The Marvelous Love of Christ to His Church (Eph. 5:23-33) (8/16/26)

We're continuing our summer foundations of the

Christian life series We've already covered this

summer trusting God and doing good Standing your

post and being fruitful in the realm that God

has given you We've learned to be at peace with

God's authority structure We have learned that

men and women have glorious God ordained different

origins and orientations and yet They are oriented

towards each other We've learned God's blueprint

for marriage and the last time we were together

We studied that wives should joyously submit

respect and honor their husbands Today we will

now take up God's command for husbands to love

their wives as Christ loved the church Let us

pray together Our God and our father Thank you

for sending the Spirit to give us life and to

empower us for the call that you have given us

to carry out your words of life, beginning in

our marriages, our households, and to the very

ends of the earth. Please allow the words of

my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts

to be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our rock

and your kinsman redeemer, Jesus Christ, our

risen Lord. Amen. Our passage today is from Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. We'll be picking up beginning with

verse 25. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ

also loved the church and gave himself for her,

that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the

washing of the water by the word, that he might

present her to himself, a glorious church. not

having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but

that she should be holy without blemish. So husbands

ought to love their own wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one

ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes

it, just as the Lord does the church. For we

are members of his body, of his flesh, and of

his bones. For this reason a man shall leave

his father and mother and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh. This is a

great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ

and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of

you in particular so love his own wife as himself,

and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

These are the words of Almighty God. Receive

them in your hearts. Now, there are three lenses

with which I want us to approach the thoughts

in these passages today. They begin with this.

Jesus' love is the definition of commitment.

Jesus' love is the definition of commitment.

Second, Jesus in His love relinquished His glory

for us. Jesus in His love relinquished His glory

for us. And finally, Jesus' love is found in

the security of His dominion and His bounteous

fruitfulness for us. Jesus' love is found in

the security of His dominion and His bounteous

fruitfulness for us. Saints of God, there is

nothing of greater significance to you, Christian,

than the love of Jesus. Jesus' love for you is

immeasurable. If a man were to right now write

a treatise on the love of Jesus, it would be

completely unable to describe or explain or even

be close and the stunningly resplendent. marvelous

love of Jesus to His church, of which all of

you are a part. When I call all y 'all, the dearly

beloved, I am speaking of Jesus' delight in you.

If you are reflecting on this truth, this truth

of Jesus' delight in you. Considering the actions

and words and thoughts and the emotional reactions

in your life and marriage and family and community,

you are aware of your unworthiness of Jesus'

love and the destitute position you are in to

be a recipient of Jesus' love and therefore communion

with God as one commentator puts it no subject

excuse me no subject more exposes the poverty

of our lives before God than actual communion

with God we feel or should feel totally out of

our depth however highly Other Christians might

esteem you. You know only too well how weakly,

how inconsistently, how pure poorly, how coldly

your heart engages in communion with God. Like

Paul, you desire to know Christ and the power

of His resurrection and the fellowship of His

sufferings described in Philippians 3. But oh

how often that desire is weakened by the sluggishness

of the flesh the diversions of the devil the

enticements of a dying world and yet it is not

the believers truest Longing for communion with

the Savior isn't that what we long for even with

all our weaknesses even as regenerate men and

women, we are a spiritual mystery. Dearly beloved,

be assured of Jesus' love for you, not as one

to be pitied like a stray dog, but as one in

whom Jesus delights in. Jesus loves His own.

Psalm 149 verse 4 says, for Yahweh takes pleasure

Psalms 149:4

in His people. He will beautify the humble with

salvation. Do you hear that? He takes pleasure.

That same word could be interpreted, delights.

He takes pleasure. He delights in His people.

And what will He do? He will beautify the humble

with salvation. Zephaniah 3 .17 says, Yahweh

your God in your midst, the mighty one will save.

