Our Bodies and Identity

The scripture reading comes from the book of 1st Samuel chapter 16.

Please follow along on the bulletin or on your own Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

The Lord said to Samuel,

How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil and go.

I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.

And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.

And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do.

And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.

The elders of the city came to meet him, trembling, and said, Do you come peaceably?

And he said, Peaceably.

I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.

And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,

because I have rejected him.

For the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel.

And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.

Then Jesse made Shama pass by.

And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.

And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.

And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these.

Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here?

And he said, There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.

And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.

And he sent and brought him in.

Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome.

And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.

And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.

And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

This is the word of God.

Thanks, Annabelle.

Am I on?

Can you guys hear me?

Yeah?

Okay.

Thanks.

Thanks, Niels.

My name is Oscar.

If you don't know me, it's a privilege to be delivering God's word today together as a church family.

To our church family.

Let me pray for us as we dive into God's word.

Father, we come before you, Lord.

And we ask that all of us here, God, myself included, Lord, that our hearts would be with awe,

filled with awe as we look into your word, God, and as we receive your spirit.

Father, I pray, God, that as we look at body again more closely,

and as we look at body and identity today, Lord,

that we would see, Lord, that we are secure in you as children of God.

That you love us.

That you delight in us.

I pray especially, Lord, for those of us today, God, that may struggle a bit with our identity

or with our appearance, how we look.

God, that you would fill our hearts with your love and goodness and security

that can only be found in Jesus.

I pray particularly for our youth who are with us in service today, God.

I pray, Lord, that the eyes of their hearts will be opened to receive your word today,

that they would be impacted by your word, Father.

So we just commend this time, commit this time to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, yeah, we're in week two of a six-week sermon series on body and faith,

where we're looking at what the Bible says about our physical bodies.

Last week, Kevin started us off, and he spoke about our bodies and creation,

showing us that our bodies are not inconsequential.

Our bodies matter.

Our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made by God who knows us intimately and delights in us.

And today, we're going to look at our bodies and identity.

Is there a ringing sound?

Can you guys?

Closer?

Okay.

Is that better?

Is it better?

Okay.

Now, I think that we all know this phrase,

don't judge a book by its cover.

Take any book.

The title may be one word or a phrase, something innocuous,

or maybe something eye-catching.

Maybe there's a photograph on the front of the book or a vague picture.

But until we actually open up the book and read it,

would we appreciate the theme,

would we appreciate the theme, the lesson,

or would we appreciate the writing style, the prose, the poetry?

Until we venture inside the pages,

would we understand the storyline and the characters of the book,

the meat and heart of the book?

And isn't it true that the way we identify people, at least in part,

is like judging a book by its cover?

We look at a person's appearance, their face, their body.

Are they tall?

Are they short?

Their skin color?

And we make an assessment, a judgment.

But in today's passage from 1 Samuel 16,

the Bible tells us that God doesn't value us based on our appearance.

God doesn't look at the cover of the book.

God looks at what is inside.

And what is inside is not just our heart,

but also our body and how we use our body.

And so what I hope we see today is that it's faith in Christ,

in our heart, lived out through our body,

that reflects our identity as children of God.

And because this is our identity,

we can be secure in Christ

and honor God with our heart and with our body.

And so today's big idea is that our identity in Christ

is that of a child of God,

through faith in Christ in our hearts,

and lived out in our bodies.

Now, in the world's view,

how we look, our body type,

or how in shape or out of shape we are,

is such a big part of our identity.

For many of us, it shapes how we see ourselves,

how others perceive us,

or how we want to be perceived,

and also how we view others.

Of course, the word identity is such a big and complicated word.

In simple terms,

I think we can define identity as something we look to,

to feel a sense of self-worth and value.

In Hong Kong,

separate from our physical appearance,

our identity is often shaped by,

number one, family background.

Do we come from a well-known prominent family,

or perhaps not?

Education.

Where do we go to school?

How about career?

I think this one is big for us here in Hong Kong.

I think that for many of us,

our career, our title,

really is who we are.

That is our identity.

I'm a lawyer.

I'm a doctor.

