The Call To Be Different

Well folks, it's wonderful to see you this morning after about four or five months of

preaching to an empty building.

This is refreshing to my soul even just to see you today.

And welcome to those who are joining us online as well.

Why don't we just pray, just really quickly as we come to God's Word.

Isaiah chapter 66, God says, but this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and

Isaiah 66 · chapter mention

contrite in spirit who trembles at my Word.

And Father, we just ask that you would help give us that spirit today as we come to your Word.

Father, help us, challenge us, mould us, convict us, encourage us and spur us on, Father, as

we turn to your Word this morning.

We ask in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well folks, let me encourage you to grab a Bible and turn back to Leviticus chapter 17.

Leviticus 17 · chapter mention

So we are ambitiously this morning going to finish our series that we've been in in this

book of Leviticus.

And we're taking our 11 chapters this morning.

So buckle up, cowboys and cowgirls.

It's going to be a heavy ride, but I hope we'll get there.

But this is the thing that we need to see that kind of holds this together.

Here today is the call that this holy God makes upon the lives of his people.

And you can think about it a bit like this.

Okay, our little girl Grace, something that I've learned about her that she loves doing.

She loves a spot the difference puzzle.

And there was a spell certainly during lockdown where we read every night her Biff and Chip books.

If you remember these things when you were school, they're still going, Biff and Chip books.

And amazingly, they're still the same age, the characters in it.

But we read these every night, most of the nights.

And they often finish with a spot the difference puzzle.

So she loves doing these little puzzles.

So we'll be sitting there doing them.

And you know how it works.

You've got two pictures that are right next to each other.

And one's the normal one, one's got the differences in it.

So the two of us are looking at this.

And she's concentrating really hard.

And she's looking at it really hard.

And she says, Daddy, Daddy, there's a difference.

There's a difference.

Same routine again.

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.

There's a difference.

There's a difference.

And then she turns to me and she would often say, Daddy, can you see any differences?

And there's never a more humbling moment in life, honestly, when as an adult, you look at some of these pictures.

And you cannot fathom it.

You have been defeated by a child's puzzle, right?

It's why we don't do Where's Wally anymore in our house at bedtime.

A humbling experience when you are defeated.

But she loves these spot the difference puzzles.

And we keep on going until we've seen all the differences.

And there's a ton of things going on in these chapters.

But here's the big thing that kind of holds it together.

This holy, holy, holy God is calling his people to be different.

If you remember one thing from today, remember that a holy God calls his people to be different.

And the key word in this section is the word holy.

Probably picked it up from the themes this morning.

Holy.

We get it 28 times in these chapters.

So if you want to think about it like this, if these chapters are like a stick of Blackpool rock,

okay, I'm the son of a dentist.

We're never allowed it.

But this is what I'm told.

Cut into it anywhere, these chapters.

And you'll find the holiness theme running all the way through the middle.

Now come with me to chapter 20 and verse 22.

And let me show you how this works.

Chapter 20 and verse 22.

Here's what God says to his people.

Verse 22.

Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them.

So that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.

You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you.

Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.

But I said to you, you will possess the land.

I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.

I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the nations.

You therefore must make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.

Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground.

Those that I have set apart as unclean for you.

And here is verse 26.

And if you've not followed the reading so far, jump in at verse 26 of chapter 20.

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy and have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

So hold on to verse 26 there.

What we're going to do is we're going to use it almost as our base camp verse from which we're going to explore the rest of these chapters.

So God is calling his people to be different.

To be holy.

And the challenge is going to come at us today as God's people is to consider whether we are embracing his holy call in our lives.

And verse 26 gives us the two sides of the holiness coin.

And these will be our two points for today.

Here's the first side of this coin.

Holiness is something that we're called to take in.

Now here's what I mean by that.

Verse 26 could easily be translated,

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy and I have holied you from the nations to be my own.

In other words, to be holy is firstly a verb that's describing an action that God has done for us.

Before it's an adjective, this is to describe how we live.

And maybe at this point we need to tap back into the Bible story.

God has made a promise to Abraham way back in Genesis 12.

It's a massive chapter in the Bible.

That through him and his offspring, God is going to bless the nations of the world.

This God has a missionary heart to reach the peoples of the world.

And if you want evidence of that, look around at us.

And so here are Israel, the people who God has chosen to be the people that he will use,

to be the vehicle by which this blessing is going to come to the world.

