Samuel: The Kingmaker - Week 1

Well, welcome to Church of the Crossing. My name is Andrew, and

I'm so glad that she decided to be here today. We begin a message

series today called The Kingmaker, and this series is all about the life of

Samuel, because Samuel was a prophet chosen by God to anoint and select the

first kings of Israel, like King Saul and King David, and God used

Samuel to anoint them. And Samuel's story begins when he was born as a

little baby. Many of you know that I'm waiting for the arrival of my

baby. If you and I haven't met, my wife, Lauren is pregnant

with our first baby boy. He's due this Saturday. So we've been waiting.

Any day now he's gonna arrive, and we've had to make a lot

of preparations. We've had to make a lot of decisions as we get ready

for this baby. Just last week we were at the doctor appointment and the

doctor had a lot of questions for me. The doctor said, Andrew,

when Lauren goes into labor, what are you gonna do, Where are you

gonna drive, who are you gonna call? What number are you gonna die?

When you get to the hospital. What door are you gonna go in?

I felt like I was being interrogated. I stared wide eyed, like

a deer in headlights, and embarrassingly, I said, I don't know.

And after that appointment, Lauren signed us up for a counseling appointment. I'm

kidding, but that's been my answer to a lot of questions recently. I

don't know what I don't know. And the big question I've been asked is

what will be the baby's name? You want to guess my answer, I

don't know. I'm hoping that when he's born, he'll come with a name

tag on and introduce himself. Truthfully, we have a few names in mind,

and we're trusting that when we see him and meet him, will know

which is a right fit for him. You know, your name is one

of the most personal things about who you are. I wonder if your name

has any special meaning. Were you named after somebody, named after a relative

or any Is there significance behind your name? Your name is a personal part

of your identity and who you are. Just think about it. How does

it feel when somebody remembers your name? How do you feel when someone calls

you by name or they know your name, it makes you feel special,

makes you feel valued. And conversely, how does it feel when somebody forgets

your name? Or even worse, when somebody acts like they know your name,

but obviously they have forgotten it and they say, hey, pow or

nice to see a sport. You know, like they forget your name.

When I was a youth pastor, I had two sisters, identical twin sisters

in our youth ministry, and they tortured me to try and remember which name

went to which twin. They would interrupt me, they would embarrass me in

front of other people, and they would say which one am I? Can

you tell us a part whose name is who? And one time I was

super embarrassed because I got their names wrong, and one of the twins pointed

out her neck and said, I'm wearing a necklace with my name on it.

Your name is a personal part of who you are. Your name is

a personal part of your identity, your value. Have you ever wondered if

God knows your name? Have you ever wondered does God know who I am?

Does God care about me? Out of all the billion billions people in

the world? Does God know who I am? Out of all the billions

and billions you lived through history in the centuries. Does God even know who

I am? Or am I just a number to him? Am I just

a blip to him? Does God even care about what I care about?

Or know my pain or know what I've been through? Well, I'm here

to tell you that, Yes, God knows your name, and God knows

your situation, and God cares about you than you can even imagine. You

can know God in a personal relationship. You can have a friendship with God,

just like Samuel did. Samuel's story begins when he's a baby. See,

Samuel's mom was unable to have children, and she prayed to God for

a miracle, begging God to do a change in her life. And God

heard her prayer. And here's what we read in First Samuel one, verse

twenty. In the course of time, Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to

a son, and she named him Samuel, saying because I asked the Lord

for him. So Samuel's name is a translated word that means heard by God.

That's literally the definition of Samuel heard by God. Now this is ironic

because Samuel has a supernatural gift to hear from God. His name means heard

by God. But his gift, his calling, was he could hear from

God. Samuel became an incredible prophet who heard the voice of God. In

fact, Samuel is the first man in the Bible called a prophet, after

the great prophet Moses. And so Samuel could hear from God. He knew

God's voice. He could communicate to the nation of Israel what God was saying.

We read in Chapter three, verse nineteen, the Lord was with Samuel

as he grew up, and let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground.

In all Israel, from Dan to Bersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as

a prophet of the Lord. He was a prophet. He could hear God's

voice. Not only was Samuel this powerful prophet, Samuel was a great leader.

He was a judge over the nation. Judges led the nation before there

were kings. He was also a general. He led the military in battle.

