Not Even One
First B Jackson
2016-04-10

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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It's good to see you. Would you stand with me? We're gonna sing a few. Old hymns. So, starting off with victory in Jesus.

No Bob this morning. They're traveling. No Scott this morning. They're traveling. I'm here.

I'm not y'all follow me or read whatever comes up on the wall.

I heard an old old story how a savior came from glory how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me I heard about his groaning of his precious blood atoning then I repented of my sins and won the victory oh victory in Jesus my savior forever he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood he loved me air I knew him and all my love is due him he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood I heard about his healing of his cleansing power revealing he made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see and then I cried dear Jesus come and heal my broken spirit and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory oh victory in Jesus my savior forever he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood he loved me ever I knew him and all my love is due him he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory and he heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea about the angels singing and the old redemption story and some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory oh victory in Jesus my savior forever he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood he loved me heir I knew him and all my love is due him he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood Amen.

Got another. These are

two standards. These are great and they they actually both of em work very very well with the message for today. So, let's sing Amazing Grace like you mean it, alright?

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. Precious did that grace appear the hour I first feeling through many dangers, toils, and snares.

I have already come. 'tis grace hath brought me saved thus far, and grace will leave me home. When we've been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun we've known less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun Amen.

Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements this morning. A lot of em, they're always in your bulletin. You know the announcements are always in your bulletin. Please read em and you can keep up with what's going on.

I wanted to say in specific though, Awana is back. Spring break ends depending on how you look at it. Tomorrow at school time or today, alright? So, Awana is back. 06:00 tomorrow night.

We'll be meeting in this room. Tons and tons of kids, lots of volunteers. So, Awana is back. It happens at the same time as Monday night, the first beat which is on. We're on this week.

Meal music and a message. Carl will be preaching from Nehemiah. It's been a really good series so far and I expect it will be tomorrow. Connect hour still happening every Sunday between services. If you get here early for this service, head on down the hall and have some coffee and maybe donuts and greet some of those folks from the earlier service and this is something that is new and different.

We are having on Friday nights for the next six weeks. We're having Friday night family fun night is what they're calling it. The adults will be parents will be meeting upstairs doing visionary parenting. It's a series by a guy out of Illinois, Rob Rhino, not not to be confused with Rob Reiner. But Rob Rhino is the guy who is doing visionary parenting.

It'll be a video series and discussion for parents. If you're a parent, single parent, married parent, whatever, that will be for you upstairs. And then the kids will meet downstairs, and they're going to have a a different video series and games and fun stuff and they're volunteers who are dealing with that. Dan and Nancy Tolleson and Tim and Cathy Vetter are leading this study. So, they'll also have some games afterwards.

So, from about 05:30 starting till about eight on Friday nights for families. Visionary parenting. It's gonna be really good. For all other announcements, check your bulletin. And if y'all would, why don't you stand up and greet one another?

Welcome them back to town. High fives, hugs, handshakes, holy kisses. Alright, how about joining us for now I belong to Jesus?

Hymn number five zero one. Jesus, my lord, will love me forever. From him, no power of evil can sever. He gave his life to ransom my soul now I belong to him now I belong to Jesus Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.

Once I was lost in sins, degradation, Jesus came down to bring me salvation, lifted me up from sorrow and shame. Now I belong to him now I belong to Jesus Jesus belongs to me not for the years of time alone but for eternity joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me freed me from sin that long had enslaved me his precious blood he gave to redeem now I belong to him now I belong to Jesus Jesus belongs to me not for the years of time alone but for eternity

Amen. I hope y'all would join me in singing Hallelujah. It's praise Yahweh. Praise God.

He's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he's my savior he is worthy he is worthy he is worthy he is worthy he is worthy he is he is worthy he he is is worthy worthy I will praise him I will praise him I will praise him I will praise him will praise him. I will praise him. Will praise him. Will praise him.

Y'all Amen. Can have a seat. Can I get the frontline team to come forward? I'll pray. God, thank you for this morning.

