Berean Community Church Passion Week Devos Monday

Thank you. Thank you.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful to you, God, we are so blessed by you that you would continue to reveal yourself to us through your word, God, through your spirit. and Lord the more and more that we're able to look at scripture that we're able to come together like this will you fill our minds with the knowledge of your son Jesus Christ help us father God to see his great work in his heart so that God in our hearts we would grow in the affections towards our savior and we would truly grow in our trust and our faith we ask God that this time would be a huge blessing to us but also we pray that in this place you would be honored it's in Christ and we pray amen let's all rise together for worship

Thank you for the cross Lord Thank you for the price you paid Buried our sin and shame In love you came And gave amazing grace Thank you for this love Lord Thank you for the nail pierced hands Wash me in your cleansing flow Now all I know Is your forgiveness and embrace Worthy is the lamb Seated on the throne Crown you now with many crowns You reign victorious High and lifted up High and lifted up Jesus Jesus Son of God The darling of heaven Crucified Worthy is the lamb Worthy is the lamb Thank you for the cross Lord Worthy is the lamb Worthy is the lamb Thank you for the price you paid Thank you for the price you paid Bearing all my sin and shame In love you came You gave amazing grace Thank you for the love of the Lord

Thank you for the nail pierced hands Wash me in your cleansing flow Now all I know Now all I know So forgiveness sends embrace Worthy is the lamb Seated on the throne Crown you now With many crowns You reign victorious High and lifted up Jesus son of God The darling of heaven Crucified Worthy is the lamb Worthy is the lamb guitar solo God is faithful to His Word Even when there seems no way Though time may pass His memory will not fade His promises will never fail Faithful He has been Faithful He will be Time and time again

His Word returns complete To His truth I cling When the night is deep Faithful He has been Faithful He will be God is gracious when I doubt He draws near the wiring trees Though I may wander through the wilderness He goes with me and gives me peace Gracious He has been Gracious He has been Gracious He will be What I don't deserve The Father gives to me Where He leads my feet I shall not want or need Gracious He has been Gracious He will be God is worthy of my song God is worthy of my song Countless are His awesome deeds His mighty hands His mighty hands As hard and raging seas For those He loves He has redeemed Worthy He has been Worthy He has been Worthy He will be Crowned in endless grace Crowned in endless grace Crowned in gracious mercy Holy is the Lord Truly He has been Crowned in majesty 器 He will be He is

He is my provider Covenant protector All my hope is in The Lord my God He is my sustainer Merciful Redeemer All my hope is in All my hope is in The Lord my God Oh He is my provider Covenant protector All my hope is in The Lord my God He is my sustainer Merciful Redeemer All my hope is in The Lord my God Worthy He has been, O worthy He will be.

Worthy He has been, worthy He will be. Crowned in endless grace, all earth and heaven say, Holy is the Lord who reigns in majesty. Oh, worthy He has been, worthy He will be. Oh, worthy He has been, worthy He will be. You may be seated. Hello, my name is Sujita Shah and this is my testimony. I grew up in India following Jainism as my parents and grandparents were also Jain.

It's an instant religion that focuses on complete non-violence, allowing no harm to any living creature, including microorganisms. I believed in this way of life then because my grandmother told me it was the most holy life one could live. In our home, not eating after dark, to avoid killing microorganisms in the air, going to the temple twice a day and reading all the Jain scriptures throughout the day were normal parts of my life. One of the prayers my grandmother and I would chant together was a song in Sanskrit. The prayer goes something like this. One who has conquered attachment, aversion, desire and all such passions and has understood the whole world. Who, free from all selfishness, has shown all beings the path to liberation.

Call him any God or say he is beyond this universe. Inspired by this devotion, may this mind of mine remain observed in him. Little did I know that I was praying to an unknown God and that I would soon meet this conqueror from my prayer at the age of 17 on a college campus in Missouri. When I received a Gideon Bible and encountered his living word, in John 16, 33, Jesus says that these things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the word you have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. In India, especially at that time when I was born, it was not very acceptable to have a girl child twice in a row. My parents felt burdened when I was born because they deeply desired to have a boy.