He was a priest. He represented the people before God in worship.

And Samuel was the king maker. When God anointed Saul and David to be

the king's it was Samuel who chose them. It was Samuel who selected them.

How did Samuel do all these great things? Where did his power?

Where did his influence come from? It came from his personal relationship with God,

the Father. He knew God. Look at this text and verse first

Samuel two, verse twenty six. The boy Samuel continued to grow in stature

and in favor with the Lord. God's favor was upon Samuel. Do you

want more of God's favor in your life? Do you want more of God's

blessing in your life? Do you want more of God's favor upon your family?

Do you want God's favor in your marriage? You want God's favor in

your career and your education? Do you want God's favor over your health?

Do you want more of God's love in your life? I think many of

us want if we were asked, yes, I want God's favor. So

what is God's favor? I believe the favor of God God is more of

God's presence in your life. That's what the favor of God is, more

of God's presence in your life. Now, I want to be really clear,

Here's why I say it's more of God's presence. Yes, God's favor

is demonstrated in all the ways that he blesses us. God provides for us.

God protects us. He preserves your health, He protects your family.

He provides for your needs. God gives you blessings and gifts and rewards.

God does all these great things. Yes, that is a sign of his

favor, but do not worship the gifts above the gift giver. His favor

is when we receive more of his presence, when we know him intimately,

when we know him personally. God wants a relationship with you. You can

walk with God, you can know God. You can hear from God.

God wants to hear from you. And that's why the big idea of this

message. There's one point I want to encourage you to remember today, and

that is the Father personally invites you into his presence. It's a personal invitation.

It's a personal relationship because God is not just some distant god, a

star out in the universe. He is intimately personally invested in you, and

he invites you into his presence, just like he did Samuel. Notice in

verse twenty one in our text, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence

of the Lord. Samuel is in the presence of the Lord, the king

maker lived in the presence of the Lord. Now you may not be a

king maker like Samuel, but the King of kings has invited you into a

relationship with him. He's invited you into his presence because we only have access

to the presence of God because of Jesus. Every single one of us is

separated from God because of our sin. You are marred by sin, you

are damaged by sin. You don't have access to God, you don't have

contact with God. You and I are on worthy of knowing God. That's

why Jesus came. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price

for all of our sin so we can be forgiven. And when Jesus rose

from the dead, he secured your relationship with God the Father, so that

you can hear from God, so that you can know God, so that

you can listen to God and have a relationship with him. See the Gospel.

The good News of Jesus is about how God comes to meet you where

you are. The good news is not about how you get up to God's

level. It's about how God comes to us. God meets you in your

brokenness. God meets you in your pain, in your loss. God meets

you in your sin. God meets you in your rebellion, in your cynicism.

He meets you and he invites you to know him. God meets you

where you are. The Father personally invites you into his presence. As we

look at the life of Samuel, I believe that there are two qualities that

we can learn from Samuel about the presence of God. Those who live in

the Father's presence are consistent and available. These are the two qualities that we

see, consistent and available. And we're gonna see these two qualities in Samuel's

life. When Samuel was a boy, he was consistent. Look at verse

eleven. The boy ministered before the Lord under Eli, the priest. Now

Eli was the chief priest in the house of the Lord, and so Samuel

worked for Eli. Basically, Samuel was an intern for Eli. Have you

ever worked as an intern or have you ever employed an intern? You know,

interns don't get a lot of glory, They don't get a lot of

credit. Interns don't get paid very much if they sometimes don't get paid at

all. But what does every intern here? They hear the same things.

This is gonna look great on your resume or you're building character or you're gaining

valuable experience. Right. I know all the internship cliches because I've been an

intern and I've employed interns. When I was a youth pastor, I had

a young lady intern working with me, and she was committed to the Lord,

she was committed to serving, she loved the church. She was dependable.

And as we work together, I began to develop romantic feelings for this

young lady. And so what did I do well? I naturally increased the

frequency of our internship training meetings so I could see her. And it didn't

take her long to start to develop some feelings as well. And her name

was Lauren, and we've been married now for almost ten years. Lauren got

more than a resume build her out of that internship. Samuel was a young

intern serving consistently. Just look at some of these examples in our text.

