Sermon: The Attitude the Triune God Gives

Julius: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Good morning. Wonderful to gather together with you all on this very special Sunday. I know it was exciting last Sunday when we changed to red for Pentecost. And now we moved back to white already. And white is used for special festivals where we think about Jesus' holiness. And you think we got Christmas, we've got Easter. Well, today is Holy Trinity Sunday. And we think about the three you that three in one triune God, holy, holy, holy. So we switched to white today. And if you wondered when you came in, why does this bulletin feel so thick, that's because on Trinity Sunday we use the Athanasian Creed. The Athanasian Creed named after Athanasius, and it talks about in detail how do we explain this three in one God. So we'll start by praising that God with words from our Old Testament reading, Hymn four hundred and eighty three, the selected verses. May God bless our worship together. Only Yeah. Please stand. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed are they whose sin the Lord does not count against them. Let us confess our sins to the Lord. Almighty and merciful Father, we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed what we have devised and desired in our hearts. We have offended you and sinned against your holy law. We have done those things that we should not have done, and we have not done those things that we should have done. Have mercy on us, Lord. Spare us, forgive us, and restore us according to your promises in Christ Jesus. God, our merciful Father, has forgiven all our sins. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer and Savior. Jesus paid the penalty for our guilt by his death on the cross and freed us from death by his resurrection from the grave. We have peace with God now and forever. Amen. And today, for our Lord have mercy, we're singing a special hymn. It's printed for you and on the screen. I'll sing most of it. I invite you to join on the last line, and after that we'll continue with the glory to God in the highest. Triune God all be our stay and let us perish never cleanse us from our sins we pray and grant us life forever. Keep us from the evil one, uphold our faith most wholly. And let us trust you solely with humble hearts and lonely Let us put God's armor on with all true Christians running our heavenly race and shunning. The devil's wilds and coming Amen, amen this be done, so sing we are. See who Yeah. C can S Speech. Christ with the Holy Spirit in the cloud. Simple. Lord be with you. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the unity in the power of the divine majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith, and defend us from all adversities, for you, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign one God now and forever. Amen. You may be seated. The first reading will serve as the sermon text this morning from Isaiah chapter six. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, with two they flew. One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of his glory. The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called. And the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said, I am doomed, I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of armies. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven. Then I heard the Lord's voice saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Then I said, Here I am, send me. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Our psalm for today is Psalm 99A. If you'd like the parts for that, it's in the gray hymnal. We will sing stanzas one, two, and four. The soloist will sing the first two. The first two stanzas and then you're invited to join on stanza four. God sing out his praises, King of chooses his people what is just adjust n truth of his Right. God is God This is a God Is an answer for second reading from Romans chapter eleven shows us how complicated our God is, and that's a good thing, isn't it? You don't want a God that can fit in a box or fit in the human mind. He is unsearchable, and yet we praise him anyways, because he has clearly revealed that he is a God of grace. Romans chapter eleven. ⁓ the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and how untraceable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his advisor, or who has first given to God that he will be repaid, for from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever. Amen. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please stand to acclaim the gospel. We sing the Allelouis together. I will sing the proper verse. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. ⁓ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty The whole earth is full of his glory Aleluya Aleluya Aleluya. ⁓ If you've ever thought God is complicated, you're in good company in John chapter three, Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, comes to Jesus and he is thoroughly confused. But some things are incredibly clear to him that God is a good and gracious God who gives spiritual rebirth through the Holy Spirit, who comes to us through holy baptism, and gives us grace through Jesus, who is lifted up high on the cross for us. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him. Jesus replied, Amen, amen, I tell you, unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? Jesus answered, Amen, Amen, I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, whatever is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above. The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. How can these things be? asked Nic Nicodemus. You are the teacher of Israel, Jesus answered, and you do not know these things? Amen, amen, I tell you, we speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. So that every one who believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to you, O Christ. You may be seated for the hymn of the day, hymn five hundred and eighty six, will sing stanzas one, six, and seven. ⁓ Yeah. times there's an impression that people get St. Paul's in Plymouth? What do you think? Are they coming to set themselves up in a pulpit six feet above contradiction to tell those people what they really need to hear? Sometimes it seems even congregation members wish that pastors would do that. It does happen sometimes that there's a text that's more fire and brimstone, and Pastor preaches it, and on the way out, some members say, Pastor, good. You finally told Bob. Is that the attitude we're supposed to have? It's worth thinking about because while I am called, and pastors and teachers are called into public ministry, so I need to think about this. Every Christian who has the Spirit, which is you, you are called to share God's word privately in your everyday life with the people around you. So what attitude do you have as you do this? Well, let's see what attitude God instilled in Isaiah the prophet when he was about to start his public ministry. He did it with Isaiah chapter six. King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his role filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim, each one had six wings, with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, with two they flew. One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Lord of armies, the whole earth is full of his glory. The foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of the one who called, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said, I am doomed, I am ruined because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of armies. That reading starts with, in the year that King Uzziah died. This is showing us that this vision came in a time of political and spiritual upheaval. And as all that was going around in the world around Isaiah, God gives him a vision of what's going on far above. That the king who does not die and is not mortal is seated above everything on his high and exalted throne, ruling far above it all. And just the hem, just the edge of his robe, fills Solomon's earthly temple with glory, like it's a little dollhouse. That's how far above the triune God is, above everything else. And it's good to think of that being far above with what the angels are singing about God. What do they sing? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of armies. The same words we sing before communion as we join that scene and join that song. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of armies, the triune God, three times holy. And what do you think of when you hear the word holy? Often we think of something that is set apart as holy, apart from something filthy. Maybe in your life, this is like you have your dirty gardening shoes and you have your nice church shoes. The nice church shoes are set apart from the dirty shoes. And often we do think of holiness as God being set apart from dirtiness, from filthiness, specifically from sin. But what we see here in this vision is that's not all of it. It's not just that God is holy and perfect and sinless, it's that God is set apart far above everything. And we see that with what the angels are doing. Who's praising God? Angels, are they sinful? No. They're sinless, holy, glorious, heavenly beings. Even their singing is able to shake. The giant stones that make up the foundation of the temple. They are powerful, and yet even they, what do they have to do with four of their six wings? Cover themselves, hide themselves before the glory of God. As one commentator put it, angels are closer to worms than they are to God. Or, in what we're thinking about today, angels are closer to humans than they are to God. What is God showing us? If even holy, angelic, powerful beings like the Seraphim can't set themselves up as high and glorious before God Almighty, how much less could we? If even they are closer to the dust than they are to God, how much more humans who were made from the dust? And that's the attitude that God wants to give Isaiah as he goes into ministry. Not an attitude that says, look at me, I'm set apart, I get to share God's word. That means I'm better than everybody else, but an attitude shown in the words that he says when he sees this vision. Isaiah said in verse 5: I am doomed. I am ruined because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of armies. I'm doomed, I'm ruined, a man with unclean lips. This makes me think of the phrase, maybe, maybe it's been told to you before. If someone has a potty mouth or they can't stop cursing, what will you say to them? Would you kiss your mother with that mouth? Would you kiss your mother with that mouth? When Isaiah sees the holy God and he knows I have to praise this guy, I have to share this God's words, where does he feel it most? Right here. He says, Would I praise my God with this mouth? He thinks about sharing God's words here, and it makes him think about all the improper words that he's spoken. Words that have not built up but have torn down, words that haven't been about God's glory, but his own glory, sinful, unclean words. And he thinks, How could I praise God with this mouth? And then we think about that too. When we come into worship, we worship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here we are in the presence of the triune God. Wow. And what do we do immediately after that? We confess our unworthiness. Often we specifically confess. I have sinned in my thoughts, words, and actions. My words. Can I praise my God? Can I share God's word with this mouth? And you think about all the words that we shouldn't have spoken, words of anger, words that have torn people down, words of boasting, words of gossip, and all the good and true and wonderful, encouraging words that we should have spoken that we didn't. And we feel it right here. I am a man of unclean lips. And the vision of Isaiah really doesn't paint a pretty picture, does it? If you've ever had a sore on your lip, you think about how self-conscious you are, it feels like everybody's looking at it. Isaiah says, I'm a man of unclean lips. Picture leprous, peeling, pus-filled lips. ⁓ could lips like that praise God? And when