The affection of my grandmother kept me safe from getting bullied until the pressure from society increased for me to perform well in my academics. I quickly realized that this kind of strict spiritual lifestyle was very hard to maintain and it did not seem to align with my desire to achieve specific success in my studies and career. Over time, when I was about 12, my family slowly began to accept me because I was very studious and performed well in school. My grandfather began to notice that passion for school in me. By middle school, I ranked among the top three students out of more than 6 million students in my state. And I wrongly believed I reached that level of academic success because, first, I worked very hard and, second, I was devoted to a Hindu deity and thought he was giving me what I wanted.

Because I ranked in the top three, I received a full state scholarship to go to any country in the world to pursue my bachelor's degree. My grandfather and I decided that I should apply to colleges in the United States. And since I already had some distant relatives living here, I came to the U.S. at the age of 17 to a foreign country, carrying my Hindu idol and scriptures with me. One day, as I was walking on the college campus, I saw a man in a black suit handing out small green books. I was fascinated and thought, what is inside this book? Curious, and since it was free, I took one. I later learned from a few students that it was a Bible. I didn't know much about the Bible, but when I heard it called holy, I decided to place it on the shelf with all my idols.

Every morning, day and night, I would read my Hindu scriptures to deity and then read a page or two from the Bible. Up to this point, reading scripture was just part of my routine. Then one day, I met two African girls in my college dorm. While we were talking in the hallway, they saw the idols on my shelf and challenged my spiritual beliefs. They invited me to go to church with them. At church, I was not allowed to take communion, and that offended me because in the temples back home, everyone was allowed to take whatever had been offered to the idols after the service. Later, after I accepted Christ, I came to understand the true meaning of communion. My friend also shared something that deeply challenged me.

The God of the Bible is holy, and he does not share his glory with any other God. From Isaiah 42.8. That statement stirred my curiosity and led me to read the Bible more seriously, and I started praying to Jesus. Three years later, God graciously provided a full-time job offer after college. Since I didn't properly understand the gospel of Christ, I assumed this good news meant that I had somehow appeased Christ and could now enjoy my life turning back to him only if I faced another big problem. About a year into the job, the company sold part of the organization, and suddenly, I needed another job. This time, I was truly broken. I thought I had made it in my life with a good salary and fun summers.

Now, here was another trial. Continuous job rejections over eight months led to deep confusion about my identity and a loss of purpose and meaning. In that season, I remembered Jesus again, the same God who answered me for the first time. I needed a job, and I knew he could answer again. He was the only God who had ever answered my prayers. Preparing for technical interviews was extremely challenging, and I battled constant uncertainty and anxiety. In desperation, I started to read the Bible more intentionally, especially the red letters, the words of Jesus. I thought if my friend from Congo is right, and Jesus is the only God, I need to hear his voice and read what he is really saying. The word of Jesus to his disciples brought me great comfort.

My fears would lift when I read his promises of peace. My peace I give unto you, not as the word gives. I began to listen to testimonies of Hindus who came to faith in Jesus and how he brought them out of darkness. I realized that if I didn't put my faith in this God, I would wreck my life. I realized these other gods I was following along with Jesus were not real gods. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I decided to be baptized, and both of my African friends came to my baptism. I threw out all of my idols and Hindu prayer books. I kept applying for jobs, but now there was a different kind of peace in my heart. In time, God provided an opportunity for me to move to California when I received a job offer here.

I was very grateful, and I thought because of my trials, my life would have hopeless end. But now in Christ, I have an endless hope. For a long time after accepting Christ, I did not realize how much I needed to depend on him daily to live in holiness. I wasn't keeping track of the significance of what God was doing in my life. Jesus became like a new friend to me, but not yet completely the Lord of lords and kings of kings in my life. The one and truly I revered above all. But God has been gradually and gently showing me different areas of my life that I need to trust him more. One sustaining truth the Lord has established in my life is his relationship with me through his promises in the Bible.

I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Even though you walk through the valley of shadow of death, my rod and my staff will comfort you. My peace I leave with you, not as the word gives. And I will repay you for the years that swamming locus has eaten. An elderly wise woman once told me, When you are in doubt, call 33.3. Referring to Jeremiah 33.3, which says, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. God put a song in my heart when I experienced afflictions from my own family.

