The Coming Judgment

Well, good morning again, church.

Our sermon passage today is Luke chapter 21, starting in verse 5.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

That's page 827 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

Luke 21, page 827.

This winter and spring, we're walking passage by passage through the last third of the Gospel of Luke.

And in our text today, Jesus is going to teach us about the future.

Now, if you think about it, we spend a lot of time living now in light of what's to come, don't we?

You know, for example, we go to school now because in the future we want to get a job.

Or we maybe save and invest our income now because in the future we want to retire.

Or we draft a will.

Or we do the hard work of repairing broken relationships now because in the future we want our loved ones to remember us well.

But what if there was a way to live now in light of our ultimate future?

In other words, how should we live now spiritually in light of God's future, our ultimate horizon?

That's what Jesus is going to teach us in Luke 21.

So let me pray and then I'll read this passage for us.

Let's pray together.

Father, it's right for us to pause before coming to your word and to pray for illumination.

To pray that you by your spirit would give light to our finite minds, to our weak minds.

Father, help us above all to know you better through your son Jesus and your unending love as we consider this text.

It's in his name, the name above all names that we pray.

Amen.

All right.

Luke 21, verses 5 through 38.

Luke 21:5–38

Let me read this long text for us.

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he, that is Jesus said,

As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

And they asked him, Teacher, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?

And he said, See that you are not led astray.

For many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and the time is at hand.

Do not go after them.

And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified.

For these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.

Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences.

And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,

delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons,

and you will be brought before kings and governors for my namesake.

This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

Settle it, therefore, in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,

for I will give you a mouth and wisdom,

which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends,

and some of you they will put to death.

You will be hated by all for my namesake,

but not a hair of your head will perish.

By your endurance, you will gain your lives.

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,

then know that its desolation has come near.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,

and let those who are inside the city depart,

and let not those who are out in the country enter it,

for these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written.

Alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days,

for there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people,

that will fall by the edge of the sword and be like captive among all nations,

and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles,

until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

And there will be signs in sun, moon, and stars,

and on the earth distress of nations and perplexity,

because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,

people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.

For the powers of the heavens will be shaken,

and then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place,

straighten up and raise your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near.

And he told them a parable.

Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

As soon as they come out in leaf,

you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

So also when you see these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly I say to you,

this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

But watch yourselves,

lest your hearts be weighed down

with dissipation and drunkenness

and cares of this life.

And that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

But stay awake at all times,

praying that you may have strength to escape all these things

that are going to take place.

And to stand before the Son of Man.

And every day he was teaching in the temple.

But at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.

And early in the morning,

all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

Well,

it's easy in a long and intricate passage like this

to lose the forest for the trees,

to major on the minors,

and to miss the main things

that Jesus wants us to know.

So, in order to try to keep our focus on the main things,

I want us to see that Jesus here talks about two events,

one encouragement,

and one warning.

He gives us two events,

one encouragement,

and one warning

as we seek to live now

in light of God's future.

So, first,

what's the first event?

Well, the first event that Jesus talks about here

is right in the opening of the passage.

The destruction of Jerusalem in the temple.

Look again at verses five and six.

And while some were speaking of the temple,

how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings,

Jesus said,

as for these things that you see,

the days will come

when there will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

Now, when Jesus spoke those words

around 33 AD,

they may have struck some of his listeners

as hard to believe.

You see, the temple complex in Jerusalem

in Jesus' day was massive.

For the past 50 years,

beginning with Herod the Great,

the temple complex

had been under constant construction

and enlargement and beautification.

The whole structure,

the temple itself

and all the courts surrounding it,

was about 35 acres.

That's the size of about 12 football fields.

Imagine going to church

in a space that's the size of 12 football fields.

It's giant.

Some of the stones used in the walls

around the complex,

archaeologists have discovered,

are 42 feet long,

11 feet high,

and 14 feet deep.

That's like the size

of one of our children's ministry classrooms

next door.

Just like one stone.

The whole thing.