I think about, I don't know why I think of the weather every single time right here but God, this week has been so beautiful and you've been screaming forth. The heavens declaring the glory of God and the earth. Shouting out to us, lord. I praise you for that. I thank you that you have chosen to communicate yourself too, lord, through your word, through this truth, propositional truth that we have in your word.

God, would you always give us the strengths to stay true to your word? True to you and lord, to broadcast that near and far and for that, lord, that's what we're asking for. Your blessing on this offering. May these tithes and offerings that we bring, acknowledging that every good and perfect gift is from you and we're giving back a portion, lord, so that you may direct it and give it as you see fit. Would you advance your good gospel on this big blue ball to the ends of the earth, lord.

Multiply these tithes and offerings. In Jesus name, and for the building of his church, amen. Last week, while many of you were were away. This is the way it is. Welcome back from Hawaii, Cabo, San Lucas, Guatemala, wherever you are.

Last week, while you're away, we went through the first part of Romans three and it's pretty heavy sermon and it ends on a very heavy note and we ended on that heavy note last week and I promise that we get to a hopeful ending this week which is which is really good but I want to read this so you have the background so you know what Paul is saying. I'll try not to re preach it but I'm gonna give you the highlights anyway. Just the scripture. Then, what advantage has the Jew? Because of all chapter two, he's been saying, the Jews are also in sin, right?

The Jews are also found wanting. Then, what advantage has the Jew or what's the benefit at all of circumcision? Question mark. Question mark. Great in every respect.

First of all, that they, the Jews, were entrusted with the oracles of God. So, the Jews had been given the whole Old Testament, the law, the prophets, they had been given this God's word and so they had a little bit of a head start on the rest of the peoples of the world, on the Gentiles of the world. And I compared that to the church folks, folks who have grown up in church, have a bit of a head start and that you know better. You know the word. So, you've been entrusted with the oracles of God but what then?

If some did not believe their unbelief unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? Well, may it never be. No way. Rather, let God be found true though every man and he means every man. We all find ourselves in the same bucket as Florine calls it, the same place.

May it never be rather let God be found to be true though everyone else, every man be found a liar just as it is written and this portion right here was written about a thousand years ahead of that. It was written by King David. It was written that Psalm fifty one four. 51 is that great Psalm of David's repentance. When he realizes that he has been found in a dreadful, awful sin, the sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and then trying to cover it up by sending Uriah to the front lines to have him killed.

So, adultery and murder for David, the man after God's own heart and when he realized that after Nathan had come to him and said, you are that man, David. This is where he went to the Psalms crying out to God for forgiveness and he said, flatly, even though I'm the king of Israel, even though I'm a man after God's own heart, that you may be justified God in your words and prevail when you are judged. You're right. You're right and I'm wrong. So, that's where David went.

He we know what to do when we find ourselves in sin because of what David had written. That's one thing. This is one of those oracles of God. We've been entrusted with and if you got anything out of the sermon last week, that'd be a really good one. When you're faced with the fact that you are a sinner, the only thing that you can do is cry out to God for forgiveness.

He's made a way. So, that's three one through four. Five through eight says this, but if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, then what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? Now, I'm speaking in human terms.

May it never be. For otherwise, how would God judge the world? He's saying, God can't judge the world unless he's righteous. And just because some of us or all of us are unrighteous, that doesn't nullify his goodness and his righteousness. Like I said, I'm not going to re preach the whole thing.

May it never be. For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if through my lie, the truth of God abounded to his glory, why not say, as we're slanderously reported and as some claim that we say, well, let us just keep on doing evil so that good may come of it. Their condemnation is just. Now, I said in the first service that this part right here seems a little bit confusing because you would think, why?

Why would I do that again? Well, if you had been a reprobate, absolutely reprobate and you become a Christian, you recognize God's grace and you come to it and you think, wow, this is a good good God who forgives and then, you get to the point of thinking, if he forgives so much, why am I worried about walking the straight path? Why don't I just do some of that stuff that I used to do? And you fall back into it and then, the devil says, oh God doesn't care. Sin's no big deal.