The Lord reminded me that the God of angel armies is on my side. When I had to travel alone to attend my family and my mother's memorial service this past September. I noticed a man on the airplane wearing a cross on his shirt. I felt the Lord was reminding me to carry my own cross to face what was coming.

The Lord brought me back safely to the U.S. despite several hurtful comments and tries to return to Jane Peth, which, while I was there, I am grateful for my church family who prayed for me. Because of all of your prayers, I had the boldness to share whatever I could about God's love from the book of Ecclesiastes at the memorial service. Until then, my shoulders were very heavy with grief and burden, but felt much peace after sharing the message. My cousin later asked follow-up questions about the book of Ecclesiastes, and I am eagerly waiting to see what fruit will come from that conversation. I have learned that many are afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of all.

In these moments of affliction, I realized my deep need for constant repentance to avoid a careless heart before the Lord. My need for the church body and a greater respect for the elders. God is not the God of confusion. He has made only one way, and that way is Jesus. As I went on several hikes along the coastal highway, I saw how easy it is to get confused if you start from the wrong end of the path. The Lord has provided only one true entrance, the narrow door. The way is narrow and not easy, but he has already placed the path for me. Those who belong to him go through afflictions, but he supplies all their needs. God has done miracles in my life and has given me dreams to show me that he is the way, the truth, and life.

I have had my share of stumbling and mistakes, even after coming to him, but I began to notice a change in my thought patterns. I gained more control over my thoughts, and I was able to live with purpose. Gradually, I began to understand that I cannot earn God's favor through my own good works. Instead, I must learn to rely on his grace through faith, so that he can fulfill his calling for my life. As Psalm 16, verse 4 warns, The pains of those who have acquired another God will be multiplied. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips. These words now have deep meaning for me, because I once followed other gods, but now I belong to Christ and Christ alone.

Amen. Thank you so much for sharing with us how the Lord worked in your life. Well, tonight, we're going to be taking a look at Mark chapter 11, starting from verse 12. And as we do, we'll try to highlight some of the major events that we see. So first, let's take a moment to read a short section, chapter 11, verse 12 and 14. Let's take a moment to pray.

God, we once more ask that you will bless the reading of your words so that we would gain conviction and faith. Grant to us, Lord, growth of understanding and wisdom from your scripture. It's in Christ's name. Amen. So, I want us to focus our thoughts on this singular phrase, zeal for my father. If we were to review Monday, the events of Monday are quite simple. There are two focal points. The first is that Christ goes and curses a tree that has all these leaves, but no fruits. The second is that as he enters the temple in Jerusalem, he cleanses the Gentile court. He cleanses the area of all the merchants and those who are exchanging coins and selling animals. And then, there are still teaching and healing, but after that, he returns to Bethany.

But for us to focus thematically on the next slide, we can see it as he curses a tree, Jesus reveals his zeal for his father. So, first, as we think about Jesus cursing this tree on the way to Jerusalem, it is interesting, isn't it? That Christ is walking with the disciples and he walks over to this tree that has a lot of foliage, but it's almost as though the Gospel of Mark comments, everybody knows it's not even season. So, initially, the reaction of Christ is surprising or even strange and inappropriate. But what Jesus is doing, remember, is not simply reacting as he walks to what he finds. Although that's what meets our eye, this entire week, Jesus is intentionally walking.

And what's more, he's the one intentionally confronting. So, what we actually have is Christ confronting this tree because although it has the appearances, it has no fruit. And so, this is not an overreaction, but rather an object lesson. This is Christ showing his disciples what is happening at large. This is Christ showing us the spiritual state. It is indicative of the entire spiritual state of Israel in this one metaphor. And in other portions of Scripture, Jesus gives parable. Jesus gives analogy to gain this conviction. In Luke chapter 13, verse 5, Luke chapter 13, verse 5, Jesus began telling this parable, A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.

And when he said to the vineyard keeper, Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down. Why does it even use up the ground? So, what may initially look like an ovary reaction to curse a tree that is fruitless, We recall this kind of parable that says, When the vineyard owner, when the planter wants fruit from his tree, When the Lord, when the master is hungry, It better have fruit. Otherwise, why is it just taking up space? For us, where we're so, the word is entitled, Sometimes where we're so presuming, This idea that, no, no, no, you always have to give everything, Second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth chances. No, no, no, God has to be as patient as can be, etc., etc.