Not because they are great or special or better than anyone else,

but because this God is so good and great and abounding in steadfast love.

And he's rescued them from Egypt.

He's called out his people.

And he's led them to Sinai.

And here is the way that he calls them to live as his people.

You know, my favorite creatures are in those little TV shows.

You know, the nature programs you get on telly.

I love the chameleons.

Love the chameleons.

Right? Chilled out little dudes, aren't they?

Never seen a chameleon in a rush.

But what are chameleons known for?

They're known just for blending in.

To their background, right?

Just blending.

And what we need to see is that God's people are called to be the exact opposite.

From the Egyptians, right?

The people that they've just come from.

Remember, they've seen that way of life.

They've been brought out of it.

And from the Canaanites who are in the land,

who they will rub shoulders with in the not-so-distant future,

who, if you look at the beginning of chapter 20,

the Canaanites are all out in worship of Molech.

Right?

You see, you get it quite a lot of times at the beginning of chapter 20.

Molech, Molech, Molech.

This is what the Canaanites worship.

And God, in his goodness and sovereignty,

knows that when the people go into the land,

this is the God that they're going to come up against.

These are the people who are worshiping.

And there's child sacrifice and all sorts of things caught up in the worship of Molech.

And in contrast, Israel are called to worship the Lord alone.

Okay?

The Lord, our God, is one.

Right?

We've only got eyes for him.

We worship him alone.

In contrast to the nations round about who are worshiping all sorts of different gods,

we worship the Lord, our God, alone in the way that he has told us to worship him.

Or just any way.

Or our way.

The way that he has told us to worship him.

And as they do this,

what's meant to happen is the people from the nations round about,

the people from the world,

and I hope you see where this applies to us.

Okay?

The peoples from the world round about are supposed to look in at Israel

and they're meant to say,

how lucky are Israel,

how lucky are God's people that they have their God dwelling right in the middle of them.

He dwells with them.

He's not somewhere out there.

He is right in the middle of his people.

He lives with them.

How lucky are Israel.

How lucky are they to have the laws of this God

and be able to walk in them

to see the goodness of the way that God has called them to live.

Israel are to live with,

and this is Chris Wright,

what he calls a missional magnetism.

Love that phrase, missional magnetism.

It's not just me that likes to alliterate, right?

Missional magnetism.

The world round about is supposed to see something

and be drawn towards it goodness.

In other words, the nations are like the moth

and they're to be drawn to Israel's flame.

And God's taken his people to the promised land

and it's why the Canaanites who are currently occupying the land

can't live there anymore

because they've defiled it with their practices against this God.

Because if God's people are to dwell with God,

in God's place, under God's rule, to God's glory,

enjoying him forever,

which is where the trajectory of the Bible story is going,

then holiness needs to be everywhere in the land.

Everywhere in the land.

And so bring that all together, friends.

To be holy by God,

to be his,

to be called apart for him,

by him and for him,

is a privilege.

Maybe you want to take stock to remember that this morning.

As a Christian,

it's not just you made a call to make a lifestyle choice,

but you did make a call to put your faith in Jesus.

God has called you out

to be his own.

You are his treasured possession.

You are chosen in love by God the Father

before the foundation of the world.

To be his is a privilege.

So holiness, you see,

is something that first and foremost,

we are called to take in.

And secondly,

the other side of the coin,

holiness is something

that God's people are to live out.

So here's the repeated frame

that you get in this section.

You shall be holy

because I,

the Lord,

your God,

am holy.

So God's people are called

like a mirror,

sun shining off it,

radiating it to the world,

called to reflect the holiness of their God

and the way that they live.

And what is striking

as you read these chapters through

is just how comprehensive a call this is

on every person

in society,

in every area of their lives.

Right?

There's a big Asda

just down the road from us

at Straighten.

I remember being amazed,

thinking that it was open 24-7.

You got one of those around about you?

Maybe it's,

doesn't need to be an Asda,

but something that's open 24-7, right?

I'm getting my head around that.

It's open all the time.

That is open all the time.

I can go there anytime I want.

You can go there anytime you want.

Never closes.

Never off duty.

Never stops.

Never ceases.

Always open.

God, do you see,

in such a greater way,

is calling his people

to 24-7 holiness.

Every day of their lives

and every area of their lives,

he's calling them

to 24-7 radical holiness.