Verse eighteen, Samuel was ministering before the Lord on the boy Samuel grew in

the presence of the Lord. Verse twenty six, the boy Samuel continue to

grow in stature and in favor. Verse one, the boy Samuel ministered before

the Lord under Eli again and again. He's faithful he's consistent, he's serving,

he's obeying repeatedly. Samuel is consistent. Here's what that means for you

and me. Those who consistently seek the Father consistently receive more of his presence.

Those who consistently seek the Father consistently receive more of his presence. I

often hear some Christians complain that they don't feel God's presence, that they don't

hear from God, that they don't know God's voice. And my question is,

how consistent are you? How consistently are you gathering in weekly worship like

we're doing today. How consistent are you to open God's word and let the

words of the Bible get into your heart. Now, I wanna be really

clear. I'm not saying that more church attendance or more Bible reading is gonna

earn you more of God's love. God's love comes to us because of grace.

It's a gift, because of what Jesus did on the cross. That's

our gift. I'm talking about spiritual growth. I'm not talking about salvation.

It just makes logical sense that those who consistently seek the Father are gonna receive

more of the Father. Those who are consistently worshiping God, weak in and

week out, are gonna know God more than those who only go to church

when it's convenient. It just makes sense that those who are consistently reading God's

word daily and praying to God throughout the day, they're gonna know the heart

of God more than someone who doesn't make time to talk to him. Those

who are consistently serving and serving and working in God's kingdom, they're just gonna

know who God is and have more of Him than those who don't serve.

It's just logical. Those who consistently seek the Father consistently receive more of his

presence. Samuel was an inter consistently serving, consistently faithfully honoring God, obeying

God, and Samuel was not distracted by other people, even some of his

coworkers who did not love God. Samuel had two coworkers in the house of

the Lord, and they were the two sons of Eli, the high priest.

And these two sons were wicked, wicked people. We've read this in

our text Verse twelve. Eli's sons were scoundrels. Everyone say scoundrels. They

had no regard for the Lord. You got to be a pretty bad person

if the Bible calls you a scoundrel verse seventeen. The sin of the young

men was very great in the Lord's sights, for they were treating the Lord's

offering with contempt. If you keep reading, you'll notice that Eli's two sons,

they took advantage of the poor, they manipulated their religious power, and

they often sexually abused women. These guys were wicked, But look at verse

eighteen. But Samuel was ministering before the Lord. In contrast, by comparison,

these guys are wicked, but Samuel's consistent. Samuel is faithful. He's

consistently serving the Lord. You may have heard me share before about the influence

my grandfather had on my life. He passed away many years ago, but

he was an example of someone who consistently served the Lord, consistently sought after

the Lord. My grandfather was a business owner. He worked in construction and

in real estate. And each day my grandfather would arrive at the office before

any of his employees showed up, before any of the business of the day

began, and he had one meeting at the beginning of every day, and

that was with the Lord. He sat at his desk and he opened his

Bible, and he spent time in the presence of the Lord, and he

prayed, and he listened to the voice of the Father. My grandfather told

me that in those meetings with God, he heard from God about wisdom when

to say know, when to say yes. He told me that his favorite

book of the Bible was the Book of Proverbs. My grandfather often said that

you can find a solution or advice for nearly every problem or decision in your

life in the Book of Proverbs. In those meetings he found wisdom that would

protect his company from bankruptcy or even other harm, legal harm. He sat

in the presence of the Lord consistently. And then when my grandmother was diagnosed

with cancer, my grandfather was desperate, and each day he would consistently meet

with God, and God would give him courage and give him strength to face

the trial. And then when things got worse and my grandmother moved into the

hospital and it looked like the end was near, my grandfather changed his meeting

place with God to meet every day in the chapel at the hospital. And

I remember when I asked my grandfather about those days, he said to me,

sometimes I said to God, I don't know if I can make it

today, but each time God gave me strength for the day when he passed

away. My grandfather when she passed away, my grandfather was heartbroken. He

was depressed after his wife died, and he told me, sometimes I thought

there was nothing that God could do for me. I thought that well was

all dried up. But each time God gave me more strength. He consistently

met with God. He consistently sought the presence of the Lord, and God

consistently met him and spoke to him. My grandfather told me, in my

darkest days, God met me and he walked with me, and he has

continued to walk with me. That's someone who's consistently sought the Lord and consistently

received his presence. James four eighth says, come near to God, and

God will come near to you. Those who consistently seek the Father receive more

of his presence. Remember our big idea, The Father invites you into his

presence. He personally invites you in his presence, like my grandfather heard from

God. Samuel heard from God, Samuel knew the voice of God. When

you spend time in God's presence, you're gonna learn to hear from God.