I'm a banker.

I'm a PhD student.

I'm a business owner.

I'm a manager.

I'm a partner.

Or how about relationship status?

I admit,

this one is especially difficult to talk about.

But I think that for some of us,

our identity is tied to who we're dating,

or who we're married to,

or if we're dating or married at all.

And that's why I think that when we break up,

we lose our bearings,

and we lose a sense of who we are.

In Western society,

what seems to be elevated in today's culture,

when it comes to identity,

is this idea that we need to be true to who we are.

My body isn't the real me.

My gender isn't the real me.

What I feel inside is the real me,

and therefore,

I can do whatever I want with my body.

We will touch upon this in more detail

when we speak about body and gender in a few weeks.

But on the topic of body and identity,

there's no doubt that culture and the world around us

shape how we view physical appearance,

the body, and identity.

Think about how much money we spend on our face,

just our face alone.

In the U.S.,

one source indicates that

the global spend on cosmetics

is upwards of $100 billion a year.

Or think about the types of cosmetic surgeries

people go through,

some of which are quite expensive

and perhaps even dangerous.

And it isn't just women.

All right?

Us guys, we're also a part of this too.

A survey by Deloitte suggests that in the U.S.,

men actually spend more

on overall beauty products than women.

Surprisingly, yes.

It's true.

Don't be ashamed, guys.

It's okay.

I used lotion this morning on my face.

Now, if you're sitting here,

now if you're sitting here

and you don't care about your looks,

nor do you feel any social pressure

to look a certain way,

don't fall asleep quite yet.

Maybe you're married and you're like,

eh, I don't care about how I look.

I'm already married.

I don't have to impress my spouse.

Maybe I'm peak,

maybe I'm peak maxing.

Maxing, by the way,

means maximizing a physical appearance.

I learned that recently

as I was researching this sermon.

Even if that is your view,

even that could be your view,

the social pressure on how we look

and the world's obsession with our bodies

likely affects someone near and dear to your heart.

Maybe your wife.

Maybe your husband,

as he gets a bit older

and his hair starts thinning.

I think mine is a little bit at the moment.

Thank you for caring for me, honey.

Maybe your brother or sister.

Maybe your parents.

Maybe your teenage,

maybe your child as he or she

is reaching their teenage years.

Maybe someone in your CG.

Maybe someone sitting around you

right here today in church.

And given the rise of social media

and the pressure of always looking good

and having to put our best face

and body forward as our identity,

look at the rise in body dissatisfaction,

especially among teenagers

and young adults.

The skincare company Dove

did a study which indicated

that only 2% of women

would describe themselves as beautiful.

Even actors, supermodels,

and pro athletes struggle

with how they look.

And it just goes to show

how much pressure the world places

on how we look

and how much value that we place

on how we look.

And look at some of the consequences.

In the UK,

the NHS reports

that the number of children

that started treatment

for eating disorder,

bulimia, anorexia,

and binge eating,

increased by over 100%

in the six years ending 2023.

Or look at teen bullying.

One report in the US

suggests that one in five students

reported being bullied in school.

And in many cases,

the drivers of bullying

are linked to physical appearance,

race or ethnicity,

or disability.

In other words,

it was about the appearance.

This affects all of us,

whether we think about it a lot

or not at all.

And in today's passage

from 1 Samuel 16,

even the prophet Samuel

gets lured into this way of thinking.

Saul, the first king of Israel,

rejected God,

and therefore God rejected him

as king of Israel.

God then sends Samuel

to visit a man in Bethlehem

named Jesse,

instructing Samuel

that one of Jesse's sons

would be the next king.

Samuel looks at Jesse's son,

Eliab,

and is impressed

with Eliab's physical stature.

And Samuel thinks,

surely this must be

God's anointed one.

God, of course,

has other plans,

and he tells Samuel

in verse 7 of the passage,

Do not look on his appearance

or the height of his stature,

because I have rejected him.

For the Lord sees,

not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.

Jesse's six other sons

are presented to Samuel

before Samuel,

but none are chosen by God.

