Who are You Serving?

Well, thanks, Stuart and Hannah. Folks, let me invite you to have that passage in Romans chapter 6 open in front of you.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

We're going to be dipping in and out of it this morning, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time there this week,

and I really hope and I trust that the Lord has something to teach us this morning as we turn to his word.

So with Romans chapter 6 open in front of you, let's just begin this morning.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

I've been in theological circles now for over seven years, theological training circles,

and I've spent time in different places. I've discovered that there's a phrase that people continually use wherever I go,

and it's a phrase that I've come to understand is absolutely true, and it goes like this,

and see if you maybe agree with this, it's that everyone's a theologian. Everyone's a theologian.

So if we're describing, defining rather, theology as the study of God,

then any time anybody engages in thoughts about who God is, really grapples with that, wrestles with that,

and from that they think about the world in which we live, why is it the way that it is,

and then they think about human beings, why is it that we are the way that we are,

why is it that I am the way that I am. On some kind of level they're engaging in theology, right?

Thoughts about who God is, and that means that your neighbor has thoughts about God, they're a theologian,

and it means that your classmates and your colleagues, they have thoughts about God, they're theologians,

and it means that your friends and your family have thoughts about God.

The first minister has thoughts about God. Teresa May, as we've been thinking, has thoughts about God.

The Hollywood actor has thoughts about God. The premiership footballer has thoughts about God.

Everyone's a theologian. Everybody has thoughts about God.

God. I've been thinking about that this week. I've been reminded of one of my favourite theologians,

kind of on that theme, and he goes by the name of Bob, and his second name is Dylan.

Anybody like Bob Dylan? What a voice. That is a unique voice, isn't it? Bob Dylan's voice.

But he's one of my favourite theologians. I have no idea whether Bob Dylan was a Christian or not,

is a Christian or not. I have no idea, but I do know that he's a theologian just like the rest of us.

And you see that kind of come through in his songs, as he just observes the world and the things that are going on in the world,

and he comments on it. You see it through his songs.

And let me just show you some of the lyrics from a song that he wrote as he watched the way in which human beings live their lives.

And it goes like this.

You may be a construction worker working on a home.

You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome.

You might own guns and you might even own tanks.

You might be someone's landlord. You might even own banks.

But you're going to have to serve somebody.

You're going to have to serve somebody.

It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're going to have to serve somebody.

You see, what Dylan was observing is he's watching humanity and he's watching human beings and the way that they live their lives,

the way that they spend their time, the way that they spend their energy, the way that they spend their money.

What he's observing is that everything that we do as human beings is driven by something.

The truth is we all serve somebody.

Now, I wonder what you think about that.

As Bob Dylan chucks it out there this morning, what do you think about that?

It's very thought-provoking, is it not?

We love to think in our world that we're free.

We do what we want.

Bob Dylan is saying we're all serving somebody.

And it might surprise you to hear me say that the God of the Bible, the God who's made everything,

the God who's made us in his image,

the God who in his word he tells us what he's like,

the God who in his word tells us what we are like,

he would heartily agree with Bob Dylan.

And we know that because of this passage this morning.

And that's really its message, if you want to think about it like that,

that everyone's following somebody.

Everyone's following somebody.

That's its message.

The only question is, who is that somebody?

And you see, if you've got the text there, Paul's opening question, verse 15,

is very similar to that of verse 1 of chapter 6.

For this is a continuation of the theme that we thought about last week.

As we thought about the freedom that we have as Christians in Jesus Christ.

That was a big theme of last week.

Jesus Christ, who as it were, if you want to think about it like this,

he's walked into the marketplace where we were there,

chained to our wrists,

responding to the orders being given by sin, our master.

Just picture it like this.

Sin was shouting orders at us,

and our response was,

yes sir, yes sir, three bags full sir.

That was our response to sin as it shouted,

because we were slaves of sin.

And what happened is, Jesus in that marketplace

walked up to our old master.

He walked up to sin,

and he said, see her,

see him,

I'll buy them.

I'll buy them.

And I won't give you three magic beans,

I won't give you 30 pieces of eight.

What I'll give you for them,

is that I'll give you me.

I'll give you my life.

Because I'll pay with something far greater than money.

I'll pay with my blood,

I'll pay with my life.

And he bought us,

that's what Jesus did.

He bought us.