And so here's what we're going to attempt to do

is dip in and out of these chapters.

And there's so much going on here.

You'll appreciate it.

You don't get time to do any of it.

Tons of justice.

But let me just pick out four ways

that God's people really quickly

are going to be different

from the world around them.

Four ways,

four marks would be like

of this holy community.

Here's number one,

mark one.

The poor will be loved.

The poor will be loved.

So God lays out commands,

like the one we read,

Hannah just read,

chapter 19, verse 9.

When you bring in the harvest,

your crops and your fruit,

what's God saying?

He says,

if you own the land,

don't plow all the way to the edges.

Leave a bit.

Right?

Leave a bit.

Why have you to leave a bit?

So that the poor can come in.

Those who aren't as well off as you.

And they can be provided for.

Because remember,

the land is the Lord's.

Land is the Lord's.

Do you see in that way,

the poor are cared for.

God has got the poor in his heart,

in this community.

Or take the year of Jubilee.

You get that in 25,

chapter 25.

This year that happened,

every 50th year.

The cancellation of debts,

the release of slaves,

the reallocation of property

to its original owners,

that they can buy it back.

Again, what's at the heart

of the year of Jubilee?

This year that almost acted

like the great reset

in the life of God's people.

So that there doesn't,

surely it's this,

if you think about it,

so that there doesn't become

a huge gap

between the rich and the poor.

So that there doesn't exist

a society where the rich

are getting richer

and the poor are getting poorer.

And because of that,

envy is existing

between these two groups.

And who primarily benefits

from the year of Jubilee?

Surely it's the poor.

Who's given opportunities?

Who's given options?

Who's provided for?

It's the poor.

Do you see how God's community

are to care for the poor?

Or to do right by them?

Or to have an eye for them?

They care for the poor.

The poor are in God's heart.

So way number one,

mark number one,

the poor are loved.

Mark number two,

sex is honored.

God calls his people

to have a different sexual ethic

from the nations,

the peoples of the earth

round about them.

As God reaffirms

that to engage in sexual activity

outwith the good contours

of a marriage between one man

and one woman is sinful.

And yes,

homosexuality is mentioned here.

Got to see it.

But let's ensure that

because of the times

in which we happen to be existing

at this moment,

we're not so drawn to see it

that we miss out on everything else

that God is saying

because he's got so much more

to say in this regard,

in this area.

Because if you read it through,

he's got stuff to say

about adultery amongst his people,

polygamy,

incest,

sex with animals,

and uncovering another person's nakedness

probably means just to sleep with them casually,

could just mean looking at them lustfully.

As God said,

you will be different

from the peoples round about

in the way you think about sex.

And I take it, friends,

that we all need to feel the weight of that.

And I'm very conscious

that two things will be happening

as I'm mentioning that.

Number one

is that the Holy Spirit,

as he moves amongst us,

will be challenging us

in ways that we need to be different.

The things that we need to repent,

the things we need to say sorry for,

the things that we need to stop doing

and start doing.

I'm also aware

that the devil will be prowling around

looking for people to devour.

And maybe right now,

even as I mentioned that,

there's a lot of pain

that's coming back to mind

or mistakes

or shame.

And that's why I want us

just at this point

to come to John chapter 8

John 8 · chapter mention

and marvel,

all of us,

because we have all fallen short here

at some point in our lives,

marvel at the grace of Jesus Christ.

Marvel at what God is like

as we see God in the flesh

in his person.

For all of us have failed here.

The Pharisees,

what do they do in John chapter 8?

John 8 · chapter mention

They bring a woman

who's been caught in adultery

and it's almost like

they bring her to Jesus

and they gang up on her.

I'm always reading that,

thinking to myself,

where is the guy?

Right?

It takes two to tangle.

Where is the guy?

They're not interested.

I love how Jesus treats women

with such dignity.

He should meet them in the Gospels.

What do they say about this woman?

She has broken what?

The law of Moses.

They take Jesus right here.

She is guilty.

What are you going to do about it?

What does he say?

He says,

let he who is without sin

cast the first stone.

And one by one,

they start dropping off.

Love it how it's the elders

who start dropping off first

as if to say,

we know we cannot throw that stone.

Jesus doesn't condone the woman

for what she's done,

but neither does he condemn her

for what she's done.

He meets her with grace

and he says,

sin no more.

Sin no more.

Change.

