Those Whom God Uses

The scripture today comes from the book of 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2.

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Please follow along your Bible and the bulletins are on the screen.

Starting in verse 26, we read,

For consider your calling, brothers.

Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards.

Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

God chose what is low and despised in the world,

even things that are not,

to bring to nothing things that are,

so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus,

who became to us wisdom from God,

righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

so that as it is written,

let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

And I, when I came to you, brothers,

did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God

with lofty speech or wisdom.

For I decided to know nothing among you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.

And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom,

but in demonstration of the spirit and of the power,

so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men,

but in the power of God.

So, this is the word of God.

Great. Thanks, Anastasia.

Let's pray together briefly,

and then we'll look at the scripture.

Heavenly Fathers, we come to your word this morning.

We want what Paul says in Corinthians,

that our faith will not rest in the wisdom of man,

but on the reality of who you are.

We want that to be true for us and our church.

God, we pray that you will be speaking to us

by your spirit through your word.

That's what we want, God.

We want to encounter the living God.

We're not interested in just self-help tips,

how to make life work.

We want to meet with the living God.

So, God, I pray, come by your spirit and be with us.

Help me, God, to explain your word.

Help us as a congregation, including myself,

to respond and to apply it to our lives.

We pray in your great name.

Amen.

I wonder how long you have been part of Watermark Church.

I wonder if there's some,

I think there are some that have been here

since the very beginning, 14 years and counting.

Some of us, it's your very first Sunday with us this morning.

For some of us, you may have been part of many churches.

Maybe for some of us, Watermark is their only church

you've ever been a part of.

For some of us, maybe you'll move overseas

and you'll have to look for a new church sometime.

For others of us, maybe you will stay here,

part of this church, for many, many years to come.

Some of us are so deeply involved in the church,

it feels like you have no time for anything else,

i.e. some of the young adults.

And some of us are less so involved.

Some love the church and some are weary about the church.

Friends, when you look for a church,

what is it that you look for when visiting a church?

What makes you want to stay in a church?

What impresses you the most?

What makes a really good Sunday at church?

If you're new to Watermark this morning,

we have been working,

we're just starting to work through the book of 1 Corinthians

and the New Testament.

It's one of two letters that the Apostle Paul writes

to a church in the ancient city of Corinth around 53 AD.

And he writes these letters.

And as we heard a few weeks ago,

the church in Corinth is going through a difficult time.

It's quite a messy situation.

There's lots of conflict.

There's lots of division.

The church has camps and factions.

There's this group over here.

And they really like this leader.

They're impressed with him.

And they want to follow him.

And there's this group over here.

They like this leader.

And so they think,

he's our guy.

We are his follower.

And there's all these camps and divisions and factions in the church.

And Paul writes and he shows them

that the division in the church

is a result of their wrong thinking.

And their wrong thinking is a result of their wrong values.

And he says,

you guys in Corinth,

you've adopted the values of your culture.

Your culture in Corinth values what's impressive

and brilliant and smart and sophisticated.

And you're thinking just like your city.

And so what you do is,

you align yourself with those that you think are smart

and sophisticated and intellectual and brilliant.

And that's causing all this division in the church.

What's important to you is what's important to the city,

but not necessarily what's important to God.

What impresses God is not what's impressing you.

You're impressed by the things that impresses your city.

And he says,

God is not at the center.

And that's why the church is divided

into all these groupings and these factions.

Now in today's passage,

Paul continues this same thought.

And what he's going to show us

is that worldly thinking suggests

that what makes a great church

is impressive people

and impressive leaders.

And most people think

that's what's going to make a great church.

If I can find a church

where they're really outstanding people,

really outstanding leaders,

that's going to make a great church.

And Paul shows us

that God's thinking is inverse to that.

It turns it on its head.

Because in God's economy,

greatness has nothing to do

with how great the people are,

but how great God and the gospel is.

In God's economy,

greatness flows downstream

not from how impressive people are,

human brilliance or wisdom,

but actually from the greatness of God

and the gospel.

Okay.

And to do this,

what he does is

he's going to give us

two pieces of evidence.

He's like a barrister in court.

And he says,

let me give you two pieces of evidence.

Exhibit A is the church.

Exhibit B are the leaders.

Okay.

Exhibit A,

you guys.

Exhibit B,

me,

he says.

Okay.

That's not me.

That's Paul.