Some of the columns in the portico,

this sort of entryway,

were so thick

that according to the Jewish historian Josephus,

it took three men

with outstretched arms

to reach around one of the columns.

And the sanctuary,

the temple itself,

in the center of all this,

was 165 feet high

and it was covered

in such an array

of gold and silver,

crimson and purple,

that people said

it looked like a snow-clad mountain

radiating the morning sun.

The Roman historian,

Tacitus,

would later call

the Jerusalem temple

immensely opulent.

In fact,

the magnitude of the temple mount

and the stones used to construct it

exceed in size

any other known temple

in the ancient world.

And yet,

Jesus says,

not one stone

will be left upon another.

And what we know

is that in 70 AD,

what Jesus said

would come to pass.

War broke out with the Romans

in about 66 AD

and four years later,

Titus,

the son of the emperor of Aspation,

would finally topple Jerusalem

and burn it

along with the temple

to the ground.

In verses 20 through 24,

Jesus describes

that coming event

of AD 70,

Jerusalem surrounded by armies,

people falling

by the edge of the sword,

being led captive

among all nations.

And today,

you can actually go to Rome

and you can still see

what's called

the Arch of Titus,

a giant monument

erected by the Romans

to recall

the triumphal procession

of Titus

into Rome.

and what's depicted there

are prisoners

captured from the fall

of Jerusalem

being led back

to Rome in chains.

So what are we to learn

from this event

that Jesus spoke of

and that came to pass

just as he said?

Well, the first thing

we learn about

is the reliability

of Jesus.

Of course,

it's been tempting

for some to believe

that the gospel writers

simply put these words

into the mouth of Jesus

after the fact.

But you know,

when we compare

Jesus' words

with the words

of the Old Testament

prophets,

we see that Jesus

was predicting

the downfall

of Jerusalem

in language

very much

like those prophets

of old.

And given the fact

that many scholars

date the gospel

of Mark

before 70 A.D.,

that is before

the fall of Jerusalem,

the picture that we get

is not one of later writers

sort of putting words

into the mouth of Jesus,

but later writers

unpacking the words

that Jesus taught.

Jesus,

knowing how God

had dealt

with his people

in previous times,

knew that the Jerusalem

of his time

was headed

for a similar fate.

And so the words

of Jesus

are reliable.

Look down at verses

29 through 33.

And Jesus told them

a parable,

look at the fig tree

and all the trees.

Soon as they come out

and leave,

you see for yourselves

and know that the summer

is already near.

So also when you see

these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom

of God is near.

Truly I say to you,

this generation

will not pass away

until all has taken place.

heaven and earth

will pass away,

but my words

will not pass away.

Now,

verse 32

is a tricky verse.

What does Jesus mean

when he says

this generation

will not pass away

until all has taken place?

Well,

I think the best way

to understand it

is that Jesus

is referring here

to the fall of Jerusalem.

And that becomes clear

when you compare Luke 21

to Mark 13.

Mark 13

is Mark's account

of that same speech

of Jesus,

which Luke probably drew upon

in his own research

and writing of his gospel.

And in Mark 13,

if you go back

and read that,

you see that all these things

that will take place

in Jesus' generation

is a reference

to the fall of Jerusalem.

And so Jesus

is telling his disciples

that Jerusalem will fall.

All of that

is going to happen

within their lifetime.

And it does.

But then Jesus

goes on to say,

heaven and earth

will pass away,

but my words

will not pass away.

Now that's

an astounding statement,

is it not?

Sometimes I think

we get so caught up

with verse 32,

we miss what Jesus says

in verse 33.

Heaven and earth

will pass away,

but my words

will not pass away.

Jesus says

his words

are more permanent,

more lasting

than the creation itself.

Now there's only one person

who ought to say

such a thing.

And that person

is God himself.

So do you see

what Jesus is claiming

for himself here?

A claim to be identical

with the one true God of Israel,

the creator and sustainer

of all things.

whose words

will not pass away.

So the fall of Jerusalem

in AD 70

is one more piece

of evidence

that Jesus is

who he says he is

and his words

can be trusted,

they can be relied upon,

even if heaven

and earth pass away.