Samuel then asks Jesse,

Are all your sons here?

to which Jesse replies

that his other son,

his youngest son,

David,

is in the shepherd fields.

Jesse was asked to bring

before Samuel

all of his sons,

and he didn't even think

about bringing David,

his youngest son,

who was probably

the least impressive

in terms of physical appearance.

For the Lord sees,

not as man sees,

and man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.

And so as David emerges,

God tells Samuel,

This is the one

who will be my king.

Even Samuel,

the prophet of God,

didn't understand

that God doesn't esteem us

based upon how we look.

Our identity,

according to God,

isn't based on

whether we are tall or short,

or whether we are

physically attractive

or not at all.

God doesn't esteem us

because of our resume,

nor our title,

nor our social influence,

nor our standing.

God esteems us

because of our heart.

And so now the question is,

what did God see

in David's heart?

In 1 Samuel,

and also in the book of Acts,

God says this about David.

I have found in David,

the son of Jesse,

a man after my heart.

What does that mean,

a man after my heart?

A man after God's heart?

Well, the Bible describes David

in many ways.

On his appearance,

he was ruddy

and had beautiful eyes

and was handsome.

On his courage,

a man of valor,

a man of war.

On his musical talents,

he was skillful

in playing the lyre.

David was also described

as prudent in speech,

a man of good presence.

But of all the ways

the scripture describes David,

the most important aspect

of his character,

the foundation of his life,

and the driver

of all his ambition

was that David loved God dearly.

He knew God intimately

and he loved God dearly.

And David's identity

was secure

as a child of God.

David's writings

from the book of Psalms

paint a beautiful picture

of his relationship

with God.

Here are a few examples.

Psalm 139,

we read this last week.

David believed

that God knew everything

about him and loved him.

He knitted me together

in my mother's womb.

I praise you

for I'm fearfully

and wonderfully made.

Psalm 16,

David's life ambition

was to be with God

and to know God.

In your presence

there is fullness of joy

and at your right hand

are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 100,

he knew God to be faithful.

His steadfast love

endures forever

and his faithfulness

to all generations.

Through reading these psalms,

we see a window

into David's heart.

But importantly,

although our passage today

says that God looks

on the heart,

it isn't saying

that David's body

was irrelevant.

In fact,

David's body mattered

a lot.

He spent years

protecting his father's sheep,

perfecting his hand-to-hand

combat skills

and defending his father's sheep

from wild lions

and wild bears.

And just like God

was preparing David

to be shepherded

over Israel

by first shepherding

his father's flock,

God was training

David's body

in the shepherd fields

in preparation

to fight Goliath

and then subsequently

to lead Israel's armies

against all of God's enemies.

You could say

that David's body

acted out

what was in his heart.

When it was wartime,

he didn't just sit back

and hope for the best.

He went out

and fought

with his body.

His heart and body

worked hand in hand.

Of course,

as a side note,

David,

although David was physically

trained and prepared

to fight,

he knew that

at the end of the day,

if it was just

his own strength,

he would fail every time.

He believed in faith

that it was God

to be the one

to deliver him

from his enemies.

And so,

for David,

in all of his life,

from when he was a boy

in the shepherd fields

to when he was a king

on the battlefield,

his heart and his body

worked together

to worship

and to honor

God.

David's body mattered.

Jesus' body

mattered.

We know from Isaiah

there was nothing

physically attractive

about Jesus.

Isaiah says

that he had no form

or majesty

that we should look at him

and no beauty

that we should desire him.

And yet,

Jesus fully embraced

his humanity

taking on

a human body.

His body

was the means

by which he

communed

with the world

when he walked the earth.

And even now,

we can relate to Jesus

in so many ways

because he had a body

like we have

full of frailty.

And he experienced

pain like we face.

And of course,

it was Jesus' body

that he gave up

that was broken for us

on the cross.

David's body mattered.

Jesus' body mattered.

Our bodies matter.

God doesn't look at

God's body.

God doesn't look at

appearance.

What we look like,

are we attractive or not,

are we tall or short?

And yet,

we use our physical bodies

to act out

our worship

and honor of God.