He bought us as he died for us on the cross.

He paid with his blood to make us his own.

And we are his.

And we have newness of life in him.

And we've been set free,

and this is where,

if you've made the link,

this is why we read from the Exodus passage earlier,

we've been set free,

not to live for ourselves.

God has rescued us.

Why?

To go wandering?

No.

To worship him.

This is why we've been set free.

Set free from something,

set free for something.

Set free to worship God,

and to live for Jesus every day of our lives.

And really, this passage this morning,

Paul continues that thought.

And what we see him say to the Christians in Rome,

and what we see him say to the Christians of every day,

which includes us,

is that make your every day,

make your every day,

your every thought,

your every motive,

your every act,

make it about obeying and glorifying

the Lord Jesus Christ,

who has bought you for himself.

And so that's the pulse of this passage.

And what we'll see is we'll see Paul make two statements

as he tries to unpack this for his readers.

Here's the first one,

beginning at verse 15,

and it's this.

It's that everyone's serving someone.

Everyone's serving somebody.

Every human being who's ever existed,

every human being who does exist,

every human being who will exist,

is serving someone.

Now just think about that for a minute.

Think about your life.

What do you dream about?

What do you dream about?

What's the next goal on your radar?

What's the next thing that's coming up?

How are you thinking about that?

What's going on?

What in your mind,

as you think about your life,

what would need to happen

in order for you to call it a success?

Friends, if you start engaging with those kind of thoughts,

if you start wrestling with those kind of questions,

you'll begin to see who it is that you really serve.

Because as far as God is concerned,

that there's only two choices really.

I mean, hear this text tell you

that when it comes to who you serve,

who you live for,

the choice is not like a dual X color chart, okay?

It's not like that.

You're not looking at this thinking

that I'm going to be duck egg blue today,

I'm going to be magnolia tomorrow,

and I might even be petal pink next week.

This is who I serve.

I've got the choice.

No, no, no.

God says if you want to play the game of thinking about it,

who you serve,

like a dual X color chart,

think of it with a dual X color chart

with only two colors on it.

And it's black or it's white.

That's it.

Either, and this is true for all of us,

we're serving ourselves,

pursuing our own agenda

and our own advancement,

and therefore we're serving sin,

or we're serving Jesus.

And what we need to understand

is that to serve self

and to serve sin

is what we do by default.

Now, if you don't believe me,

let me challenge you

to try and go a week

without sinning.

Okay?

Try and go a week

without making a self-centered decision,

without making a judgmental thought

about somebody,

without using self-defensive words.

Try going a week without doing that

and see how far you get.

Because I think for all of us,

we wouldn't even make it

till lunchtime on day one,

would we?

Because we're slaves to sin.

This is what we do.

This is the way that we go.

And that was true

of the Christian pre-Jesus.

Do you see what Paul says,

verse 17?

Do you see how we get those words?

And look at it with me,

because these are glorious words.

But thanks be to God.

This is what he says.

Do you see it?

But thanks be to God.

Want to shorten it?

But God.

Now, I love it.

I would love to write a series

called But God

and trace all the but gods

throughout the Bible

because there's tons of them.

But this is the Bible's way

of saying,

here is the game changer.

Something is about to change

in regard to what it's telling us,

what God is telling us.

And what the but,

thanks to God,

says here

is that you were running one way

like we were singing

in our last song

and Christ got involved.

Right?

He got involved.

He graciously intervened.

He mercifully got involved.

And he's transformed our fortunes

if our trust is in him.

And what did he do?

Well, he changed us.

And where did that change occur?

Do you see it there?

It changed in their hearts.

This is the testimony

of every Christian.

There's been a heart change.

God has performed heart surgery on us.

Now, do you know why

that is good news?

Because this is where

the problem is.

This is where the problem is.

This is what we find Jesus

saying in the Gospels.

It's not what goes into the body

which makes it sinful

and defiles it.

It's what comes out of the heart.

The problem is inward.

Right?

The problem is inward.

So, Jesus,

he's not just a surface level saviour.

What this passage tells us

is that he's not just into

simplistic behaviour modification.

What he's into

is holistic life transformation.

If you think about it,

this is why it's so important

that we know our Old Testaments,

that Jesus isn't just

this random bloke

who's turned up onto

the public scene in 30 AD

and started doing stuff.

This is a line of promise.

Because this is what God said

he would do.

