back to index2017-03-05 Dedication of the Temple

00:00:00.000 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to 2nd Chronicles 6, verse 12, and I'm just going 00:00:09.920 |
to read a short section and the rest of it I'm going to read as we go through the passage. 00:00:15.640 |
This is where Solomon and Israel, after they're done building the temple, dedicated it to 00:00:22.080 |
So what I want to do is follow the pattern that Solomon gives and use that as a pattern 00:00:25.520 |
for us to come before the Lord and ask for His blessing over our church and over what 00:00:39.880 |
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all assembly of Israel 00:00:45.920 |
Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, 00:00:53.240 |
And he stood on it, then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel 00:00:56.920 |
and spread out his hands toward heaven and said, "O Lord God of Israel, there is no God 00:01:01.400 |
like you in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants 00:01:06.440 |
who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father 00:01:12.920 |
You spoke with your mouth and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 00:01:17.260 |
Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you 00:01:21.480 |
have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne 00:01:27.200 |
If only your sons may pay close attention to their way, to walk in my laws as you have 00:01:33.080 |
Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, let your word be confirmed which you have spoken to 00:01:42.520 |
Gracious and loving Father, we thank you so much for today. 00:01:47.040 |
We thank you for this week and as crazy as it was and just through human eyes, just what 00:01:58.160 |
We thank you for the people that you brought together. 00:02:01.120 |
We thank you for the facility that we have where we can focus our energy, Lord God, on 00:02:08.640 |
We pray, Father God, that this would not be a distraction, but only cause your church 00:02:14.820 |
Help us to understand your heart as we search your word. 00:02:20.680 |
The dedication of the temple that is listed here in 2 Chronicles and also in the book 00:02:25.400 |
of Kings is a very important part of Israel's history. 00:02:30.120 |
Last week we saw that one of the benefits that the Israelites enjoyed was that Paul 00:02:36.640 |
said theirs was the glory and theirs was the worship. 00:02:40.920 |
And one of the most tangible things that he talks about, obviously he's talking about 00:02:44.600 |
the temple, that there is a physical place that they were able to come and serve and 00:02:50.420 |
We want to follow the pattern of this wise man's blessing and there's some prophetic 00:02:56.040 |
things that he says here that I think would be beneficial for us to just kind of go down 00:03:00.240 |
the list and I want to follow this pattern with you. 00:03:03.200 |
So first thing is after he dedicates the temple, what he does is he builds a bronze platform 00:03:11.160 |
and he stands on it and he kneels before the nation of Israel to make a public prayer asking 00:03:17.120 |
And that was the dedication ceremony that he has. 00:03:22.020 |
And so after he does that he breaks out into public prayer asking the Lord's blessing. 00:03:27.220 |
And so the very first thing that he prays for in verse 18, and then we're going to go 00:03:34.280 |
Verse 18, he says, "But will God indeed dwell with man on earth? 00:03:40.080 |
Behold heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that 00:03:49.520 |
First thing that Solomon does, he acknowledges what the temple is not. 00:03:54.820 |
Before we get distracted to think that somehow we're a better church because we have a building, 00:03:59.380 |
has a nice facilities and technology, that somehow we've arrived, that that is not the 00:04:06.300 |
Whatever problems that we had before we came into the building, we still have it. 00:04:10.920 |
Whatever things that we need to work on, having a building does not fix it. 00:04:20.700 |
So first thing that Solomon acknowledges that our God is much greater than anything that 00:04:27.300 |
Can we truly contain God in this small building? 00:04:31.180 |
First and foremost, he acknowledges and he confesses that it is just a building. 00:04:38.740 |
It is a better building, nicer building, larger building, better equipment, you know, these 00:04:45.860 |
things, you know, my voice is bouncing off the wall right now, but we'll fix that, right? 00:04:53.020 |
We know that in the end, the church is not the building. 00:04:55.660 |