Do you see, friends,

repentance is always a response

to Jesus,

the grace that we find in him.

It's almost as if Jesus

steps into this woman's situation

and says,

yes, she deserves to die.

We all deserve to die.

I'm going to take her death.

I'll take it.

That's what he does

as he goes to the cross.

Those, all of us,

who deserve to die,

I'm going to die in their place.

I'm going to die in their place.

Friends, God's kindness

is meant to lead us to repentance.

This is Jesus.

Feel his heart here in this moment.

The heart of God

for people to come

to put their faith in him.

He changed.

And all that you see,

if you look at chapter 18,

all the different people

and relationships

that you get in Leviticus 18,

this list of people

who you are not to uncover

their nakedness.

There's that phrase.

The reason

is that these people

belong to somebody else.

Do you see it?

Verse 16, chapter 18,

for example,

do not have sexual relations

with your brother's wife

that would dishonor

your brother.

In other words,

there's other people

involved here

who are going to be hurt

by your actions.

People are not just

your playthings

to satisfy your appetites.

People are image bearers

of God's.

And you need to understand

that because of that,

they are worthy

of the greatest dignity

and respect

as you love your neighbor

as yourself.

Let me just say,

that is the culture

that we always want

to be creating here.

Right?

Just a culture

where we view people

differently.

Differently.

Where we talk about

the other sex

differently.

And as you think

about everything

that's going on

in our world

over the last number

of months,

friends,

we should be setting

the pace here

in how we relate

to one another

as people.

Setting the pace.

Striving to create

a safe place

where people can come in

and not be judged

but can heal

and be loved

and know

the grace

of Jesus Christ.

Where we can be honest

with our struggles.

Where we have a safe place

to practice repentance

as together

we deny self,

take up cross,

and follow Jesus.

God's community

will be a place

where sex

is honoured.

And Mark 3,

and these will be

a lot quicker,

these two.

Mark 3,

God's community

is a place

where justice

is done.

Right?

Did you hear it

as Hannah read it?

Do not steal.

Do not defraud

your neighbour.

Don't cheat

in your weights

and your scales.

Pay your labourers

their wages.

Verse 15,

you shall not render

an unjust judgment

that benefits

either the rich

or the poor.

In other words,

God really cares

that justice

is done

amongst his people.

Why?

Because again,

it just reflects

his character.

He is a God

of justice.

And Mark number 4,

real quick,

the days are special.

Days are special.

Chapter 23

and into 25,

the times of year

that are to be special

to the Israelites.

the Passover,

the Sabbath,

the festival of weeks,

the day of atonement,

these rhythms of life

that God tells them

to build into their calendar,

many of which

will only happen

once they're in the land

where they're going.

These days are designed

to help them remember

who their God is

and what he's done for them

and to be able to pass it on

to the next generation.

This is who our God is.

This is who he is.

Right?

One of the reasons,

if you want an example,

chapter 23,

sorry we're jumping about here

but it's the nature

of the exercise.

Chapter 23,

verse 43.

One of the reasons

they are to celebrate

the Feast of Booths,

23, 43.

So your descendants

will know

that I had the Israelites

live in temporary shelters

when I brought them

out of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God.

You picture that.

You're celebrating

that one together.

Child,

ask the parent,

why are we doing this?

Why are we living in a tent?

What is going on?

Because this is who our God is.

This is what he's done for us.

This is what happened.

This is what he did.

This is how good he is.

Let's worship him

and celebrate him together.

You see,

they're just built

into the life

of God's people,

passing on to the next generation

so that they don't forget

this is who our God is.

In chapters 26 and 27

that kind of end the book here,

chapter 26,

God saying,

I will bless you

if you live a life

of covenant faithfulness.

You will be fruitful

and multiply.

There will be an abundance

of grain,

verse 12,

chapter 26,

and I will walk

among you.

Now,

if you're on the ball,

biblical theology,

you'll feel there

in that language,

echoes of Eden.

Yeah,

I will walk among you.

What was God doing

in the garden?

He was walking amongst them.

Be fruitful and multiply.

Again,

you hear the echoes of Eden

in the language.

This is where God

is taking his people.

But you will incur

the covenant curses

if you don't.

Most importantly,

I think for the story,

verse 33,

God is saying,

I will scatter you

among the nations.