Isaiah comes to this realization, it prevents him. From setting himself up above anybody else around him. No, it includes him with the people around him. And that's what he says as he confesses. Listing himself first, he says, I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips. Isaiah will speak God's word to the people around him. He will tell them that they are doing things wrong, that they are people of unclean lips, but he won't do it as someone standing above. Pointing down to them, he'll do it as one of them. We hear it specifically in the great salvation chapter of Isaiah, Isaiah fifty three, where he says, We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. Jesus gives us this attitude as well. If even angels, heavenly messengers, don't set themselves up before God, how much less could we? Should we? As the phrase is often put, when we share God's word, we share it as one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. Or in this case, where to find a coal, because that's what helps Isaiah. The vision continues. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven. Here we see the seeming paradox of the triune God. He is so far high, above, exalted above his entire creation, that nothing could ever reach him. And yet, he finds a way to Bridge that gap to bring his grace down to us. You know, the gap between God and us is much smaller than the gap between us and ants. But could you pull this off? Could you enter the world of ants and serve them and be gracious to them and be served by them? I don't think I'd even want to try crawling into An anthill, it wouldn't work. And yet God finds a way to come down here to the dust, come down to us. He does it here for Isaiah in a vision, in a message. We read, Look, the angel says as he comes with that coal and touches Isaiah's lips where he felt his sin most keenly. Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven. God is showing in a vision, coming down to Isaiah, showing that He is able to bridge that gap. He is able to heal Isaiah exactly where he feels his sin the most. And all of this vision is pointing ahead to Jesus and his sacrifice. A coal from a glowing altar, pointing ahead to Jesus' sacrifice, guilt taken away by someone who never was guilty, sins forgiven by someone who could forgive sins and bring that message to the world. It's all pointing ahead to Jesus, who is the one who bridges that great gap between us and the Father. Jesus, the Son of God, through the miracle of the incarnation, came into this world as a sort of living temple. And he did not contain just a little hem of God's glory, just a little bit of God's glory. No. All the fullness of the deity was contained in him. True God. And yet he also came as true man. To be a servant in our place, a perfect messenger in our place. And Isaiah specifically talks about how Jesus did that with his lips. When we cannot claim to have used our lips perfectly in a clean way, in a way worthy of God, Jesus always could. And think about Jesus: He is the only person who could always look down on others. He was holy, they were not, and yet he never once used his lips to tear down, to destroy. To hurt people, but always use them perfectly to help and to heal and to share the gospel. Isaiah specifically points this out in Isaiah 53, when he says Jesus is being slandered by everyone around him when he stands on trial, and yet no deceit was in his mouth. Jesus used his lips perfectly for us. And that's what God sees when he looks at you, not Yucky, unclean lips, he sees Jesus, beautiful mouth sharing the word of God. And Jesus' perfect lips had to confess what Isaiah said here. Jesus on the cross, as he died in our place to take away our sins, he was the one who had to say, I am doomed. I am ruined. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so separated from me? He said that. So that when you meet the holy God, you will not say that. You will say, My God, my God, my holy God, you have bridged that gap and brought me close to you. This is what Jesus did for Isaiah, and this is what Jesus did for you. And how did that change Isaiah's attitude? He wasn't just someone who said, I'm not worthy to share God's word. He then became someone who said, And yet I'm still eager to share God's word. After the Lord takes away his sin, the triune God says, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Isaiah's answer, then I said, Here I am, send me. Even though the angel himself in this vision was unworthy, God used him as a messenger to say to Isaiah, Your sins are forgiven. And what a difference that made in Isaiah's life. It sent him out eager to share that message with others. And Isaiah was ready. He wanted to share that message, yes, with people around him who had unclean lips. He wanted to tell them: look, here is the Messiah who can take away your sin and make you free to sing God's glorious praises in paradise forever. He was eager to share that message, and the Lord has done that for us too. He has taken away our sin, unworthy as we are, he has made us worthy to share his words with others, the words that have made such a difference in our lives. Here I am. Send me for however long the Lord gives us. When I was preparing for this sermon, I went into the archives of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and I found four different times that professors there have preached on these words to people who are going out to be pastors. And one of those sermons in sp in particular struck me, preached on graduation morning, which at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary happens a day after call day, a day after these pastors are assigned to their congregations. And in the introduction to this sermon, the pastor said. That the day before, one of those seminary students who had been assigned as a pastor got into a car accident and died that night. He was called into ministry Thursday morning. He died in a car accident Thursday night. And now this pastor is preaching to those who are left on Friday morning. What attitude do you think that man had