Jesus' Arrival, Simeon's Departure

I'd like us just for a wee while to turn back to Luke 2 and we'll read again verses 27-32.

And Simeon came in the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law,

he took him up in his arms and blessed God saying, Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.

We're all very much looking forward to Christmas Day in just a few days time,

which is always a very exciting and happy time of year for us.

And it's a time when we think and remember Jesus' arrival.

This is the time of year when we go back to the Bible's record of the birth of Jesus.

And we remember all the amazing things that took place there.

And there's so much to rejoice in when we think of Jesus' arrival.

He's come to be the saviour of sinners.

He's come to fulfil all the promises of God's word.

And he's come to give hope to all who come to him in faith.

So there's so much that's wonderful about Jesus' arrival.

And at Christmas time, that's what we think about.

We spend a lot of time thinking about Jesus' arrival.

And that's great and wonderful.

But what I want us to recognise today is that at this time of year,

we're thinking about Jesus' arrival.

And that's good.

But all of the time, Jesus is thinking about your departure.

The whole gospel is focused and confronting us with the reality that our lives just now are short.

And they're all heading towards a departure.

And that departure is the thing that matters for all of us and especially for Jesus.

It's brilliant to think about his arrival.

And we're going to be looking at that today all the time.

He is thinking about your departure.

And that's brought before us very powerfully in the account that we read here about Simeon.

Because as we read these verses, we see Simeon rejoicing at the arrival of Jesus.

But all of that's tied to Simeon's departure.

As he says in verse 29,

Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace.

So today we're thinking about Jesus' arrival, Simeon's departure.

And all of that, I hope we'll see, is getting us to the heart of what the gospel is about.

And it's getting us to the heart of stuff that all of us need to think about.

We're going to look at it under two main headings.

We're going to look at what Simeon knew.

And we're going to look at what Simeon didn't know.

What Simeon knew and what Simeon didn't know.

So first of all, thinking about what Simeon knew.

And one of the fascinating things about Simeon, we don't know much about him.

But one thing that's clear is that he clearly knew more than the people who were around him.

When you go through the gospels, you see that again and again and again,

Jesus gets misunderstood by the people who are around him.

And there's even moments when Mary and Joseph don't quite understand what Jesus has come to do.

And we saw that as we read through to the end of the chapter when Jesus was 12 years old.

They didn't understand what Jesus was saying when he said,

Did you not know that I would be at my father's house?

Many people misunderstood Jesus back in the New Testament and still today.

But not Simeon.

And the words that he speaks in this section reveal to us that he knows more than most about who Jesus is.

And about why he's come.

And that shouldn't surprise us at all because verse 25 tells us that the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And one of the things that the Holy Spirit does when he comes upon us is he opens our eyes to see the truth

and helps us to understand more about what God wants us to know.

So Simeon knows more than the people who are around him.

What was it that he knew?

Well, I want to highlight five things that we see in these verses.

Number one, Simeon knew that Israel needed the Christ.

You see that in verse 26 that it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he did not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Now when you hear that word Christ, you should be thinking of the word anointed.

That's what the word Christ means.

So you should be thinking the word anointed.

And when you hear the word anointed in the Bible, you should be thinking of three things.

You should be thinking of prophet, priest and king.

These were three key roles in the Old Testament.

And all of them involved being anointed to these offices.

So when you hear the word Christ, think anointed.

When you hear anointed, think prophet, priest and king.

And the Christ was the one promised in the Old Testament who would come and fulfill these roles.

And Israel desperately needed that.

Because they had lost the kingdom centuries earlier.

When you get towards the end of the Old Testament, that's the culmination of it.

The kingdom is lost as they're conquered by the Babylonians.

And now it's no longer the Babylonians who rule them.

It's the Romans.

But it's still foreigners.

Ever since the end of the Old Testament, they'd lost their independence.

The kingdom had been conquered.

The prophets had gone silent.

But Zechariah and Malachi 400 years ago were the final Old Testament prophets.

For 400 years, nothing.

Silence.

And the priesthood was a mess.

In that period, in between the Old Testament and the New Testament, we call it the intertestamental period,

there was a whole lot of corruption and chaos in relation to both how Israel's nation was being ruled,

lots of conflicts, lots of rival family groups.