But the fall of Jerusalem

points us

not just to the reliability

of Jesus,

but also to the reality

of judgment.

Notice in verses 20

through 24

that the fall of Jerusalem

is described

not just as a day

of distress

and desolation,

but also,

Jesus says,

a day of vengeance

to fulfill all that is written

and as a day of wrath.

Those are phrases

that are used

for God's just judgment.

you see,

what God is looking for

from us humans,

from us image bearers,

isn't large stones

and opulent buildings.

What God is looking for

isn't massive,

outward religious show.

If that's what God

is looking for,

then Herod's extravagant

temple project

should be what we all

strive for.

And yet,

when Jesus entered

the temple,

he said it had been

made a den of robbers.

You see,

the prophets of Israel

again and again

warned the people

that it's not outward show

that God desires,

but a contrite

and humble heart.

God looks at the heart.

And the great tragedy

of the first century

is that God's own people

had become heart of heart,

even to the point

of rejecting

their own Messiah

in the person of Jesus.

So the fall of Jerusalem,

this unique event in history

that we've seen fulfilled

when God disciplined

his own people,

this event presses to us

a question as well.

What are you relying on?

Is it the work of your hands?

Vast religious,

spiritual works?

But friends,

our piety can be

as massively opulent

as the Jerusalem temple.

God looks at the heart.

And what God looks for

is humility before his word

and trust in his son.

And this brings us

to the second event

that Jesus describes.

In verses 25 through 28,

Jesus speaks about

the coming of the son of man

in glory.

Now having just described

the terrible judgment

that will fall on Jerusalem

within a generation's time,

Jesus lifts our gaze

to an even greater reckoning

to come further off.

And on that coming day,

Jesus says,

it won't be stones that fall,

but the sun, moon, and stars.

And it won't be

a single city in distress,

but the whole world.

The language here

is what biblical scholars call

apocalyptic language.

That is,

it's heavily figurative language

to describe

the indescribable.

After all,

when the creator

enters creation

to bring his world

to account,

what language

would you use?

When heaven comes

to earth in fullness,

when the glory of God

covers the earth

like the waters

cover the sea,

when every human heart

is laid bare

before the one

who made us,

how shall we describe it?

Words are hard to find.

I think verses 25 and 26

do a pretty good job.

But even though

we have a hard time

putting it in words,

is this not what

our hearts long for?

Deep down,

isn't there something

in our gut

that longs for this?

After all,

the world

is not how it's

supposed to be,

is it?

There's evil

and injustice

and suffering

and death.

And if there is a God,

shouldn't God come

and put it to an end?

Shouldn't God come

and make things right?

And the Bible's answer

to that longing,

that question,

is yes.

the good and holy

creator will not

allow his creation

to suffer

under sin

and evil

and injustice

forever,

but God will come

and will make things

right.

There is hope

for the world.

But at the same time,

doesn't that provoke

another question?

if there is hope

for the world,

if God will come

and put an end

to evil and wrong,

what hope is there

for me?

Because in my heart,

I see evil

and wrong.

I see selfishness

and greed

and lust

and impatience,

all the things

that are wrong

with the world,

I see in myself.

So how could I stand

when God comes?

There might be hope

for the world,

but what hope

is there for me?

What hope

is there for you?

Our only hope

when God comes

to make the world right

is that he will come

in the person

of his son.

Jesus calls himself

the son of man

here.

It's a reference

to Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

In Daniel 7,

Daniel describes

the triumph of God

over evil in the world

and the rescue

of his people

and God does that

in and through

one Daniel calls

a son of man,

which Jewish interpreters

for ages

identified as

the coming Messiah,

the one who would

represent God's people

and the one who would

rescue God's people.

When God comes,

he comes in the person

of his son.

Now, the return of Jesus

is a bit hard

to wrap our minds around.

If you're here

and you're exploring

Christianity for the

first time,

that idea probably

seems a little weird.

I get it.

But I want us to see

that the bodily return

of Jesus means this.

