Everyone's Work

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church

and it's our joy to have you with us today.

Special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.

We are glad you're here.

And we're glad you're here not because we are trying to fill seats

but because we are following after Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow after Jesus we are convinced that there's no one so good

that they don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it.

And so God has something to say to everyone in his word

and everyone needs to hear what God has to say to us.

If you've been with us you know that we have recently started the book of Nehemiah

and the book of Nehemiah is a book first about a man who's named Nehemiah.

It's a man who lived in the 5th century in the Old Testament

the time when God's people was known as the nation of Israel.

And as we saw in chapter 1 this man came to a place of great repentance

because he saw the ways in which God's people had abandoned God's mission.

Nehemiah repented of his involvement in that his failures

as well as the failures of the people he led

because he saw that the city that God had given to his people

the city of Jerusalem which was meant to show the entire world

what it was like when God's people lived according to God's ways

had instead become broken down in a shame.

And so in chapter 1 he repented of that.

In chapter 2 he began to work and act and pray

to return to the mission that God had given him.

And so just as we talked about in our confession of faith this morning

and repentance it's not just turning away from sin and our failures

but turning back to everything that God has called us to.

And so we're going to continue the story of Nehemiah

and his turning back to God's calling

but we're going to read not so much about Nehemiah this morning

as we are about all the different people who are involved in the rebuilding.

And here it's going to be specifically the rebuilding of the wall that's around Jerusalem.

There's another book in the Bible called Ezra

that deals with the rebuilding of the temple.

And this book is going to be part of that greater story

the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem.

And as I think about chapter 3 it makes me think about coffee.

There was, if you know and have followed

you know as we've gone through the last couple decades

there's been a shift in the way that people consume and think about coffee.

It used to be that you would just simply go to the store

and you would think about

and maybe you still think about this way

there's actually two generational ways of thinking about coffee.

If you are an older generation

you think about coffee in terms of price per pound.

If you are a younger generation

your tendency is going to think about coffee in price per cup.

Which means that the way you think about coffee

is going to change what you're going to be willing to pay for it.

And part of this changing from pound to cup

is the involvement of what we all know as the K-cups

the Keurig machines or pod coffee.

Where you can not necessarily share one pot

that you make with other people

but each person gets to pick their own flavor.

Whether they want tea or coffee or something else.

And so there was an article recently

when I say recently now

I guess it's been about five or six years

that came out in the New York Times

called The High Price of Individualism.

And it broke down the price per pound

of bagged coffee versus pod coffee.

And so you know if you go to the grocery store

and you buy cheaper coffee

it might cost you five to six dollars per pound.

If you buy slightly better coffee

it might be ten to twelve dollars per pound.

And then this article

and this has gone up since then

but at the time

the very finest coffee that you could buy

would be about twenty dollars per pound.

And now that's gone up

in the last five or six years

you can now buy very nice coffee

here in Colorado Springs

for twenty-five or twenty-six dollars a pound

if you want.

But they then after that

calculated the price of coffee

that came in pods.

They figured out how much it was per cup

compared to a bag.

And you don't have to say out loud

but I do want you to think for a second

and guess how much does coffee cost per pound

if you buy it in pods rather than a bag.

Instead of the most expensive bag coffee

which was about twenty dollars

at the time

the calculated price of pod coffee

was fifty

or fifty-one dollars a pound.

In other words

more than twice as much

as the finest coffee

you could buy per bag.

And so the point is

is partially this

that the title

of the article was correct

when it said

the high price

of individualism.

But as we come to this passage

and by the way

I mean to cast no aspersions

or shame

for anyone who uses pod coffee

I've used pod coffee before

that's not my point

in bringing all this up.

But as we come to a list

of names and people

doing work

in Nehemiah chapter three

we're going to encounter

two types of people.

We are going to encounter

coffee pot people

and we're going to encounter

cake up people.

We're going to hear about

different types of people

from all different kinds

of groups

and some people

are going to be

different people

that join one mission

and then we're going

to come across

different people

with different missions.

We'll see different people

with one mission

and different people

with different missions.

In other words

we'll have pot people.

People who are different

in age and generation

but they're willing

to drink the same brew

from the same pot.

And then we'll encounter

people who come

from different generations

and vocations

and stages

but they're one

to insist

on their own way.

And so as we read

this chapter

I'm going to just name

what's about to happen.

We are going to read

a lot of names.

