The life and faith of Abraham. Part 10 – The destruction of Sodom. Gen 19.

Well, times change, don't they? And

they're changing pretty quickly. Or

maybe I'm just getting old. You know, it

just feels like everything's just

changing so quickly. What you could say

a few years ago, you can't say anymore.

Perhaps those of us who uh got

grandparents or those in the older

generation, um the way they speak

sometimes can be a little bit shocking.

And if you're older, you think, I don't

know what I can say anymore. I don't

know what I can't say. If you're

younger, you think, "No, don't say that.

You're not allowed to say that." And

there's this whole thing cuz everything

is different. Some things are

unacceptable to say these days. I don't

need to tell you that our children are

growing up in a very different world to

to the one that many of us grew up in.

And a big area of change is sexuality.

However, as as advanced as we are in

many areas,

I don't think our world has ever been

more confused

about these things as it is today.

The message of the education system and

the media is that you can be whatever

you want to be.

You can love whoever you want to love

and roide to anyone who doesn't

celebrate that with you or who dares to

disagree with you or even raises a

concern about the things that are

happening.

So much so that any public figure risks

their career if they speak openly about

sexuality in a way that the vocal

minority doesn't approve of.

So what was once outrageous

and clearly wrong in the eyes of many

people has slowly become the accepted

norm.

So that now new generations

say no no no you can't say that that's

wrong.

But can what is right or wrong be

dependent on a particular culture's view

at that precise moment in time? Even our

tastes change, don't they? So our tastes

in in clothes change. So what was super

snazzy a few years ago is no longer

as good. And and in fact, you look silly

or outdated wearing that fat tie or that

thin tie or however it is. You know,

trousers change. It all changes, doesn't

it?

Music style changes, TV styles change,

expectations, tech changes, language

changes from country to country, from

decade to decade. Thoughts, tastes,

opinions change. So is human sexuality

and morality just like fashion? You

know, it comes and it goes and it

changes and we just have to accept that.

Well, what I'll be saying today isn't

acceptable today to today's generation,

and it's certainly not my intention to

offend or upset anyone.

Many of us are touched by these things.

Perhaps some of us struggle with some of

these issues ourselves. And if we don't

ourselves, then we certainly will know

people who struggle with some of these

issues.

But the Bible clearly lays out what is

right and wrong. And this comes from our

maker. What he says will not go out of

fashion. It's not based just on who has

the loudest voice

or on what a fickle culture happens to

decide for five minutes.

And so when we come to the Bible and

hopefully we can move on to the next

slide there. When we come to the Bible,

we need to understand this. We don't

judge God's word by our standards, but

we judge our standards by God's word.

It's important we get that. Otherwise,

we're going to go wrong. Okay? We don't

judge God's word by our standards. We're

not here, the moral elite, having

arrived looking down on God's word

saying, "Oh, no." We judge our standards

and our thinking by God's words.

At the end of May, we started this

series looking at the life and faith of

Abraham and we took a break over the

summer and we had those summer psalms

and we did leave it on a bit of a

cliffhanger. So, let's just quickly

recap. Abraham had been plucked from a

pagan country from obscurity from not

knowing God in he'd been met with God

had been told to leave his old life

behind and embark on a adventure of

faith with God. And God graciously gave

Abraham many wonderful, amazing, huge

promises and most of which hinged on

Abraham having a child which he didn't

have. Not even yet.

And uh things were desperate for Abraham

and Sarah because they were really old.

It was getting a bit absurd really. So

it got to the point where rather than

trusting what God said, they decided to

do something about themselves. And so

Abraham gained for himself a a a child

through Sarah's servant, Hagar.

But Ishmael wasn't the child of the

promise. God said, "No, it's not through

him. Your wife Sarah, she will yet have

a child, and the promises will come

through him. that's the one through whom

whom the blessing will come. But they

were so old and Sarah was having a

really hard time accepting this and

believing this. And so in chapter 18,

the Lord appeared to Abraham with two

with with two angels and promised that

this time next year, Sarah, your wife

will will have a child. You'll have a

son.

And um Abraham sort of gave them a meal

and it was a special moment. And as

those two angels left to head off

towards Sodom, the Lord lingered and

stayed behind to give Abraham the chance

to inquire about what was going on. And

the Lord told him. And then um Abraham

was able to pray, "Lord, would you spare

that city for the sake of say 50

righteous? Would you spare the city?"