God doesn't look

at appearance

and yet,

we use our physical bodies

to act out

our honor and worship

of God.

God.

And yet,

for David,

in spite of being

an incredible man

of God,

David was highly imperfect

and sinful.

In that verse

we read in Acts

just now

about David

being a man

after God's heart,

the end of that sentence

actually

is that

God describes David

also as a man

who would do

all my will.

A man after my own heart

who would do

all my will.

Well,

David did not

always do God's will.

David did not always

honor God

with his heart

and his body.

We all know the story,

right?

David slept with

another man's wife

and then he murdered

the husband.

And so,

although God

esteemed David

because of his heart

and God esteemed David

because of

his body

or his action,

what he did,

for us,

we need to remember

that we aren't

saved

because of the

quality of our hearts

nor by anything

we could do

with our bodies.

There is nothing

we can do

to save ourselves.

Our sin isn't

forgiven because of

anything we could

possibly do

for the one

who is perfect,

Jesus Christ,

has done everything

already for us

on the cross.

We are saved

by faith in Christ

alone,

by the grace

of Christ

alone.

And so,

therefore,

we should remember

there's nothing

we could do

to impress God.

Perhaps consciously

or subconsciously,

we try to impress

others by looking

a certain way.

Maybe we go to

the gym to try

to sculpt our

bodies in a more

attractive way.

Maybe we choose

certain clothes

that stand out.

But if our faith

and hope is in

Christ,

and God the Father

considers us,

he already sees

beauty because

in his Son

he sees beauty

and in us

he sees his Son.

Say that again.

If our faith

and hope

is in Christ,

when God the Father

considers us,

he already

sees beauty

because in his Son

he sees beauty

and in us

he sees his Son.

And remember

that God's idea

of beauty

isn't like man's.

Jesus,

when he rose

from the grave,

he still bore

the scars

of the cross

on his body.

If we saw

Jesus walking

down the street

in Hong Kong

and we looked at him,

we may think him

hideous for he would

still have the holes

of the cross

on his wrists.

But his Father

sees him

as beautiful

and perfect.

And that is how

God sees us.

And so even though

our hearts and bodies

work together

to pursue God

and to love God

and to honor God,

this

cannot earn

God's love.

For us,

it's a response.

It's a reflection

of the love

we experience

first from him.

It's an outpouring

of worship

and adoration

because we're grateful

for Jesus.

But it can never

earn God's love.

When God the Father

considers us,

he sees his precious

Son, Jesus,

whom he loves

with an everlasting

undying love.

And so therefore,

we can be secure

in our identity

as children

of God.

And so for us,

what does it mean

to be secure

in our identity

as children

of God?

Well,

the Apostle Paul

in Romans 8

describes identity

in God like this.

For we do not

receive the spirit

of slavery

to fall back

into fear,

but you have received

the spirit of adoption

as sons

by whom we cry,

Abba, Father.

Before we put our faith

and hope in Christ,

we were spiritual orphans

getting tossed around

in the ways of culture

and being slaves

to fear and sin.

But now,

if our hope

and faith

is in Christ,

we have been adopted

into God's family.

We have been given

a new identity

as children of God.

God,

the creator of heaven

and earth,

the eternal God

of the universe,

says,

you are my precious child.

Come to me

and I will give you rest.

I welcome you

into my home

and into my family.

You are my precious child

and I love you.

God knows every hair

on your head.

He made all of our eyes

and all of our fingerprints

unique.

Think about that.

Tens of billions

of different fingerprints

across billions

of individually crafted bodies

because our bodies

are uniquely,

fearfully,

and wonderfully made

by a God

who knows us intimately.

And so,

do you know Him?

Do you trust Him?

Do the ruminations

of your heart

and the actions

of your body

reflect this?

The word Abba

from the verse

in Romans 8

means

Daddy in Aramaic.

It's used,

I think,

48 times or so

in Psalms.

Every so often,

my two boys,

Axel and Elliot,

their twin boys

are five years old,

they would cry out

either at home

or in the grocery store,

Daddy,

I need you.

Daddy,

I need you to tie my shoes.