Paul says me.

Exhibit B.

So let's look at this together.

Exhibit A,

God chooses unlikely people.

Now remember,

Paul's,

the thrust of argument,

of Paul's argument here is,

God's thinking

is not the way

that we typically think.

Cole Truman says it like this.

We assume

there's this basic continuity

between the way

the world is

and the way God is.

So in the world,

if power

is established

by raw strength

on earth,

then we assume

God's power

must be the same,

but just to the infinite degree.

And likewise,

he says,

if we think honor

and praise

is given to those

that are impressive

or rich

or influential,

we assume

that God

must just operate

the same way.

But actually,

in God's economy,

things are often inverse,

upside down.

God works

in the opposition

to how we naturally think.

And so Paul says,

let me give you

Exhibit A.

Just look at yourselves.

Verse 26,

he says,

consider your own calling,

brothers and sisters.

Not many of you

were wise

according to worldly standards.

Not many of you

were powerful

or of noble birth,

but that's deliberate.

For God

chose what is foolish

in the world

to shame the wise.

God chooses

what is weak

in the world

to shame the strong.

God chooses

what is low

and despised,

even things

that are not

that impressive

to show up

the things

that seem impressive.

And so Paul says,

here's my evidence.

Just look at the church.

There's nothing

particularly impressive

about us.

And here we see,

I know we touched

on this last week,

an incredibly important

principle

in the Bible.

that God's ways

of working

is often

the opposite,

the inverse

to how we work.

God accomplishes

His plans

through the opposite

of what we expect.

As we said last week,

if you're going to know God

and know Him deeply,

you must be willing

to be surprised by God,

even challenged by God.

Because God often

encompasses His plans

and purposes.

He takes what's ordinary,

what's unimpressive,

even what's rejected

and despised

and says,

that is going to be

my instrument of choice.

And so we see this

throughout the whole Bible.

Just think in the Old Testament

how often God chooses

not the firstborn,

but the secondborn sibling

to be the one

through whom His blessing comes.

Which in ancient culture,

I guess similar to

modern Asian culture,

was completely inverse

to thinking, right?

In ancient Middle East culture,

the firstborn son

gets all the goods

and the rest

just kind of

follow in the footsteps.

And yet how often

does God choose

the secondborn?

He chooses Isaac,

not Ishmael.

He chooses Jacob,

not Esau.

He chooses Joseph

rather than his ten brothers

in front of him.

Or think of King David,

right?

One of the greatest leaders

in the Old Testament.

And God says to Samuel,

the prophet,

go to Jesse's house,

Jesse's father,

David's father,

and choose one of his sons

to be king.

And so Samuel goes

and he says,

Jesse, bring your sons

before me.

And so he parades

seven sons before him.

And God says to Samuel,

no, none of these

are going to be king.

And he says,

do you not have

another son somewhere?

And Jesse says,

yeah, yeah, there's one,

but he is so young,

he's so mature,

we left him in the fields,

we didn't even bring him in.

You don't want to see that guy.

One of these seven

will surely do.

And God says,

no, that's the one I'll choose.

Despised,

rejected, forgotten,

out of the way,

that's the one that I want.

Well, friends,

think of Gideon, right?

God calls him

to defeat the Midianites,

the enemies of the Israelites.

And Gideon says,

no, no, God,

you've got it wrong

because I'm the weakest member

of my family

and my family

is the weakest member

of my clan

and my clan

is the weakest member

of our tribe.

God,

I'm the weakest

of the weakest.

And God says,

yes,

that's why I've chosen you.

Or think of,

think of Ruth.

Why does God choose Ruth

to be the great grandmother

of David,

the ancestor of Jesus?

Because she's a Moabite,

she's an outsider,

she's an outcast,

she's not part of God's people

and God says,

I want you.

Well,

think of Jesus.

Who does Jesus choose

to be his disciples?

Not the rich

and the powerful,

the sophisticated,

the educated,

the fishermen,

the tax collectors,

the outlaws,

the terrorists.

Friends,

remember how Jesus rejects

the rich young ruler,

the guy that has it all together?

And who does he

in the very next breath

invite to himself?

Grubby,

dirty children.

Those that have got

nothing to contribute

to his kingdom campaign.

Jesus says,

I'll take you children,

but you,

rich,

sophisticated ruler,

actually you're not quite ready

for my kingdom yet.