I want to be really clear, Hearing from God is not something just for

the spiritually elite. Hearing God's voice is not just for people who have seminary

degrees or Bible degrees. You and I can hear God's voice. You and

I can know God's voice. That's why the next point I want to share

today is the Father consistently speaks to those who are available to listen. God

speaks to those of us who are available to listen. Samuel was available,

and one night Samuel heard the voice of God. Look at first Samuel,

Chapter three, starting in verse two. One night, Eli, whose eyes

had become so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his

usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel

was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God

was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, here I am,

and he ran to Eli and said, here I am. You called me,

But Eli said I did not call. Go back and lie down,

so he went and lay down. Samuel thought Eli was calling him, so

he laid down again. In a second time, he heard his name called,

and he went to Eli, but it wasn't Eli. And then the

third time Samuel heard his name called, and he went to Eli in verse

eight. Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli

told Samuel go and lie down, and if he calls, say speak Lord,

for your servant as listening. So Samuel went and laid down in his

place, and the Lord came and stood there calling as at other times Samuel

Samuel, and Samuel said, speak for your servant is listening. The Father

consistently speaks to those who are available to listen. God called to Samuel.

And how did God call him? He called him by name, He said,

Samuel, your name is one of the most personal parts of who you

are. God called him Samuel. He didn't call him hey, servant hey.

In turn, he called him by his name. And what did Samuel

say? He said, I'm available, I'm listening. I'm here. God

calls you by name. Are you available to listen to him? Do you

recognize his voice? Samuel could recognize the voice of the Father because he was

available. He could hear from God because he was listening. You know who

was not listening to God. Eli's two wicked sons, Remember those wicked sons

even when their father warned them, they would not listen, it says in

he says in verse twenty five. His sons, however, did not listen

to their father's rebuke. Samuel was listening to the father. And what did

the father say to Samuel. Well, God, the father told Samuel that

those two sons wickedness had finally caught up with them, that God was going

to avenge the innocent people they had taken advantage of, and God was going

to judge and punish Eli's wicked sons. And then we read in the rest

of our text, verse fifteen, Samuel laid down until morning and then opened

the doors of the House of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli

the vision. Now, I don't blame Samuel for being afraid to tell Eli

what he heard. I mean, he was probably scared to give this bad

news to Eli about his sons. Now, the text says that Samuel laid

down until morning, It doesn't say that Samuel slept until I imagine Samuel did

not sleep at all. I imagine Samuel stayed awake all night, tossing and

turning, trying to decide how am I gonna tell Eli this bad news?

What am I gonna say to Eli, Well, Samuel faithfully obeyed the Lord.

We read in verse eighteen. So Samuel told Eli everything, hiding nothing

from him. Then Eli said, he is the Lord, let him do

what is good in his eyes. And the Lord was with Samuel as he

grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground.

It would have been really easy for Samuel to not say anything to Eli.

It would have been tempting for Samuel to say, well, you know what,

it serves them right. They're wicked, they're evil, they should be

punished. But Samuel obediently, humbly obeyed God and shared what God told him.

And so I wonder, I want to know how did this boy Samuel

have the courage to speak so boldly to Eli. Where did Samuel get the

confidence to share what he had heard? His confidence came because he had been

in the presence of Jesus. I want you to notice something else in this

text. Look at verse ten very closely. In verse ten, it says

the Lord came and stood there, calling, as at other times Samuel Samuel.

The first three times that the Lord called to Samuel, it does not

say that he came and stood. This is the one time it says the

Lord came and stood. Whenever we read about the Lord in an embodied form

like standing here, it's a sign that this is Jesus, the presence of

Jesus, because Jesus is the human form of God, and so Jesus was

physically present with Samuel. Samuel met Jesus face to face. He was in

the presence of Jesus, and Jesus knew his name. So how did Samuel

have the courage to boldly speak to Eli. How did Samuel have the confidence

to lead the army into battle. How did Samuel have the courage to anoint

Saul as king or the boldness to confront saw Sin later? Where did Samuel

have the wisdom to select David as the new king? How did he do

all these great things because he'd been in the presence of Jesus. He had

seen Jesus face to face, he heard Jesus speak his name. Have you

encountered the presence of Jesus? Have you been in the presence of Jesus?

