I am the Light of The World

I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to John chapter 8 and ask that you follow along

John 8 · chapter mention

! as we open the scriptures together and begin reading there. John chapter 8 verse

John 8 · chapter mention

! And again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me

will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Let us pray.

Gracious Father, this morning as we take up this word,

we're thankful that you have given us scripture by inspiration,

by the work and ministry of the Spirit, and we are thankful that we who are your people may rely

upon the Spirit to help us understand and apply the Word of God. At the same time, we recognize

the importance of our hearts being humble enough and objective enough to recognize our natural

tendency of not listening carefully and with a tender heart toward the things you have.

And so we ask that you would work and that you would be glorified both in our attention to the

word of God and then our application. And Father, we want to be a people whose lives

display the work of Christ in a world that desperately needs to see the light.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, in that we have been away from John for a while, and that goes with, first of all,

having Christmas and then having New Year's and other things associated with that. And then I got

to preach on stewardship, right? You are all looking forward to that. Waiting, waiting, waiting for

a pastor to step on that one and get right to it. And then we had the farewell service for Caleb and

Charity. But we're back to John. And I got to tell you, it's a good book. It happens to be the best

one I know right now. And it is dynamite. As I begin, I'm several weeks ahead in where we are, and I

remember even as I was finishing up details on stewardship and then Caleb and Charity's service,

I was beginning to look back to the passage and refresh my heart in the book of John, and I found

myself just having this surge of affection for this book. It is unbelievable. It really is.

It is a book that opens up the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in a spectacular fashion.

And it's important for us to remember a couple basic details about John. For one, it's completely

different than the other three Gospels. The first three Gospels are descriptive. John's Gospel is more

reflective. The first three Gospels give us...I have a cough. Bear with me.

Lord, help him, please. Frail instrument that he is, help him, okay? That's what you're praying, right?

The first three Gospels give us lots of details, accounts of different things Jesus did.

John only gives us seven miracles, a number of different statements, but very little detail.

On the other hand, John goes out of his way to help us think carefully about who Jesus is.

To put it another way, we could say that the first three Gospels say it this way,

here is what happened. John's Gospel says, this is why it happened. Do you follow that? It's important

to keep that in view. And there is a sense in which John's Gospel, from the very beginning to the end,

stays focused singularly on the person of Christ. Now, you should remember John chapter 20, verse 31,

John 20:31

more or less by heart. How many of you think you could get a rough stab at reciting it without looking

at it? These things are written, what? So that you may know that Jesus is the Christ,

and believing in Him that you may have, what? Everlasting life. I mean, this is all about

knowing Jesus is the Christ. It helps to kind of have the outline in front of you. What I mean by that

is, what's the goal? What's the target? Why is this part here? And it is this singular focus on the deity

and the supremacy of Christ that almost overwhelms us with joy when we open up the book of John,

and we see the evangelist, the Gospel being laid out for us and presented so clearly. Man, I see it.

I see it. Jesus is the Christ. And so as we take up this passage this morning, let me remind you,

for one, it is the second of the seven I Am statements in John. Does that strike you as interesting?

For one, remember when Moses, at the burning bush, a little concerned for the responsibility that he had

or he was being charged with of leading the nation out of the land of Egypt, he said,

and all right, all right, who should I tell him is sending me? And God said, what? You tell him I am

is sending you. And Jesus, second person of the Godhead, fully God, makes it very, very clear that

he indeed is God's son, the second person of the Godhead. And these statements that we find,

the seven I Ams, make it undeniable. So we look here and we find the second of these statements.

You remember Jesus said earlier in John chapter 6, I am the...

John 6 · chapter mention

Let's try it again slowly. I'll throw it out there kind of like, this is not T-ball. It's a real slow

delivery though, okay? Jesus said in John chapter 6, I am the bread of life. Second one is, I am the light.

John 6 · chapter mention

And so here's the statement, Jesus is the light. That's what he says. And you have to understand that

this was a stunning statement of his messianic authority, and it was made in the very center

of Israel, namely in the city of Jerusalem and in the court of women in the temple.

Now, we all appreciate light in varying degrees. And light is important. It makes things grow.

It allows us to move. It helps us work. It helps us decide if we can take action with greater assurance.