And so if you're tempted

to shut down

and turn off your mind

as we read through them

my challenge to you

is this.

See if you can find

the cake up people

as we read along.

Now I'll tell you

I'll let it out of the bag

a little bit.

Most of the people

in this chapter

are coffee pot people.

The cake up people

show up in one half

of one verse.

So it's not a hard needle

to find

but it is a needle.

So my challenge to you

is as we read along

to see if you can

pick out

who the cake up people are.

Again no shame

if you use cake cups

that's not the point.

Right?

But it's different people

on one mission

versus different people

with different missions.

And so with that

we're in Nehemiah chapter 3.

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

As we come to chapter 3

remember that this is

God's word.

And God tells us

that his word

is a lamp to our feet

and a light to our path.

In other words

God has not left us alone

to stumble in the dark

but instead

he's given us

his word

to show us

how we should go.

And so we're in

Nehemiah chapter 3

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

starting at verse 1.

Then Eliashib the high priest

rose up

with his brothers

the priests

and they built

the sheep gate.

They consecrated

and set its doors.

They consecrated it

as far

as the tower

of the hundred.

As far as

the tower

of Hananel.

And next to him

the men of Jericho

built.

And next to them

Zachar the son

of Emri built.

The sons of Hassanah

built the fish gate.

They laid its beams

and set its doors

its bolts

and its bars.

And next to them

Merimoth the son

of Uriah

son of Hackah

is repaired.

And next to them

Meshulam the son

of Berechiah

son of Meshuzabel

repaired.

And next to them

Zadok the son

of Banna repaired.

Verse 5.

And next to them

the Tekoach

repaired.

But their nobles

would not stoop

to serve their lord.

Verse 6.

Joyada the son

of Passiah

and Meshulam

the son of Besodiah

repaired the gate

of Yeshanah.

They laid its beams

and set its doors

its bolts

and its bars.

And next to them

repaired Melatiah

the Gibeonite

and Jaden the Maranaphite

the men of Gibeon

and of Mizpah

the seat of the governor

of the province

beyond the river.

Verse 8.

Next to them

Uzziel the son

of Harhiah

goldsmiths

repaired.

Next to him

Hananiah

one of the perfumers

repaired

and they restored

Jerusalem as far

as the broad wall.

Next to them

Rephiah the son

of Hur

ruler of half

the district

of Jerusalem

repaired.

Next to them

Jediah the son

of Haramath

repaired opposite

his house.

And next to him

Hattish the son

of Heshabnea

repaired.

Malkijah the son

of Haram

and Hashib the son

of Pahath Moab

repaired another section

in the tower

of the ovens.

Next to him

Shalom the son

of Halahesh

ruler of half

the district

of Jerusalem

repaired.

He and his

daughters.

Hanan and the

inhabitants of Zenoa

repaired the valley

gate.

They rebuilt it

and set its doors

its bolts

and its bars

and repaired

a thousand cubits

of the wall

as far as

the dung gate.

Verse 14.

Malkijah the son

of Rechab

ruler of the

district of Beth

Hecarim

repaired the dung gate.

He rebuilt it

and set its doors

its bolts

and its bars.

And Shalom

the son

of Kolhose

ruler of the

district of Mizpah

repaired the fountain

gate.

He rebuilt it

and covered it

and set its doors

its bolts

and its bars.

And he built

the wall

of the pool

of Shelah

of the king's

garden

as far as

the stairs

that go down

from the city

of David.

After him

Nehemiah

the son

of Azbek

ruler of half

the district

of Beth

Zer

repaired to a

point opposite

the tombs

of David

as far as

the artificial

pool

and as far

as the house

of the mighty

men.

After him

the Levites

repaired.

Rehim

the son

of Bani.

Next to him

Hashabiah

ruler of half

the district

of Calah

repaired for

his district.

After him

their brothers

repaired.

Babi the son

of Hinnadad

ruler of half

the district

of Calah.

Next to him

Ezra the son

of Jeshua

ruler of Mizpah

repaired another

section opposite

the ascent to

the armory

at the buttress.

After him

Baruch the son

of Zabiah

repaired another

section from

the buttress

to the door

of the house

of Eliashib

the high priest.

Verse 21

After him

Merimoth the son

of Uriah

son of Hachaz

repaired another

section from

the door of

the house

of Eliashib

to the end

of the house

of Eliashib.