Let us do this evil. You know, God, he'll forgive it anyway. Let us do evil so that good may come and that is not what Paul, that's not his message. It's not been his message anywhere. God calls for holiness but let us do evil that good may come is a normal human way of dealing with grace.

You start taking it for granted. It is granted and you start taking it for granted and so, Paul says, let us do evil that good may come. It's what he's been reported to saying and that's not what he's saying and then he ends with this heavy note. There, condemnation is just. Now, I said last week, every human soul ever will either be justly condemned or mercifully saved.

Those are the two options. We all deserve it. We all deserve the condemnation. We bring it on ourselves and we'll see more of that today. But God has made a merciful way out.

He will either mercifully save or he will justly condemn. So, that's where we ended. So, it brings us to this. Romans three nine through 26 and as I looked at it, I thought, what Paul is doing right here and I've used the example. This is a very architectural book.

It's very much popular with engineers who like to think about things in a very methodical fashion. He starts out with the gospel. In one hundred seventeen and eighteen, he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. That's the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. This is what we're gonna be talking about the whole book but then he R A Z E raises, cuts it down to nothing.

He levels everything. Anybody who's on a pedestal or thinks they should be on a pedestal, he takes her legs up from thunder. We are building a theology that's in line with God's truth and in order to do that, we have to admit the truth about ourselves. So, this is where we're going. He ended with, let me see, their condemnation is just.

Remember that. The next line we get to verse nine says, what then? Are we better than they? Their condemnation is just. Are we better off than they are?

Now, he doesn't tell us exactly who the we is. Is it Jewish flavored Christians like Paul? Is it the apostles like Paul? Is it Christians in general? Like Paul?

What then? Are we better than they? I'll let that sit with you too. Since he doesn't say it, I won't try to tell you. He means this but listen to the next line.

What then? Are we better than they? Their condemnation is just and he answers it and says, not at all. We're not any better. So, what does that mean about us?

Doesn't matter which group it is because our condemnation is also just. Do y'all have that? Are you with me? Okay. We have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.

We're all in the same basket. Just as it is written and he's quoting again and he's actually quoting another Psalm of David. Actually, he's quoting at least three different Psalms of David. Two of em primarily are almost exactly the same. There is none righteous, not even one.

Three ten, there is none righteous, not even one. Earlier in the week this week, there's there's some of you who are reading along with me. I really appreciate this and you do your study based on what we've studied or what we're going to study next week. You're you're reading through the Bible and there's a guy that said, I I've hit this. There's none righteous, not even one and it stopped me.

That was his text and a few days later, he quotes some verses a little later. There's none righteous, not even one. Let that sit for a minute. There's not anybody who could stand before God. Now, David wrote this about a thousand years before Christ.

There's not one, righteous. No, not even one. There's none who understands. They don't get it. And there's none who seeks after God.

There's none who is looking for God. For one thing, when you're looking for God, what is everybody in the Bible who encounters God? Isaiah, Peter, woe is me, I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell in among a people of unclean lips.

They say things like that because God's holiness reveals our sin and that's why people don't seek after God. There's none righteous, not even one. There's none who understands. There's none who seeks for God. All of them have turned aside together.

They have become useless. There's none who does good. There's not even one. This is quoting Psalm 14 and listen to this. Fourteen one through three says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no god.

They're corrupt. They've committed abominable deeds. There's no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God, they have all turned aside together. They have become corrupt.

There's no one who does good. No, not even one. Now, Paul's quotes come from the Septuagint version. This is translated directly into English from Hebrew and Paul's are through Greek into English. Does that make sense?

So, there's some slight variation because of translation. Psalm 53 says this, the fool has said in his heart, there is no god. They're corrupt and have committed abominable injustice. There's no one who does good. God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there's anyone who understands, anyone who understands, who seeks after God, and everyone of them has turned aside.

