would be with Don Kartowski, that his results would be positive and in a favorable manner. We pray that you would be with all of our number that need strength and healing. And help us, Lord, as brothers and sisters. Help us to lift one another up here in this place and also those that are in need that are not before us or within our sight. Help us not to forget those that we do not see regularly. Our Heavenly Father, we are again thankful for the things that you share with us. We’re thankful, Lord, for our elders. We pray that you would give them wisdom and strength to guide us according to your word. We’re thankful for the deacons who serve, and again, we ask that you would give them strength and determination to do the work that needs to be done.

We’re thankful for the teachers, and we pray that you would continue to bless them with the ability to teach and to serve from your word. And guide each and every one of us, Lord, that we would be a family, that we would be no burden to our elders or deacons, but that we would help to strengthen one another and lift one another up. Lord, we are so thankful for your church, for the family that we have here at this place. For those the world over that are struggling to teach, we ask that you would give them strength and encouragement. Our Heavenly Father, we ask that you would go with us now. Give us a heart of thanksgiving. Help us to remember the great blessings we have through you.

These things we ask and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Chronicles 16. First Chronicles 16, verses 23 through 34. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among his people. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is also to be afeared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols. But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place. Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory, do his name. Bring an offering and come before him. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established. It shall not be moved. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. And let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns. Let the sea roar in all its fullness. Let the field rejoice in all that is in it. Then the trees of the wood shall rejoice before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever five hundred sixty-one. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Because of what the Lord has for sick say I am like the mouth say I am free because of what the Lord has for us three hundred and ninety two countermany blessings when I spilled you are when you are One hundred and seventh song. You read one through twenty two. Okay, thanks to the Lord. For he is good. For his mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way. They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distress, and he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men, for he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons, because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High. Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distress.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men, for he has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron in two. Fools because of their transgression, because of their iniquities were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distress. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Many of the songs in this section have to do with God being with us in our hard times. Something very much to be thankful for.

Peace till my soul beyond sacred when we shall be forever when there’s a bad dream and fear our love so I soul change and change our save and flies for me.

Now what beside me know me what beside people I say while the sky is right now by loving paper what I love whatever or in the whether and say so will be I may go and forth sorry I need to read music when the new time splendor may love so and tender all my birth.

Probably I think the third time I’ve apologized for not having the music for this song before you will take care of that. But this is we’ve sung this a few times. Jesus draw me ever nearer. You have to rely upon either your memory or the music on the slides. It’s a wonderful song though, expressing the idea that when we are in the midst of the storm, that’s when our desire for Jesus’ presence to be with us the most. That’s when we’re in most needful. And perhaps that’s one of the blessings of the hard times is that that’s when we feel more keenly the need for Christ and his presence.

Jesus die through the spirit stay when me supporting let me love you may bring up single happy and my sing with your let me wake up for him as I this honest let me as me bring my No song we sang a great many times when we were separated. Now let’s sing as we are here together. Gentle shadows find our way to me for me your strength.

For we do have us find our way we can turn to us on gentle needs forinthians chapter nine Second Corinthians nine verses ten through fifteen. Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. While you are enriched in everything, for all liberality which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God. While through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable living water, bread of life.

Considering that amazing ground your Lord bestows upon us. Let’s sing now amazing grace.

Now, would you join me in staying? As we sing together of the home we look for.

Thank you. Please be seated.

1. Thanksgiving Looks Like Giving of Thanks

We’ve read just a fraction of what the scriptures have to say about being thankful. But you know, it’s one thing to talk about it, read about it, and even sing about it. But let’s think about it. What does thanksgiving mean? And more specifically, I want to ask you just briefly, what does thanksgiving look like? What does it really look like to be thankful, grateful people of God. Well, I have a few suggestions. Thanksgiving will look like giving of thanks. We’ll actually say that to God. We’ll praise him in song and in word and in our prayers itself. The Old Testament writer in 1 Chronicles chapter 16, verse 34 said, Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Every time the Bible says give thanks, it means give thanks.

