19th Aug 2026 Wednesday Service - Liberating Power of Adoption By PBC Deacon, Dcn. Edwin Isoe

We are going to read scripture, the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 to 14, and as it is our norm, we can stand in honor of God's word.

Ephesians 1:3–14

Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 to 14.

Ephesians 1:3–14

The Bible says, Praise be to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, in love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and to His praise and of His glory, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the one He loves.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory.

And you also were included in Christ when you had the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

That's the word of God.

Let's pray.

Dear Lord, we thank you for an opportunity to hear again your word, Almighty Father.

We thank you for this time.

Lord, I surrender to you, I'll decrease, you will increase.

Dear Spirit of God, you shall be the teacher.

You are the one who knows.

Lord, everyone that has come and everyone following.

Uh online, Almighty Father, and you'll minister to them and encourage them according to their levels of life, their aspects of life, and according to what they seek from you, King of Kings.

Receive all honor and glory.

In Jesus' mighty name we pray.

Amen.

So as you have heard, it's children's week, and our theme for children is faith adventure.

Faith adventure.

Just encouraging them to know that Christ has them.

They have identity in Christ.

The same thing as all of us.

Yeah, you who have Christ.

And in our theme today or this month is liberating power of adoption.

And I take that as my topic: liberating power of adoption.

Sonship connected.

And of course, from the book of uh best, in the book of Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 to 14.

Ephesians 1:3–14

Adoption.

This being children's week is an awesome thing to think about that word, adoption, because the word of God uses it for us who are in Christ.

So, liberating power of adoption, so there is power to know that you are an adopted child of God.

It's not that you had another parent who rejected you.

It's because you are the creation of God.

And God uses our language here on earth so that we can understand him.

He created us, he created all humans, and of course, he created all animals, but the humans created them in his likeness.

But because he is God, yes, he is in control of the sun, of the moon, of everything, of the animals and so on, he is in control of them.

But for the human who is in his image, he gave them a choice.

And we know what happened in the Garden of Eden.

The enemy of God came there and tried to disrupt the plans of God.

So God brings this word, adoption, in his word.

And we are going to learn like our first point is our old condition, that was from rejection to adoption.

The second point will be our legal price from condemnation to redemption.

And the last point will be our family privileges from separation to inheritance.

In other words, God had a plan.

Even before the enemy Satan entered the garnery of Eden, God already knew that is going to happen.

But he still had a plan.

And that's why he never destroyed man.

In the children, uh during Sunday school, we normally joke, you know, if I was to be God, you know, kill Adam and Eve and start again.

Yeah, God was to do that, he had power to do that, isn't it?

But because he's not man, yeah, we have feelings, we have emotions.

Sometimes, you know, you wish someone to just get away of your get out of your way.

But that is not God.

Yeah.

God loved them, he created them for a purpose.

But even if the enemy came to destruct that purpose, he still had another plan for them.

And now he wants to use us as this.

Another question that normally comes, you know, God is all powerful.

Why does he have to use human?

You know, he's all powerful.

He just speaks from heaven, and then, you know.

Today we are learning about the Daniel, the way, you know, uh the enemy came and they were captured, they were held captive in Babylon.

God was to just speak.

Hey, this is that is Daniel, that's my son.

What are you doing, King Nebuchadnezzar?

He was to speak, isn't it?

Even nowadays, just put yourself in the in the heart of a child.

God just to speak, and the world just listens.

Why does he have to choose human?

But in all his wisdom, that's what he chose.

Now he doesn't want, he does not want to be seen.

Just imagine if God appears.

Yeah, God is everywhere.

Just imagine now if he appears in his whole whole fullness.

Pastor Edith.

Even speaking, will your will our eardreams, eardrums, eardreams, with our eardrums, will they contain the voice?

Cannot even contain the woofer.

Yeah?

The speakers.

You have they have to be controlled with volume so that your ears can you know accommodate.

So what if God speaks with his voice?

He tried that on Mount Sinai.

And what did the people say?

Moses, please speak to us.