Together, they've become corrupt. There's no one who does good, not even one. That's David, man after God's own heart. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaking forth the truth of God. His son, Solomon, wisest man ever Indeed, there's not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

Does anybody in this room think that they don't sin? You'd be disagreeing with David and Solomon and Jesus and Paul 13 says, their throat is an open grave. This was the next text by the way I got from that guy. Their throat is an open grave. He just had to dwell on that for a minute.

Their throat is an open grave with their tongues. They keep deceiving the poison of asps is on under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. This is all about speech. It's all about what comes out of your mouth.

The voice box is in the throat. The tongue has a lot to do with your speaking. Lips too. The mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and if we think about it, starting there is a good place. Jesus, when he was in a big crowd of people and surrounded by Pharisees the Pharisees were saying, your disciples don't wash their hands before they eat bread.

Why don't they keep the traditions? And Jesus called the crowd to him and he said, hear and understand. It's not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man but what proceeds out of his mouth and Psalm says what? Out of the abundance of the heart or the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Jeremiah says what?

Our hearts are desperately wicked in all their ways. Are you getting the picture here? We're all in the same boat and it ain't good. Their feet are swift to shed blood. He's talking about everybody.

Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths. The path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. It's desperate, isn't it?

Sounds pretty bad. In general, there are two different philosophies that the world adheres to. There are two opposing philosophies about the nature of humanity. One of them is a very optimistic view about human beings and humanity that if we could just get together, we could end world hunger and slavery and all these different things. We can do this.

We have it within us. The triumph of the human spirit. We're good. We are essentially good. We've been told that we're bad and we believe that.

No. Then, there's the other pessimistic view. I actually quoted a Pink Floyd song. What was I thinking? In the first service, you run and you run to catch up to the sun but it's sinking.

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way. The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, you're shorter of breath, and one day closer to death. That's a nihilistic view of life. That is a very pessimistic view that this is all there is and every day just gets you one day closer to the grave. We cannot really end anything, everything is bad.

Optimist or pessimist but the Bible presents a different view. Everybody's in the same boat. Everybody is in the same boat and we have the potential for great good if we agree with God about who we are, where we are, which is pretty pessimistic but it's very optimistic when we believe in Jesus. He can work through us and he can accomplish great and mighty things. He will build his church, he says.

The Bible presents us as dead in our trespasses. Ephesians says, you're dead in your sin but Christ has made the offer to make you new again, to make you alive in the good gospel. There's no fear of God before their eyes. If you actually look back to one sixteen and seventeen where he talks about the gospel and it being the power of God unto salvation. The very next thing that he goes into is a long list of sin and that long list of sin is when they did not want to hold God in their remembrance or in their memory, they did not want to retain God and so, everything that followed that was a sinful, awful thing that matches this pretty well.

It goes almost exactly in line with this. If you think about those optimists that think that the triumph of the human spirit that really got underway with the enlightenment in France and forward from there but have the wars gotten better or gotten worse since then? Much worse. Twentieth century was my bloodiest century ever. Their feet are swift to shed blood.

Still true. Destruction and misery are in their path. So, destruction and misery are in their path. The sinful path that we sometimes choose. Is there anybody I cover my eyes?

Is there anybody in here who can testify to this fact that A sinful path is destructive and miserable. Yes. Is it just for you or is it for everybody that surrounds you? It's for everybody around you. Destruction and misery are in their paths and the path of peace they have not known.

There's no fear of God before their eyes. Now, this is under the sun thinking. This is before the cross thinking but it's true about the human spirit. There's none righteous, not even one, there's none who understands, there's none who seeks for God, All have turned aside. Together, they become useless.

There's none who does good. There's not even one. Their throat is an open grave. Their tongues, they keep deceiving. Actually, Luther said right here about this portion, he said, with their tongues, they keep deceiving.

He said, that's primarily primarily about heresy. It's about teaching comfortable theology. With their tongues, they keep on deceiving and the poison of asps is under their lips. When Jesus said, oh brood of vipers to the Pharisees, he was saying, it's not about what you do. It's about where you put your faith, where you put your trust.