when he went into ministry? That Thursday morning. Finally, I get to tell these people what they need to hear. No, I don't think so. I think his attitude was: here am I, send me. The Lord has taken away my sin, and I want to tell others so they can stand before the holy God. And he got to do that for half a day. Before the Lord called him home, and he got to join this vision and see that the words that he had shared were true. And sing holy, holy, holy god without fear. How long will the Lord give us? I don't know. And many of us are so eager to join that heavenly vision, and we can be, because the Lord has made us ready through Jesus' grace. But with the time that Jesus gives us, the triune God asks you: Who will go for us? Who will spend the time this side of heaven until I take you home to tell others this good news? I think all of us here today are ready to raise our hands, forgiven by Jesus, raise our hands, sent by the triune God, raise our hands and say, Here I am, send me. Amen. Please stand. And the peace of God which goes beyond all understanding, guard and keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen. This creed is named for Saint Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was written over a century after the death of Athanasius to combat two errors that undermined key scriptural teachings. One error denied that God's Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being or Godhead with the Father. The other error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man in one person. The Athanasian Creed continues to serve the Christian Church as a standard of the truth. It declares that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without the saving faith. And so we read this creed responsively. Whoever wishes to be saved must above all else hold to the true Christian faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever. Now this is the true Christian faith. We worship one God in three persons, and three persons in one God. Without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is distinct. But the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and co eternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite. The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. Yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal. Just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated, and one who is infinite. In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. Yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet they are not three gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord. For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three fathers, one Son, not three sons, one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And within this Trinity, none comes before or after, none is greater or inferior. But all three persons are co equal and co eternal, so that in every way as stated before, all three persons are to be worshipped as one God, and one God worshipped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved. Must have this conviction of the Trinity. You may be seated now for the responsive prayer of the Church. And before the silent prayers, we'll include a few special prayers today for our member Henry Battistone. He is now moving to Idaho and he's on his way today. That's a long trip with a moving van, so we'll pray for his safe travels and blessings there. We pray for the Nebraska District Convention, which is coming up this week in Denver. And then for the Byerman family, Braden and Anna were gifted Ezra Wyatt yesterday. And so we'll pray for them. Triune God, you are the one eternal God, whose name we praise forever. We would not have known you if you had not revealed yourself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons yet one God. Remove from us all doubt and grant us humble faith as we contemplate this high and holy mystery. Enlighten and empower us to worship you as the Triune God, the Holy Trinity. God our Father, whatever good is in us, whatever good things we have, and whatever good we do comes from you alone. In you we live and move and have our being. Open our eyes to see the gifts you provide every day, purely out of your own love and care. Lord Jesus, our Savior, you came into our world to make the Father known to us. You joined yourself to us by taking on our humanity and brought us back to God by shedding your blood. In love you walked the way of suffering and carried the wrath of God that we deserve because of our sins. Help us believe that all you did and all you endured, you did to rescue us and set us free. In the bright new hope of your resurrection, teach us to offer our lives in praise to God and love to our neighbor. Creator Spirit You breathed into us new life by the power of the gospel, opened our eyes to see the light of your grace, and filled our minds with the clear sound of your voice. Through word and sacrament, lead us to understand more completely how broad and deep and high is the love of God in Christ Jesus. Firm up our resolve to do battle with Satan and sin. In every weakness be our strength, that we may show ourselves to be God's children. Faithful in prayer and Constant in hope and fervent in love. We praise you, O God, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Receive our thanks that you have brought Ezra Wyatt Bierman and his mother safely through delivery. In your goodness you have filled the hearts of this family with joy. Bless this child and the family with your protecting hand, and bring him into your family through holy baptism. And Heavenly Father, We ask your blessing on our district as it meets this week. Bless our pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and lay people as they gather to worship you, study your word, and hear reports on how you have blessed and challenged the work of our district. Lead them to godly decisions that will allow us to see your kingdom come and your will be done. And Heavenly Father, send your angels to watch over Henry as he makes his journey to Idaho. Be with him. And bless his new