And so giving of thanks will look like saying to God, thank you. And we’ve sung and read about just some of the many blessings that we have to be thankful for. And so say it. Tell God.

2. No Grumbling or Complaining

And say thank you. But giving of thanks also looks like this. It means no grumbling or complaining. The Bible has something to say about that, doesn’t it? In Philippians chapter 2 and verses 14 and 15, the inspired apostle says, Do all things without complaining and disputing. That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, without complaining and disputing. Is it truly giving of thanks when someone gives you a gift and you say thank you? But I don’t like this.

3. Paying It Forward

But thank you. Giving of thanks must include expressing that thanks by not constantly complaining and grumbling about the many blessings that we have. Paul, in another text in the 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 18, says, in everything, give thanks. Portion of our sermon and song was about being thankful for the dark days. In everything, give thanks. Now is that difficult? Yes. But it’s a part of being thankful. Thanksgiving will also look like this. It will include paying it forward. It’s a more modern day expression of a biblical concept of giving as we have been given. Jesus, before he sent his twelve apostles out, told them this.

Freely you have received, freely give.

So truly being thankful people will mean that we not only praise God for what he’s given us, try not to complain and grumble, but it’ll also include sharing those blessings with others. Both physical and spiritual blessings.

4. Thanksgiving Has to Include Obedience to God

We’re truly thankful to God. If we truly love him. We will keep his commandments. The prophet Jonah in Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9, when he finally came to his senses inside the belly of that fish or that well, said this. I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. Basically, Jonah said, Because I’ve learned the hard way, but because I’ve learned to be thankful, I will do what I ought to do. I’ll sacrifice. I’ll pay my vows. Thanksgiving has to include obedience to God. And that’s the exhortation this morning. We’ll think a lot and we’ll talk a lot about thanksgiving this coming week. But I want you to challenge you to think about what it will really look like to be thankful.

Conclusion

Praise God. Thank him. Try not to grumble and complain about the things that you have. Try to pay it forward and share your blessings with others. If you truly love God and are thankful for his blessings, then pay what you vow and give the sacrifices to God that he deserves. Want to express your thanksgiving to God? Obey him. If you love me, Jesus said again, keep my commandments. You’re subject to the gospel invitation this morning. Why not express your thanksgiving by obedience? And what a wonderful thing to be thankful for having your sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb. I want to challenge you to be thankful. I want to challenge you to be obedient. And if you need to render obedience to that gospel this morning, will you do that right now as together we stand and as we sing you to meet you?

I trust we all have found the songs and the scriptures we’ve read and uh sung today, uplifting and encouraging. Certainly, we need to be thankful as Christians and appreciate Ken’s comments. Let’s think about our blessings as we go forward in this week, and not just this week because it’s Thanksgiving, but because God has truly blessed us, and He blesses us every day, every week of every year. So let’s let’s be the kinds of Christians we should be and acknowledge that our blessings come from God. And no matter what our struggles are, we all have blessings that we need to take time and reflect upon. I’m sure this was an emotional service for some. There are things that we probably all were considering as we were singing these songs.

And uh let’s let’s be an encouragement to one another. And some of us are having struggles right now, but still finding ways to be thankful. So again, let’s be one another, let’s practice one another Christianity and reach out to one another and be an encouragement to each other in this special week for us. Have a few announcements I’d like to make. First of all, if you’ve not already picked up a bulletin, either pick up a bulletin or be sure to check it out online. They are emailed to all of our members, and the bulletin also appears on our website if you’re not able to get a hard copy. There’s a good article, some good things to consider in there, and also some updates on some of our members.

A bit of good news that we can be thankful for is Don and Betty Karkowski are with us today. It’s been many months since they were able to be out. Of course, we know Don has been going through a lot of treatments for his cancer, but uh he has completed his course of treatment. He’ll be visiting an oncologist uh this week, I believe. And uh let’s pray for him, but let’s rejoice that they’re able to be out and back with us. That certainly is answered prayer. We have a number here we’ve announced in recent weeks who have undergone different tests and and uh uh some evaluations, and many have received good news and good reports, and we’re thankful for that too. But we do have some on our sick list.