The poison of asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their past, in the path of peace, they have not known. I stop right here too. A lot of times when people are having a very hard time in life, it's a very alluring proposition to do something, take a substance, take a drink, take something that will numb that sense of pain and misery. And when they do that, it's not a way of peace. It's numb.

Actually, that's another Pink Floyd song. Comfortably numb. That's what they're looking for. To become comfortably numb but you have to stay there and you're still just anesthetized to the pain. You don't feel it but when you come down, you're further behind in the rent than you were when you went up.

The path of peace they have not known and this is what Paul brings it down to. There's no awe. There's no reverence. There's no respect. There's no fear of God before their eyes.

They did not choose to retain God in their memories. Well, we're coming to the corner now. That is hard to hear but it is true. We are destitute, completely desperate without Christ. There is no hope.

Now, we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God or accountable before God. Every mouth may be closed. Do you all remember Job? Job had a hard time, right? We're never given a reason exactly why Job had a hard time.

There was that divine conversation between God and Satan at the beginning. And then, Job went on this hard path and he had one thing after another happened to him, his family, his health, everything. Taken away, stripped away, and then, after his wife had said, curse God and die, Job. Just get it over with. My goodness.

It's pretty desperate, pretty awful. Then, Job began to question and say, why is it that you're treating me this way, God? And he started to question God. Do you all remember this? And then God answered for like a chapter and a half.

Where were you when I hung the stars in place? Where were you when I stretched forth my measuring tape? Where were you when I told the ocean where it could come to here and no further? And Job follows up God's direct confrontation with this. Behold, I am insignificant.

I'm nothing and what can I reply to you? I lay my hand over my mouth. I will be quiet. I can't charge you with sin, God. You are good and right and righteous and I'm not.

Once I have spoken and I will not answer again, even twice and I will add nothing more. That's it. When he spoke up. Now, that realization for Job was a beginning of the the book of Job going the right direction, right? Everything's going downhill but when Job catches this place right here where he realizes his accountability before God and he had been a righteous man before that.

It starts to go the right direction at this admission. Romans three nineteen and twenty, so that all the world may become accountable to God because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. That's good news. You know why? Because we can't keep the law.

The law from for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. The 10 commandments and I've said this before and I'll probably end up saying it many more times. There's no mercy in the decalogue. There's no mercy in the 10 commandments. It tells you what's wrong but it does not give you the power to do right.

Does that make sense? Tells you what's wrong but doesn't give you the power to do right. Now, the Jews had that and they still were under the condemnation. By works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now apart from the law, this is completely separate from that. The righteousness of God has been manifested or has been made manifest technically. Has been made manifest and it was witnessed by the law and by the prophets. So, Moses books and all the prophetic books, the historical books in there, all of that is a witness to the goodness of God. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.

That sounds like a pretty significant term, doesn't it? Because he went from being everybody is condemned. Their condemnation is just. Our condemnation is just but in verse 22, he says, even the righteousness of God that has been in this time very recently made manifest through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. He's echoing one hundred sixteen and seventeen, the theme of the book.

Again, for there's no distinction for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God just in case you missed it for the last two and a half chapters. This is it again. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Whether you're a Jewish flavored Christian or a Gentile flavored Christian or a Buddhist flavored Christian, you come from whatever background you come from, you all have fallen short. Every single one of us and fall short of the glory of God.

Now, has anybody ever heard of the Roman Road? Y'all are good baptist, right? Y'all been here forever? If every time you've had an evangelism training course, does somebody have this taped in the back of your Bible? You have it written down.

I do. I have I have the Roman Road and this little signpost over here, I know you can't read it is. All of the different verses along the Roman Road and it's to help somebody and if they ask you flat out. So, what is it? How is it that God works?

What is it? What do I need to know? What I need to do? What all that? When they ask about salvation, the Roman Road.