He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will

quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over

you with singing. What great love, what passionate

love, what joyous love that He rejoices over

you. Psalm 18 19 says he also brought me out

into a broad place That is a place of safety

you might feel like you were on the edge of a

cliff But God's love is so great He has set you

on a broad place Good footing he delivered me

and here it is because He delighted in me Dearly

beloved God himself has chosen you before the

foundations of the world To be among his elect

those chosen as the bride for his son fulfilling

his sovereign loving grand design for all of

history a Bride for his son. Oh What joy we have

in the eternal love of Jesus as his bride Oh

joy, oh comfort, what a comfort that we have

in the wondrous love of Jesus for us. 1 John

4 18 tells us, there is no fear in love, but

perfect love casts out fear because fear involves

torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect

in love. We love him. Because he first loved

us How can it be that Jesus loved us before we

had anything to offer? As one commentator puts

it Lord Jesus loves his church unselfishly that

is to say he never loved her for what she has

or what she is not so much What she is, but what

he makes her as the object of His love. What

He is saying there is this, Christ did not love

you because of what you brought to Him. You only

brought your sin. But rather, He made you the

object of His love and He loves you for what

He is making you into. Jesus, His is the strongest

love that ever was, for He has loved the unlovely.

until He has changed her. He has loved the sinner

until He has made him a saint. He has loved the

foul and filthy until He has washed her with

the water of the Word and presented her unto

Himself without spot or wrinkle. Even now that

God has worked in our life, and changed us in

so many ways and given us so many good gifts.

What we have to offer is not our own, but rather

the Lord Jesus' gifts of water and word, made

alive by the power of the Spirit. You see, Jesus

remains faithful to his chosen people, his elect.

those to whom He made the object of His love.

He is faithful to us even in our weaknesses.

And praise God, He is bestowed upon us as it

says in 2 Timothy 2 .13, if we are faithless,

He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself.

This means that Jesus keeps His Word and we have

an assurance of His work on our behalf. Today

we have already sung two songs, two hymns, that

reminded us so much of Jesus' love and the assurance

that we have in Him. Dearly beloved, lean more

to Jesus. No yet cast yourself upon Jesus all

the way. Because he loves you and he is faithful

to you We can throw ourselves cast ourselves

completely upon the love of Jesus because we

are reminded in 2nd Corinthians 120 for all the

promises of God in him that is Jesus our yes

and in him amen to the glory of God through us

Do you hear that his promises are yes and amen

For the glory of God through us What a transformational

love the love of Jesus is Jesus humbled himself

as a servant and a servant who gave his life

that you may have life and to have it more abundantly

Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus humbled himself

and relinquished the glory of his position and

obedience to the Father Obeying every command

of God even obedience to death even a hard and

torturous death on the cross Jesus showed us

that he trusted the Father in the difficult and

Just an undeserved death that we may have life

being reconciled with the father what love a

Bounteous life what love with every gift we need

what love To glorify God and to benefit the world

and we talked about that as the purpose of marriage

Jesus has given himself to you, for you. So we

see Jesus' love demonstrated to us. How then

should we respond to such a great love? With

the deepest gratitude. We could and should sing

with the psalmist in Psalm 103. Bless the Lord.

O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His

holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget

not all of His benefits, who forgives all your

iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who

redeems your life from destruction, who crowns

you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

who satisfies your mouth with good things. so

that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Oh,

to sing and proclaim our gratitude for the love

of Jesus. We're all to respond to such love in

that it spurs us on to actions. It should spur

us on to take an action. You think about this,

a description. of the way a man is to love his

wife. If we as the church are to respond with

joy and obedience and anticipation to what God

is asking of us to do, so then a wife too should

do that. So for us as husbands, as men, are we

loving our wives as Christ? of the church. We

are to love Jesus by keeping His commandments,

the very ways of life, especially to husbands.

Love God and so obey His commandment to love

your wife, to delight in your wife, to provide

security and provision and fidelity. Today, just

as we cannot be absolutely comprehensive in detailing

every way of Jesus' love of His church, we cannot

be comprehensive in all the ways that a husband

is to love his wife. But we will cover three

this morning. One, fidelity to your wife. Husbands,

you are to be full of fidelity to your wife.