Many of us here can probably think back to times when we've traveled around in our own home even,

without the benefit of light, and we found out that somebody moved something into our way, and we

wish we had light. Light's important.

But I want you to understand when Jesus said this,

there was more to his statement about I am the light than we may pick up on the surface.

And so, we want to take a minute here and think about

this bottle of water is here for me to try in moments of extreme duress, okay?

Poff drop. Belinda, thank you so much. I had no intention of doing this, but bear with me.

Thank you. Oh, three.

Please thank Belinda for having extras in her purse.

We'll see if it makes any difference.

I know, I know. Illustration of progressive sanctification very slowly taking place.

Okay. Anyway, as we get into this passage, I want us to remember a rule of Bible study is to pay

attention to context. And so, when you look at this passage, and here we are, 21st century,

we have lights, we have electricity. Some of you leave them on all night just because you don't know

that turning them off is an economic decision that you need to make occasionally. You know,

we're all about, we understand light. It's there.

The ancient world did not have that privilege.

And so, when Jesus said, I am the light, it immediately got people's attention.

But remember, it's important for us to think, who was he talking to?

He was talking to Jews for one, who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

It was a phenomenal feast. It was actually of the feast that God expected his nation to participate in,

it was the most celebratory.

It was one that had a number of different rituals in them that really communicated

the ministry of God to his people.

Now, remember, he said this during the Feast of Tabernacles, but he also said it,

well, in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles,

he also said it, in the court of women that was marked out by these large, towering torches,

candelabras of some sense, actually rising according to historical records,

or at least Josephus, etc., up to 75 feet,

that during the Feast of Tabernacles were lit every night.

How many of you have ever been around a gargantuan bonfire?

I mean a big one.

Pretty spectacular.

And so here were these four towering, flaming torches in the court of women,

and they were so powerful, their presence and light,

that all of Jerusalem kind of was affected by the aura and the glow of these torches.

And here is Jesus in that context saying,

I am the light.

But there's something else you need to understand.

When he said, I am the light, he said it in the ears of Jews that had a deep longing for their Messiah,

and they understood that when Jesus said,

I am the light,

he wasn't saying, hey, I'm a pretty bright guy.

He was saying, I am the one.

Let's take these three contextual facts and kind of weave them together so we can understand it a little more fully.

For one thing, he was saying this,

I am God in your presence.

I am God in your presence.

That's what he said.

The nation of Israel, from the day they left the land of Egypt until the day they arrived in the promised land,

and this is something that always kind of befuddles me.

How in the world could Israel be so absolutely brain dead about the presence of God

when every night, what did they have over the camp?

Over the tabernacle was a pillar of fire.

I mean, can you just imagine arguing with God when there's a big cloud over the tent,

and there's a fire,

and you're like, well, I'm not real sure God cares about me.

Just stop and think about it.

In case you're wondering,

they're not the only ones that have been pretty stupid in the presence of information.

But when Jesus said, I'm the light,

he was drawing attention to the fact that God was the light of the nation of Israel.

I think about the psalm that says,

Blessed are the people who hear the joyful sound,

speaking about the word of God.

They shall walk in the light of your countenance.

How many of you can remember what it was to live a disobedient,

God-rejecting life,

and not have the benefit of the light of his presence, right?

Israel said,

You are our light and our salvation.

And here is Jesus standing up and saying,

I want you to know this,

I am the light.

Second thing he was saying in that context is,

I am the one who gives you light to your life.

The Jews who heard him saying this

were standing in the court of women.

It was the largest of the courts.

It was as far as women could go into the temple.

It was large.

And in that place,

there were these four towering candelabras

that were not lit during the daytime

when Jesus were talking,

but they could see these things.

It was a reminder,

I am the one who brings light into your life.

Probably the most significant thing, however,

is that when Jesus said this,

the Jews understood that he was claiming

without question to be the Messiah.

Think with me just a minute,

and let's turn to the passage.

Go back in your Bible.

Keep your finger in Isaiah,

because we're coming back.

But Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2.

Isaiah 9:2

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2.

Isaiah 9:2

Boy, that cough drop helps.

Thank you very much, Belinda.

Needed.

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2.

Isaiah 9:2

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2.

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness,

on them has light shined.