And the priesthood had become a mess, full of corruption.

Different groups were vying for power.

So by the time Simeon is alive, the kingdom has been lost, the prophets are silent, the priesthood is a mess.

And Simeon knew that all of that desperately needed to change.

He knew that Israel desperately needed a prophet to give them God's truth.

They needed a priest to restore a right relationship with God.

And they needed a king to rule and defend them.

They desperately needed God's anointed saviour.

Simeon knew that they needed the Christ.

Second thing that Simeon knew was that the saviour was coming soon.

Simeon knew that the saviour was coming soon.

This had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.

And Simeon joins Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary and Joseph and a few others

to whom God speaks in order to announce that the saviour is coming.

So there are a few who know that Jesus is coming.

And Simeon is one of them.

And for Simeon, all of that's tied to his departure, as we've been seeing.

He's been given this promise that he will not see death until he sees the saviour.

And at long, long last, the moment has come.

Simeon meets the Christ that he has been waiting for.

And as his words declare, God has kept his word.

He's saying that now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

Simeon's eyes have seen the saviour.

Number three, Simeon knew that this Christ was not just for Israel.

And that's a crucial point to recognise.

Throughout the whole Old Testament, God's saving purposes have been global.

It's been for the whole world.

And the covenant established with Abraham way back in Genesis 12

came with the promise that through Abraham and through his descendants,

all the nations of the world are going to be blessed.

So although Israel is the chosen nation through which God's savings purposes

are going to be revealed in that Old Testament period,

it was never intended to be just for Israel.

It was always a plan of salvation for all people.

Simeon knew that, but most of the people around him didn't.

Most of the people around him saw themselves as the favoured nation.

And everybody else, everyone who was a foreigner, was an enemy.

Many around Simeon wanted the Christ to come

and they wanted the Christ to scatter the foreigners.

But what God actually wanted was for the Christ to gather them.

Simeon knew that.

His song speaks beautifully, his words speak beautifully,

in verse 32, about how this saviour is a light for revelation to the Gentiles.

And the truth is, that is everything that Israel was always meant to be.

Israel was always meant to be a light to the nations.

And this is part of the many ways in which the New Testament reveals

that Jesus is actually the one who fulfills everything

that Israel was meant to be in the Old Testament.

And this is explaining to us why Israel has that special function

and place in God's redemptive plan.

In the Old Testament, Israel is functioning as a shadow,

or as what we would call a type.

Something that's looking forward and pointing forward to the full reality.

So in the Old Testament, you have the family nation of Israel,

and that's functioning as a shadow of the true family of God,

the church of Jesus Christ.

Simeon is recognising this,

that the shadow in the Old Testament is being fulfilled in the New.

Now, a lot of people have different views on this,

but my own view and the main view among Reformed churches,

of which we are part of,

would say that this is why God's purposes are now not focused

on the political nation of Israel

in the same way that they were in the Old Testament.

And what happens in the Middle East

is not of prominent eschatological significance

in the way that some argue it would be,

because we're saying that the Old Testament, Israel,

is now fulfilled in the church,

because the promise was always for the nations.

God's purposes are now fulfilled through the church,

where Jew and Gentile are united together,

one body, one family, fellow citizens,

as saints and members of the household of God.

Simeon knew this.

He saw that the Christ was not just for Israel.

Number four,

Simeon knew that conflict lay ahead.

And you see that when he speaks about,

in verses 34 and 35,

he says,

this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.

And this, again,

is a crucial insight that shows that Simeon knew and understood

more than the people around him,

because many people around Simeon expected the Christ

to cause the rise of Israel

and the fall of the Romans.

That was their big hope.

And so for the people at the time of Simeon,

that was the big problem.

The Israel, Jerusalem,

it's under Roman rule.

And so the big hope is that the Messiah,

the Christ is going to come,

and he's going to cause the nation of Israel to rise again,

and the Romans are going to fall.

And we will have our independent state once again.

But Simeon knew that that's not what's going to happen.

Simeon knows that the conflict and controversy

is going to come within the people of Israel.

It's the fall and rising of many in Israel.

And in particular,

conflict is going to come

among the religious leadership.

And that's exactly what you see in the Gospels.

Because it's the religious leaders in Israel,

they're the ones who resented Jesus.