But actually, we recognize that when God wants to see fruit, He has every right to demand it. So, I want us to think about something, Which is, there was a season within the church where I heard a line or a phrase or a complaint That was repeated multiple times. And this line was, I feel so judged. I feel so judged. Have you heard people say that? Have you maybe felt it yourself? Now, sometimes, rightly so, You shouldn't be judged by the standards of men. If somebody is coming to you, Making you feel less than them, Because they're judging you by their own standard, That's not right. And if you feel judged because you're comparing yourself to other Christians, We shouldn't feel guilty, Because we're comparing ourselves to other people we hope to be like.

But, on another side of things, In our time, In our own flesh, We live in a time where people are resistant to change. When people are more quick to say, Don't make me feel guilty. When we're in our flesh and we're not doing well, Are we not defensive? But we remember that God has every right To say, irregardless of how we feel, Whether we feel less than, Whether we feel like, Gosh, God, I'm already doing enough. That because He is the Lord of the harvest, Because He is the vineyard owner, He not only can expect fruit, Anytime we're already bearing fruit, Or if we're not bearing enough, He's going to prune us. Isn't He? Scripture gives us other analogies. He's not only going to prune us, He's going to make sure anything that's not helping Is going to be cut off.

And it may be painful. God's actually going to prune us, But also refine us. He's going to put us into the fire, So that we bear more, And more, And more fruit. I am talking about how, In our generation, We're so resistant to this idea that God can expect What He is entitled to expect. And so, I want to bring up another passage from the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 1. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 1. Look at what God says. He says, Let me sing now, For my well-beloved, A song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, Removed its stones, And planted it with choicest vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, And also hewed out a wine vat in it.

Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But when it produced only worthless ones. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, And men of Judah, Judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard That I have not done in it? Why, when I expected to produce good grapes, It did produce worthless ones. So now let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, And it will be consumed, I will break down its walls, It will become trampled ground, I will lay it waste, It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts Is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah his delightful plant.

Thus he looked for justice, But behold, bloodshed. For righteousness, But behold, a cry of distress. Jesus gave an object lesson of this one tree. It seems so intense. There's no fruit, Then never again. But my point is, The Lord has every right. The Lord has every right. What's more, What Jesus is showing us, Is he is showing us the heart of the Father, But his own zeal. That as we are designed, To bear fruitfulness to the glory of God, This is Christ's expectation. And so what does he tell us in John 15? In John 15 verse 5. John 15 verse 5. Jesus says, I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me, Excuse me. He who abides in me and I in him, He bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, He is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and cast them into the fire, And they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, Ask whatever you wish, And it will be done for you. And then look at this. My Father is glorified by this, That you bear much fruit. So prove to be my disciples. He is expressing his zeal for his Father. That God Almighty would receive the glory, Not the one that just comes from a big group of people, Like what happened yesterday. Not the kind of glory that just comes from words. But the kind of glory that comes from Transforms life bearing fruit, Because of the presence of Christ. Jesus, He is not against weak, struggling Christians.

But what he is against is this kind of low expectation living, Where it says, God, he is just happy with whatever we can give. As long as we cross that threshold, We are good. This is the kind of strange, This is the kind of strange, unfortunate state of mainstream Christianity in our lives. Do not buy into it. God is glorified when we bear much fruit. Christ is zealous for the fruitfulness of his people. Question to us is, Where is our zeal? We may struggle for sure. We may have feelings of, Oh goodness, I am so deficient, even though I have been trying. But if you are yearning, and if you are growing, praise God. Let that zeal grow even more. Ask God, refine me, prune me. Why? Because our zeal is like Christ.