The passage is one that around Christmas time

we're pretty familiar with, aren't we?

We recognize that the coming of the Messiah,

the virgin-born Son of God,

referred to clearly as the light of the world.

And so here, when Jesus made this statement,

you can understand that those who heard it

understood Jesus to say this,

I am not a kind of a representative of God

and someone that it might be a good idea

for you to listen to.

You know, how do you like up-talk in town?

It was like, hey, guys, I'm it.

I'm the light.

Get it?

Now, I want you to remember in John chapter 20, verse 31,

John 20:31

that John makes it very clear,

Jesus, all that we have in the book of John

is for this singular purpose

of letting you know that Jesus is the, what?

The Christ.

For what purpose?

So that you may believe on Him

and have everlasting life.

Well, I want you to understand

that there's some practical application

that we need to apply in relationship to this.

For one, following Him means not walking in darkness.

Following Him,

and we'll say this slowly so you get it,

means not walking in darkness.

Now, understand, in primary terms,

walking in darkness refers to the state of the unsaved.

When you walk in the darkness of rebellion and sin,

there are innumerable bumps

and scrapes that happen in the dark.

There are things that take place

that just end up being bruising.

I refer to it as,

and I want you to mark this in your own thinking,

as the unintended consequences of sin.

Everybody look at me and smile

because I want you to follow this.

Let me explain something to you.

When you sin,

when I sin,

my little perverted mind

and your little perverted mind

has thought at the moment

that it was a reasonable thing to do.

How many of you understand that?

Whatever it is.

And then God allows unintended consequences

to come around and give us an epiphany.

It's like, whoa,

I didn't realize that if I did this,

this would happen.

Even though God tells us ahead of time,

how many of you realize

one of the characteristics of God

is He gives you all kinds of information

about that's a bad idea.

And so when the bruises and heartaches of life

strike the wicked,

part of the intention

is God helping the wicked

come to realize

that walking in the darkness

is a miserable state to be in.

But I want you to understand something else.

Now listen to me.

Believers can walk in relative darkness as well.

You can pinch down the candle of your conscience.

And how do you do that?

I don't have to clue any of you in

because all of us here have done it on occasion.

But one of the things you can do

is say willfully,

hey, I'm not going to do that

even though I know that's what God wants.

I think back over the years

of situations where I've counseled individuals

saying, hey, hey,

don't date that unbeliever.

And why not?

Because the Bible says don't do it.

Well, I want to anyway.

She happens to be the best looking girl in the class

and in fact she was actually smiling at me

and that deserves some attention, right?

And then the heartache rolls out

and years later you end up in my office

and you're saying,

I didn't think it would end this way.

Really?

Well, that's why God said don't do it.

When you willingly close your eyes and ears

because you don't want to hear the truth,

you're going to end up with some bumps and scrapes

you didn't count on.

Well, there's another way that believers,

knowing better,

end up walking in the dark

and that's because they end up being seduced

by their own fantasies

and walking in the mirage of what they think

is reasonable rather than the light of Scripture.

I want to appeal to you.

One of the things that should characterize

you as a believer in this present day

is that you weigh all things

against the Word of God.

Do you hear me?

What does God think about that?

Where does that idea appear in Scripture?

What's the context in which I can frame that?

I've got to tell you,

one of the sad tasks of a pastor

who is being faithful to the work

of the Word of God

is that there are occasions

when I have to warn people

when they're intentionally pinching down the light

in their life

and I watch people stumbling towards heartache

and I have to say to them,

listen, no, it's not going to work out.

That's not walking in the light

and the outcome is going to be very hard for you.

Well, I want you to understand

as you look at this passage

going back to John chapter 8,

John 8 · chapter mention

we find Jesus saying,

I am the light of the world.

I'm it.

I want you to look at a second thing.

How the dark always reacts to the light.

Look at verse 13.

So the Pharisees said to him,

you are bearing witness about yourself.

Your testimony is not true.

He had just finished

making this stunning statement about himself

and you can hear,

you can hear a whining

kind of high-pitched nasal sound

coming from a Pharisee.

You got it?

I mean,

how many of you ever just kind of think to yourself

how stupid they were?

Do you ever do that?

Pharisees?

Ah!

Here is Jesus.