They're the ones who opposed him.

And ultimately,

they're the ones who crucified him.

And at the same time,

they're also the ones that Jesus criticizes most sharply.

So if you look and you read on in the Gospels,

Jesus says hardly anything about the Romans.

And yet he's constantly calling out

the distorted and damaging mindset

of the religious leaders within Israel.

He exposed that hypocrisy.

And just as Simeon says,

although they had an outward appearance

of piety and superiority,

the true state of their hearts gets exposed.

You see at the end of 35,

that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

Isn't that what Jesus did?

He went around and he saw the religious leaders

and they had all the outward appearance

of piety and superiority

and religious conformity.

Jesus saw straight through it all into their hearts.

And he exposed their hearts.

He exposed their hypocrisy.

And at the same time,

Jesus would reach to those

who are at the very bottom of society.

So he healed the sick.

He helped the poor.

He touched the leper.

He welcomed those who were rejected.

And he loved those who were despised.

And so in other words,

Jesus' ministry would frequently turn

all of the religious, social,

and cultural expectations of Israel upside down.

The rising and falling is not the rise of Israel

and the fall of the Romans.

The rising and falling is within Israel.

Jesus is turning everything upside down.

He was the friend of tax collectors and sinners.

He was the one who said that if you want to lead well,

you've actually got to be a servant.

You've actually got to be ready to wash one another's feet.

He says,

The last shall be first.

And the first shall be last.

The powerful who thought they were at the top,

they were the ones who were in for a fall.

And the poor and the broken

and those who'd made a total mess of their lives

at the bottom,

they were going to be lifted up.

So Simeon knew that Israel needed the Christ.

Simeon knew that the Savior was coming soon.

Simeon knew that this Christ is not just for Israel.

Simeon knew that conflict lay ahead.

And number five,

Simeon knew that suffering was on its way.

And that's revealed in what he says to Mary in verse 35.

A sword will pierce her soul as well.

And that's exactly what happened.

The Mary who carried her baby into the temple in chapter two

would go on to see wave after wave of controversy

and criticism of her son.

She'd experience confusion and tension herself

as she tried to figure out why he'd came

and what he was going to do.

And ultimately, she would stand in front of the cross

and watch him be crucified and die.

Simeon knew that the days ahead were not going to be easy.

If the Christ was going to complete his mission,

then it meant walking down a path

that inevitably leads to great suffering.

So, it's amazing what Simeon knew.

In just a few verses,

so much is revealed.

He has a level of understanding that stands out

from the people who are around him

and from the other people that you encounter

as you read through the gospel.

And what Simeon knew transformed his departure.

What Simeon knew transformed his departure.

In other words, he knew he was ready to die.

Now, now your servant can depart in peace.

And as we think about all of that,

it prompts a crucial question.

Do you know what Simeon knew?

Do you know what he knew?

Do you know that you need the Christ as well?

All of us do.

All of us need the Christ.

Actually, what's maybe more accurate to ask

is that do you know that you need

the right Christ in your life,

the true Christ in your life?

And the reason I ask that,

because as we were saying,

that word Christ points to the biblical offices

of prophet, priest, and king.

And when you hear phrases like prophet, priest, and king,

it can sound a wee bit like technical theological language,

and it can sound a million miles from your own life,

and it all can seem a wee bit abstract,

maybe even a bit irrelevant.

But the truth is, prophet, priest, and king,

these are describing the three biggest influences

in your life.

These are describing the three biggest influences

in your life, because everybody's got prophets.

Everyone's got priests.

Everyone's got a king.

Some people choose the prophetic voice

of social media,

and whatever is being said,

whatever is being said to you,

whatever you've been asked to do,

that's what you're going to do.

Sometimes it's the prophetic voice

of a secular ideology,

or political party,

or maybe the most powerful one of all

is simply what other people think.

That as you go through your life,

like what you wear,

what phone you have,

what you ask for for Christmas,

what you hope to achieve

in the next year of your life,

it all actually comes back

to a fear of what other people think.

If so, that's the prophet in your life.

It's telling you what you need to do.

And it can be such a powerful voice.

People also constantly choose priests,

but when we choose the wrong priest,

it just means that you've been asked

to sacrifice the wrong thing.