congregation through him. Hear us, Lord, as we pray in silence. Holy Trinity, you are the God of glory, the God of grace, and the God of all comfort. We rejoice to call you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and praise your holy name forever. Amen. At this time we gather our thank offerings to God. If you're a guest with us today, please don't feel obligated to participate. This service is our gift to you. At Mount Olive, we celebrate the worldwide and historic practice of close communion. That means that we commune in close unity with those with whom we are united in faith. And so if you haven't had a chance to learn about what we believe, then please wait today. But I would love to take a class with you and come to unity in the faith so that we can commune in the future. Please stand. The Lord be with you. ⁓ Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise. It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Elasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever in perfect unity with you and the Holy Spirit as one God and one Lord. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song. Isa mighty sear in days of old, the Lord of all in spirit did behold high on a lofty throne in splendour bright with robes that filled the temple courts with light. Above the throne were flaming seraphim, six wings had they these messengers of him. With two they veiled their faces as was right, with two they humbly hid their feet from sight, and with the other two aloft they soared one to the other called and praised the Lord. Holy is God the Lord of heavenly hosts. Only is got the Lord of heavenly host, only is got the Lord of heavenly hosts, His glory fills the heavens and the earth. The ⁓ beams and lintels trembled at the cry. And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high. Blessed are you, O Lord of heaven and earth. We praise and thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ, and we remember the great acts of love through which He has ransomed us from sin, death, and the devil's power. By His incarnation, He became one with us. By His perfect life, He fulfilled your holy will. By His innocent death, He overcame hell. By His rising from the grave, He opened heaven. Invited by your grace and instructed by Your Word, we approach your table with repentant and joyful hearts. Strengthen us through Christ's body and blood, and preserve us in the true faith until we feast with him and all his ransomed people in glory everlasting. Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses for our As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen. Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Then he took the cup. Gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. The peace of the Lord be with you always. Amen. Mm-hmm. This is the true God of the Lord receiving Jesus Christ. Savior Jesus Christ, this was given for you. Drink and drink. What? This was poured out for the forgiveness of all of your sins. Yeah. Please stand. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His mercy endures forever. Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this saving gift. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you, the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace. You may be seated for the closing hymn, hymn six hundred seventeen. We're going to try singing this one without accompaniment, a cappella, hymn six hundred seventeen, so sing it in parts if you can. Praise God from whom all blastings float, praise him all creatures in laise him above me handling house, praise God. Silent And you doubted yourselves. I saw it in your eyes. That was beautiful. Beautiful hymn, not just because it's one of the few that includes my last name, Below, but because it's been used by Christians to praise God for so long. Wonderful. Thank you all for being here. What a special Sunday, Trinity Sunday. A special thank you, especially to our guests, kind of a big one to come in on with the Athanasian Creed. We only do that once a year, so don't worry. As you've received in your emails, you notice we're doing a new church directory. The fellowship hall, Lord willing, is going up soon that direction, which means we also want to increase fellowship as a congregation. And one of the ways to do that is to update our directory and get pictures. So sign up out there if you can or do it via email. That'll be great. Also, as a way of increasing our fellowship, there are Mount Olive shirts coming. Someone asked me yesterday, Pastor, when are we gonna get some Mount Olive merch? Now you are. Your wish is my somebody else's command. Thank you, Linda, for setting this all up. And if you wanted examples of the shirts, you can get them in all sizes. This one might be a little small, perfect for beach season, maybe. But you have an example of the fabric out there. So hanging where you normally hang the coats are a bunch of different examples of what the fabric would be. And then you can match up ⁓ the sizes to the pictures on the sheets back there. So take a look at that and order those. Soccer camp is coming up. Thank you to all of those who have been ready to help. What we most want now is more kids. So there are some invites there back on the table. I've ordered a lot of extra things. From this point forward, kids are no longer guaranteed all of the fun things like an extra soccer ball and stuff like that. But that means it's cheaper for them, so it's only $25 for them to sign up now. And they still will get a shirt because I ordered a bunch of extras of those. So invite any kids from the highways and byways for that. And of course, as always, you are invited to Bible class after this. Since it's my fault the service went a little bit longer, we'll start Bible class at 37 and we'll still finish at 10 50. So a 13 minute Bible class today. But please come to that. That'll be a good time as we continue our series of memory passages for the summer. Those are my announcements. Any out there? Yes, Justin. All right, thank you. God bless your day through faith in Christ.