We don't want God to speak to us.

But God chose to come to our level because of disobedience.

There is something that we missed.

We were separated from God, we became limited.

But God comes to our level.

He does not come fully as God, you know, in his whole fullness.

Actually, he says no one can see God and live.

But that's what in his old he chose.

So think about the legal weight and emotional beauty of human adoption.

Human adoption, you find a child is neglected, or maybe you hear in the news there's a child is found at the doorstep, or maybe in the dustbin, and all that kind of thing.

And then the child is taken to a children's home.

Now someone comes and adopts this child to their family.

Not only to rescue this child, but now to give this child an identity.

In other words, if you choose to go and adopt a child, there is a process that will go, long process, but you will have paid that price, as we are going to see, for you to adopt that child.

So when a family chooses to adopt, they are saying, I want you.

I choose you.

You belong to me, and I will care for you forever.

You welcome this child to be your child.

It will be weird for me to adopt a child and then mistreat the child.

Do you remember that you are not my child?

Okay, I adopted you.

You should behave in my house, okay?

Will you behave that way to that child?

It's better not to adopt, isn't it?

But when you adopt this child, you have decided this child will be my child.

And I'll be the father of this child, or I'll be the mother of this child, or we will be the parents of this child.

We will give him the education that he needs, he or she.

We will protect.

We will feed.

Just the way you will want to take care of your child.

That's what you will do when you adopt this child.

So the apostle Paul reminds us in the book of Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 4 to 5.

Ephesians 1:4–5

Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4 to 5.

Ephesians 1:4–5

He reminds us that for he, that is the Lord Jesus, he has, or God, he has chosen us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace.

So he has chosen, you know what?

I want you back.

You are still my child.

But he does not force us.

He leaves the choice to you and me.

Because he's a caring God.

Again, using the normal things that we have and we always hear from the children, when you are looking for a friend, you don't go to someone and say that, hey, you know what, Ambassador, from today you are my friend, whether you like it or not.

Okay, you understand me?

Yes.

You do what I tell you, you eat what I eat.

Is that what we do when you are choosing a friend?

That's not what we do in a normal setup.

And then the Lord Jesus at some point he tells the disciples, I don't call you servants, I call you friends.

In other words, he's saying, I leave the choice to you so that you will enjoy.

When you have chosen to do something for someone, you enjoy doing it, isn't it?

You do it from your heart, and that's the kind of heart that the Lord is waiting for you and me.

But he has done what needs to be done.

Before the foundation of the world, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ.

This is the liberating power of adoption into God's family.

In our first point, we look at our old condition from rejection to adoption.

In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, the scripture says, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, as for you, you are dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world, and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Ephesians 2:1 Ephesians 2:1

All of us also lived among them in one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts, like the rest.

We were by nature deserving of wrath, but because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

It is by grace you have been saved.

It is by grace you have been saved.

In other words, God did not wait us, wait for us to choose Him.

We are already rejected, we are already enemies of God, but there is a grace of God.

There is the grace of God.

Scripture says we were once dead in our transgresses and sins.

We were spiritual orphans, separated from the creator.

God created us, the living God, the one who created the heavens and the earth, the one who is controlling the earth.

He is the one who created you and me, as the word of God says.

It's only the Bible that puts you in, that includes you in.

Yes, the others have their own holy books, but in the world, there is a book that claims you, and that is the word of God.

And he says that you know, when we are born in our old condition, after we are born here on earth, we are rejected, we are orphans, we don't know God, and that's why in our own sinful nature, we do the things that we do, separated from the Creator, lacking his provision, and without a true spiritual home.

Yeah, we lack his provision.

What we act is out of pilot, you know.

He gave human dominion.

The interesting thing about God is what he says and what he does, he never changes his mind.

He blessed man before he fell in the Garden of Eden.

He gave him dominion.

And that's why every man has dominion given by God.

Of course, men think that it's because of their own will, it's because of their own strength, it's because of their own intellect.

That's what they do, what they do.

But they forget that the creator God is the one who did that.