I mean,

what had he done so far

that kind of cast reason?

I mean,

what had he done so far

that gave everybody good idea

of believing that he had the power

to do what he said, right?

I mean,

miracle after miracle.

I mean,

it was all out there.

Nothing secret.

And here he says,

I am the light.

I mean,

he had been dynamite.

And so you can hear

this little nasally sound.

Yeah,

you can't be right

because you're tooting your own horn.

Now,

a general rule in court

is that

a person should not be

the only witness

to bear witness to themselves.

They're saying,

hey,

you can't talk about yourself.

And in Jewish law

and in the general rule of court

is that you want

an independent

and impartial witness

or observer.

But,

I like the way Jesus responds.

What does he say here?

He looks there

and he says,

hey,

even if I do bear witness

about myself,

my testimony is true

for I know where I came from

and where I'm going.

Here's what he's saying.

He had first-hand evidence.

You got it?

Think about it.

I know where I came from

and where I'm going.

He had the supreme right

to speak about heaven

and about the Father.

Why?

He'd been there.

And everything he said

was accurate

and dead on.

How many of you

on occasion

have wanted to retract

something you've said?

I mean,

you know,

regrettably,

there's not a day goes by

that I'd not like

to get a do-over

on things I've said.

That wasn't the case

with Jesus.

Everything he said,

it was like,

bang!

Not only that,

but everybody could research

exactly what he said

in comparison

to Scripture.

Scripture.

If you look at

his Bible lessons,

his sermons,

you will find

the substance

of the Old Testament

laid out for you.

If you look at his prayers,

you will find

the information,

the text of the Old Testament

brought to your attention.

And here he was

speaking about the Father.

He was speaking about heaven.

He was speaking about

the plan of salvation.

And he was speaking

about their need

for salvation.

And he spoke

with authority

because he had come

from heaven.

And he saw the Father

firsthand.

Second thing is

that he had authority

from the Father.

You look there

in verse 15,

he says,

hey,

you judge according

to the flesh,

I judge no one.

And I can hear

the voice in the background

saying,

well,

if Jesus didn't judge,

we shouldn't judge.

How many of you

ever heard that one?

You know what?

How many of you

have a tongue

that can taste food

that's gone stale?

I mean,

some of you rely

on dates

on the thing.

Growing up in India,

I had to rely

on my tongue.

That is not safe.

Just because it was

in the refrigerator,

you know,

refrigerators keep things

for almost

way beyond their due date.

Let's not stop.

Let's stop there.

Okay.

Here's how we know

whether something

is right or wrong.

The Word of God.

The Word of God

helps us determine

what is right and wrong.

And Jesus had authority

given to him

by the Father.

And here's Jesus saying,

even if I do judge,

my judgment is true

for it is not

I alone who judge

but I am the Father

who sent me.

And incidentally,

in the day

when all are judged,

the one who judges

will be the Lord

Jesus Christ

and he who judges

will be the one

who willingly

bore the penalty

of sin

on the cross.

Furthermore,

I want you to recognize

that Jesus had

supportive evidence.

He says,

I am the one

who bears witness,

verse 18,

about myself

and the Father

who sent me

bears witness

about me.

What witness

did the Father

give to Christ?

Well,

for one thing,

but you could bear

with the fact

that not everybody

was there.

At Jesus' baptism,

what took place?

There was a voice

from heaven

that said what?

This is my beloved son

in whom I am

well pleased.

I like the next part

that appears

in one of the Gospels.

Here it is.

Listen to him.

Isn't that nice?

You know,

don't tell me

that Jesus is the Christ.

Everybody look up

because I'm talking

to you.

Don't tell me

that you're all about

being a Christian

but you're not

listening to Jesus.

There's some of you

here

whose lives

are a contradiction

of what you say.

That's not right.

If he's the Christ,

listen to him.

Jesus had supporting evidence.

That's the thing

that I want you

to recognize.

He says,

the Father bears me witness.

What he was pointing to

were,

here's miracles.

I want you to look

at a couple different passages

in relationship to this.

Keep your finger there

in John chapter 8

John 8 · chapter mention

because we'll come back to it

but turn back

just for a moment

to John chapter 3

John 3:2

verse 2.

Cough while people

are turning.