Daddy,

I need you to button my shirt.

Daddy,

I need you to fix my toy.

Daddy,

I need you to lift me up.

I can't see.

My boys can say,

Daddy,

I need you

for pretty much anything

that comes to mind

because I guess

after five years of life,

they're pretty secure

in knowing that

they're my children

and they're pretty secure

in knowing that

if I am able to,

I will do whatever I can

to help them.

I'll do whatever I can

to take care of them.

And so,

do we cry out

to our

Abba Father?

Do we know

that we are children

of the Most High God?

And maybe

if we're really honest

with ourselves,

we don't always believe

that we're children

of God

and the insecurity

of being an orphan

sometimes

or often

weighs on us,

especially when we're

hooked to our phone

two hours a day

and we're looking at

all the beautiful people

on social media

or maybe we

get caught

in our thoughts

and we think that

why doesn't the opposite sex

like me?

What's wrong with me?

Or maybe we think

about life

and we think

we should be

further along in life

with a better title

at work

or maybe we should

marry with kids

by now.

But the anecdote

to any insecurity

we have

about our identity,

it doesn't come

from improving

how we look

or adding accolades

to our resume

and it doesn't come

from being in any

relationship

on earth.

King Saul,

the sort of

anti-David

is a good case study

of someone

who is highly insecure

on the surface

King Saul

had everything

going for him.

He was tall,

he was good looking,

the Bible says

that there was not

a man among

the people of Israel

more handsome

than he

and of course

he held the biggest

title of all,

King,

King of Israel.

But in spite

of all these

impressive external

qualities,

Saul had a problem

in his heart.

He worshipped

and analyzed

his position

and status

and what he valued

most it seems

was honor

and praise

from men.

His identity

you could say

was tied to his

position as king

and the honor

he received

as such

and sadly

this resulted in

Saul making

some very bad

decisions

and God

rejecting him

as king.