He's the one who gave them dominion.

But we lack his provision.

We'll just do and go according to the patterns of the world.

But he's not providing for us because he is a living God.

How he wants me to live today, tomorrow will be a different day.

Fresh.

No wonder everything God creates is fresh.

You know?

When a flower blooms, it's fresh.

It with us, another one comes, fresh.

Think about anything that God created.

It's fresh.

Animals.

They are living, they have life, and so on and so forth.

But humans, we were separated because of our sin.

But God did not leave us in our destitute condition.

He intervened, meaning that God already had a plan.

Our second point?

Or before that, I love cake.

So if you love cake like me and you want fresh cake, you need to look for a baker.

Yeah, I cannot bake, so Pastor Susan, I know the ingredients.

So what I'll do, I'll bring the ingredients and take it to a baker for him or her to bake for me.

Fresh cake, the one which is uh still warm.

Yeah.

And I will wait for the process.

It won't just come.

Yes, I will provide sugar and flour and all and salt and uh margarine and all those things that are needed and give to the baker.

And I will tell the baker, excuse me, I've brought all the ingredients.

So please, I need a cake.

The baker will tell me that thank you for the ingredients, but you need to wait like uh like 15 minutes for me to prepare, and then there is some more 15 minutes for it to sit in the oven, and then some 10 minutes for it to cool down a little bit so that it can be a moist, wonderful black velvet.

Brother Kika, is there a black velvet?

Then afterwards, so I'll have to wait for the process.

The baker is the one who knows the process.

I don't know.

But I want cake.

We do wait, we are very patient in many things.

Those who work with computers, sometimes it's so, you know, you have to put on the computer and you know it does some stuff and for it to open.

Or maybe you you are in a hurry and then you have to switch down, switch off, shut down.

Yeah, that's the language, shut down the computer.

So you have to go.

So you you have to shut down and then you wait for it to do whatever it does for like uh two, three minutes.

And you are patient because you need your computer the next time.

Because you just switch it off every time.

The manual says that you will not last with your computer.

So the process is shut down.

Think about the things we do in life.

Even from here, when you are going home, you'll have to go and sit.

Even if you are tired, but there is a you'll wait, you'll be patient to and wait if you are going through uh using uh uh public transport, you'll wait to reach your destination.

There is a God who created us, and there is a plan he has for you and me.

Now you need to be with him, you need to feel, you need to know, you need to accept that you are an adopted child of God for the process to go through, for you to follow that process, because in his own wisdom, there is a process for you to grow to be more like the Lord Jesus.

Nothing that we are supposed to do, there is no ritual that we are supposed to do so that he is happy.

He has provided the ritual.

If it was a ritual, but it was not because he's a living God, he provided a way for you to just know that my God provided a way.

I was once destitute, but God provided a way, and this is the way.

So there was a price.

Our second point, our legal price.

There was a legal price because God is holy, his nature is holy, he cannot mix with sin.

That is his nature.

I try to understand with my own mind, but I cannot really fully understand.

But there was a price that needed to be paid, from condemnation to redemption.

In Romans times, an adoption was a costly, official, and irreversible legal process.

Spiritually, our adoption costs the ultimate price.

In the book of Galatians, chapter 4, verse 4 to 5.

Galatians 4:4–5

Galatians chapter 4, verse 4 to 5, it says, But when the said time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Galatians 4:4–5

That explains when the fullness of time had come, there was a process that needed.

And actually in the Old Testament, they used to live many lives, many years.

Someone lived 900 years and so and so on and so forth.

But anyway, they died.

Then God continues with the next.

We are talking about generations, from generations to generation.

God is working through.

But he had a plan.

That's why in the Old Testament, the plan was for them to sacrifice.

It was costly to be a child of God.

Not because he needs you to do it, but because he's holy.

And for you to have conversation and relationship with him, there is a price that needs to be paid.

The animal paid the price in the Garden of Eden.

The animal that God created.

He was the first one to sacrifice, to show them the way as they are waiting for the Lord Jesus.