If people are attracted to come to church because we have a nice building, that is not 00:05:03.300 |
So first and foremost, we have to recognize what it is not. 00:05:11.460 |
It doesn't cause us to have to have better disciple making. 00:05:23.420 |
And part of the reason I'm excited really was this week because this week physically 00:05:27.620 |
watching the church physically build the church. 00:05:30.820 |
And I remember I think it was Jason who said he showed up one night and he thought he was 00:05:34.300 |
going to do some cleaning and light touching and maybe screwing some screws. 00:05:38.220 |
And then he realized, shoot, we're actually building the church. 00:05:42.100 |
You know, we had to put beams inside the church building and really we could not have done 00:05:48.100 |
I'm more excited about that, you know, that we can take ownership together of this church. 00:05:53.620 |
But in the end, we need to first and foremost acknowledge before we do anything else that 00:06:02.080 |
But despite that, the second thing that he says in verse 19, he says, yet, although there's 00:06:07.340 |
no way that we can capture your glory just because we have a better building. 00:06:10.980 |
So yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, oh Lord, my God, listen to 00:06:17.020 |
the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, that your eyes may be open 00:06:21.820 |
day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, 00:06:26.180 |
that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place and listen 00:06:30.420 |
to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place and 00:06:37.100 |
And when you hear forgive the benefit of having a larger building that we can have more people 00:06:45.460 |
praying and seeking the Lord, that despite the fact that it's just a building, building 00:06:51.220 |
It is a blessing because our children can be taught Sunday school. 00:06:55.180 |
Our parents don't have to worry about our kids running around in the parking lot. 00:06:58.340 |
We have a place where we can have prayer meetings. 00:07:00.460 |
We have a place where we can have Bible study. 00:07:03.340 |
But more than anything else, that if the church is not a place where we meet God, then it 00:07:16.820 |
It has to be first and foremost a place where people come to meet God, to cry out to God, 00:07:24.780 |
I remember when I was back in college, there's this particular chapel at Biola. 00:07:29.460 |
I was on that campus for four years undergrad and a couple years in grad school. 00:07:36.020 |
And during those seven years was probably when my faith was challenged and I grew the 00:07:41.100 |
I was discipled and there were periods of hardship in life and loneliness. 00:07:46.860 |
And I remember that there's a particular chapel. 00:07:49.300 |
Those of you guys, I don't know, some of you guys may know this campus, Rosemayor Chapel. 00:07:54.040 |
When I was going there, they had it open 24/7. 00:07:57.420 |
So I remember countless number of days and hours I would spend in the morning and the 00:08:04.500 |
I don't have anything particular to say, but it was a time, it was a place where I could 00:08:10.860 |
And there were many, many times I would just sit there and say, I have nothing to say, 00:08:14.020 |
but I just want to be, I just want to commune with the father. 00:08:18.200 |
So when I think about meeting God, that place, that particular place has special meaning 00:08:25.500 |
for me because I spent so much time in that room. 00:08:30.460 |
I pray that our church facility will have that kind of impact on you. 00:08:36.180 |
That when you think of the church, you don't think about the nice facilities and different 00:08:39.860 |
things that you have, but this is the place that you would come to meet God. 00:08:43.500 |
That many, many years from now on, whether you are still attending this church or not, 00:08:47.860 |
when you think of these years, that you can say, I remember sitting there crying out to 00:08:54.420 |
I remember going into that room, having deep conversations where I met with him and I cried 00:09:01.620 |
And when I was lonely, this is the place I went and I pray as Solomon was praying, that 00:09:07.940 |
despite the fact that it's just a facility, that God would bless this facility as a place 00:09:12.940 |
where we'd have deep spiritual meaning and memories of meeting the Lord. 00:09:25.740 |
He says, "If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and 00:09:32.260 |
swears his oath before your altar in this house, then hear from the heaven and act and 00:09:36.980 |