After him

the priests

the men

of the surrounding

area repaired.

After them

Benjamin and

Hashab repaired

opposite their

house.

After them

Azariah the son

of Maseah

son of Ananiah

repaired beside

his own house.

After him

Benui the son

of Hinnadad

repaired another

section from

the house

of Azariah

to the buttress

into the corner.

Paliel the son

of Uzziah

repaired opposite

the buttress

and the tower

projecting from

the upper house

of the king

at the court

of the guard.

After him

Padaiah the son

of Peresh

and the temple

servants living

on Ophel

repaired to a

point opposite

the water

gate on the

east and

the projecting

tower.

After him

the Techoites

repaired another

section opposite

the great

projecting tower

as far as

the wall

of Ophel.

Above the

horse gate

the priests

repaired each

one opposite

his own

house.

Verse 29

After them

Zadok the son

of Emmer

repaired opposite

his own

house.

After him

Shemaiah the son

of Shekaniah the

keeper of the

east gate

repaired.

After him

Hananiah the son

of Shelemiah

and Hanan the

sixth son of

Zalaph repaired

another section.

After him

Meshulam the son

of Berechiah

repaired opposite

his chamber.

After him

Malkijah one

of the goldsmiths

repaired as far

as the house

of the temple

servants and of

the merchants

opposite the

muster gate

and to the

upper chamber

of the corner.

And between

the upper

chamber of the

corner and

the sheep gate

the goldsmiths

and the

merchants

repaired.

Please pray

with me as we

come to this

portion of

God's word.

Dear Father

in heaven

we thank you

that you've

given us your

word.

That you

speak to us.

You don't

leave us alone

to figure things

out on our

own.

And so we ask

that you would

do that now.

That you would

use this part

of your word

to shape us

and form us

into the people

you want us

to be.

We ask all

these things

in the name

of your son.

Amen.

If you remember

from last week

the very end

of chapter 2

Nehemiah

tells everyone

in verse 18

to rise up

and build.

And so that

same phrase

is repeated

here at the

beginning of

chapter 3

just as he

told them

in chapter 2

to rise up

and build

then we hear

in verse 1

the high priest

rose up

with his brothers

the priests.

They rose up.

And so we begin

to see people

doing exactly

what Nehemiah

had asked them

to do

and as we see

it there's

all kinds

of different

groups and

individuals.

We have the

priests

in verse 1.

And so we have

people that

have a specific

calling working

together to rebuild

the wall.

Then we have

tradesmen.

We see different

guilds in verse 8

with the goldsmiths

and the perfumers.

They're working

together as a group.

People who are

bound together

by a trade

and a vocation.

There's also

individuals.

We see later on

in verse 23

and other parts

that the people

who are building

walls close to

the houses

are individuals.

And one man

if you caught it

in verse 12

I should have

actually made you

watch for this one

as well.

One man comes out

with all his

daughters to rebuild.

And so this is

someone presumably

who did not have

any sons to help him

but he still

he and his family

wanted to take part

in the work.

Not only are there

different people

but there's all kinds

of different abilities.

If you were listening

carefully you know

that there were parts

where we heard about

another section.

For example in verse 4

we met Merrimoth

the son of Uriah.

And I know that you all

were keeping extremely

close track of all

these names.

And so all of you

noticed in verse 21

when Merrimoth

the son of Uriah

showed up again.

Not telling you

anything you didn't

see already.

You notice in verse 21

it says Merrimoth

the son of Uriah

repaired another section.

And so we have

people of different

groups and backgrounds

coming together

but also people

of different abilities.

Some people are able

to build more sections

than other people.

There's different interests.

The priests

repair the sheep gate

which is how we started

in the beginning

and ended in this chapter.

Now why would the priests

repair the sheep gate?

That's going to be

the place where the

sacrifices are brought in

for their work.

We don't know for sure

but some scholars

believe that the section

that the tradesmen

are repaying

are sections that

were close to their shops.

And we know that

the sections that

the individuals repaired

are close to their houses.

And so in this building

not everyone is expected

to be the same.

There are different groups

working together.

And yet they're working

together towards

the same goal.

And so not every person

is the same.

Not every group

is the same

but their mission

is.

Not every person

is the same.

Not every group

is the same

but their mission

is.

They are all

different kinds of people

from different places

and different backgrounds

and yet they choose

to drink

from the same pot.