The bodily return

of Jesus means

that the one

who took flesh

and who lived

the life

that we should have

lived in perfect

obedience

and the one

who died the death

that we deserve to die

because of our sin.

In other words,

the one who took hold

of us in and through

his incarnation

and death

and resurrection,

that one

has not

let us

go.

He will return

in the same body

in glory

to show us

that his love

for us

is still the same.

He hasn't left

our humanity behind

but he holds it still.

When God comes,

he comes in the person

of his son

and that means

there's hope

not just for the world

but also for sinners

like me

and like you.

You see,

at the end of the day,

when we meet God,

we can meet God

clothed in

our own works

or we can meet God

clothed

in the works

of his son.

And if we choose

to meet God

relying on our own works,

then like the stones

of the temple

long ago,

we will not stand.

But if we choose

to meet God

relying on his son

and depending solely

on him

and not ourselves,

trusting that

his death

paid the price

for my sins

and that his resurrection

means the renewing

of my life,

if we depend solely

on the son,

then that day

will be,

as verse 28 says,

a day of redemption.

That is a day

of liberation,

of freedom,

a day of release

and joy.

So where will you stand?

C.S. Lewis puts it this way

talking about the second coming.

He says,

when the author walks

onto the stage,

the play is over.

God is going to invade,

all right,

but what is the good

of saying you're on

his side then

when you see the whole

natural universe

melting away

like a dream

and something else,

something that never

entered your head

to conceive

comes crashing in.

Something so beautiful

to some of us

and so terrible

to others

that none of us

will have any choice left.

For this time,

it will be God

without disguise.

Something so overwhelming

that it will strike

either irresistible love

or irresistible horror

into every creature.

It will be too late then

to choose your side.

There is no use saying

you choose to lie down

when it has become impossible

to stand up.

That will not be the time

for choosing.

It will be the time

when we discover

which side we really

have chosen,

whether we realized

it before or not.

Now, today,

this moment

is our chance

to choose the right side.

God is holding back

to give us that chance.

It will not last forever.

We must take it

or leave it.

now,

today,

this moment.

All this talk

about the future

is meant to teach us

how to live now.

In great love,

God has provided

a way for us

to experience mercy

in the face

of His just judgment,

mercy in the person

of His Son,

freely offered

to all who believe.

You see,

even the fall

of Jerusalem

wasn't actually the end.

There was still mercy.

There was still time.

Did you notice

the end of verse 24?

Jerusalem will be trampled

underfoot by the Gentiles

until the times

of the Gentiles

are fulfilled.

The times

of the Gentiles.

That's the time

we live in now.

Between the fall

of Jerusalem

and the return

of Christ,

when all nations

are being invited

to enter into

Israel's salvation.

Israel's salvation

which was purchased

through Israel's Messiah,

Jesus,

the forgiveness of sins

and the newness

of eternal life

to enter into

God's covenant favor.

Now is the time

when the nations,

when the Gentiles

are being invited

to come in

to what God

has promised

His people.

You see,

God hasn't given up

on His people.

His promises

stand firm.

The nations

are streaming in

and we can take hold

of those promises

now and have assurance

of God's mercy

when God comes

in glory.

And in light

of that day,

Jesus gives His disciples

an encouragement

and a warning.

As we live now,

in light of His coming again,

Jesus wants to encourage us

and He wants to give us

a warning.

The encouragement

is found in verses

8 through 19.

And that encouragement

is,

don't be afraid.

When many people

come in my name,

Jesus says in verse 8,

saying that the end

is at hand,

don't be afraid.

And don't run after them.

Predictions about

the end times

are foolishness,

Jesus says.

In Mark 13,

He says,

listen,

only the Father

knows when I'm coming back,

not even me.

If Jesus doesn't know

when the Father

is going to send Him

to come back,

trust me,

nobody else knows.

That's how this works.

So don't be afraid.

Don't chase after.

Don't freak out.

When you hear about

wars and tumults,

political turmoil,

natural disasters,

even cosmological oddities,

which is what are described

in verses 9 through 11,

Jesus says,

don't be afraid.