So before the Lord Jesus, that's why they needed to do some things, mostly sacrificing.

And not only sacrificing, that's why there were priests to enter the holy of holies.

Not anyone could enter because God is a holy God.

But the price had to be paid because the nature of God is holy.

So that Galatians 4, 4 to 5 explains, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son to redeem those who are under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.

The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross so that the legal barrier of guilt could be removed.

Aren't you glad?

We were looking back to Jesus.

Actually, in the Holy Communion, the Lord Jesus encourages us that, you know, remember my death.

Because we are talking to God because of the Lord Jesus.

In the Old Testament, they were communicating with God because there was something that they needed to do.

The priest had to sacrifice because of their sins so that they can continue to follow the plan of God.

There is a price that needed to be paid because God is a holy God.

And the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.

So the righteous demands of the law were met, making a way for God to legally and righteously adopt us as his own.

Again, in our normal lives, if someone needs to touch your child or to go with them somewhere, they need your permission, isn't it?

Yeah, even if we are teachers, you know, in Sunday school, they come, even though there is a relationship, you know, we have built and so on.

But when the parent comes, hey, Twende, you have to release the child.

The parent has said, isn't it?

Adoption.

That's why there is a process, and God is sovereign in all things that He does, and there are those processes.

In order to achieve in life, the child needs to study for them to achieve, and so on.

Nothing comes like you were talking today with a grade six to nine.

Nothing if you want something good, you have to work for it.

But if you want something bad, there is nothing that you need to do.

If you want to pass your exam, you have to work hard.

You sacrifice your time your TV time, you sacrifice your games time, you sacrifice your sleep time.

But if you want to fail, there's nothing that you are supposed to do.

It's so easy.

Don't study, sleep the whole day.

So, in order to achieve something good, there is a struggle, there is an enemy, and that enemy is spiritual.

We can't see him.

He will come with the distractions of life so that we can be distracted from the plan of God.

But you know what?

The price has been paid.

The only thing that you need to do, you ask God to help you and remain focused on God.

The righteous demands of the law were met, making a way for God to legally and righteously adopt us.

You are an adopted child of God.

Lastly, our family privileges.

From separation to inheritance.

When you and I are adopted by God, you receive more than just forgiveness.

You receive a completely new identity, a new set of rights.

It's not just forgiveness.

Yeah?

Because when you accept the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, the Bible promises that He forgives you as the East is from the West.

So far has He taken away our sins.

But I will not wait there now.

I'm a child of God.

And then I continue life as usual.

The enemy is still there.

But God will help me and you to complete the journey.

So we find there that Romans chapter 8, verse 14.

Romans 8:14

Romans chapter 8, verse 14, the Bible says, For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Romans 8:14

For those who are who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So there is a guide.

There is a guide who needs to guide us through this journey.

I'm born again.

I've been forgiven.

So what next?

There is a Holy Spirit, and God in his whisdom, he never left us like orphans.

The Holy Spirit guides us, he teaches us, he directs us.

We are released from bondage and fear.

Before, when we were alone without the Holy Spirit, we are in bondage.

We have fear.

What will tomorrow look like?

Where is the country heading?

Where is the economy taking us?

Where is the president taking us?

And we normally hear what you say about the president.

Our children normally tell us.

Like in Daniel and Shadrach and Abednego, even though they were in a different culture, a king who does not know God.

But Daniel, Shadrach, and their friends, you know, they trusted in God because they knew who they were.

They were not shaken by whatever was happening.

That's how your position and my position.

The Holy Spirit puts us in that position.

We are not controlled by the things.

The Bible says every wind that comes takes us away.

Because God is not controlled by the things.

He's still sovereign, even if from generation to generation we see in the word of God.

He sent the prophets.

But when they rejected, he allowed them the punishment on them.

But he never forsook them.

He always provided a way.

God has been always providing a way.

But it's humans who have always leaving him, worshipping other idols.

May we know our position and you know that you are worshiping the God who rescued you.

Then we have intimacy with the Father.