Because when you know Jesus, when you've been in the presence of Jesus,

there is nothing in this life you cannot overcome. There is nothing that you

cannot face because you've been in the presence of Jesus. Because you have been

in Jesus's presence, you will overcome fear. You will conquer shame and sin,

You will defeat discouragement. You will come through the storms of life and

through the trials on the other side. You can be confident in the hospital

room because the presence of Jesus is in the hospital. You can be confident

in the interview, in the meeting because Jesus's presence is in the meeting room.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, if you've been in the presence

of Jesus, you can face whatever this life brings your way because you know

the presence of Jesus, and Jesus knows your name. Have you encountered Jesus?

Have you met Jesus? Those who have been in the presence of Jesus

are able to recognize the father's voice. When you've been in the presence of

Jesus, you can recognize the father's voice. Samuel was a prophet who heard

from God because he'd been in the presence of Jesus. Eli's wicked sons would

not listen their ears were shut off to the things of God because they were

pursuing sin. Often I will sleep at night with the ear plugs, especially

when I'm traveling. If I'm in a hotel or traveling, those earplugs help

me block out the noise outside or on the street, and I can go

to sleep quickly and I can stay asleep. Now I know whether or not

I have earplugs. A newborn baby is gonna dictate my sleeping. Sin can

be like spiritual ear plugs that keep us from hearing God's voice. Our spiritual

ears are blocked up and we can't hear from God. But when you encounter

the presence of Jesus, God removes those ear plugs so that you can recognize

his voice, so that you can hear his voice, so that you can

identify his voice above all the other voices, the voices of the world,

the voices of culture, the voices of social media, the voices of political

talk shows. You can hear the voice of the Father when you remove the

ear plugs. Because you've encountered Jesus, God can speak to us anyway,

to the once, there's nothing that limits God's voice. God's voice can come

to us in visions, in dreams. God can speak to us through angels.

We even read in the Bible how God used a donkey to talk to

Balem. These are incredible and exceptional ways that God speaks to us. In

my experience in following Jesus, I've learned that God primarily chooses to speak to

us in three ways. He speaks to us through the Bible, through his

Holy Spirit, and through trusted believers. These are three common ways that He

speaks to us. See, the more consistently you know God's word, the

more consistently You're gonna hear from him. Two Timothy three p. Sixteen says

that the word of God is useful. It's useful for training, it's useful

for correction. God uses the Bible to teach you. God uses the Bible

to speak to us. So it just makes sense. The more consistently you

know the Bible, the more consistently you're gonna hear God's voice. You're gonna

recognize when God speaks to you. God can also speak to us through his

whole. If you've encountered Jesus, if your faith is in Jesus, then

you have His spirit inside of you. And so God's gonna speak to your

mind. He's gonna speak to your heart. God may give you a prompt,

an impression, a phrase. God Spirit may bring a vision, a

dream. He may bring Bible Verse to mind. What do you do when

you think you've heard from the Holy Spirit? What do you do when you

have had this impression, Well, you take it back to God's word.

You filter it through God's word, making sure that what you're sensing, what

you're hearing, aligns with God's word. Because there are some wrong voices out

there trying to convince us that what they say is truth. Things like fortune

telling or horoscopes, those are not the things of God. Things like palm

reading or tarror cards, those are wicked things that are not of God.

They can actually open the door to more evil things. And in false belief

systems like the New Age and may infestations and crystals, those are not the

things of God. Those are lies. So we have to make sure we're

listening to the right voices. The Holy Spirit always aligns with God's word with

the Bible. God speaks to us through the Bible. He speaks to us

through the Holy Spirit, and God also speaks to us through trusted believers.

I'll tell you how I've seen God use other believers to speak to me.

More than four years ago, when Lauren and I were considering moving to Indianapolis,

we were living in Pennsylvania and Church of the Crossing invited me to come

join the team here, but at the time there was only an invitation for

a role for me and Lorna, and I thought if we moved here,

Lauren would work at a job in the marketplace because of her background in business.