Note to myself.

Okay.

John chapter 3

John 3:2

verse 2.

This man,

talking about Nicodemus,

came to Jesus by night

and said to him,

Rabbi,

we know that you

are a teacher

come from God.

How come?

For no one

can do these signs

that you do

unless God is with him.

God had confirmed

Christ's task

and ministry

by undeniable miracles.

I want you to look

at another passage

that brings it to us

for the same purpose

but from a completely

different light.

turn to John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

The entire chapter

is the account

of the man

who was born blind.

Jesus and the disciples

walking along

and so one of the disciples

poses a theological question.

They look at

the man

who's been born blind

and they kind of

they want to get

the lowdown on this guy

and they say,

Rabbi,

who sinned,

this man or his parents

that he was born blind?

The idea of the Jews

was that,

hey,

a little bit like karma

for the Hindu,

you know,

you do bad things,

bad things happen.

How many are glad

that karma isn't real?

Do you follow

what I'm saying?

Anyway,

you remember

Jesus heals the guy

and then

he ends up

in front of the

Pharisees,

okay,

and the Pharisees

have this ongoing

discussion with him

about,

well,

who did this?

It was on the Sabbath.

There are lots of days

to heal on,

but Jesus really loved

to do it on the Sabbath.

Just like a finger

in the eye

of those poor Pharisees.

They probably sent him

emails saying,

could you do it

on another day?

Anyway,

Sabbath was his day.

I mean,

he just loved

to get after it.

And so now

they're having

this discussion

and remember

they bring the parents

in and what

do the parents say?

I love it.

He's of age,

ask him.

I love it.

That's a good answer.

How many of you

use that with your kids?

You know,

it's like,

don't talk to me,

officer.

Okay.

No,

no,

no,

no,

we won't go there.

Okay,

here.

Look at verse 25.

Okay.

There,

they're saying,

you need to give

God the glory.

I mean,

God is the one

who healed you.

This is pretty spectacular,

we admit it,

but this man's a sinner.

Really?

Really?

Verse 25,

he answered,

whether he's a sinner,

I do not know.

One thing I do know,

that though I was blind,

now I see.

Well,

let's kind of speed ahead

a little bit,

go to verse 30

and look at what happens.

The man answered,

why?

This is an amazing thing.

By the way,

he was talking

to the Illuminati

of the Jewish faith.

You follow

what I'm talking?

He was saying,

he was talking

to the guys

who had three PhDs

in Old Testament studies

who could handle

the Old Testament

like,

I mean,

they could do it

slam dunk behind their back,

that kind of thing.

And he says to them,

why?

This is an amazing thing.

You do not know

where he comes from

and yet he opened my eyes.

We know that God

does not listen to sinners

and if anyone

is a worshiper of God

and does his will,

God listens to him.

Never since the world

began

has it been heard

that anyone

opened the eyes

of a man born blind.

If this man

were not from God,

he could do

what?

Nothing.

Is that convincing?

Yeah.

And so here

is Jesus.

These Pharisees

are a little

worked up

over the fact

that he says,

I'm the light

and he says,

back up.

I know where

I come from.

Back up!

The Father

supports my judgment,

the Word.

Back up!

Look at the miracles

I've done.

They prove who I am.

Now let's come

to some practical

application

that we can fit

into our daily lives.

For one,

here's the truth,

there are some

of you here

that have never

come to the light.

You've gone to church.

I'm glad you're here.

But the truth

of the matter is,

you've never

trusted in Christ

as your Savior.

You've never

repented of your sins

and called on Him

to forgive you

and you have never

come with humility

and brokenness

and said,

the truth of the matter

is,

my life is an

absolute mess

and all the chaos

around me

is just the result

of walking

in darkness.

And I need the one

who is the light,

it's Jesus.

the heartache

and the shame,

the fear

that clouds your life

are just signals

of the fact

that you need

the Lord Jesus.

And I've got to tell you

something,

as I was praying

this morning,

I thought about

what hell's going

to be like.

Are you listening

to me?

For one thing,

hell will be a place

of incredible suffering.

But that's not all.

Hell will also be a place

where those who spend

eternity there

will,

with unrelenting bitterness,

angry against God,

resent His authority

to judge.