And so what's true

of God's people

in the Old Testament

of these folks

in Jerusalem

rebuilding the wall

around their city

is true of us as well.

We have different groups

in our church.

We have military

service members.

We have widows.

We have young families

and we have retirees.

We have families

who homeschool

and families that do not.

And so just like

every church

or group

we have different

kinds of people.

We have people

with different interests

different abilities.

People who come

from different backgrounds

who if we were in Jerusalem

we might live

in different parts

of the city.

And that's not the part

that's surprising, right?

Any group that you find

there's going to be people

with different interests

and what is surprising here

is not that there are groups.

That's not unusual.

What's unusual

is that these are groups

that are working together.

And so while the people

are different

the mission is the same.

While the people

are different

the mission is the same.

We can imagine

that there were probably

disagreements going on

about how things

should be done

and who should repair what.

And what we find

in this chapter

is all of these people

not hearing about

their disagreements

except for our K-cup people

which we'll get to

in a minute.

Not hearing about

their disagreements

but hearing about

all the ways

that they lifted

their hands and work.

They did what Nehemiah

called them to do

in chapter 2

to rise up and build.

And throughout

this whole chapter

that's what we see

people rising up

to build.

And so they don't stop

being part of their groups.

Nehemiah doesn't

tell the priests

that they have to join

with the perfumers.

He doesn't tell

the individuals

that they need to join

the goldsmiths.

He lets each group

work together

for their interests.

All he asks here

all that we see

that's required

is that they're working

together for the common goal.

And so this is similar

to what we saw

in Philippians.

In Philippians

we talked about

looking out

not for our own interests

but for the interests

of others.

Being question people

rather than answer people

looking to understand

what it is other groups

of people in the church

need.

And here it's similar

but slightly different.

Instead of looking

to others' interests

ahead of our own

we see these groups

looking to the interests

of the mission

ahead of their own.

If you remember

last week

I defined God's mission

as the part

of the Lord's Prayer

where we ask

that God's kingdom

would come on earth

just as it is in heaven.

And so these groups

are not looking

to put the interests

necessarily of another group

above their own

like we talked about

in Philippians

but they're looking

to put the interests

of God's mission

ahead of their own.

They're looking to

in this case

put the interests

of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem being a city

that could actually

show God's goodness

and his love

and his justice

to the world.

It's the mission

that they're pursuing

that gives them joy.

It's the mission

that allows them

to work together

as different types

and kinds of people.

It's the mission

that allows them

to put aside

their interests

and perhaps

even their abilities.

My guess is that

the priests

were not great

wall builders

and the perfumers

may not have been

either.

Maybe the goldsmiths

had some advantages.

But that wasn't

what mattered.

It wasn't their

backgrounds that mattered

their abilities.

What mattered

was coming together

for one mission.

They put aside

their own preferences,

their own happiness.

These are people

who have chosen

to drink from the coffee pot

even if what they

would prefer

at that moment

would be herbal tea

or some hot cocoa.

And so that's what

brings them

and joins them

all together.

There was an article

a few years ago

in Forbes magazine

about working

with employees

as a business

and the article

was titled

Why Employee Happiness

is the Wrong Goal.

And the point

of the article

was that many companies

are trying to do

everything to meet

the preferences

of their employees

to satisfy

and cater to

little things

that they want

or need

and yet in doing that

they're pursuing

the wrong thing.

Instead they should be

pointing people together

towards one mission

and so the author

of this article

a woman named Liz Ryan

says this

let's imagine

a person

completely immersed

in his or her work.

We'll use

the greatest violin maker

in the world

as our example.

I don't know

who makes

the greatest violins

in the world

but we'll imagine

that it's an Italian

violin maker

named Franco

and that Franco

has a studio

where 15 or 20

apprentice and journeyman

violin makers

work alongside Franco

making the most

exquisite violins

in the world.

Is Franco happy?

He is alternately ecstatic

frustrated

transported

confused

exhausted

and lost in the zone.

He and his work

are inextricable

from one another.

No one would say

about Franco

or his employees

they are happy.

Instead people

in Franco's town

would say

those guys

live and breathe

violins

and people

around the world

rejoice.

when we as a church

embrace

bringing God's kingdom

here on earth

as it is in heaven

it will not necessarily

make us happy.

It will not necessarily

meet all our preferences

and priorities.

We will be

alternately ecstatic

frustrated

transported

confused

exhausted

and lost

in the zone.