Second, Our authority for the glory of God and

the benefit of our wives our authority for the

glory of God and the benefit of our wives and

three Tending the garden of our realm to the

fruitfulness of our wives Tending the garden

of our realm what God has given us responsibility

for to the fruitfulness of our wives Our passage

today instructs husbands to love your wives Just

as Christ loved the church and gave himself for

her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with

the Washing of the water by the word that he

might present her to himself a glorious church

Not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

but that she should be holy without blemish So

husbands ought to love their own wives as their

own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Now to clarify this, the reformer John Calvin

says this, Christ's redemptive death cannot be

duplicated by the husband. I don't want to say

that again. Christ's redemptive death cannot

be duplicated by a husband. He goes on to say

this, but the self -giving character, of Christ's

love is something husbands are commanded to imitate.

The self -giving character of Christ's love is

something husbands are commanded to imitate.

Husbands, you are not the mediator to God for

your wife, but you are to imitate Jesus' pattern

of self -giving love. Jesus' own wondrous, gracious

love to you, enabled by the power of the Spirit,

should spur you on to be a faithful husband in

words, actions, and provision. Just as Christ

has one bride, the church, men, are you able

to be, excuse me, you are to be, not are you

able to. But just as Christ has one bride the

church men you are to be a one woman man Having

chosen one woman above all others That is what

Christ Jesus has done. He chose one bride his

church the elect not everyone and that is the

bride That he is dedicated to Jesus has chosen

one bride in whom he delights. Even, check this

out guys, are you listening right now? Even when

she is not acting as his beloved, Jesus treats

the church as his beloved, undeserving as she

may be acting. He is faithful no matter what.

Fidelity means a firm adherence to the person

to whom you are united with. You might have thought

that that wedding was about you Sort of But it

was about God and the witnesses and the covenant

that God was uniting you to Dearly beloved everybody

out here right now If you've been in a wedding

you are called to be a covenant witness of those

vows before God So if that brother or that sister

or that marriage is in jeopardy You are obligated

before God to go and minister and encourage and

spur them on and help them. There should be an

honesty and veracity to your words, a confidence

in your words, husbands, and deeds towards your

wife at all times. This fidelity to your wife

surely includes internal and external sexual

adultery These are all things in your mind so

second glances Lustic and porn These are things

in your words Unwholesome speech or your actions

that is actual flirting, or sexual immorality.

Anything that makes you other than a one -woman

man. Men do not fall into the desperate deceptions

of the devil who wants so much to destroy your

marriage. Satan and all those who stand with

Satan hate marriage because marriage is the image

of Christ to his beloved church. Marriage is

the gospel. Marriage is for the glory of God

and the benefit of the world. Husbands in this

room, future husbands in this room, boys, are

you listening to me? You need to pay attention.

Your dads need to pay attention. You old men

in here, you need to pay attention. Do not blaspheme

Christ in any adulterous ways. as the Proverbs

tell us, do not even walk by the paths of the

violent or the adulterous. You think about that.

You have a choice every day which way you're

going to go. Yes, those flattering lips of some

girl to you, some woman to you, that might sound

good, but as the book of Proverbs tells us, that

bed, those sexual acts. They lead to death. Men,

husbands, drink from your own cistern. Rejoice

with the wife of your youth. Be satisfied with

your wife sexually at all times. Be enraptured

with her love. There is another common way with

which we undermine the security or you can say

the fidelity of our marriages and This is one

that's not so obvious. I think I mean I do believe

it's obvious But I don't think we think of it

in this way about it undermining our fidelity

We weaken our wives confidence in us by our words

and actions Now I say that and you go yeah, I

get that Jesus tells us to let our yes be yes

and our no be no. When our wives ask us to do

something, when we say we're going to do something,

we must do it. Or go back, give an explanation

that is judicious and just and is honoring to

God. If you, one, do not say what you say, I

mean, excuse me, you don't do what you say, you

lay temptations for your wife to hold you in

disrespect. Do you get that? Last time we were

together, I told wives in here, they are to obey,

submit, honor, respect their husbands. Husbands,

don't lay that temptation down by not being a

man of your word. Second, you can also place

stress fractures of doubt into your marriage.