But that's not all.

For all of eternity,

those who spend

their time in hell

will admit that they

sinned against the light.

they saw the truth,

they heard the truth,

they were convicted

by the Spirit of God,

and they said,

I don't want it,

and you will spend for it.

How many of you know

what it is to regret

bad decisions

that you can never undo?

That's part of what

hell will be.

And there's some of you

here that have never

come to the light.

There's some of you

that have come to the light,

but you're living

in willful disobedience.

There you are.

You can think back

to a time in your own life

where the Spirit of God

got a hold of you

and revealed the darkness

of your soul,

and you cried out

and asked for mercy,

and you repented

of your sins,

and you came to know

the sweetness of faith

and the blessing

of fellowship.

And then you've been

seduced by the world,

drawn away.

And there really is

no substantial difference

between the life

that you're living presently

as you flounder around

in the dark

in the life of a person

who's never known Christ.

You can sprinkle

fancy words all over it

about how you're praying

and about how your feelings

are leading you, etc.,

but Abel,

let me tell you something.

Whipped cream on a cow pie

doesn't make it anything

other than a cow pie.

You need to understand that.

And when you eventually

step in it,

it's just the same.

Now, this is what

blows me away.

I want you to get a hold

of this.

This is the most

stunning thing of all.

Turn in your Bible

to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

It's not the most

stunning thing of all.

Jesus is the most stunning,

but it just blew my socks away.

Hang on.

Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5:14–16

verse 14 through 16.

Here's Jesus kind of

winding up the Beatitudes,

Beatitudes,

and He lets the thunder go.

Listen to me.

Look at me.

You're the light of the world.

I don't know about you,

but it gives me cold chills.

It is sobering.

It is humbling

to realize what Jesus,

who is the light,

said when He said that.

You're the light of the world.

Look at verse 15.

People don't light a lamp

and put it under a basket.

You didn't light yourself.

Do you agree with me?

You didn't light yourself.

You didn't kind of make

an objective decision,

say, you know what?

I think I,

maybe I need to be

a better person,

and you know,

let's do a little bit

of self-improvement here,

and I'm going to let everybody

know how wonderful I am.

Jesus got a hold of you

and your mess,

and He lit your candle.

Well,

why did He do that?

so that other people

may see your good works

and glorify the Father

who's in heaven.

The truth is,

is that Jesus lit my candle

so other people can see Him.

He lit your candle

so other people can see Him.

Does that make sense?

What right do I have

being lit by His grace

to live a life

that makes no difference

in the dark

and miserable corners

in which He puts me?

And God's people said,

yes!

It's right!

I'm a candle

because He lit me,

and I belong in the place

where He put me

for His glory

and His glory alone.

We need to do a better job

of being candles.

Wouldn't you agree with me?

Wouldn't you agree with me?

And let me tell you something.

You won't be a better candle

unless you get your eyes

focused on Jesus.

It doesn't happen

just because you walk out of here

and say,

you know what?

I think I need to pray

seven more minutes.

Or maybe I need to stop,

you know, whatever.

Lock your eyes on Jesus.

Be overwhelmed

with the person of Christ.

Fall in love

with the one who loves you.

And the unintended consequences

of that focus

is other people

begin seeing something different

in you

that cannot be attributed

to your self-help program,

but the work

of the Spirit of God

in a broken

and miserable life.

He lights the candle.

Don't put it under a basket.

And the purpose of preaching

is to put God's people

on the spot of doing what?

Saying yes or no

to God.

Let's pray.

Father God,

thank you for Jesus

being the candle,

the light,

supreme and sufficient,

glorious in all things,

the one whose light

will adorn heaven

and satisfy us completely.

we need to have

repentant hearts

because we have been

so easily seduced

by things that don't count.

Our lives are occupied

by activities

that have so little to do

with the one

who is the light.

And only your Spirit

can bring about

genuine repentance

and I plead

that you would do that

in my life

and in the lives

of your people

that Jesus Christ

who is the light

of the world

would be seen

and adored.

Bring genuine repentance

to those who are here

and are sinners

and desperately need

salvation.

Bring humility

and brokenness

to believers

whose lives

are deeply entwined

by ungodliness.

and we ask this

for the glory

of Christ.

Amen.