We do not come to God as terrified servants or distant strangers.

Romans 8, verse 15 to 16.

Romans 8:15–16

Yeah?

You do not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

The spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear.

Again, rather, the spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.

And by him we cry, Abba Father.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

So if you can call God my Father who art in heaven, it's a language of relationship, it's a language of love.

Your child cannot call anyone else dad, can they?

Or mom?

Because you are the mom.

You are the dad.

That's the kind of relationship that God needs to ask.

Very simple.

Yeah?

I love it, Pastor Susan, in the children's ministry.

You know, I learned many things about the spiritual life because the Lord Jesus tells us to look at the child.

The child does not care about the economy.

You, as the dad, you need to provide.

They need to go to school, whether the economy is bad or not.

Will they even understand?

Yeah, last time, you know, do you go to your child and try to explain to them the situation?

They won't understand.

You cannot tell that to a preschooler.

You will do your best to provide.

What about God?

He puts you around people.

It's just the same thing.

There are some children that you want your children to mingle with.

If we know that, if you have that wisdom to do that, our God also has that wisdom.

Yeah?

So we have intimacy with the Father.

You are not a stranger.

The Holy Spirit allows us to call God Abba, a term of tender, childlike affection and close relationship.

Not merely our creator, but our father, the person who guides us.

Then we have a heavenly inheritance.

Because we are children, we are heirs.

Romans 8:17 tells us that we are heirs of God.

Romans 8:17

Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

His righteousness, his favor, his eternal presence is shared with us.

Just the way the Lord Jesus lived here on earth.

We have an opportunity, a very wonderful privilege to live as Christ lived.

Not by our own strength.

Christ never had a religion.

Christ was Christ who was interacting with his father.

Prayer.

Talking to God.

In the Old Testament is wonderful because there was conversation always.

Moses talking to God.

Talking just like humans.

And that's what prayer is.

Pray without ceasing.

Now it ceases to be a ritual.

Because if you think it as a religion, then when you think about prayer, you think about standing and folding your hands or kneeling down and praying.

In other words, when you are standing and walking, his presence is not there.

It's only there when you are praying.

But that's not the case.

When you are an adopted child of God, now pray without ceasing makes sense because you can pray anywhere.

Whether you are walking, whether you are driving, whether you are in a matatu, anywhere, you can talk to God.

When your child is seated there and that child is not talking to you, they don't cease to be your child.

They are in your house, even when they are in school, in their mind they know they belong.

After school, it does not matter what the bullies will do.

But if you have raised that child in the ways of the Lord, that child to know that you are a child of God.

So no one, even though negative words come to you, you don't need to worry.

So that child will know that I have a belonging.

And they can talk to you anytime.

So even when they are not talking to you, you are present with them.

In their hearts, in their house, when they are in their bedroom, they know that dad is around, mom is around.

Is that how you relate with your heavenly father?

That's what he encourages us.

You have a heavenly inheritance.

Ephesians 1 verse 14.

Ephesians 1:14

The Holy Spirit is the deposit, down payment guaranteeing our inheritance.

It's a deposit.

In business, when you want me to work for you, you need to pay a down payment so that I can see you as serious.

Then, after you finish the project, then you pay the full amount.

So that language there, you know, the Holy Spirit is a deposit.

Even if we will not see God with our eyes, you know, but he's still there.

But the Holy Spirit helps you to know that you know what?

You are guaranteed inheritance of God.

It does not matter what the world will tell you.

Then lastly, under the family privileges, the family likeness.

Being adopted means we take on the family name.

When you adopt a child, you will call them the surname, will be your name.

You can see the magnitude.

Family likeness.

So God lovingly shapes us, teaching us how to live as his children.

When trials come, according to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5 to 7, it reminds us that when God disciplines us, it's not to punish us, but as a loving father raising his sons and daughters.

Hebrews 12:5–7

When trouble comes, you don't fret.

You know that God already knows that it will happen.

But he is teaching you something.

It will be like discipline.

When a child disobeys, you will discipline the child.