I will expel you

from the land

where I am taking you

just like I did

the Canaanites

because if you're

going to live

as my people,

my place,

you must be holy.

And I think just as we

maybe bring the chapters

to a close,

friends,

we need to see

how seriously

God takes the holiness

of his people.

If you're going to

represent me,

you need to be holy.

I remember when I was

a lawyer,

one of the clients

that we had

was an apple reseller.

Not as in an apple,

as in apple.

Apple got in contact,

I remember,

and sent us

this hugely detailed

document of everything

that they expected us

to do if we were

going to sell

their products.

Everything from the

texture of the surfaces,

the type of marble

they had to be made of,

the gaps between

the products

as you put them

on display,

and how the shop

was to be set up

and the lighting.

I have never seen

so much attention

to detail in my life.

But it is why

when you go to

an apple store,

you will see the same

layout all the way

through.

Because they are saying,

if you are going to

represent our brand,

this is what we expect

of you.

And in the same way,

friends,

these chapters

exclaim to us

as we read about

incident after incident

of people just

abusing God's holiness.

And what happened

to them,

just how much it

matters to a holy

God,

what kind of people

represent him.

because this God,

the Lord,

who is three times

holy,

he will not be

mocked.

He will not be

mocked.

And you want proof

of that when Jesus

turns up 2,000 odd

years later?

The tragedy is

that Israel

have swerved

off the track

so far

that they are

no longer

being this

holy people.

You know,

I never,

you make these

connections as you

read scripture

through.

I'd never noticed

before in Mark 11.

Mark 11.

You know,

Jesus is into the

temple and he's

flipping the tables.

What's one of the

things that he sees

there?

What's one of the

things that causes

such holy anger

in his heart?

What are the people

selling?

They're selling

doves.

What is it in

Leviticus we learned

at the start?

What do the poor

people who can't

afford a bull,

what did they come

bringing for their

sacrifice?

They bring a dove

or a pigeon,

but a dove.

And so here are the

people in the

temple selling

these things

and trying to

make money.

And who are they

making money

off?

The poor.

Do you see it?

And there's money

changers there as

well.

People from

outside coming in

to worship God

need to change

their currency.

Again,

probably people

making money

off of that.

Who are they

exploiting?

The foreigner.

The outsider

who's coming in

to worship the Lord.

Do you see how

Israel at this

point have gone

so far,

so far off

the tracks?

Matthew 5,

the Pharisees

are teaching

that we're

keeping the

law because

we are not

committing adultery.

What does

Jesus say in

the Sermon on

the Mount?

Yeah, but you're

burning with lust

in your hearts.

They say we're

keeping the law

because we are

not murdering.

What does

Jesus say?

Yeah, but anger

rages inside of

you.

You've missed it.

You've missed the

point.

I love the analogy

that Jesus uses for

them.

What does he call

them?

He calls them

whitewashed tombs.

I just picture a

cave where the

body would go

and they've

painted it white,

given the

impression of

life, but

inside is

death.

Whitewashed

tombs.

I love how,

and we should

see this,

that Jesus has

some of his

strongest words

for religious

hypocrites.

And he has

some of his

sweetest words

for those who

are religious

failures.

When he says,

do not think

that I have

come to abolish

the law of

the prophets.

I have not

come to

abolish them,

I have come

to fulfill

them.

Now, what

does he

mean?

Fulfill them.

What does he

mean?

How do we

understand the

law?

What are we

supposed to

do with

this?

Well,

commentators

generally agree

that you can

divide the

law into

three categories.

You've got the

ceremonial laws,

the rituals that

Israel were told

to do.

So, sin

offerings, etc.

The kind of

things that make

you unclean and

clean, like

eating prawns,

all those kind

of things,

right?

Which were all

pointing to

Jesus and his

work on the

cross, what he

would do.

Dies on the

cross, atones

for our sin.

He is the

atoning sacrifice

that we need.

He's the one

that can make us

clean.

And therefore,

because we stand

at this point in

the story, we

don't need to go

back.

Now that we've

got the full

picture, we

don't go back

to the play

thing.

We don't go

back the way.

And the

civil law, the

things that

specifically apply

to the nation

of Israel,

particularly when

they're in the

land, keeping

up special

days, etc.

All these

things fulfilled

in Jesus.

Paul in the

New Testament

talks about

Christ as our

Passover lamb.

Jesus is the

one who gives

us rest.