This was his covenant promise

to his people,

the one that we see him make

through the prophets Jeremiah,

and we see him make through

the prophet Ezekiel.

That he would move

to do what his people

could not do.

And he would move

to change their hearts.

And how he would do that

is that he would write his law

right into their hearts.

He would write it.

It's there.

It becomes his people's pulse.

This is what they do.

And God made this promise

in the Old Testament.

And he brings it to pass

in the new.

As he rescues

his people

through Jesus.

And he empowers them

to live for him

through the work

of his indwelling

Holy Spirit.

This is mind-blowing

that God lives in us.

His followers.

He lives in us.

He hasn't just set us free

to go and do our own thing,

to try and have a go

on our own strength.

He's given us the power

to live for him.

Gone is that heart of stone.

And brought is that heart of flesh

that beats for him.

And you see what God

has done here.

He has written his word.

He has written

his life-giving word

where?

On our hearts.

And that is,

if you've got the text there,

that is the pattern of teaching

that Paul is talking about here.

Do you see it?

And what does that mean?

It means that our lives

as Christians

should look increasingly

word-shaped.

Because this word,

this living word

has got under our skin.

Right?

Think Frank Sinatra.

I love song lyrics.

There's another one, right?

I've got you where?

Under the skin.

This is where this word

has worked.

It's one,

it's power.

It's shown in our lives.

And it's working away,

renewing us

day after day after day.

Renewing our hearts

and our minds.

And what has it done?

God's word has what?

Claimed our allegiance.

Love that phrase.

It has claimed

our allegiance.

Or as Hannah read there,

we have been entrusted

to this pattern of teaching.

I think if you've got

an ESV there

or a KGV,

I'm sure as well,

I think that translation

probably captures it better

because it talks there

about being handed over

to this pattern of teaching.

And that verb there,

handed over,

is a passive verb.

Nothing to do with us.

Everything that's been done

to us,

that's what it means.

In other words,

we've been handed over

to God.

Now if you think about it,

have you ever had the experience

where you've moved

into a new flat?

Maybe a student,

you've had that experience

or you've bought

your first house,

you've moved into a house

or whatever.

You've moved somewhere different

and you've signed the contract

and you've had a word

with the solicitor,

the agent's happy,

he's got his feet.

And that day comes

when you get the keys.

Right?

Think about that day.

What do we call it?

When you're handed the keys,

what's that day called?

Handover day.

Never say that human beings

aren't creative, right?

How on earth

did we come up with that one?

It's handover day.

And what Paul is saying here

is that if you're a Christian,

you picture yourself

in that scenario.

You're not the landlord,

you're not the tenant,

you're the set of keys.

Right?

You have been handed over

to God.

This is what he's saying.

You have been handed over

to God.

He owns you now.

He's in possession.

And he's going to be the one

that's choosing the furniture.

He's going to be the one

that's choosing the colours.

And the blueprint for that

is his word.

As he moves into our lives,

this is what it's going to look like.

And as he transforms us,

as he transforms us

from the inside out,

friends,

there's going to be

a noticeable difference.

We'll come to love his word.

We'll come to love worshipping him

because he's transformed us

from the inside out.

Let me just say

one of the greatest thrills

for me in this job,

and I wonder if you've had

this experience before,

is seeing people come

to be Christians

for the first time.

Right?

And you know what happens?

You walk up to people

and you say,

listen to me,

I love you.

Do you want to read

the Bible together?

And they look at you

like you're out of your mind.

Why would I be interested in that?

But they've got sympathy for you,

so they entertain you

and say,

yeah, I'll do that.

But as you get into

that conversation,

you realise,

spiritually speaking,

that the lights are not on.

Right?

And then something happens.

Something happens.

And sometime later,

you go up to that person

and say,

would you like to read

the Bible together?

Would you like to read

Romans together?

And they say,

do you know what?

I've read it eight times already.

Why have you done that?

Well, I don't know,

because one day

Jesus wasn't all that

big a deal to me

and then all of a sudden

my eyes were opened

and I can't get enough of him.

And you say,

what has gone on there?

What has happened?

And do you know

what's happened, friends?

Is that God's got involved.

And the truths of Romans 5, 6

have become true

for that person.

Romans 5, 5,

if you want to turn it back there,

what does it say

that God has done?