That one does not mean that you hate the child, but it means actually that you love them because you have better things for them.

And when they are old, they will understand even if they won't understand at that time.

Sometimes we are at that level when things happen to our lives.

But because we are working with the Lord, it's a process.

It does not mean that you are not born again, but it means that the Lord is helping you, He's teaching you something.

Maybe it's something you have done, a sin, and you have been disciplined, or maybe someone else is doing that to you, but the Lord is teaching you to have faith in him.

All things work for good to them that love the Lord.

And lastly, to his glory.

Everything about his plan of salvation is designed to make people praise and glorify God.

Those are the names that they were given.

The king, after they were tempted, they were tested, you know, some people had jealousy on them, and they were thrown into fire.

Daniel was thrown into a den of lion.

But at some point there, it's very interesting and comforting.

The king, the heathen king, recognized Daniel's God and actually say that that is the true God.

That is what we carry.

Family-likeness to the glory of God.

Everything about the plan of salvation is designed to make people praise and glorify God.

Perhaps you have been carrying an orphan mentality, living as though you still have to earn God's love or fight for your own security.

That's what the world is doing.

Yeah?

Trying to struggle to come to God.

And yet God has done the struggle for you to be adopted back.

The gospel promises that you are adopted when you have the Lord Jesus.

God regards you with the exact same love that He has for His natural Son Jesus.

Step out of fear.

My prayer is that you set, you and me will set out of fear and rest in the beautiful reality that you are chosen, you are loved, and you are permanently welcome into the family of God.

Amen.

Look at your neighbor.

Are they looking like adopted sons of God?

That's the position that we are in.

So as we pray, in case you have not trusted this God, he already did the price.

You don't need to do anything.

The only thing that you need to do is invite him in your life.

He does not wait for you to be perfect.

He knows that we can never be perfect.

And that's why he sent his only son who died before you were born.

Otherwise, if he knew that we were to be perfect, he was to wait for us to be born first and then he tells us what to do.

But he paid the price even before you were born.

So talk with him today.

So as we pray, ask the Lord to come into you.

Your life.

Let's bow our heads as we pray.

So if you are here and you want to be adopted to be a child of God, the Bible says that today is the day of salvation.

If you want to invite the Lord Jesus to be a personal savior, you can raise up your hand.

We have ministers here, we'll help you.

Or after the service, you can come, we'll linger around.

But if you are a child of God, this word for you is to encourage you that you don't need to fear.

You just need to trust him.

Just like a child trusts their parents.

God is our Father.

He wants you to trust Him with all your heart.

You don't need to worry about anything.

He has spoken many promises.

Do not worry about anything.

Do not worry about tomorrow.

Look at the birds of the air.

Look at the flowers.

Look at the talk to him today.

Surrender your life to him.

And he promises to finish what he has started in your life.

He already knows the situation that you are in today.

And that's why you are hearing this word today.

You can trust him with your life.

And as you go home, you know that he knows your situation and he'll provide a solution.

Thank you, Almighty Father, for you are always there for us.

Thank you for you pay the price for us.

You never waited for us to do anything.

There is no ritual that we can do.

Actually, your word says that it's anything good that we can do is just like filthy rags in your presence.

But you just need a contrite, a humble, broken heart to trust you with the faith of a child, to trust you, to know that you are.

We learn that we cannot please you by anything.

But anyone that comes to you must believe that you are, and you do reward those who diligently seek you.

Your people are seeking you, King of Kings.

May you always walk with us, Almighty Father.

Thank you for everything.

Receive all honor, receive all glory.

In Jesus' mighty name.

And God's children said, Amen.

Yes, let's appreciate the Lord.

So our benediction today comes from the book of Numbers, chapter six, our favorite one.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

In Jesus' name.

We may stand as we share the words of the grace together.

Remember, there is a cup of tea, right?

Any other announcements, maybe?

Okay.

So after this, we'll have a cup of tea.

Our guests, please remember to shake hands of the guests who came.

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore.

Amen.

Shalom.