judge your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head and vindicating 00:09:41.580 |
the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness." 00:09:45.500 |
His second prayer, and he opens up a long list of different prayers, particularly dealing 00:09:53.720 |
And the first thing that he mentions is fellowship, because there's nothing that ruins genuine 00:09:58.720 |
worship and meeting God when there's contention in the church. 00:10:02.020 |
Now, obviously, whenever there's contention, it's always the other person's fault. 00:10:06.880 |
There's a reason why Jesus says in Matthew 5, 22, "Before, not during, not after, before 00:10:12.300 |
you come to the altar, if the brother has something against you, go and deal with it. 00:10:16.660 |
Reconcile with him before you come, because it's going to hinder your worship." 00:10:21.060 |
There's nothing that ruins the church's prayer, the church's worship, the church's singing, 00:10:27.620 |
disciple making, than contentious relationships. 00:10:31.300 |
And that's why the first thing that he prays and recognizes, "Lord, hear our prayer." 00:10:35.660 |
The first thing that he prays is, "Help us in our community that we would love one another." 00:10:43.180 |
In Matthew 6, the Lord's Prayer, he says, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." 00:10:49.260 |
That is a requirement of coming before the Lord. 00:10:52.900 |
That if I want my prayers heard, first and foremost, learn how to forgive, learn how 00:11:00.660 |
Then he goes on and he talks about when disaster, when God disciplines because of sin, and we 00:11:07.700 |
recognize that that is the case, that we would have enough sense to come to the Lord and 00:11:13.340 |
And when we repent, that God would hear our prayers. 00:11:16.780 |
If you look at the bulk of the content of Solomon's prayer and dedication, it's about 00:11:23.300 |
Dealing with sin against each other, dealing with sin because we've disobeyed God and disaster 00:11:30.420 |
comes and we go to fight and we are defeated. 00:11:33.340 |
There's famine that's coming, there's a drought that comes, and he says, "When these things 00:11:37.460 |
happen for the purpose of disciplining and you recognize the problem is our own sins, 00:11:44.380 |
and to recognize that the only solution to these things is to come before the Lord in 00:11:52.060 |
See, the greatest purpose of this building, of our congregation, is reconciliation with 00:12:00.960 |
We can build great communities, we can have great children facilities, and we can have 00:12:05.540 |
great social justice programs and all of these things. 00:12:10.300 |
But when Jesus says, "My house will be a house of prayer," first and foremost, it's a calling 00:12:16.720 |
for reconciliation, to be reconciled with God. 00:12:20.560 |
Everything in Israel's history, all of their system, all the temple worship, every prophet 00:12:24.740 |
that prophesied, all of it, at the core of it, is about reconciling with God. 00:12:29.380 |
So the dedication of the temple is a dedication to come before the Lord is, "When I repent, 00:12:36.800 |
Every single Christian that comes to this room must first and foremost come humble before 00:12:43.440 |
Not with the idea of somehow I'm going to improve the church by doing this or doing 00:12:48.980 |
First and foremost, to humble themselves and seek his face. 00:12:53.620 |
See, in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 9, it says, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline 00:12:59.020 |
of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 00:13:01.860 |
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives." 00:13:06.300 |
Do you realize that when Solomon is praying these things, that he is admitting the propensity 00:13:18.900 |
During Solomon's reign, Israel was the most powerful. 00:13:24.000 |
So humanly speaking, they would have naturally thought that the Lord blesses us. 00:13:32.580 |
Solomon did not experience much defeat among the enemies. 00:13:36.180 |
So when he's praying these things, it's because he recognizes in his wisdom the propensity 00:13:42.800 |
And that's exactly what it says in verse 36, "If they sin against you, for there is no 00:13:46.500 |
one who does not sin, and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they 00:13:52.680 |
are carried away, captive to a land far or near." 00:13:59.520 |
It was hundreds of years before Israel was taken into captivity. 00:14:03.280 |
It is at the peak of Israel's success, he prays this prayer. 00:14:09.400 |