These things are going

to happen between

His first and second coming.

Don't lose your mind.

They're not a sign

that the world is ending

all at once.

Don't be afraid.

Then in verses 12 through 15,

Jesus says that there will be

persecution that comes.

That as His followers,

we will be at times

handed over

both to religious

and political authorities

for Jesus' sake.

Jesus doesn't promise

His disciples

an easy road of discipleship.

And in the book of Acts,

we see that this was true

from the very beginning

of the church

being brought before

religious and political

authorities.

In Acts,

we see Peter and John

and Stephen

before the Sanhedrin.

We see James

before Herod Agrippa I.

We see Paul

before Galio and Felix

and Agrippa and Festus.

And this is true

not just in the generation

before the fall of Jerusalem,

but in every generation since.

And yet here too,

Jesus encourages us,

don't be afraid.

Don't anxiously meditate

on how you'll respond

if you find yourself

put on trial.

No, Jesus says,

in that moment,

I will give you words

and wisdom.

I'll give you a mouth

and a mind.

What a wonderful promise

that Jesus Himself

will be near to us

when we face persecution

or trial or questioning.

Now this isn't an excuse

to be totally unprepared.

Peter will write

in his first letter,

in your hearts,

honor Christ,

the Lord is holy,

always being prepared

to make a defense

to anyone who asks you

for a reason

for the hope that is in you.

So it's a good thing

to think about

every once in a while

how you might articulate

the hope that we have

in Christ.

But what Jesus is saying here

is that in the moment

of our defense,

when your co-worker

puts you on the spot,

when your neighbor

asks a question,

when your roommate

cracks a joke

about your faith,

or something more serious

happens,

in that moment,

don't be afraid

because Jesus is with you

through the presence

and power

of the Holy Spirit.

In fact,

Jesus says in verse 13

that this is your opportunity,

your opportunity

to bear witness,

your opportunity

to bear witness

to the gospel.

What is the gospel?

The good news

that there is a God

who made us

and who loves us

and who is holy,

just, and good.

But that rather than loving

and worshiping God,

we've put ourselves

in the center

and have done things

our own way

and we've made a mess

of the world

and we deserve God's judgment.

But God,

in great mercy,

sent his Son

in the flesh

to live and to die

in our place

so that we might be

reconciled to him.

God poured out

his immense love

for his Son

for all who believe

and now everyone

who calls upon

the name of the Lord Jesus

will be saved,

our sins forgiven,

our relationship

with God restored,

our lives empowered

through the Holy Spirit

for service and purpose

and mission and love.

Don't be afraid.

This is your opportunity.

In verses 16 through 18,

Jesus says,

concluding his encouragement,

he says that not just

will there be trial

and persecution

with authorities,

but even closer to home,

he says,

there'll be betrayal

and hatred

and even for some of you,

death.

And yet,

even in that most

painful situation,

we need not be afraid.

Not a hair of your head

will perish.

You see,

the one who knows

what it's like

to be betrayed

by a friend

and the one who knows

what it's like

to be hated

by his own people

and the one

who was put to death,

Jesus,

promises us

that because

he was betrayed

and because

he was hated,

and because

he was put to death.

Now,

none of those things

can destroy us.

Betrayal cannot

separate us

from the love of God,

can it?

Hatred cannot

separate us

from the love of God.

Not even death

can separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

So hold on

and don't be afraid.

What awaits you

as you endure,

Jesus says

in verse 19,

is life.

Eternal,

abundant

life.

That is your end,

brother and sister.

Life.

So don't be afraid.

There's the encouragement.

But Jesus also

gives us a warning.

He ends in verses

34 through 36,

warning us

to stay awake.

Watch yourselves.

You see,

if there's a danger

that we will face

many fears,

there's the equal danger

that we will give in

to many distractions.

Watch yourselves,

Jesus says

in verse 34,

lest your hearts

be weighed down

with dissipation

and drunkenness

in the cares

of this life.

There are two kinds

of distractions

that Jesus points to.