And God said, "Yeah, I'll spare the

city. Would you spare it for 45, for 40,

for 30?" And and he whittleled him down.

and and the Lord is willing to spare the

city for the sake of just 10 righteous.

And then the action cuts to Sodom. And

that's where we pick up our story and

our first point, the sinful situation.

When the two investigative angels arrive

at Sodom, Lot is there in the gateway of

the city. That was a place of honor uh

where the distinguished people would

sit. And it seems he's become fully

integrated into that society. Remember

when he first moved in that direction,

he he just camped near the city. Now

he's in the gates of the city. He's got

a house in the city. He has integrated

himself into that culture.

And he's become a man of standing,

perhaps even a magistrate or judge of

some sort. And Lot is fully aware of the

depravity of the people among whom he

lives. In verse three, when the angels

refuse the offer of shelter for the

night, he insists so strongly, it's to

the point of rudeness. He's literally

pressing them and pushing them towards

his house. He's going beyond an

invitation. He's not taking no for an

answer. He's saying, "No, you cannot

stay here. You must come back to my

house. You can't stay here." Why? Well,

culture that the culture was of

hospitality was taken very seriously

back then. But that's not it. This is

more than that. It's because he knows

what his city is like.

The message translation paraphrase um

translates uh chapter 18 verse 20 as the

cries of the victims are deafening.

The cries of the victims of this city

are deafening. If they had reached

heaven, they would have reached Lot. He

knew what was going on. We see from

second Peter chapter 2:7,

Lot, a righteous man who was distressed

by the depraved conduct of the lawless.

Um, for that righteous man living among

them day by day, was tormented in his

righteous soul by the lawless deeds he

saw and heard. So Lot knew exactly what

was going to happen to the these

visitors if they stayed overnight in

Sodom unprotected in the square.

So what was going on?

Well, as the story unfolds, we see that

the town wanted to rape these two men.

Now many people try to explain away

what's happening in these verses

and unfortunately their motives don't

come from a godly desire to submit

themselves to God's word or to genuinely

seek the truth. It comes because

speaking about God's truth in our

culture is deeply unpopular and it wins

you no friends.

It also may come from a desire to excuse

their own desires.

Because if you want something and you

know God's word speaks against it, what

you have to do is either change yourself

or you need to change God's word.

For example, some people suggest that

the townsmen merely wanted to just get

to know them. You know, perhaps check

out their credentials.

And it's true that the language of

knowing can mean that. But readers of

Genesis will be familiar with how know

is often used in the Bible. So uh

Genesis 4:E1.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife and she

conceived. Do you understand what's

being said there? He knew her and a baby

was on the way. And contextually, it's

very clear what's going on. Lot calls

their intentions in verse 7 a wicked

thing. And by their own admission in

verse 9, they plan to mistreat these

guests. And why would Lot offer his

daughters to perclate these towns people

if there was nothing serious happening?

And why after all this does judgment

fall? All this seems a bit over the top.

if all they were suggesting is I just

need to see your passport and let's get

a beer together. It's it's laughable,

isn't it?

Another objection is that homosexuality

per se isn't the issue here, but male

rape.

And that is true. What makes this

situation especially evil is the sexual

violence.

However,

however, inexcusably,

Lot offers the crowd his own two

daughters

to endure the same sexual violence that

the guys were going to face.

So, as abhorrent as that is,

he sees offering up his his daughters as

the lesser of two evils. Now, we

wouldn't agree with him on that, but

that's how he sees it. And the point I'm

trying to make is it's not just the

sexual violence aspect

because he's willing to give his

daughters to face that to save these

guys.

And actually, it doesn't have to be one

or the other. Both elements are sinful.

So Jude verse 7 speaks about how Sodom

indulged in sexual immorality and

pursued unnatural desire or unnatural

flesh. And in that passage, there's no

mention of the violence. Romans 1 makes

it clear that homosexuality

is unnatural and sinful and goes against

God's design for human sexuality.

So yes, horrific uh sexual violence had

become the acceptable practice in that

place. That's undeniable that had been

normalized in that place. But just in

case we imagine that homosexuality

um isn't an issue here and that maybe

it's okay in a loving relationship,

first Timothy chapter 1 lists the

1 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

practicing of homosexuality

along with loads of other sins as

contrary to sound doctrine.