And our hope

is that people here

in southwest

Colorado Springs

would say

that church

lives and breathes

God's kingdom

so that people

around the world

can rejoice.

We can be

different people

with one mission

or different people

with different missions.

But only when we are

different people

with one mission

will people

around the world

rejoice.

now I asked you

to look for

the K-cup people

I would be really

impressed if you

found them

because they are

hidden in one

half of one verse

Susie has it

she is giving me

the sign

it is verse 5

the Techoites

are going to go down

as infamous

in the book of Nehemiah

for this one verse

chapter 3

verse 5

Now lord here

is in the singular

you may have a note

in your Bible

saying it could also

be the plural

lords

what most likely

is being referred to

is either Nehemiah

as a person here

or just supervisors

in general

and this language

here of stooping

to serve

is language of

these group of

nobles being too

proud to take part

in building the wall

I mentioned earlier

that probably not

everyone agreed

about everything

we don't know

why exactly

these nobles

were upset

it could be

that they had

a different plan

for building the wall

maybe they wanted

to mix the groups

up we don't know

maybe they were

upset that they

had been living

in Jerusalem

for a while

and this upstart

Nehemiah

and his friends

came in

to tell them

how to rebuild

someone who'd

been living

in the Persian

empire of all

places

as a cupbearer

maybe it's

that they thought

that building

a wall

was beneath them

but for whatever

the reason

these nobles

decided they

were not going

to take part

and it wasn't

because they

weren't part

of God's people

clearly these

were part

of the remnant

that God

had preserved

from the exile

they'd returned

to Jerusalem

they understood

God's mission

and the importance

of Jerusalem

and yet

for whatever reason

their pride

got in the way

what was being

served up here

was a pot of coffee

and these nobles

wanted to drink

something different

they didn't want

to take part

in the mission

and so what they

did is they let

their own preferences

and their pride

get in the way

of God

and his kingdom

as we can imagine

with any

endeavor

that's worth

anything

there's lots

of ideas

and opinions

about what

should be done

lots of people

working together

I imagine

there's probably

lots of struggles

that we don't

hear about

in this chapter

maybe the perfumers

and the goldsmiths

borrowed tools

from each other

and then didn't

give them back

maybe someone

built a little short

and didn't go as far

as they were supposed

to and they

left someone else

to pick up the slack

there'd be all kinds

of reasons

to not stoop

to serve the mission

and so the Techoites

here serve for us

their nobles

serve as a negative

example

while we have

different groups

coming together

for one mission

we have one group

that decided

to put their pride

and their preferences

above everything

that God had

for them

in his holy city

and so this chapter

is both an encouragement

to us

and a warning

it's an encouragement

that we would come together

as people

who are very

very different

and we would pursue

one mission together

but it's also a warning

that if we put

our own pride

and our preferences

ahead of God's mission

not only will we

impede it

but we will lose out

on everything

that God has

for us

because it's in this mission

it's in this work

that God brings

his joy

to his people

it's no fun

to live in a city

with broken down walls

but it's in the rebuilding

of Jerusalem

that God has given

his people

an opportunity

to come back

from all the reasons

that they were sent

into exile

to return to him

and his purposes

and to find his mission

and their purpose

as they work together

side by side

the other thing

we see here

is that Nehemiah

does not rebuild

the wall

on his own

as we come together

with different groups

on one mission

it means that

different groups

are coming together

the book is named

after Nehemiah

because he leads

and yet Nehemiah's name

only appears once

in this chapter

and it's unclear

whether it's even

the same Nehemiah

while Nehemiah

is the one

who has led

the people in repentance

and has done the research

it's with the efforts

of the entire people

that the wall

is rebuilt

and so as we are

one

different people

with one mission

the same is

true of us

it's not just

that everyone

is working together

but that everyone

is working

we read verses

from the New Testament

earlier in our service

this morning

about the many

different gifts

that God gives

to his people

and the fact

that we need

everyone

pushing forward

for us to do

the work

that God

has given us

here

our limitation

here as a church

is not primarily

financial

our limitations

are ones of us

being willing

to come together

all as one group

one church

to push forward

everything that God

has for us

it's true of the

things that we

need inside the

church and outside

the church

inside the church

we have many

places in the wall

that need to be built

we have nursery