We know that God is honored. There is sincerity in our heart. More love, more joy, more contentment, more faith. We're not just simply trying to do, do more, but rather, bear. Bear the heart of sincerity before God. And so that was Christ's zeal, Which then expresses itself in the concentration of the tree that bears no fruit. Moving then to the second major event, Jesus enters into Jerusalem, And he drives out all the merchants. Let's take a moment to read. Mark chapter 11, verse 15. Mark 11, verse 15. And they came to Jerusalem. He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple. And overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise to the temple. And he began to teach and say to them, Is it not written? My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations. But you have made it a robber's den. Wow. You know, when we look at this passage, This is such an intense scene. I realized reading it over and over again, Because it's just a few short verses, Four or five verses. I imagine like it just happened. But have you ever wondered how long he did this for? Can you imagine what Jesus was doing entering into the temple? Turning over tables? Perhaps people trying to stop him? And you know what's crazy is to think, Wait a minute. Christ had to come to Jerusalem every year of his life.

It's not as though Jesus would just skip it. I'm the Messiah. I'm bigger than this. I'm not showing up to Jerusalem during this time. No. Every year, he saw this massive, Almost like a modern day farmer's market. Some night market. Where people were selling and trading. Is this the first time? And as you recall, Actually, early on in Jesus' ministry, Jesus went to the temple to cleanse it before. So, in the Gospel of John chapter 2, It sounds so almost identical. You can confuse it for the exact same event. But this is early on in Jesus' public ministry, Where it says this. John 2, verse 11. The Passover of the Jews was near. Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple Those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves And money changers seated at their tables.

And he made a scourge of cords And drove them all out of the temple With the sheep and the oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money changers And turned over the tables. And to those who were selling the doves, He said, Take these things away. Stop making my father's house a place of business. His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. What you're seeing is Christ's zeal for his father. And it's pretty shocking to me when I'm thinking about this. It's not the first time. The radical corruption of the temple Was so that when Christ entered on the scene In his early public ministry, He was already doing this, And they just went right back to it. And my guess is this happened every year.

In order for us to picture this scene, I want us to imagine the whole thing. So, you know, If you imagine Jesus' zeal, It talks about him turning over the tables And driving people out. It talks about him, like, Releasing the coins and making it go everywhere. He actually turned over the seats of the people who were sitting there. And then he started blocking people. Can you imagine looking at this? How, what he would look like? To some, he would look like the lunatic, You know, modern day protesters who are just getting in the way. You've seen the videos of the people who are the Just Stop Oil fanatics Standing in the middle of the road And every inch of your being is so frustrated. Are you serious?

We're trying to go. We're trying to get to work. I am pretty sure someone said that to Jesus. Are you serious? Are you mad? We're trying to go worship. They probably called him a blasphemer. They probably spit on him, mocked him. They probably grabbed his clothes. Why? Because we're talking about money. He started putting their money, like, on the floor. We're talking about their livelihood. And I realized this scene is not just a moment. This is a huge scene. In the same way he confronts the tree, He's confronting the whole gathering there at the temple And saying, you're so corrupt. You've made this place a robber's den. You've made this place a place of commerce. How dare you? This is supposed to be a place of prayer.

And he was not only chasing people, but he's starting to block them. You can't go here. You can't go there. Wow. To some, he probably looked like a madman, a lunatic. And then it makes you wonder, wait a minute, if this is, like, the whole day, if this is even the whole morning, where are the faithful ones? Where is maybe that one priest who was like, guys, guys, you're right. How can we get this far? And then it just rebuked my heart so much because I don't see myself as a fighter. I see myself as more of a watcher, you know, supporter in the back. I'm a lot more passive. I watch before I get involved, slow to react. Where is at least that one priest who's been reading the scripture? The disciples remembered the seal for his house consumes him.

Where is at least that one guy who's like, this is the Messiah. Look at him. Look how much he's grieved. Look how intense he is. Nothing. And then it started to make me wonder, how could it get this bad? You ever think that? How strange and eerie it is to see not only a group of people, but the whole of the temple. And earlier yesterday, we were talking about 250,000 worshipers. We're talking about maybe a million worshipers. And it gives you this weird, eerie feeling. How could it get that bad? And then, it only takes a moment to look up and say, mainstream American Christianity. Has it not been commercialized? Has it become a place of just services and goods? And every idolatrous thing that people love and are zealous about in the world, they just bring into the church?