But then shortly after that first invitation, Church of the Crossing had another

opening to manage the Haverstick our coffee shop here on campus, which would be

a great fit for Lauren because of her background in business or background in coffee.

And so I was so excited to tell Lauren about this job opening,

And when I told her, I was concerned because Lauren was not surprised when

I told her, and she said to me, I had a dream that

I was managing the Haverstick coffee shop. Then Laura and I came here and

we visited Church at the Crossing. We met with some of the leaders here,

and we did not tell any of our friends and family in Pennsylvania that

we were thinking about moving. I had a really good friend, Jordan,

in Pennsylvania, and he didn't know that I was thinking about moving. So

after we visited Indy, we went back to Pennsylvania and the very next day

I saw Jordan, and Jordan said to me, I had a strange dream

last night that you moved to Indianapolis. God was using other believers to speak

to me, to encourage me. God can speak to you if you're available

to listen. Those who've been in the presence of Jesus know how to recognize

the Father's voice. They know how to hear from God. Samuel heard from

God because he encountered Jesus, and for the rest of Samuel's life, Jesus

walked with him. The presence of Jesus goes with you wherever you go.

Wherever you're walking, he goes before you, and he comes behind you,

and he's with you. I told you a little bit about my grandfather,

who was faithful to seek the Lord. In twenty seventeen, my grandfather got

really sick and he went into the hospital, and I wanted to make sure

that I saw him one more time before he passed. And so at the

time I lived more than five hours away, and I dropped everything to drive

to see him, and it just so happens that my friend Tim, Pastor

Tim and his wife, they were available to go with me, and they

offered to drive their car, and so Tim came and picked me up at

my house, and I was really surprised that Pastor James was with Tim also,

and James said that he was available and wanted to go with me because

he didn't want me to be alone. My two friends were present with me

when I needed the presence of some really good friends. Jesus goes with you

wherever you go. He goes before you when you may not see the next

step in front of you, when everything feels disoriented and confusing, he goes

before you, and he comes behind you, and he's on your left and

he's on your right. There's a psalm that says, though you may stumble,

you will not fall, because the presence of Jesus is walking with you.

As we end today, you may be listening to this, and as

you look at your life and as you consider where you're at and where you've

come from, it's possible that someone here is listening, and you realize you

don't have a relationship with God. You don't know the Father's voice. You

haven't been in the presence of Jesus. I know what that feels like.

Many years ago, when I was in a pit of depression, when I

was chained by my addiction and full of bitterness, I was far from God.

But God met me where I was. I encountered Jesus and I said,

Jesus, take control of my life. And he completely changed me and

transformed me. I've encountered Jesus. And today, if you want to encounter

Jesus, I wonder if he's calling your name right now. I wonder if

he's meeting you right now, right where you are. He meets you in

your brokenness, he meets you in your sin, he meets you in your

rebellion, and he invites you personally into his presence. And so I want

to invite all of us to respond to what we've heard today. Would you

bow your head and close your eyes with me? And as we pray.

The first invitation is for anyone here who wants to have a genuine relationship with

God. I invite you to pray this simple prayer in your heart, say,

Dear God, I admit that I'm a and I need your forgiveness.

I believe Jesus died for me and rose from the dead to save me,

and today I confess Jesus's lord of my life. Welcome me into your presence,

God. And now I want to pray for all of us. Whether

you just prayed that prayer and you're starting a new relationship with God, or

if you've been walking with Jesus for decades, I want to pray that he

would release more of his presence in your life. And while I pray,

if you want to receive more of God's presence, I encourage you just hold

your hands in front of you palms up. This is a posture of receiving.

God releases more of his presence to those who are in a posture,

not those who are in a position. And so God, I pray that

you would release more of your presence, that you would release more of your

favor. While I'm praying, I just get the sense that there might be

somebody here who needs to hear these words that God wants you to know.

It's gonna be okay. I don't know who that's for, but it's gonna

be okay. I know that in this room that there are families that are

struggling, and so God, we pray more of your presence into those struggles,

more presence into the confusion. God, I know that there are some

who are hearing this and they're trying to just get by, trying to scrape

things together. God, would you at least more of your favor, more

of your provision, into their lives. God, thank you for your goodness

and your grace, and most of all, we thank you for Jesus.

And it's in his name we pray Amen.