And so the priest of

get to the top of your career

is going to get you to sacrifice time

with your family,

because you just need to spend

a few more hours at work,

and just need to make sure

that you get this done,

and better days will be ahead.

Right now, there's no time

to spend with the kids.

The priest of pornography

is going to tell you

to sacrifice your personal purity.

Just have another look.

The priest of more money

is going to tell you

to sacrifice your contentment,

because no matter how much we get,

it's never enough.

We choose the wrong priests,

and it means we sacrifice

the wrong thing.

And people choose the wrong king,

because all of the time

we allow ourselves to be ruled

by money,

or by our possessions,

by our success,

by people's opinions,

or by anxieties.

And these kings will rule over you,

but they will never defend you.

Instead, they leave you exposed.

We desperately need

the real Christ.

We desperately need Jesus

as the prophet, priest, and king

in our lives.

Do you know that he's actually come?

Now maybe you say,

of course I do.

I know that he was born

2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.

I've known that my whole life.

It's not actually what I mean.

Do you know that he's actually

come here today to meet you?

Do you know that that's why

he's brought you here?

To meet with him.

To hear his voice.

Do you know, like Simeon knew,

that he is for everyone?

Now for Simeon,

the big division

was Jew and Gentile.

We don't struggle

with that same question

in the same way.

We struggle with

a different question.

We think,

yes, Jesus is for everyone,

except for those

who aren't really good enough.

Except for those

who've messed up too much,

made too many mistakes.

I don't know enough.

That I'm different

to everybody else.

but

you've got to know

that he's come for everyone.

That no one's excluded.

No matter what your story,

no matter what your circumstances are,

he has come for everyone.

He's come for you.

And do you know

that everyone

will either rise

or fall before him?

Everyone will either

rise or fall

before him.

That's ultimately

where history

is going to take us.

And either

we will

exalt ourselves

and reject him

and push Jesus away,

or we'll bow down

before him

and trust him.

If we do the first,

if we reject him,

we'll fall.

If we bow down

before him

and trust him,

we will rise.

If

we're trusting him,

then it's safe

to depart.

If we reject him,

then it's not.

And do you know

that the agony

of his death

is the key

to eternal life?

The sword

that pierced

Mary's soul

and the cross

that crushed

Jesus

in agony,

that cross

is actually

the key

to our salvation.

it's through

that cross

that we're saved.

And

this is,

again,

where we come back to,

this is what we

absolutely have to

think about so much,

because you might think,

yeah,

I know that.

But

the big,

big question

is,

do you know it

as in,

not just like,

I'm aware of it,

I'm aware that Jesus

died and rose again,

and I'm aware of it.

that's just to be aware

of it,

but to know it

is to know that

that was for me,

and it's my only hope.

And a lot of people,

you'll struggle with the question,

am I really a Christian?

Am I really a Christian?

And we apply all sorts

of criteria

to that question

where we think,

well,

I don't know enough,

I haven't changed enough,

I'm not in the same category

as other people.

All of that's the wrong question

to ask.

Are you a Christian?

How do you know the answer

to that question?

Well,

look at the cross

and tell me what you're seeing.

And if you're looking

at the cross

and you're thinking,

that is my only hope,

then

if you can say that

you're a Christian,

that's what it means

to trust in Jesus,

to say that cross

is my only hope.

There's loads I don't know,

there's loads I need to learn,

and there's loads

that I wish was different,

but I know

that I need Jesus

and he's my only hope.

that's what makes you

a Christian.

And that's what I want you

to ask yourself

and think about.

Do you know

what Simeon knew?

There's also, however,

stuff that Simeon didn't know,

and this will be very quick.

I just want to suggest

three things

that Simeon didn't know.

The first two,

I'm pretty sure

he didn't know them.

The third one,

he definitely didn't know.

Number one,

I don't think Simeon knew

just how bad

the suffering would be.

So he knew

that conflict lay ahead,

but

I don't think he knew

just how severe

that was going to be.

we know more than he did.

because we can read

of how Jesus

was betrayed

by one of those

who was closest to him.

We can read

of Jesus' sweat

falling to the ground

like drops of blood

as he prayed

in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We can read

of the crown of thorns

pressed into his head

and blood

ran down his feet.