Because we have a propensity to sin, and when you bring judgment upon us, and we are taken 00:14:14.080 |
away to the foreign land, and we recognize that it was our sin, and when we repent, would 00:14:20.680 |
It is our propensity to sin why Christ came and died for us. 00:14:26.240 |
It is our propensity to be proud, to seek after things that do not honor God. 00:14:36.280 |
This is why he established the church, and he said, "I will build my church, and the 00:14:42.440 |
See, this dedication of the temple in his wisdom recognized, we need Jesus. 00:14:50.800 |
Now Solomon never mentions the name Jesus, because it was hundreds and hundreds of years 00:14:55.960 |
before that is fulfilled, but everything about the temple was about the preparation of the 00:15:03.040 |
And so he says, "When we sin, not if we sin, not if we mess up, but when we sin, and we 00:15:12.360 |
You know, but what's also interesting, he doesn't stop there. 00:15:16.720 |
He prays, "Likewise, when a foreigner who is not of your people, Israel, comes from 00:15:21.160 |
far country for the sake of your great name, and your mighty hand and your outstretched 00:15:25.640 |
arm, when he comes and prays toward this house, hear from heaven your dwelling place and do 00:15:30.320 |
according to all for which the foreigner calls you to do, in order that all the peoples of 00:15:34.520 |
the earth may know your name and fear you as do your people Israel, and that they may 00:15:39.080 |
know that this house that I have built is called by your name." 00:15:44.920 |
Israel's constant problem was they became insulated. 00:15:47.440 |
In fact, the whole book of Jonah is a rebuke to the nation of Israel. 00:15:52.560 |
What's it to you if I want to be merciful to the Ninevites? 00:15:56.480 |
And so the book ends in rebuke, and it wasn't just a rebuke to Jonah. 00:16:02.440 |
God said, "You are my holy nation, a royal priesthood to declare his glory." 00:16:11.520 |
Solomon, recognizing the propensity for the nation of Israel to become insulated and forget 00:16:16.960 |
the foreigners, not realizing that God is for the world, not just for them. 00:16:22.960 |
He prays for foreigners that when they come, that they would be received. 00:16:31.000 |
We're going to have our anniversary, and I think that one of the biggest temptations 00:16:36.040 |
and the struggles that we need to watch out for is that after a few years, we no longer 00:16:45.160 |
You know, when the church is first planted, we have this vision of reaching out to the 00:16:48.440 |
lost, bringing non-Christians, and we evangelize and tell our friends and our neighbors and 00:16:54.600 |
But at some point in the growth of the church, we get to a point where we say, "Well, that's 00:17:06.000 |
See, I think it is a grave danger when we forget that we're here as Christ's church. 00:17:13.840 |
He established this church for His glory and ultimately for the gospel to go out to the 00:17:20.440 |
That's why if you look at the book of Acts, chapter 8, you know the conversion of the 00:17:25.640 |
And it's a strange part in the story because gospel begins to spread, and all of a sudden 00:17:30.760 |
randomly this eunuch, Ethiopian eunuch appears, and he's reading Isaiah 53, and then he says, 00:17:38.640 |
And Philip the Evangelist says, "Well, that's talking about Jesus." 00:17:41.480 |
And, "Well, if that's the case, I want to believe." 00:17:46.600 |
And this is all the history of how the early church started, and all of a sudden in Acts, 00:17:51.480 |
chapter 8, eunuch appears and he disappears, gets baptized, and he's gone. 00:17:57.360 |
How does that fit into the narrative of the early church? 00:18:00.920 |
In fact, if you look carefully, you'll know that the conversion of the eunuch was very 00:18:05.920 |
symbolic because there is prophecy in the book of Isaiah that specifically says that 00:18:12.360 |
when the gospel comes, the kingdom will be open to the Gentiles and to eunuchs because 00:18:18.040 |
these were people that were considered unclean. 00:18:23.040 |
If you know the outline of the book of Acts, the gospel begins to go out from Jerusalem 00:18:27.600 |
to Judea, to the remotest part of the world, in Acts, chapter 9. 00:18:32.840 |
So in Acts, chapter 8, is where the eunuch gets converted and a Jew reading this would 00:18:38.320 |
automatically realize the gospel has been opened to the world. 00:18:48.160 |
People constantly ask me, "At what point will you be satisfied with the growth of the 00:18:55.120 |
And I know there's a tinge of sarcasm in there asking, "When will your ego be satisfied? 00:19:04.160 |