So in Sodom there was widespread

homosexuality

and there was sexual violence. They had

both become the norm and both are

sinful.

So when we come to the Bible and its

teaching on homosexuality, we only have

a few options open to us. Firstly, we

can reject what God says because we

don't like it. though bearing in mind he

did make us so he knows what is best for

us but we can choose to reject that.

Secondly we can embark on mental and

grammatical gymnastics to try and

reinterpret all the passages that

mention it and they might sound quite

convincing at first until you look into

them properly.

Or thirdly, we can accept the plain

reading of the text and accept that God

says that practicing homosexuality is

wrong. And if at some point I or my

culture differs from that, it's me who

needs to change, not God, not his word.

This is part of Christian submission.

When we say you are Lord, we are saying

you know best and I will obey you. I

will submit yourself to you. We don't

say you are Lord except for this bit

where I just firmly disagree with you on

that.

This goes for any other matter we might

find difficult because of our cultures

position. So the roles of men and women,

gender and identity,

who should I be in a relationship with?

The right use of sex, of alcohol, of

other substances. All of these things

are to be governed by the one who made

us and who knows what's best for us.

And all of that might sound really heavy

and hard. But do you know it's actually

a blessing

because in a world that is so confused,

doesn't know who we are or what we are,

if we listen to God, we can know clarity

and not confusion. If we listen to God,

we understand

that's how things are. That's how things

should be.

Does it really matter?

Can't we just ignore God and just just

carry on as we are? What's the big deal?

Well, let's think about that in our our

next point. The weighing and the wroth.

Let's just remember what happened back

in chapter 18:E1 17. The Lord was having

a conversation with Abraham uh or with

himself at this point. He says, "Shall I

hide from Abraham what I am about to

do?" And why did the Lord reveal to

Abraham what he was about to do? The

Lord didn't have to do it. He could have

just gone on with it and done it and

Abraham could have found out later.

Well, if the Lord had suddenly destroyed

Sodom without anything being said,

Abraham would have wondered, "What on

earth happened? Why did that happen?"

Now, this comes just after God's charge

to Abraham in chapter 18:1 19 to command

Abraham's children in the ways of the

Lord. And here we have an illustration

of what it looks like when a people go

away from the Lord. They've gone totally

away from the Lord, Sodom. And so,

Abraham, take note. If you don't

instruct your ways in the the ways of

your children in the ways of the Lord,

the end result will be this. And it's

it's it's awful. So, take it seriously.

This is a stark warning of what happens

when a people disregard God's ways. If

nothing else, this account teaches us

how seriously God views sin. Sin isn't a

life option.

It's deadly rebellion.

But even in the face of this rebellion,

rebellious people, this wickedness, the

Lord invites Abraham's please for mercy.

He doesn't say, "No, no, no, not we're

not going to have mercy." He, "Yeah, I

will be merciful."

He's willing for the sake of just 10 to

spare the whole city.

So, it's not for a lack of mercy that

judgment fell on this city. It's because

of the sin that judgment fell on this

city. Don't be fooled. Sin is deadly

serious. Our culture says it doesn't

really matter. God says yes, it does.

So God loves mercy,

but he won't tolerate sin.

We tend to think if an issue doesn't

hurt somebody or hurt anybody else, you

know, it's okay. But our sin is first

and foremost against God. Now all sin is

deadly

but some sin

is worse than others.

For example, when speaking to Pilate,

Jesus said, "He who delivered me over to

you has the greater sin." Do you see?

Has the greater sin. There was a sin

that was bad, but not quite as bad. And

there was a sin that was bad and worse.

has the greater sin. God isn't unjust

blanket punishing everybody who's done

like that amount of sin or that amount

of sin. You all get the same. God is

just. No one wants to be a sinner. No

one wants to be facing punishment for

for sin for that is that is all deadly.

But God is just.

And there is this concentration of evil

in this place that is such an outcry to

God that to uphold what is right and

just, God must act.

So God sends two angels to investigate.

And we might wonder, well, if God knew,

if God heard the outcry, why does he

need to send these two angels to

investigate what's going on? It could,

he knew already. Well, firstly, he sent

them to save Lot and his family.

It wasn't just on a mission of judgment.