We can read

of a whip

scourging his back.

We can read

of him being hit

and spat upon

and mocked.

We can read

of him

being nailed to a cross,

hung to die

as slowly

and as agonisingly

as possible.

We can read

of him crying out,

my God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

We know way more

than Simeon knew.

But we don't know it all.

Because the cross

took Jesus

to the very depths

of physical pain

and spiritual agony.

On the cross

he took everything

that our sin deserves.

Every ounce

of God's righteous wrath,

his holy wrath,

poured out upon him.

All the agony

of an eternity

in hell

experienced by Christ

as he hung

in the darkness.

The agony,

the sorrow,

the emptiness,

the distress,

the darkness,

the horror.

We don't know

what that was like.

And it's beyond

what we can describe.

We don't know

what it was like.

We just know

who it was for.

It was for you.

Second thing

that Simeon didn't know

is that I don't think

he knew just how big

this baby was going to be.

Now I don't mean

in terms of weight.

I mean in terms

of importance.

So he knew

that this baby

was the one

that they'd been waiting for

and longing for

and praying for.

He knew it was the Christ

but I'm not sure

that he knew

that as he held this baby

he was holding God

the Son himself.

And I'm not sure

that he knew

that this baby

would grow

to be the image

of the invisible God

the radiance of his glory

the exact imprint

of his nature

and the one

through whom

all things were created

the one who upholds

the universe

by the word

of his power.

I'm not sure he knew

that this baby

would grow to be

the man who would come

and inaugurate

God's kingdom

who would build

the church of Jesus Christ

and that the lives

of millions

and millions

and millions

of people

would be utterly

transformed

by everything

that this child

would accomplish.

And I don't think

that Simeon knew

that 2,000 years

after Luke 2

3,700 miles away

there would be people

gathering in Stornoway

so that the first thing

that we do

as a new week begins

is to meet

in Jesus' name

and to worship him

and praise him

for everything

that he has done.

Simeon didn't know

all that.

We know more

than he did.

We can look

at the rest

of the New Testament.

We can look

at 2,000 years

of church history.

We can look

at the church

across the world

today

and we can look

at our lives

and say

Jesus has done

amazing,

amazing things.

We know way more

than Simeon knew

but we don't know

it all

because Jesus

is continuing

to do his mighty work

and we don't know

yet who's going

to be sitting

in these pews

in a year's time.

We don't know yet

who's going

to be brought

to faith

as the Holy Spirit

works in this town.

We don't know

how the church

is going to be built

in years to come

but Jesus

is going to do it.

He's going to

continue his work.

There's so much

more to come.

That's why

we should be

so excited

about all

that Jesus

is still doing

and that he will do.

So I don't think

that Simeon knew

how bad the suffering

would be

and I don't think

he knew how big

and significant

this child would be

but thirdly

when it comes

to Simeon's

departure

I am absolutely

certain

that Simeon

had no idea

just how amazing

it would be.

Simeon says

so beautifully

now I can depart

in peace.

He's ready to die.

He's ready for eternity.

He's ready to depart

but at that moment

as he speaks

those words

he has no idea

just how amazing

the destination

is going to be.

And that's maybe

something that we

just don't speak

about enough.

The fact that

the future promised

for the Lord's people

the new creation

the new heavens

and the new earth

is just amazing.

And we should think

and speak about it

more because

the Bible reveals

a lot to us

about it.

It speaks to us

of a place

of majestic glory.

Revelation 21

speaks of

the glory of the Lord

in the new Jerusalem

in the new creation.

It's radiance

like a most rare jewel

like jasper

clear as crystal.

You imagine

the most beautiful

stunning

glimmering sights

you've seen.

That's a picture

of the glory

awaiting us.

It's a place

of astounding beauty.

Revelation 21

again

the wall of the city

was built

a jasper

the city

was pure gold

like clear glass.

The fountains

of the walls

of the city

were adorned

with every kind

of jewel.

The first was jasper

second sapphire

third agate

fourth emerald

the fifth onyx

sixth carnelian

seventh chrysolite

eighth beryl

ninth topaz

tenth chrysoprace

eleventh jacinth

twelfth amethyst

amethyst

stunning

absolutely

stunning.