He has poured

his love

into the hearts

of his people

through the Holy Spirit.

He has poured that love

into the hearts

of his people.

That's what's happened.

And also,

this has happened.

Through the Holy Spirit,

you have come to obey

from your heart

the pattern of teaching

that has now claimed

your allegiance.

This is what's gone on.

I didn't see it for years,

but this is what's gone on.

God has been so kind

and gracious.

And he's poured out

his love

into our hearts.

And now we see

the words of George Whitefield.

When you have once

tasted of his love

and felt the power

of his grace

upon your heart,

you will then love

to talk

and walk

with Jesus.

That's it, isn't it?

Friends,

everyone's serving

someone.

Paul says to the Christian,

God's calling your life.

God's calling your life.

And she changes you

is to live as slaves

to righteousness.

And here's the second thing

that he says

from verse 19

is that everyone's

going somewhere.

From verse 19,

again,

he urges them

to remember the...

And do you see

how he describes this?

He describes it

as the downward spiral

of sin,

if you like.

That was their lives.

That was what

they were all about.

Friends,

that was maybe

the path

that some of you

are on today

without Jesus Christ.

appeal to you

through this verse

to come to him

in no life.

But Paul is saying,

pre-Jesus,

we were on this

downward spiral of sin.

We were held captive

and we were moving

in the direction of,

do you see it?

Greater and greater

lawlessness.

We were drifting away

from the God

who made us.

Let me just,

as a wee sidebar here,

let me just try and

maybe tell you

about something

that was on my heart

and as I cried

as I was thinking

about it this week

and it surrounds

this whole area

of abortion.

And as I've listened

to people voice

their opinions

on social media

and on the news

and as I've read articles,

it struck me

that as a society,

we've massively drifted

from a time

of rejecting it

to questioning it

to accepting it.

and now as you watch

what's going on,

people are celebrating it.

And it moves me

to tears

and let me just say

that as a church,

we don't want to be known

as people who shout

our nose unsympathetically

from the sidelines.

We want to take

our God-given convictions

about the beauty of life,

every life that God

has made in His image

and we want to take

those convictions

as we walk alongside

people in love

and we say,

let me love you,

let me help you,

let me step into

your pain

and your questions

and your fears

and together,

let us help you

find a better way.

You know,

I met up this week

with the counsellor

for Brunsfield

and Morningside,

just picking our brains

on what are some

of the ways

that we can serve

this community better

as a church

and she said

the number one need

that she perceives

in our area

is social isolation.

people just don't

know where to go,

they've nowhere to turn,

they've got no friends.

Friends,

maybe this morning

you want to think

about ways

that we as a people,

God's people here,

can begin to speak

into those situations

and help.

But back on track,

Paul mentions

what was going on

before Christ got involved,

that we were downward

spiralling

away from God

in our sin.

This is what was going on.

Paul reminds them

that this is what

they used to be all about

and the fruit

of that old life

was producing

bad fruit.

It was bad fruit.

Bad fruit

that went to show

that they didn't know God.

This was their previous life

before Jesus got involved.

You know,

I got an email

a few months ago

from a teacher

at my old school

and she asked me to,

because she found out

I was a minister,

she,

I'm probably desperate

as well to get people,

she asked me

if I'd be willing

to come and speak

at my school assembly.

Now,

see if I'd have thought

about that,

at 16 years old,

sitting in that school

I thought would have

terrified me

in front of 900 people.

But sadly,

I wasn't able to make it

as I checked the dates.

But thinking about my school,

my old school,

do you know what it did?

It unlocked a whole host

of memories in my mind

that I think I'd forgotten.

And as well as some

really cherished ones

about my time at school

and my whole life

around that age group,

what it unlocked

was a whole host of memories

I thought,

what on earth was I doing?

And as I thought

about the things

that I used to do

and as I thought

about the way

that I used to treat people

and the things

that I used to say,

do you know,

I was utterly ashamed.

And presumably,

that is what Paul

is talking about here

when he says,

but by the grace of God,

this is where

your lives were heading.

Do you see him

say it there,

verse 21?

He says,

as you think about

your old life

and the fruit

that you were producing,

are you not ashamed of it?

I've never had

those kind of moments

when you think,

goodness,

but by the grace of God,

where would I be?

What would I be about?

Where would I be running?