It was a mission of mercy. They gone

there to save Lot and his family. It's

amazing the lengths that God has goes to

to save his people. Sometimes, if you're

here,

it's because God is at work in your

life. He's drawn you here.

He's giving you the chance to hear and

be saved.

God is at work. He's working mercy in

your life even right now.

So that's the first reason he sent the

angels because they were there to save

Lot. Secondly, it was to demonstrate to

Abraham and any other wouldbe objectors.

God's justice isn't administered from

afar without all the facts and all the

details. No, God sent the angels. They

go into that situation. They experience

that situation firsthand. They know when

a decision when a judgment is made it is

because God knows and Abraham had to see

that. So when we come to this account of

God's wroth and judgment we need to bear

in mind God was willing to be merciful

and spare the whole city for the sake of

even just 10 righteous. And secondly he

didn't make an uninformed decision. The

judge sent undercover investigators to

the crime scene.

And what did they find? Did they find

50?

Did they find 40 righteous? Did they

find 30? Did they find 20 righteous? Did

they even find just 10 righteous people

in that city? The language is very

clear. Chapter 19:4.

But before they lay down, the men of the

city, the men of Sodom, both young and

old, all

all the people to the last man

surrounded the house.

By that inclusion there all the people I

think we're meant to understand from

that that there is not even one

righteous

it's not even one righteous is is all

the people the whole city are involved

in this in one way or another

must be terrifying to have this mob

surrounding your house can you imagine

banging on the walls banging on the

shutters banging on the doors shouting

there's no 999 to call there's no police

there's no help help there's nothing you

can do you are surrounded by a mob who

wants something

and Lot or whatever other his failings

are, he is extremely brave here, he goes

out and tries to talk to them,

but they won't listen. In fact, Lot is

so desperate to avoid this awful sin

that he suggest suggests something

really grotesque. He offers his own

daughters.

And that I think is unthinkable to to

anyone really, isn't it? But I think

what that shows us is that even this

righteous man's thinking

has been affected,

influenced by his culture. So I think we

can appreciate his motives are noble. He

wants to save these visitors, but the

way he goes about doing it is absolutely

unacceptable.

How awful to imagine that was a viable

solution. But he does.

I think that just goes to show that our

thinking

is not immune to the culture we live in.

Don't assume that any of us are morally

neutral as if we can preside over all

the cultures that have ever been and we

are the ones who can made the uh the the

the informed decision. You know, we

we're the ones that we've got it right.

We are the ones who are morally absolute

and we can make that right judgment. No,

because every single one of us are

influenced by our culture and by our

upbringing and by everything around us.

And you know that is why we have to rely

on the word of God because that

transcends culture.

We can't trust our own thinking in this.

We have to go Lord I I don't know. I

think that, I struggle with that, and

that's a problem. But Lord, I submit to

you because you were the one who goes

above everything else.

So, the crowd's uh reaction, what is the

crowd's reaction to Lot's dubious offer?

Verse 9, get out of the way. Who is this

foreigner to judge us anyway? And

they're pushing. They're pressing hard.

They will not stop. They will not

listen. And so, the angelic

investigation becomes an angelic rescue.

They reach out. They pull lots safely

back into the house and they blind the

the men outside. It's disturbing to see

them. The men are still groping for the

door even though they're blind. I mean,

what is that? It's awful, isn't it?

They these these men, they've been found

weighed and and wanting. And so, despite

God's willingness to show mercy, there

weren't even 10 righteous people.

There's barely even one.

Sadly, it's not hard to see some

comparisons with the UK, is it?

These men weren't ashamed of what they

were doing. They had allowed their

sexual desires to run out of control.

So that what was once unthinkable,

slowly and gradually that that became

the norm.

Now thankfully our society is deeply

disapproves of sexual violence.

However,

according to statistics, a huge

percentage of pornography includes

violence of some kind.

So on one hand society public our

society publicly says sexual violence is

unacceptable. We will not tolerate that.

On the other hand, there are many men

who are enjoying watching sexual

violence in private. And do you know

what happens when something is done in

private? It has a way of working its way

out and through the society. You can't

keep them separate. It will come out.

And the danger is what is shocking to us

now will gradually become the norm. And

elements of our society certainly are

proud of homosexuality, aren't they? So

we have the marches, we have the films,

we have the songs, the education, all

telling us it's okay. It's not a sin.