They creep into your marriage by not being clear

and honest in telling her what you're going to

do. I'm going to explain that in a minute. Do

not purpose. to be passive, simply to appease

your wife in the moment. Because if you do that,

you undermine her trust and fidelity in your

life, in your marriage. Here's how I want to

explain this to you. Your wife comes up to you,

says, listen, I want you to do We'll just pick

this. Take out the trash. All right? I don't

know what you're doing. Let's assume it could

be anything. You could be sitting at the computer

and playing a game in which I would tell you

probably should, within 60 seconds, put that

game down and go take trash out. Because she's

probably telling you to take trash out because

it's full. OK? If you're working, this is what

you need to do. You need to turn, look at her

in either case, and give her your full attention.

Now, wives, be careful. If you know he's working,

try not to disrupt him. But if it's important,

go to it. Men, look at your wives. Give them

your full attention. Hear what they're saying.

If you need to ask a clarifying question, is

this something that needs to be done right now,

or can it wait? whatever time you think is reasonable.

I'm just giving you wise counsel here. But if

you say, I tell you what, I need to finish what

I'm doing, I can get that in 20 minutes. Or if

it's a bigger project, I'll do that Tuesday night.

Men, you gotta be rest assured of this. Don't

be passive and just appease her in the moment.

Say, yes, I'm gonna do it in 20 minutes. When

20 minutes is up, Get up fulfill your word because

this is what Jesus would do When Jesus says something

he does it This is how you love your wife. This

is how you don't put stress fractures of mistrust

into your marriage We could go into some detail

on all kinds of scenarios And obviously sometimes

we have bigger issues, like bigger projects.

You might say, I'm gonna do it Tuesday night,

something comes up. As soon as you're aware that

you can't fulfill your word, go and communicate.

Don't let it be a place where you don't keep

your word, where she thinks you're gonna keep

your word for a certain day coming up and then

you don't do it. Now, it's important that when

you tell her these things, you are not undermining

your authority. It is giving your wife assurance

of your action plan. Let's be honest. Our wives,

they're multitaskers in ways we can't imagine.

We're usually, what we call multitasking is we're

running several applications at the same time,

right? No. At best, most of us men have. Maybe

two eyes on the stove. She's a professional stove

with 16 eyes and multiple pots cooking in simmering.

She's got concerns she's thinking about. And

I'm not saying you're not carrying burdens, right?

But if you tell her that you're going to do something

on a day and you do it, she goes, OK, that pot

is simmering. It's all right. If you tell her

nothing, If you just say, I'm going to take care

of it, I promise you, in your wife's mind are

13 questions. When is he going to do it? How

is he going to do it? What do I need to do to

help him? How are the kids going to get in his

way or help him? There's all these different

things going on in her mind. You might laugh

at this one. Is there enough gas in the car right

now for him to go do this? I'm just saying there

are all these things, questions. Put her mind

at rest. Show her your fidelity. Bye. Give her

some specific information. Now, wives, don't

badger your husbands beyond what is necessary.

If you need to ask a clarifying question, men,

don't snap back. I gave you an answer. But be

loving. Provide clarity. You must demonstrate

your faithfulness this way, and this will assist

your wife to flourish in the fruit of the Spirit.

Husband's God is surely giving you authority,

but this authority is not for your glory and

benefit, just like Jesus' authority was given

to him to transform all of creation. and is bride

to the glory of the Father. That's what your

authority is given to you for. Men, you have

been given authority in this world for God's

glory, so that when men see your good works,

they will glorify the Father in heaven, and yes,

be converted by the gospel of your marriage,

or even your spouse transformed, flourishing

in Christ. Because you are living as Christ loved

the church to your wife Husbands this is important

You are not merely given authority. You are given

a Christ -like pattern of exercising that authority

Husbands God's authority rests on you as one

who will have to give an account Do not Be a

foolish tyrant in your household, or really anywhere

else for that matter. Consider the words from

1 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 7. Husbands

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

likewise dwell with them. He's speaking of wives.

With understanding, giving honor to the wife

as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together

of the grace of life, that your prayers may not

be hindered. Call to this. that you may inherit

a blessing. Husbands, Christ loves the church

in a patient and edifying way for her building

up, washing her with the water and word. Do your

words build up your wife? Are they edifying?

Or do you have complaints because you stepped

on toys and Legos for the 13th time tonight?