And friends,

we need to remember

the previous chapter

that's just come here

in Romans,

that we are saved

by grace alone,

through faith alone

and Christ alone.

We need to remember

that Jesus has dealt

with that old us

on the cross.

It doesn't have power

over us anymore

because he's taken it for us

and praise him.

That stuff doesn't

hold us anymore.

That's not what we're about.

We are a new creation

in Christ.

Christ.

And now,

verse 22,

because of the truth

that we are Jesus's

and the truth

that the Spirit of God

is working in us

and he is pointing us

day after day to Christ,

that's his job,

as we abide in Christ,

we'll begin to see

good fruit in our lives.

See the other side

of the coin here

when Jesus got involved.

Good fruit.

And I think that's

what Paul means

at the end of verse 19

and verse 22

when he's talking

about this new life path

that God has his people on,

the path that is marked

holiness.

This is what we're on.

Some of your translations

might say there's

sanctification.

This is the path

that God has put us on.

This is what he wants to see

from the lives of his people.

You know,

we often talk as Christians,

don't we,

about knowing God's will

for our lives.

Ever ask that question?

What is God's will

for my life?

And we normally use it,

don't we,

when we're thinking

about big life decisions

that we need to make.

We've had a crossroads

and we don't know

what to do.

You know,

what job do I take?

Where do I move?

What place do I live?

Who should I marry?

What should I do?

And in those moments

we get frustrated,

don't we?

As we try and do it

our own way

and try and do things

our own strength

and saying,

God,

why are you not answering?

What's going on?

And we get frustrated

and we remember

to ourselves

that we watched

The Wizard of Oz

when we were younger

and we think about Dorothy

and we thought,

do you know what?

I'll give this one a shot.

God,

would you show me

the yellow brick road?

Would you show me

the yellow brick road

and would you put people

in my path

who will be able

to sing over me,

here is the yellow brick road,

here is the yellow brick road.

There's times in life

where we say,

God,

what is your will

for my life?

Well,

friends,

let me just say,

not putting that aside,

there are big things

that we need to do

but God has given

the means by which

we can make those decisions

but God's primary will

for our lives

is caught up

in this word,

sanctification.

Caught up in this word,

sanctification,

this lifelong,

loving,

transformational process

that God has us on

as his people

through which

he makes us

day after day

after day

after day

through every life experience

more into the likeness

of Jesus Christ.

That's why the Spirit

lives in us.

Pointing us to him.

That's God's primary will

for our lives

and it's amazing

I find this in life

when I'm at that crossroads

and God just says,

have you tried praying?

I'm going,

no,

I haven't tried praying.

What does God teach me

all along?

Was it patience?

Yeah.

Friends,

the fruit of the Spirit

in our lives,

love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

godliness,

fruitfulness,

gentleness,

self-control.

What lovely words

have you ever met

a person in your life

who just oozes

those things?

Oozes those things?

I can think of people

in my life

who I've met

over the years

who've just

modelled that to me.

Do you know what?

I love being around

those people.

Could be around

the people all day.

Keep on talking.

Talk about the football.

Talk about what you...

Just keep talking

because I just love

to be around

people like this.

Friends,

I just say,

if you're younger here

in this church,

can I encourage you

to get to know

an older generation?

Get to know

the older generation.

Just full of life experience.

And do you know

where they've got it from?

They've got it from

years and years and years

of sitting at the feet

of Jesus.

Day after day

after day

sitting at his feet.

I tell you,

there was someone

in this congregation

I visited recently.

I went to visit them,

but do you know what?

I left feeling like

I'd be visited.

Because we see

the fruit of the Spirit.

Friends,

you know what I think

has occurred to me

this morning

that the ultimate example

of these things

is Jesus.

It's Him.

It's Him that we seek.

It's Him that we're being

transformed more

into the likeness of.

Let me ask you

just in some small way

this morning.

Do you see

the fruit of the Spirit

growing in your life?

Do you see that?

Do you want to see

more of that?

I do.

As God uses these

everyday circumstances

to mould us

more into His likeness,

to teach us

about our inadequacy

and to teach us

about His adequacy,

His all-sufficiency.

Friends,

what fruit are you

seeing in your life?

Because Paul would say

here that that fruit,

what you're seeing,

is going to tell you

a lot about the person

that you're serving.

Do you see it?

At the end here

at verse 23,

he talks about

the fact that

we're all serving

one of these two

very different masters.