Um Brother Steve Barker is not feeling well, is not able to be out. Uh also uh David Lawson, who we announced uh several weeks ago. He is the brother of our Lolly Lawson and and Margaret McNeil. Uh he was recently diagnosed with a form of skin cancer that has migrated into his bones. And so doctors said it is very treatable. That’s good news. Uh and he began treatments on Friday and will continue daily for several weeks. He lives in Hawaii and has solicited the prayers. Many of us know David, he used to worship here with us. Let’s pray for him and his family. Also, we have an update on Amelda Sours, uh, Sister Nancy’s uh mother. Um she had a better day yesterday, and that’s good, but uh she’s still struggling.

Uh when she gets uh a little more stabilized, they’ll do an additional test on her heart, and they’re hopeful that the the chest tube that she has uh can be removed even as early as today if her oxygen levels continue to improve. So let’s let’s pray for her, let’s pray for Nancy as well. I think those are the only additional sick updates that I have. Um let’s remember our sister Geraldine still needs uh rides. There is a sign-up sheet in the back for the rest of this month and December. If you can assist her, please do that. And uh I have a note from uh brother Barker. He says, My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to express my thanks for all the cards, thoughts, and prayers after the passing of my dear mother.

Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers. I want to also give thanks to God for the comfort that He provides for us so we can pass that comfort along to others who are in need. Thank you so much. May love be with you all in Christ Jesus, Steve Barker. Of course, we know his mother passed away a couple of weeks ago. The elders had uh requested uh a couple of weeks ago comments, uh feedback from you about our 9.30 communion service. And uh we’d like to wrap that up this week. So if you still would like to give us any thoughts you have about that 9 30 service, please do so uh as early as possible this week, even today would be appreciated. We’ll take a look and consider all of those, and as we said we would when we started that service back in August.

So please take a few minutes to do that. Many already have submitted thoughts. We appreciate that so much, and uh we look forward to hearing from others yet this week. Just a reminder that about our contributions. We still have that responsibility, of course, on a on a weekly basis. There are boxes in the back you can drop your contributions, or there are online ways that you can do that. So be sure to keep your contributions going. Thank you on behalf of the elders for your continued generosity. It helps us keep things going here. It helps us practice benevolence, it helps us support the other men that we provide support to on a continuing basis, and those men are updated in the bulletin as well this week.

So let’s remember those who are going to be traveling this week, some some of our own and others here have uh family and friends coming in because it is, of course, a holiday week. Let’s pray for all that we’ll have safe travels. And just a final note, want to welcome and thank all of our visitors for being with us. We have a good number of visit visitors with us today. Uh if you are visiting with us, let us know if we can help you out in any way, and also to our online visitors. Uh, you too are welcome. If you have any questions, if we can help you in any way, let that be known. Finally, just a reminder our next services here will be uh Wednesday night.

We’ll have Bible classes at 7 o’clock, and then of course, we will meet next Sunday here at 9 30. One other note with regard to the Lord’s Supper. If anyone was not able to attend the 9 30 service, uh we will have a Lord’s Supper observance in the classroom annex uh in just a few minutes after the close of this service. If you’re not sure where to go, just ask somebody and we’ll direct you there. Is there anything else we need to announce? Jim Walcott. If not, thank you again for being here. Wish everybody a good week. We’ll look forward to seeing everybody Wednesday evening and let us be stand. We will be dismissed in prayer by, I’m sorry. Okay, Brother Richards, come forward, please. Please pray with me.

Heavenly Father, we humbly bow before your throne this morning, giving you thanks for all the many blessings that you’ve given us. We thank you for this day that you’ve given us to come together and to sing praises to your name and to learn from your word. And we pray that you help us to commit these songs and these lessons to our hearts, and we ask that you be with those of our number who are sick and give them your comforting hand, and that you would heal them and return them to us. We also ask that you go with those who are on the roads of travel and protect them and keep them safe.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Uh yeah, I’m not on it.

I have a lot of time.