You know, love is love. and and there's

a targeted backlash against anyone who

dares to say actually no that is not the

way things should be.

Taylor Swift sings a song uh called you

need to calm down and that's directed

against anyone who dares to speak out

about these things. Just just calm down,

she sings. Who are you to judge us?

It's true that some Christians haven't

responded with much grace to the the

struggles that people face.

And it's true that the church's reaction

has often not been one of mercy and

compassion.

And and we need to remember that Jesus

didn't treat people in a hateful way.

He didn't humiliate them or abuse them

or insult them. In fact, he was called

the friend of sinners.

They accused him of welcoming sinners.

He ate with them.

So when people are struggling with sin

and confusion and feelings and emotions

that they don't understand or perhaps

even want,

should not we who know how dark our own

pits of sin are be willing to extend

mercy

and grace and love.

But to love someone

means being honest with them, doesn't

it? Jesus never affirmed or celebrated

or excused sin.

He pointed it out. He told people to

leave their life of sin. He warned them

of the consequences of sin.

But the reaction of our culture is the

same as Sodom's. Don't don't don't judge

us. be quiet, calm down, sit down, get

out of our way.

But the consequence of sin, not just

sexual sin, the consequence of all sin,

whether that be great or small, the

consequence of sin is judgment.

It's easy to get under under the collar

about certain obvious sins. But in 1

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 6, homosexuality is

listed alongside other things like

theft, greed, drunkenness, slandering,

and swindling. In Colossians chapter

3:5, Paul says, "Because of these, the

wroth of God is coming."

Because of these, the wroth of God is

coming. And when what we see in Sodom is

the outpouring of God's wroth upon

sinners. Now, God's wroth isn't like

ours. It's not out of control. uh it's

not out of control reaction. It is the

considered and measured reaction of a

holy and righteous God against evil. And

in this account, we clearly see what

happens when people ignore God and just

do what is right in their own eyes. And

so what we need to know is it's what God

says that matters, not what the media

says, not what your friends say, not

what films say or songs say or pop

culture says or anything else. God tells

us what is right and wrong and he is the

judge and he will judge according to

what is truly right. We need to know

that and understand that otherwise we're

going to get it wrong.

Well, with such a serious fate awaiting

them, Lot is instructed to warn those

who might listen. You've got any other

people in the city? Go warn them. So he

tries to war on his daughter's fiances,

but they think he's joking. How tragic

that is. They think he's joking. How

like today when people just think we're

crazy to talk about these things or

we're old-fashioned or bigoted or

whatever. Just be quiet. Just get out

the way. Just stay in your box. You

know, they think we're joking. They

can't take it seriously. But we still

must warn people, mustn't we? Our

message is exceedingly unpopular.

But with wisdom and compassion and love

and kindness, we must share. There is a

better way.

There is a way of mercy. There is a way

of forgiveness. There is renewal and

transformation in Christ. Justice and

judgment that is part of our message.

But there is also mercy and there is new

life in Christ. For whatever our

struggles are, he can make us new.

But before the judgment fell, even in

Sodom, there was mercy. There was a

rescue. Some will be saved. And that's

our final brief point, the rescue of the

reluctant.

There are probably some things that you

don't really want to run to. You don't

have an urge to do like the hoovering or

the washing up or emptying the bins or

the weeding or the shopping or even

getting out of bed. You know, you might

just think, "Oh, I'll do it later."

And Lot has had all night to get ready.

But when dawn comes, the angels have to

urge him, you know, get up. Could it be

he fell asleep? Could it be he was just

so busy packing all his knick-knacks or

whatever? I don't know. Maybe he's just

lying there just not quite believing.

But in verse 15, they say, "Up. Get out

of here lest you be swept up in the

punishment." And in verse 16, he still

hesitates. So the men grab him by the

hand and lead them to safety. This is

God's mercy. Do you see? By himself,

he's just going to say, "Oh, I don't

know what all the the rush is about. I'm

just going to chill out here for a bit

longer." vers. God says, "No, you need

to go now. Come with me." And that could

be the same as as us. We hear about the

cross. We see God's ways,

but how we can delay walking in them.

But when they're finally out the city,

they're told, "Flee for their lives.