You see

if our identity

is tied to the

physical

or to the material

how we look

what we've achieved

we will inevitably

be drawn

to what the world

values and loves

and we'll never be

content nor satisfied

and we'll always

be insecure

and wondering

if we're good

enough

and like Saul

we will possibly

make some very

bad decisions

and so we need

to move our

focus away

from ourselves

and our focus

up towards

God

the one who

created us

the one who

knows everything

about us

the one who

the one who

loves us

and we know

how much he

loves us

because of

Jesus Christ

the one he gave

the one that

gave his body

and his blood

for us on the cross

but the truth

is that we

won't feel

comfort in saying

I'm a child

of God

unless we have

a sense

of who God

is

we won't feel

loved by God

unless we know

who our lover

is

we won't be

thankful

that the God

of the universe

rescued us

from sin

and slavery

and adopted us

into his family

unless we know

who our adopted

father is

and so

like King David

we must

constantly remind

ourselves

of our father's

sovereign majestic

character

we must remind

ourselves of his

awesome indeed

terrifying power

we must remind

ourselves that the

sovereign yet merciful

God loves us

so much

he would send

his son Jesus

to die for us

we must remind

ourselves of the

gospel

we are called

his image bearers

but if we don't

have a high view

of him

what image

are we bearing

last year

Celeste and I

we adopted

the newest member

of our family

from the Hong Kong

dog rescue

her name is

Toffee

when Toffee

first came

into our home

for the first few

days

she was a nervous

wreck

her tail was down

she would hide

in the corner

she wouldn't eat

nor drink

she even threw up

a few times

just because

Toffee was legally

adopted

into our family

it didn't mean

that she automatically

experienced

or felt

our love

she didn't yet

comprehend

her new identity

as a member

of our family

of course

over time

as we

spent more time

with Toffee

as we

showed her

our love

through cuddles

through feeding her

through

bringing her out

on family outings

she

she became secure

in her new identity

as the fourth child

of the child family

the kids call her

their baby sister

and so for us

as adopted children

of God

we must continue

to be reminded

of God's nature

excuse me one second

of God's nature

of God's character

and his father's love

for us

maybe we do have a sense

but we're so busy

with work

and life

and kids

that we forget

I don't think

there's any magic formula

to know God

I think

all of us

in this room

are on the same

journey together

and I think

even the

quote unquote

most mature Christians

only get a tiny sense

the majesty

of God

but that tiny glimpse

that is still

a truly

awe inspiring

and beautiful

picture

so all of us

let's get

let's get into

God's word

let's be in prayer

get on our knees

let's pray

the Holy Spirit

opens the eyes

of our hearts

to see

the living God

to understand

with a deep

with a deep knowledge

in our hearts

how much he loves us

let's pray

the Holy Spirit

opens the eyes

of our hearts

to worship

our great

king

let's pray that

for ourselves

and let's

pray that

for each other

I just have two

quick ways

that we can respond

to today's message

the first is

just to focus

our minds

on things above

John Piper says

that for God

to open our eyes

to his glory

in the Bible

he must first

cut away

all of his

competitors

in our hearts

and so this week

when we

pull out our phones

to look at

Instagram

or other social media apps

or when we're thinking

about

buying another

article of clothing

to impress

or when we're

at the gym

pumping iron

or whatever

it is that

we are doing

that puts our

attention on

outward appearance

first

let's remind

ourselves

to hold fast

to the truth

that God

doesn't look

at outward appearance

let's remember

that we are

children of God

first

number one

focus our minds

on things above

and number two

repentance

repentance

repentance

have we

added fuel

to the world's

fire

by judging

other people

based on how

they look

perhaps we

treat

some colleagues

well

because they

look a certain

way

and some

colleagues

not as

kind

with less

kindness

because they

look a certain

way

maybe it's

how we

treat the

opposite

sex

maybe it's

how we

treat our

children

we make

comments to

them about

their physical

appearance

that may

not be

the most

encouraging

perhaps we

need to

repent

of this

maybe we

need to

repent

of

viewing

appearance

like the

world

does

and not

how

God

does

let me

close

yes

the world

around us

puts a lot

of pressure

on us

to look

a certain

way

and to

be

attractive

it's

been that

way

since

ancient

times

even

Samuel

made that

mistake

but God

doesn't look

at the

external

appearance

God

looks at

our

hearts

and God

looks at

what we

do

with our

bodies

and yet

there is

nothing we

could do

to impress

God

nor earn

God's

love

it's only

by putting

our faith

and hope

in Jesus

Christ

that we

can be

secure

in our

identity

as children

of God

and as we

grow to

understand

how much

God loves

us

we respond

with love

coming out

of our

hearts

and we

respond

as we

act that

out

in our

bodies

for his

glory

for his

honor

and for

his

praise

let's

pray

together

father

it's

it's a

challenging

message

lord

because

every

day

the

pressure

cooker

of the

world

is

bearing

down

on

us

and

saying

that

we

need

to

look

better

it's

summertime

now

and

people

are

saying

we need

to look

better

for

summer

God

I

pray

lord

that

as we

consider

your

word

lord

your

truth

as we

consider

what

you

have

said

in

this

passage

from

1st

Samuel

16

that

you

do

not

look

on

the

appearance

you

look

on

the

heart

I

pray

that

we

will

be

secure

in

our

identity

as

your

children

that

we

would

know

deeply

that

you

love

us

that

you

created

us

that

you

know

us

everything

about

us

even

our

even

our

faults

even

our

darkest

secrets

even

the

stuff

that

we

are

ashamed

about

and

you

love

us

with

an

undying

love

because

you

are

our

children

because

father

you

love

Jesus

and

in

us

you

see

Jesus

help

us

lord

to

really

grasp

grasp

that

deeply

today

tomorrow

and

always

may

it

not

just

be

an

interesting

thought

or

something

that

we

will

say

to

our

friends

or

even

think

about

but

may

it

be

a

reality

in

the

way

we

love

you

and

the

way

our

hearts

cry

out

to

worship

you

and

the

way

that

thank

you

god

for

your

word

today

and

we

pray

lord

that

your

holy

spirit

would

be

with

us

for

the

rest

of

the

service

lord

as

we

respond

to

you

in

Jesus

name

amen