That is

everything the

Sabbath was

pointing to.

And moreover,

God's people are

no longer one

nation in the

land.

We are now

people from

every nation.

Every nation.

But friends, the

third category is a

lot more

interesting.

It's the moral

law.

In other words,

this is God's

heart.

And not only do

we see so much

of this picked up

in the New

Testament, all

these things that

God requires us

to do, he wants

us to do as his

people, but there's

another way that

Jesus fulfills the

law.

And if you want

to see what a

holy life

looks like, if

you want to see

what a life of

joyful obedience

and glad

submission to

God the Father

looks like, if

you want to see

what a perfect

law keeper looks

like, whether

that makes you

sad or happy,

look at Jesus.

Look at Jesus.

And in that

sense, you see

how he has

fulfilled the

law.

It's often what

people say about

Christianity, isn't

it?

It's just rules,

rules, rules.

You know, if I

wanted life in a

straitjacket, I

don't want it,

thank you very

much.

I remember

reading C.S.

Lewis's book

years ago, his

spiritual autobiography,

it's called

Mere Christianity.

He talked about

before he was a

Christian, he used

to view God as

a grand

interferer in

his life.

I viewed God

like that before I

became a Christian.

He was like a

referee.

He was just out to

spoil my fun.

It would be so

much better if you

weren't there.

But that's not

what you see when

you look at

Jesus.

Not only is he

the perfect law

keeper whose

righteousness we

need, we can't

do this, he did

it.

But if to be a

Christian, if to be

chosen by God the

Father, and to

have Jesus formed

in us through the

power of the

Spirit, friends,

and we should

begin to look more

like him.

You see, the

gospel of free

grace is never

about turning over

a new leaf and

saying, I'm going

to try harder.

It's about God by

his grace taking

out our heart of

stone and putting

in a new heart of

flesh.

It's about being

given a new heart.

And therefore,

friends, if you

bring those together,

holiness should be

the desire of

every child of

God.

In the words of

William Cowper,

to see the law by

Christ fulfilled,

and hear his

pardoning voice,

changes a slave

into a child,

and duty into

choice.

This is a privilege

to worship and

follow Jesus.

And so the

challenge to us

today as we

bring this to a

close as God's

people is are we

living in such a

way that the God

we claim to

worship attracts

admiration from the

world around us?

And I think back

just where we

started to spot

the difference.

Spot the

difference.

Friends, how are

we doing it

being different?

How are we

doing it being

different?

I remember hearing

a story of a guy

called Mark.

Mark got

baptized at

Charlotte Chapel

back in 2017,

and how he came to

hear about Jesus

was simply that

somebody new

started at his

work.

She was called

Kirsty, and in

her Mark saw

something different.

And he said this in

his testimony, because

I've got a transcript

of it.

He said,

she brought our

loving God to my

attention, and my

interest was

piqued.

And so the two of

them get chatting,

they start reading

the Bible together,

Mark encounters

Jesus, he's

convicted of his

sin, and he

finds forgiveness

in life in

Jesus.

Why did it

start?

Because Mark saw

something different.

There's always God's

plan for holiness,

that we would make

him attractive to

the world.

Friends, how are we

doing at being

different?

Here is the call

that this holy God

makes on our lives,

as we respond to

his grace, to

be holy, to be

holy.

Holiness is

something that

we're called to

take in, and

holiness is

something that

we're called to

live out.

Let's pray

together.

Heavenly Father,

we just thank you

so much for your

grace.

Lord, where would

we be without your

great love for us?

And so we just

thank you for your

precious word,

Lord, and everything

that we've learned

this morning.

And I pray

particularly, Father,

for those who

are perhaps

struggling with

something that

we've read this

morning.

Or, Father, in

their heart are

feeling perhaps a

sense of guilt.

Lord, would you

just remind them

particularly, Father,

of your love for

them, of your

Son who gave your

life to save

them.

Father, we just

thank you for your

wonderful love for

us.

We thank you just

for this last

number of weeks

we were able to

study this book of

the Bible called

Leviticus and

seeing its

relevance and its

challenge for us

today.

And so, Father,

we pray that as

we leave this,

that this church,

this people that

gather here, would

continue to be a

light to the

nations, a city on

the hill, a

community of salt

that makes the

Lord Jesus

attractive to the

world.

Father, help us,

we pray, in Jesus'

worthy and precious

name.

Amen.