It's also a place

of magnificent

togetherness

that there

there is a

great multitude

that no one

could number

from every nation

all tribes

people

languages

standing before

the throne

together.

all the time

in our lives

just now

we experience

the agony

of separation

the promise

of our future

is a place

of unbreakable

togetherness

it's a place

of perfect healing

he'll wipe

away every tear

from your eyes

death shall be

no more

neither shall there

be mourning

nor crying

nor pain

anymore

it's a place

of unspoiled

holiness

a place of

thrilling worship

where the

volume

of praise

is going to be

incredible

as we lift

up our voices

to praise

Jesus

and it's

going to be

a place

of unending

love

that nothing

can separate

you from

Romans 8 38

neither life

nor death

nor angels

nor rulers

nor things

present

nor things

to come

nor powers

nor height

nor depth

nor anything

else

in all creation

will be able

to separate us

from the love

of God

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord

and everything

good and

precious and

wonderful

that we

experience in

this life

everything good

and precious

that you

experience this

week

this week

will be a

great week

for so many

of us

everything that's

good and

precious and

wonderful is

a glimpse

it's a glimpse

of what God

is preparing

for his people

Simeon was

about to depart

he did not

know just how

amazing the

destination was

going to be

he knows

now

he knows

now

and for us

we cannot

stretch our

minds far

enough

to imagine

the peace

and the joy

and the security

and the beauty

and wonder

of what God

has prepared

for those

who love him

we can't

stretch our

minds far

enough

to imagine

that

but if you're

trusting in

Jesus you're

going to

find out

you're going

to find

out

and as we

close

surely

surely

that's the

departure

that everyone

here wants

to have

surely that's

the departure

that you want

that's the

departure that

Jesus came

to give

you

we're

thinking about

his arrival

he's thinking

about your

departure

and he's

holding out

the offer

to all of

us

that if we

trust in

him that

departure

will be

unspeakably

amazing

but all

of this

comes back

to what we

said to

the kids

there's

an

inescapable

connection

between

going

and

knowing

if that's

the departure

that we

want

if that's

the destination

where we

want to

go

Jesus is

the saviour

that all

of us

need to

know

I hope

that every

single person

in here

can take

Simeon's

words to

be their

own

that I

your servant

can depart

in peace

Amen

let's pray

Lord Jesus

we just

thank you

so so

much for

everything that

you've done

for us

we thank you

for your

arrival

for everything

that it

means

for everything

that it

accomplished

for everything

that you

have changed

for us

and we

thank you

that in

your

arrival

you were

thinking

about our

departure

we thank you

that you

have opened

up a way

for life

for all

who come

to you

and so

we pray

that every

single one

of us

would look

to you

trust in

you

and follow

you

help us

and guide

us

and thank

you for

everything

Amen

we're going

to close

singing from

Psalm 4

in the

Sing

Psalms

version

and that's

on page

4

and we'll

sing

verses 3

to 8

know that

the Lord

has set

apart

the godly

as his

own

the Lord

will hear

me when

I call

and my

request

make known

and down

to the

end

I will

lie down

and sleep

in peace

my heart

will rest

secure

for you

alone

oh gracious

Lord

will keep

me

safe

and sure

3 to 8

to God's

praise

know that

the Lord

has set

apart

the

godly

as

his

own

the

Lord

will

hear

me

when

I

hope

and

thy

request

may

know

in

anger

do not

pray

God's

law

consider

and be

still

still

is it

a

righteous

sacrifice

and

wait

upon

his

will

oh

who

can

show

!

any

earth

I

hear

so

many

say

O

Lord

shine

on

us

with

your

light

show

us

your

face

face

I

pray

you

filled

my

heart

with

greater

joy

than

others

may

have

found

as

they

rejoice

!

that

harvest

when

green

white

above

will

lie

and

sleep

in

peace

my

heart

will

in

peace

heart

will

lie

down

sleep

in

and

sleep

peace

my

heart

will

rest

secure

for

you

alone

O

Lord

will

keep me

safe

and

true

after the

benediction

the main

door

as you step

week may the

grace of our

Lord Jesus

Christ and the

love of God and

the fellowship of

the Holy Spirit be

with you all

Amen

up

up

up

!

up

up

up

up

up

!

up

up

up

up

up

up

!

up

up

!

up

!