At what point are you going to say it's big enough?" 00:19:09.400 |
Sarcasm is my gift, so I usually respond in sarcasm and I'll say, you know, "7.4 billion." 00:19:22.600 |
Obviously, what I mean by that is the church wasn't planted ultimately so that we can 00:19:28.440 |
have a nice community of people, raise our children together, and then our children will 00:19:37.840 |
Like local church, everybody's here and generations of people living together. 00:19:42.800 |
The church was not planted for that reason, ultimately. 00:19:45.700 |
Those are all blessings that we have, those are all benefits that we experience, but in 00:19:53.440 |
And we should not be satisfied until the world is reached. 00:19:57.400 |
He said when the gospel has gone to the most part of the world. 00:20:01.480 |
We have to be careful that we don't create an environment or culture in a church where 00:20:06.000 |
only certain people are welcome, people who are like us, who's going to add to us. 00:20:11.400 |
A church, a real church, a church that God blesses, should be filled with all different 00:20:16.480 |
kinds of people that we would never run into each other if we weren't Christians. 00:20:22.000 |
People that we would never talk to if we weren't Christians. 00:20:24.560 |
People who we would never live next to if we weren't Christians. 00:20:29.560 |
All age, all culture, all background, whoever that we're surrounded by, that we're not here 00:20:33.620 |
to be insulated so that we can create a nice Asian American community. 00:20:39.920 |
Hopefully, that we would recognize that and even Solomon at the very beginning of the 00:20:45.000 |
opening of the temple, he went to pray that they would not forget that vision. 00:20:49.920 |
That when the foreigners come, that they too may be able to worship you. 00:20:55.320 |
After his prayer, it is concluded where God shows up in 2 Chronicles 7. 00:21:00.680 |
As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt 00:21:04.200 |
offerings and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 00:21:15.160 |
Recognizing their sin, recognizing their calling, asking the Lord to bless and humbling themselves. 00:21:34.920 |
You know, we can talk about all the problems in the church. 00:21:36.960 |
We can talk about all the communication, all this stuff, and all of these things that, 00:21:40.240 |
you know, we want to do better, we want to work on. 00:21:42.840 |
But in the end, what makes a church a church is God's presence. 00:21:50.600 |
God shows up in his glory, fills the temple, and the priest could not enter the house of 00:21:54.640 |
the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 00:21:57.840 |
When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord in the 00:22:01.600 |
temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshipped 00:22:05.520 |
and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures 00:22:11.520 |
It's great that we have a great sound equipment. 00:22:15.240 |
It's great that we have talented people, dedicated people, the finances to do what 00:22:21.120 |
But all of that would be for nothing if God is not here. 00:22:27.160 |
What makes a church a church is that this is a place where we come to meet the Lord. 00:22:30.920 |
Now, of course, we know that God is omnipresent, that he's not just here. 00:22:35.520 |
But there's a special blessing when the congregation gathers together for corporate 00:22:39.320 |
worship, for corporate prayer, to work together toward missions, to evangelize, to build a 00:22:45.960 |
But in the midst of all of that, worship, that we try so hard to get right every single 00:22:51.280 |
There's a lot of people laboring so that worship can happen. 00:22:55.000 |
Parking attendants, those of you who are here today enjoying this, there's tons of people 00:23:00.560 |
who've been here all week cleaning up, setting up. 00:23:03.480 |
Every little thing that's going around here was set up this week. 00:23:06.360 |
There are people here late till yesterday cleaning up, getting this ready. 00:23:10.640 |
And even now, we have dozens and dozens of people running around the church making sure 00:23:17.520 |
Sound room, these speakers, all of these things were hard labor. 00:23:24.200 |
What we are working so hard to have, and all of these things, again, it's because God 00:23:31.440 |
But in the end, true worship is when we encounter God. 00:23:37.800 |
When we encounter God, when God shows up, they just fall down and worship. 00:23:43.200 |
And let me conclude what he says in 2 Chronicles 7, 14, 15. 00:23:47.200 |