Hebrews chapter 4 verses 15 and 16 tells us that

Hebrews 4:15

Jesus is our high priest who can sympathize with

our weakness. And so we can boldly come to the

throne of grace. If that is Jesus' position,

he sits on the throne of grace. It's an authority

of grace. And we may because he can sympathize

with us. We can boldly come before His throne

of grace. Here's the question. Is your wife able

to boldly come before you and find what she needs?

Mercy, grace, and help in the time of need. Go

back and read all of Hebrews 4. Here's my question.

Can she boldly come to your throne of grace?

Is your anger, irritation, impatience and lack

of understanding barriers for your wife or your

children to come to you regarding absolutely

anything they have need of even if it's a repetitive

issue. I want you to thank men for just a second

how every one of us go again and again to Jesus

knowing that he loves us and he wants us to come.

even in our needs, even in our difficulties,

even when we have sinned against Him, He wants

us to come to us, us to come to Him. Likewise,

man, you need to be from that throne. Your throne

is the throne of grace. Do you forget the frame?

or even the circumstances of your wife. We're

commanded by God to know our wife's frame, her

burdens, and sin, and still live with her in

understanding because we are heirs together in

the grace of life. That is your realm. Man, you

are undermining and destroying your household

if your throne is not a throne of grace. Where

your wife and your children can boldly approach

you We want to teach respect in decorum But are

you granting respect in decorum so that you can

bestow grace and mercy and help Just as in keeping

As Jesus talks about loving your neighbor as

yourself and forgiving others as God forgives

you, here in 1 Peter, there is a caveat, there

is a condition. If you do not live with your

wife in this gracious understanding tethered

to God's word, your prayers can and most likely

will be hindered. Thus, by not loving your wife

as yourself, You are bringing harm to yourself

in all that you are attempting to accomplish,

even if you think it is for God's glory. You

might have all kinds of grand plans for God's

glory. Remember we talked about this before,

right? Marriage is meant for the glory of God

and the benefit of the world. But if the trial

is your marriage, If you're not reigning from

a throne of grace, you've created this barrier

in here. You're not living in understanding and

care so that you can bestow the grace of God

that He's so graciously given to you. You're

this way. Remember, you're kind of doing this.

You're looking out at the world. And God, I want

to take the world for Jesus. I want to expand

the kingdom of heaven to your glory while trampling

on your co -hearing Christ, your wife. Jesus

doesn't do that. Your prayers that you're offering

up for all the things you're trying to do for

God's glory will be hindered. You cannot separate

God's glory from the pattern of Jesus's love

Are you hearing me men? Jesus loves his church

for the glory of God and the good of the world

through the church Which means you're gonna glorify

God Thinking about how to transform the world

through your wife and what your wife produces

your children. Following these thoughts on Christ's

love demonstrated in selfless fidelity and authority,

we're now going to think about this third and

last thing here today. We are to love our wives,

utilizing our realm to bestow gifts that promote

fruitfulness. We're to love utilizing our realm,

what God has given us, to bestow gifts that promote

fruitfulness. Again, for about the 50th time

this summer, fruitfulness is not just having

kids. I'm ecstatic that we're having lots of

kids here. But you want your wife and your children

that you already have to be fruitful and the

fruit of the Spirit to have confidence in Christ

Jesus So that they can stand their post and do

good Trust God and do good We're always looking

for the grand gesture and we lack faithfulness

and the small things each and every day If we're

living in the promise of unhindered prayers,

we are obeying Christ Jesus in regards to our

wives. And because of that, we are now strengthened

and united together to take dominion and be fruitful

together. Husbands, does the environment of your

marriage and household promote the abundant flourishing

of the fruit of the Spirit? Look up the fruit

of the Spirit. You don't know them. You don't

have them memorized. Look them up. More than

that. Study them. Post them in your house. If

that's what your children are supposed to be

fruitful, then post that in your house. If it's

not posted and you don't talk about it all the

time. Right? Boy, I sure would like to have a

good lunch this afternoon. Wait. If I'm going

to have a good lunch, I have to determine what

I want, make a list, go to the store, come home,

cook it, set up the table, eat it, and then I

can enjoy the feast. Or someone has to do that,

right? But the point of that is, you don't get

to the feast, you don't get to the fruitfulness

without effort and planning. Right? If it's a

new recipe, I've got to ask people questions.