Two distractions

that can weigh down

our hearts

and cause us

to be unprepared

for the king's return.

The first is

dissipation

and drunkenness.

Simply losing

ourselves

in the temporary

pleasures of the world.

Even abusing

the pleasures

of this world.

Taking good things

like sex and drink

and giving ourselves

over to them.

Wake up,

Jesus says.

Don't let the

temporary pleasures

of this life

capture your heart

and make you

unprepared

for what's to come.

After all,

what's to come

is more thrilling,

more enlivening,

more joy-giving

than any pleasure

this world holds.

The pleasures

of this life

are simply echoes,

simply signposts

to the joy

that awaits us

when God comes again

to make things right.

So stay awake.

But there's a less

obvious distraction.

There's sort of

a respectable distraction.

And that's what

Jesus calls

the cares of this life.

That is the everyday

responsibilities

like work

and family

and marriage

and running errands

and paying bills

and finishing reports.

We can get so caught up

in the flow

of responsibilities

that we forget

the larger story

that we're a part of.

your life is more

than the abundance

of your possessions,

Jesus once said.

Your life is more

than the sum

of daily activities.

Don't let

the grind of life

distract you

from the fact

that you are

a player

in the great drama

of God's redemption.

Stay awake.

the diapers

you change,

the projects

you manage,

the hours

you clock in

from nine to five,

these things,

if you are in Christ,

don't define you.

Don't let them

weigh you down

and distract you.

Stay awake.

You're a child

of the King

and the King

is coming

to make this world

His home again

and you will reign

with Him forever.

Don't let that day

come upon you

like a trap,

Jesus says.

But how do we do that?

How do we stay awake

amidst distractions

that weigh us down?

Did you see the answer

in verse 36?

Prayer.

Now you might be thinking,

I usually fall asleep

when I pray.

How is that the answer

to stay awake?

What a small view

of prayer we have

as a people of God.

Prayer is the gift

God gives us

to recenter

our hearts

and lives on Him

and on what really matters

and on who we really are

and on where this story

is really going.

Prayer is the future

come crashing

into the present

because prayer

is communion with God

in Christ

by the Holy Spirit.

That's where you're headed,

church.

communion with God

in Christ

by the Holy Spirit

and when you are in prayer

it comes crashing

into the now.

Prayer is pouring out

our hearts to God.

Prayer is asking God

for all we need.

Prayer is resting silently

in the presence of God.

Prayer is wrestling

with God through trial.

Prayer is staying awake

so that we might stand

before the Son of Man.

and then that day

won't come upon us

like a trap.

But as verse 29 says,

it will come upon us

like the turning

of the seasons,

the welcome

bursting forth

of summer

when the cold

of sin and death

are put away

and creation

is released

from its bondage

to decay

and God is all in all.

May we meet that day

like the dawning

of the summer.

Brothers and sisters,

stay awake

and don't be afraid.

Live now

in light of God's future

because the kingdom

is near

and the King

is coming.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

thank you

for telling us

the truth

about where

history is headed.

Thank you

for telling us

about your own return.

God,

some of us here

may not feel like

we're ready

for that day.

I pray that even now

in the quiet

of these few moments

we would not

let distractions

point us away

from the ultimate truth

of where we stand

with you.

God,

and if we are

standing

in our own efforts

in our own works

even in our own

helplessness,

God,

I pray

that today

would be the day

when we move

our hearts

from relying

on ourselves

to relying

on Jesus

our loving

Savior

who says

come to me

all you

who are weary

and heavy laden

and I will give

you rest.

Jesus,

you're the good shepherd

and no one

can pluck us

out of your hand.

So would our hearts

be renewed

in faith

this morning

by your Spirit

to not be afraid

and to not fall asleep.

Keep us awake

to the mission

that you have

for us,

God.

Keep us alert

to the movements

of your Spirit

throughout this week.

Keep us attentive

to the way

in which you are

calling us

to be your ambassadors

and your people

in the world

to be salt

and light.

O God,

send us out

with a fresh filling

of your Spirit

we pray

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, friends,

let's stand

and let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.