workers that we

need to come

alongside and help

us as we disciple

our children

we are always

looking for more

people to help

us with our

sound in the back

we are always

in need of people

to help disciple

our children

but the point

of building

Jerusalem

is not just

so that it

would be a place

for God's people

and their comfort

but remember

that the purpose

was always

that it would

be something

that would

show God

to the entire

world

and so our

need to build

and work together

towards one mission

is not just

that we would

be a good

community here

inside the church

but that we

would reach

people outside

the church

as well

and so we

need help

and people

we are not

without many

opportunities

to reach

Fort Carson

in fact

there's so many

opportunities

to reach them

that we could

not do all

of it as one

church

and yet as we

come together

and work together

that's going to

be the way

that we're able

to reach

soldiers

with the good

news of the

gospel

we need all

kinds of

different groups

coming together

to invite our

neighbors here

to join us

I only have

a limited number

of neighbors

but you have

neighbors as

well

and if the

goldsmiths

and the

perfumers

and the

priests

all exert

their influence

their areas

of influence

to invite

people

not just

into a

relationship

with God

but a

relationship

to his

people

that is

when God's

kingdom

is going

to come

more and

more on

earth

here at

Cheyenne

Mountain

our

thanksgiving

baskets

this past

year

went better

than they

have ever

gone

because we

had so many

different people

with so many

different gifts

coming alongside

we had people

who were gifted

in welcoming

and greeting

who made people

who visited our

church feel at

home

we had people

with gifts

of service

who were willing

to drive around

and drop off

baskets to

people whose

cars were broken

down and they

weren't able to

come pick them

up

we had people

whose gifts

were in

administration

and were able

to organize

and make sure

the details

were set

right

we heard

from Autumn

last Sunday

about all the

opportunities

that we have

to serve

with Life

Network

and help

women and

men who

are in

crisis

and so

God's

mission is

before us

he has

given us

tremendous

opportunities

to serve

him

to bring

his kingdom

here on

earth as it

is in

heaven

and so

that's where

we find

our unity

as a people

that's where

we come

together

not the

same

as people

with many

different

gifts

many different

abilities

but we

come together

with one

heart

one goal

one desire

and the

desire is

not that

this would

be a place

where

everything

that we

want

happens

but where

everything

that God

wants

we pursue

it's not

a place

where

everything

we want

happens

but it's

a place

where

everything

that God

wants

we pursue

we find

our unity

in our

mission

and we

find it

there

because

that is

where

God

has found

his unity

first

God

God

God

had a

unified

mission

within

the

Trinity

to this

world

before he

ever called

us to do

anything with

him and

for him

God sent

his son

as part

of his

mission

and they

were united

in that

Jesus tells

us in

John chapter

John 10 · chapter mention

10 that he

and the

father are

one

and yet

they have

different roles

in the way

they accomplish

it

God

the father

sent his

son

Jesus

the son

died

and he

died

for our

sins

he died

to redeem

people who

had rebelled

against him

but he

didn't just

redeem us

from sin

he redeemed

us to

all the

work that

he has

for us

everything

that he

has to

redeem

and bring

back

what's been

ruined

and broken

by sin

and so

Jesus has

a mission

as well

he says

in Luke

Luke 19 · chapter mention

chapter

19 that

he came

to seek

and save

the lost

and so

Jesus'

mission

to us

is the

mission

that enables

us to

also join

with him

he came

to seek

and save

us so

that we

could be

part of

his mission

here on

earth

so we

follow him

in doing

what he's

already done

to bring

his kingdom

on earth

just as

it is

in heaven

it's a

mission

that Jesus

started

and it's

a mission

that he

gives to

us

as well

and so

the question

is not

whether we

are different

because we

are

the question

is whether

we will

join together

in our

differences

because Jesus

has already

joined together

with us

and so

we're going to

sing about that

now

we're going to

sing about

the church

arising and

doing the

work that

God's given

us

because of

the work

that he

has already

done

for us

and so

please pray

with me

as we

come to

that portion

of our

service

dear father

in heaven

we thank

you

for your

mission

to us

we thank

you for

sending

your son

so that

he could

bear the

weight of

your full

and complete

justice

so that

we would

not have

to

thank you

for redeeming

us from

sin so that

you could

redeem us

to righteousness

to work

together

as one

community

as one

church

following

after you

together

we ask

that you'd

send your

spirit

and you'd

help us

to do

that now

we ask

all these

things in

the name

of your

son

amen