And he mentions

the fact that

these two different masters

are going to pay out

at the end of the day

in two very different ways.

Do you see it?

I was thinking this week

about my first job

that I had when I was 16,

before when I was still

at school,

working at the local restaurant,

driving around

in my family Ford car

with the green P on the side,

thought it was

the B's knees.

Do you know what I was earning?

I was earning £4.10 an hour.

Right, now remember

this was 2002,

so don't go calling

the authorities

after that one, okay?

But £4.10 an hour,

this is what I was earning.

Loved it.

But as I look back on that,

I think to myself,

what terrible pay

for the amount of effort

that I put into that job.

But do you see

what Paul says here?

If you've served sin,

if you've given yourself

to sin all your life,

see when it comes to payday

at the end of your life,

see when you total up

all those hours

that you spent investing there,

sin your master

won't give you a gold watch

to mark your retirement,

right?

It's going to pay out

in eternal death.

This is what it's saying.

You know,

we hear Jesus,

I was reading it this week,

Jesus in Matthew 25,

talk about the sheep

and the goats.

This is what's going to happen

when he comes back.

Separate the world

into the sheep

and the goats.

One group,

he will take his people

to be with him

in everlasting joy

and the other group

will go to everlasting torment.

The place that he talks about

as the place of weeping

and gnashing of teeth

doesn't sound great to me.

I don't know how it works,

but it doesn't sound like

a place I want me to be

or want any of you to be

or God wants you to be.

Friends,

words coming from

the most loving human being

who has ever walked

this earth.

Whereas God,

the one who made us

originally in his image

and made us his own

in Christ,

his payday,

do you see it?

It won't be a wage,

it will be a gift.

One that we haven't earned

and it will be a gift

called eternal life.

Heaven,

with him,

worshipping fully,

no more pain,

no more sickness,

just all out worship

of our glorious

three in one God

forever.

See,

these two masters

are paying out

in two very different ways.

Friends,

let me just,

as we draw this

to a close this morning,

let me just ask you

to prayerfully consider today

who are you serving?

What's your life all about?

What are you living for?

Because,

do you know what?

You're going to have

to serve somebody.

You're going to have

to serve somebody.

It may be the devil

or it may be the Lord,

but you're going to have

to serve somebody.

You know,

just as we close,

what we've got into the habit

of doing as a family,

every night when we sit

around the table

for dinner together

as we just ask this question,

what was your best bit

about today?

Right?

So I say to the girls,

what is your best bit

about today?

And they normally say,

I met this.

They don't say,

I met this.

They're not supposed to get it.

They say,

my friend Hannah,

that's the only one

that comes up.

Or we say,

go into the park,

that was my best bit

about today.

But you know what?

As I've been thinking

about this passage this week,

it's urged me to ask myself

a different question

every day.

But not at the end of the day,

but at the start of the day.

A similar but different question.

Not what was the best bit

about my day,

but to ask myself,

who will it be about today?

Who will I serve today?

Paul says in the second half

of Romans chapter 6,

Romans 6 · chapter mention

to the Christians in Rome

and to us this morning

as God speaks to us

through his word.

Make your every day

about obeying

and glorifying

the saviour Jesus Christ

who's rescued you

and bought him for himself.

So friends,

I realise we've touched

on a lot of areas there,

so I just want to give us

a minute just to be quiet.

And I urge you to just

pour out your soul

before our all-knowing

and all-loving God today

and then I'll close.

But don't waste this opportunity

before the madness

and the noise kicks off.

Just use this moment of silence

just to reflect your own heart

with God this morning.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.

Just from sin and self to cease.

Just from Jesus simply taking

life and rest and joy and peace.

I'm so glad I learned to trust him.

Precious Jesus, saviour friend.

And I know that he is with me.

He'll be with me to the end.

Father, what an awesome God you are.

And Lord, I just pray

for us this week,

whoever we are,

Lord, you would teach us

wonderful things about who you are.

Lord, help us not to be about

chasing the things of this world,

but help us

by your grace

to be those people

who are

all out

in pursuit

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So Father,

we commit our hearts to you

this morning,

realising that there's

many of us here

from different experiences

and backgrounds.

And I pray, Father,

that you would,

by your spirit,

continue to be at work

in our lives.

Father, thank you

that you love us.

And so we pray all these things

in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.