It's a way of sharing the good news with them and it usually starts and it does in this picture, 03/23. That is right there. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's a good place to start. Now, it's a summary of the last two chapters of this book and for six or seven weeks now, we've been talking about this every single week and it's been pretty dark.

That one sentence sums it up. All have sinned, fall short of the glory of God. That's next one, it goes back to 03:10. Usually, go 323, you pick back to 310. There is none righteous, not even one.

Would any of you say that you are? Y'all have already told me that you're not. Those are the first two steps on the Roman Road. And we'll get to the others. We'll get to the others but I want you to see one more thing and we're going to stop with 24.

I know your bulletin says 26 but the concept of propitiation and redemption is too deep. We're going to take that next week probably just a couple verses. 24 says, being justified. That's a divine passive verb. It means that God is the actor.

He is the one who is doing the action and it is being done to you, for you, on you, it's being done for you. He is the justifier and we'll get to that at the end of '26 too. Just and the justifier. Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. You get every clause there?

It's important. Look at three twenty three. Actually, let's back up and see the whole sentence. But now, apart from the law, because no flesh is gonna be justified by the law, right? It's apart from the law completely.

I don't care how you grew up. I don't care what you believed. Then, it's completely apart from the law. God's righteousness has been shown. It was witnessed by the law and the prophets.

You might have known that. You might not have. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. There's no distinction. We've all sinned.

Everybody, every single one of us. Even those who feel like they've had a head start, you still don't arrive first, okay? For all of sin fall short of the glory of God, being justified. It's God who is the prime mover. Do y'all ever use computers?

Any of y'all use computers? And so when you're doing word documents or you're doing just a document, you know that you can type in a whole bunch of stuff and then make it look pretty to make it end up. You justify it, right? You justify it either left or right or center. My slides are like that.

I justify em usually to the left but when they're quotes, I like to do em in the center. It lets sets it apart. It's a little different but I'm the one who determines whether it's left, right, or center because I'm the the actor in this. I'm the prime mover when I'm making my slides, right? Hopefully, God's involved but anyway, this is being justified.

God is the one who does the justifying and he has declared that it will be by faith. It'll be by what you believe. It's not why what you do. It's not by what you have done. It's not by what you will do.

It is by what you believe. What you believe precedes what you do. Now, we'll get to life transformation that's coming. The the following chapters in Romans talk all about this wrestling spirit and flesh that we do but if you wanna start with building a theology in line with God's truth, you have to admit the desperate condition of man collectively and me individually before you can accept being justified by God but he's the one who does it and he does it through faith, graciously as this says, it's a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus and I could add alone. It's in Christ alone that he saves.

And I think that's it. I think it's time for Judy to come back up. I know it's fifteen till. Y'all can hang around and talk as long as you want to. We have another song.

If you want to come and talk to me this week, you're realizing your desperate condition and you want to reach out for God, I'm here all week and I love you. You can call me. My number is (956) 357-3419. It's on the bullet. Alright?

I would be glad to and I know that the majority of the people under the sound of my voice right now are Christians already. I know that you are. If you're looking at this as a Christian, you have to look at it and go, there are no varsity and junior varsity Christians. What binds us together is Christ. It's a gift of his grace that we are saved at all.

And so this should lead to humility and unity. Because we realize that nothing that we do makes us any more acceptable in God's sight. Before we're saved and afterwards, we just need to do whatever it is that he directs us to do. So, we're to sing blessed be the tithe that binds. Would you stand up?

Blessed be the tithe that binds our hearts in Christian love fellowship of kindred minds is like to that before our father's throne we pour our fears our hopes our aims are one, our comforts, and our cares. When we asunderpart,

Amen. Galatians three twenty eight says, you are all one in Christ Jesus. The invitation is there. The invitation is made. If you are not yet one in Christ Jesus, come see me.

In Jesus name, lord, would you please bless us with the peace that the world cannot give and would you allow us to share it with people in a way that is effortless. Would you allow us to put our lives, lord, in neutral and allow you to be the prime mover. Would you justify us daily, lord, according to your grace, which is available in Christ. Amen.