And then they think, yeah, this is amazing because now I have a community to do everything I want in. Now I found my niche. Now we can go long about all the woes of mainstream Christianity, but again, by way of conviction. For us, we see Christ's zeal. For us, we see Christ's zeal. You and I have to have that zeal. It doesn't matter if you have a passive personality. It doesn't matter if you're more quiet. We have to have that zeal. We have to say, this place has to be holy. This place has to be reserved for the worship of God. This place has to be the fruit of prayer. We have to bear fruit here that's spiritual. We can't just let things happen. And then I get this greater conviction, oh gosh, this probably got this bad because of corrupt leaders.

As soon as the leadership said, let's make this about us. As soon as the leadership said, guys, guys, guys, people aren't going to want to come. If we expect them to bring their sacrifice, we just sell them whatever here. If it's blemish, that's fine. Some guy probably said, well, we've rather God sent fire and destroyed people. They're not going to come. Let them just buy the stuff here. You understand that's what's happened in long history of the Old Testament? They're not going to come if we're going to have to have a big pilgrimage over to Jerusalem. Just set up high places incrementally along the way. That's how it happened. Are we not in danger of just the conveniences, the comfort we work so hard to establish as soon as Jesus challenges it?

Now all of a sudden, it's us against him. So the conviction for today, our Lord Jesus, he has expressed the zeal for the Father. So that the Father would receive the rightful fruitfulness of his people. And we see Jesus' zeal for his Father. That the Father's home would be full of prayer. And to all the men in the room, I gain so much conviction from this just reading it. My own house has to be. Even if I'm a passive man, even if I'm a more quiet man, even if I'm not a natural leader, whatever the case, it doesn't matter. My God is going to look. And he's going to ask, is the home full of prayer? 100% on us. 100% on us. Not an excuse acceptable. Our individual homes has to be filled with prayer.

And let our church be filled with prayer. As Jesus reveals his heart, all the enemies of God are going to reveal theirs. The established Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and all the leaders are going to now be on the defensive, realizing what Christ is going to do. And the story says in Mark chapter 11, verse 19, that the chief priests and the scribes heard this and began seeking how to destroy him. Why? Because now they're afraid. For they're afraid of him. The whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. We're going to see a mounting confrontation, an intensity. Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He intentionally started it by what? Confronting all the facade, all the appearances that the nation of Israel was putting up.

Let's make sure for us that we check our hearts, that there is no pretense. That we're not satisfied with only appearances, but that our heart is sincere before the Lord. Let's take a moment to pray. Heavenly Father, we ask God for your blessing. That, Lord, you would have the work of your spirit convict us of anything that needs to be confronted. And as you do that, help our hearts to be yielding. Help our hearts to be repentant. Help our hearts actually to be zealous for the kind of work you do into our lives. We thank you. It's in Christ's name. Amen. If you would, please go into your own time of reflection. I have two just simple prayer topics for you, which is to pray for your own fruitfulness.

And especially if you felt like you've hit a plateau in just the element of your motivation, your desire and your longing to just grow more. Pray. Pray that God would give you that kind of zeal. But what's more, let's take time to pray for the church, that God would guard us. God would guard our hearts so that it would not descend to any kinds of laziness. It would not descend to any kind of being okay with the worldliness that tends to enter into the church. Please take a moment now to pray, and I'll come back to close us off in just five minutes. Thank you. Thank you.

God bless you. God bless you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll take a moment to pray for us to conclude. Heavenly Father, you are our great Father, and when you see your children struggling or weak, thank you, God, that you tend to us and instruct us. You are also, Lord God, you are our great master of the vineyard, and we know that if there are hurtful things, areas, Father, that need to be pruned, we know, God, that by your hand and sovereign hand, you work in our lives. But Lord, we pray a prayer of repentance, God, of any time we're defensive or resistant or we complain, perhaps because it's painful or it's not to our own will, but rather, God, I pray that you would help us to not only be receptive, but to long for it, to want more than anything, that we continue to remove all the noble things and to grow into the character of Christ every single part of us.

And so as we do that, together as a church, as each individual grows, God, we can truly worship in spirit and in truth, and you would be honored through it. We thank you, God, it's in Christ's name. Amen. Let's all rise together for our closing song. Let's all rise together for our closing song. Let's all rise for our closing song. Let's all rise for our closing song. Let's all rise together for our closing song.

Let's all rise together for our closing song.