Don't look back. Don't stop." But as we

well know, Lot's wife did look back.

probably

it may not have been just a quick glance

like oh that oh that was a mistake you

know I don't think that was the idea I

think the idea is more of a lingering

look a look of regret [snorts]

a longer look she was probably born in

Sodom she was probably happy there with

the lifestyle happy with their home

happy with all that they enjoyed and

when they left she left her heart there

and she looks back with that longing.

Look, I I don't really want to leave.

Like the Israelites when they had left

slavery in Egypt and then times got

tough and they they looked back with

longing. Oh, do you remember how good it

was back there? When we start following

Jesus, we need to look at him. We don't

look back. We delight ourselves in him.

And so, we resist the call to return to

our old lives because he's going to be

there calling you. Come back. Remember

those pleasures you enjoyed. remember

how you used to enjoy doing those

things. And so what do we do? We can't

just exercise self-control 100% of the

time. We need to replace something that

with something else. And we replace it

with Christ. We look to him. Colossians

chapter 3:2, "Set your minds on things

above that are above, not on things that

are on earth. For you have died and your

life is hidden with Christ in God. When

Christ who is your life appears, then

you also will appear with him in glory."

Set your minds on those things.

But her mind was not set on the Lord. Or

perhaps perhaps she doubted. Perhaps she

doubted that the Lord was actually going

to do that. After all, all she had known

was that place would would this foreign

god, this God of Lot, would he really do

this thing? She had heard of nothing

like that. Can she really take that

seriously? And she's looking there think

I can't see anything yet, Lot. I can't

see anything. Perhaps that can be said

for us. We live in the world. We can't

escape the world. But are we living as

those with that expectation that the

judge, our savior, the Lord Jesus will

return? Perhaps we've got a little bit

too comfortable and we forget that. But

for those who are in Christ, we are just

passing through. This is not our home.

We are passing through this place.

And perhaps our comfort with the world,

perhaps our this is really going to

happen. Is God really going to judge the

world? Perhaps that is shown in our lack

of urgency when it comes to sharing the

gospel.

I wonder if we've really got that I need

to share Jesus. I I need to sh They need

to know about Jesus. Perhaps that's how

we know how seriously we take these

things is how seriously we're sharing

Jesus. Jesus warned in Luke chapter 17.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

It should appear on the screen for us.

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so

also it will be in the days of the son

of man. People were eating and drinking,

marrying and being given in marriage up

to the days of Noah entered the ark.

Then the flood came and destroyed them

all. It was the same in the days of Lot.

People were eating and drinking, buying

and selling, planting and building. But

the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur

rained down from heaven and destroyed

them all.

So we need to be ready. We need to take

God seriously.

We need to warn others of his coming.

For as in the days of Noah, as in the

days of Lot, the day of the Lord is

coming.

I wonder,

are you

ready?

Have you allowed Jesus to grasp your

hand and lead you to the safety of the

cross?

Or are you still dragging your heels

because you're in love with your CNA and

you just really don't want to leave it?

You know, centuries later

is outside another city that all of

these threads come together.

In that place, the only truly righteous

man was hanging on a cross.

And it's because of God's mercy towards

sinners like you and me. God put our sin

upon that one true righteous man. So all

of our sexual sin, all of our lies, our

greed, our pride, our abuse, our

violence, our selfishness, our slander,

all of our lust, all of those things

that we've done. If we are in Christ,

God has taken that sin and he's put it

on the Lord Jesus. And on the cross, God

God poured out his wroth for our sin

onto Jesus so that we could be pardoned

and forgiven and so that we could live.

So the cross is the place of of mercy.

The cross is the place of safety, the

place where the justice of God was

satisfied. Jesus came to rescue you.

He came to rescue you.

You do not have to be swept away in the

coming judgment. So I urge you, don't

put it off.

Don't gamble your eternity.

Don't drag your heels.

Don't look back. Leave what is perishing

and embrace a new life in Jesus. Accept

Jesus. Follow Jesus. Submit to Jesus

and live.

Let's just be quiet before the Lord for

a moment.

Father God, we acknowledge that no one

is righteous. There's not a single

person here that before your allseeing,

all knowing presence can stand up and

saying, "Yeah, I'm righteous."

We all have failed. We have all fallen

short. And Father, we pray for your help

and your mercy. Lord, as we come to

celebrate the cross, Lord, we remember

that we, like everyone, needs

compassion. So, we pray for your help in

these things in Jesus name. Amen.