In response to Solomon's prayer, God says to the nation of Israel, "If my people who 00:23:52.560 |
were called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their 00:23:58.400 |
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their 00:24:04.160 |
Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place." 00:24:09.120 |
As we dedicate not simply this building, but our church, you and me, using this church 00:24:15.480 |
as an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the Lord, that we would follow the same 00:24:20.440 |
pattern first and foremost, before we gear up and say, "I'm going to do it," first 00:24:29.600 |
Recognize that all our hard work would be for nothing if we do not humble ourselves 00:24:39.960 |
That this is a church, this is a place, Bible study, Sunday school, our fellowship time, 00:24:46.080 |
anytime we gather together, our primary purpose is to seek him and then ultimately turn from 00:24:50.800 |
our wicked ways, our propensity to sin and stray away from God. 00:24:55.280 |
And God promises, "Then I will hear from heaven, then I will forgive your sins and 00:25:01.560 |
I will heal the land and my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is 00:25:10.560 |
At Rosemary Chapel at Biola, I don't have to make much effort to pray in that room. 00:25:18.120 |
And I know it's emotional, because I have some ties, but I have so many memories. 00:25:23.900 |
And sometimes you know how you go to certain places and certain smells and certain things 00:25:28.340 |
I sit in that chapel and I remember years of praying and weeping at times in that chapel. 00:25:36.600 |
And I would sit there and the moment I sit down, I sense the Lord. 00:25:42.240 |
I pray that this church will be that for you. 00:25:46.120 |
That this is a place where you can meet the Lord, that where you seek him, where you pray 00:25:51.920 |
And I know we have problems, I know things we have to work on, but let's not be distracted 00:25:59.880 |
You know, normally I don't write out my prayers, but I wrote out my prayer today and I want 00:26:08.960 |
And I want to pray for the Lord's blessing, following the pattern that he gave. 00:26:14.280 |
And then afterwards our prayer team will come up and I'm going to invite you to take some 00:26:20.080 |
But again, follow along with me, you know, pray with me as I pray this prayer. 00:26:31.080 |
Dear Lord, thank you for being patient with us and so faithful with all of your promises. 00:26:39.520 |
Your righteous judgment and decree is true from generation to generation. 00:26:45.080 |
We want to dedicate this church to you for your glory. 00:26:48.800 |
Let this place be a place where we truly love one another as Christ loved us, that the world 00:26:56.760 |
Help us to make every effort to live in peace and unity with one another in genuine love 00:27:04.600 |
I pray that our fellowship will be a reflection of your patient love for us. 00:27:09.080 |
Protect us from the devil's work to divide and conquer. 00:27:12.480 |
Protect us from our own pride that causes us to want to be heard rather than to hear. 00:27:17.600 |
Help us to desire to serve rather than to be served. 00:27:21.580 |
We pray that Berean Community Church will be a place where sinners will find forgiveness 00:27:28.200 |
Help us to embrace and love the outcasts and hurting sinners. 00:27:31.640 |
I pray that you would protect us from becoming self-focused, but to look upward and outward 00:27:38.520 |
Help us to recognize that you are sovereign over all things, that we may turn to you as 00:27:45.680 |
Help us to walk in the spirit at all times and not grieve the spirit in how we live and 00:27:50.940 |
We pray that when you send the lost and heavy laden, that they would find a home in your 00:27:57.480 |
Help us to never forget why you've established this church and sent your only begotten son 00:28:04.040 |
Help us to love whom you love and to bring the light to the dark world we live in who 00:28:08.400 |
are desperate in need of reconciliation with you. 00:28:12.400 |
Help us to recognize that true victories in Christ can only be had in abiding in him. 00:28:18.300 |
We pray that the leaders will be humble servants more than dynamic leaders, men of righteousness, 00:28:22.960 |
above reproach, first to serve and last to react in anger. 00:28:27.640 |
We pray that we would be first lover of Christ and his church before lovers of anything else. 00:28:34.040 |
We pray that Berean Community Church will be a house of prayer above all things where 00:28:40.720 |
Hear our prayers and be attentive to the singing and worship given to you in this place, Lord.