How do you do this? My kids know I'm kind of

the meat guy at our house. My daughters are constantly

calling me, Dad, what about this and meat? They're

asking me some question. How long? What temperature?

How do I season this? What do I do over here?

Is there anything I need to do differently? Or

the occasional, hey, it's past the expiration

date. Can I still use it? And then I ask a series

of questions. But here's what I'm trying to drive

at. Men, if you are wanting the fruit of the

Spirit to flourish in your wife and in your children,

you've got to plant that. And you've got to have

a plan. And you have to measure what's coming

out. You have to live them out yourself. So here's

the question. I'm going to just read them. Stay

with me now. I know we're getting a little long,

but this is important. Is your house flourishing

in love? Well, that's the purpose of this sermon,

gentlemen. How about joy? I promise you this.

You know, we have this idea that if Mama ain't

happy, ain't nobody happy. There's some elements

of the truth to that, but I promise you, if you

come in the door from your job or you come out

of your, you're working from home and you come

out of your office and there's not joy in your

heart, if there's not the light in what you see

there in your wife and your children, it's all

gone. It's all going downhill. Peace. Is there

peace in your household? What about long suffering?

I bet I asked that question. Everybody put their

hand. There's long suffering in my house. Yeah,

but is it long suffering with love, joy, and

peace? Or are you embittered? God, why are you

doing this to me? Or wife, why are you doing

this? Children, why are you inconveniencing me?

Hear the problem here? Where is Jesus in any

of that? Is there kindness in your home? I'm

not talking about niceness, false flattery. I'm

talking about is there genuine kindness, condescending

for blessing? Pointing people to Jesus and the

Lord is their goodness, faithfulness, gentleness.

All of that emanates out of the last one, self

-control. Think back to that throne. Can they

boldly approach you? Is your throne the throne

of a tyrant? A wand of grace and mercy and a

place of help in the time of need. You reap what

you sow. Are you sowing the love of Christ? Speaking

and living towards your wife as Christ loves

the church? Consider these two proverbs. I've

read them many times. They're right beside each

other. And the Holy Spirit doesn't do anything

by accident. But I bet if you first read them

you didn't see how they were connected Proverbs

18 21 Death and life are in the power of the

tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit

Okay, so there's power in your tongue There's

death and life The next verse says he who finds

a wife Finds a good thing and obtains favor from

the Lord Man if you have found a wife God has

said you have found a good thing and that you

have obtained favor from the covenant God who

keeps his word This morning we've all been joyfully

amazed at Christ Jesus love for us May we all

press more and more into Jesus. We have seen

and heard the good news that Jesus delights in

his bride. Dearly beloved, Jesus delights in

you all. Husbands, do not dismay, for this is

true for you in your marriage. If we did a report

card on these questions, if we're all honest,

We need more Jesus. We need more of the Spirit's

help to make that authority that God has given

us to be a throne of mercy and grace that our

wives and children may know Jesus more. We need

that more. Don't have dismay. This love is for

you. Jesus love is for you Jesus the lights in

you and Has given you all you need to do his

will and I'm gonna show this to you by closing

out with this by saying be assured by Jesus own

words Found in Luke chapter 12 again. It's another

Luke 12 · chapter mention

set of verses that we have chopped up and cut

up We haven't put together because there's a

paragraph break. Luke 12, 31, but seek the kingdom

of God, and all these things shall be added to

you. And that's usually where we end the thought,

but the next verse is so important. Do not fear,

little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure.

That is the light. to give you the kingdom. Whatever

fears you have in being able to fulfill these

obligations, man, look to Jesus because God delights

in you and he is going to give you his kingdom.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, it is with joyful

hearts we thank you for the love of Jesus which

passes all understanding. Fill us we pray with

the love and obedience for you and for your glory

and the benefit of the world Make us to be a

fruitful image of Christ and his church in our

marriages That the gospel may be proclaimed to

all those whom you place in our lives Heavenly

father we ask you to extend your kingdom until

all your enemies are put under your feet we ask

all this for the sake of Jesus your son who reigns

with you in the Holy Spirit world without end

amen