And friends,

we could go on day after day.

Throughout every chapter

of the Bible,

the Bible says the same thing.

This is how God works.

God takes the weak

to shame the strong.

God chooses the simple

over the wise.

God chooses the poor

over the impressive.

God works in the world

by working the inverse

to how we would work.

Friends,

the world thinks

that blessing

and goodness

and prosperity

flow downstream

from human brilliance.

And God says,

no, no, no,

they don't at all.

They flow downstream

from my grace.

Now,

there's one objection here.

You may have a question

in your head.

You may say,

okay,

I get that biblical principle,

but what about those of us

that are wealthy

or are educated

or are sophisticated

or are impressive

in the world's eyes?

Because let's be honest,

maybe some of us here

come from underprivileged backgrounds

or disadvantaged backgrounds,

but probably most of us

come from very privileged backgrounds.

And most of us here

are probably far more educated

than maybe even many villages

in parts of the world.

Friends,

some of us here

will earn more in one year

than many people in the world

will earn an entire lifetime

or 10 lifetimes.

And so what does that mean for us?

I mean,

are we excluded from God's kingdom?

Are we not,

never going to be used by God?

Well,

that's a good question.

And what the Bible says

is that we do have a real problem.

And we have two problems.

One problem

is that

we tend to compare ourselves

to those that are much,

have much more than us.

And so even though

we are generally pretty privileged,

we tend to look at those

that are more privileged

and say,

okay,

I know I own a car,

but at least my car's not like that.

Or I know I have a house,

but at least my house

is not that big.

Or I know I have seven degrees,

but I don't have 10 degrees,

you know.

And we always compare

to those that are further

and bigger and better

and we think,

I'm not that privileged.

And so we fool ourselves.

But the other problem is this,

that privilege

and wealth

and sophistication

and strength

and impressiveness

is not wrong

in and of itself,

but it does have a tendency

of getting in the way

of us knowing God

and knowing Him deeply.

And so we need

to be really careful

about the dangers

of privilege

because what elevates us

and makes us admirable

and respectable

in society's eyes

are often the things

that get in the way

of us knowing God

and knowing Him deeply

and being dependent

upon His grace.

And we see again

this often in the Bible

how God so often removes

that which is praiseworthy,

commendable,

before He uses someone.

Surely that's the point

of the rich young ruler, right?

This rich young man

comes to Jesus

and He says,

Okay Jesus,

I'm all in.

I'm ready to follow You.

Here's my resume.

Here's my credentials.

This is what I can bring

to the party.

And Jesus just removes them

one by one by one

saying,

Oh, let's just lay that aside.

Let's just lay that aside.

Actually take that away

and eventually He says,

Okay,

take all your wealth,

go sell your possessions,

give it away to poor

and when you've got nothing,

okay,

come to me.

Then you're ready.

Then I can use you.

Or think again of Gideon, right?

Eventually Gideon says,

Okay God,

you are God,

I am not.

I'll trust you.

Here's my army,

32,000 people.

It's not a lot

against 125,000 Midianites.

But God,

I trust you.

My 30,000,

I guess we can take them on.

And God says,

30,000,

that's a bit too many for me.

Why don't we just

whittle it down to 300?

300,000,

okay,

okay,

now you're ready.

Okay,

now I can use you.

300 against 120,000.

Okay,

that feels good.

Well friends,

think of Moses,

right?

God's great deliverer

from the people of God

from Egypt.

Moses is raised

in the palace of Egypt

for 40 years.

He's educated

and trained

in all the ways

of the Egyptians,

the most sophisticated nation

of the time,

trained.

And then God wants

to use him.

So He says,

okay,

first I will

take you out of Egypt

and I'll just

let you languish

in the desert

for 40 years.

And maybe just

exchange your prince's robe

for a shepherd's crook.

For 40 years

become a nobody.

Okay,

Moses,

now I can use you.

Now I'll send you

back to Egypt.

You can be my deliverer.

And friends,

here's the point

that God's way

of working

is often

diametrically opposed

to the way

that we think

God would work.

And why is that?

Well,

look at verse 29.

Paul tells us here.

Verse 29

and again

in verse 31.

So that no human being

might boast

in the presence

of God.

And again,

verse 31.

So that as it is written,

quoting Jeremiah 9,

that the one

who boasts

boasts

in the Lord.

Friends,

why does God

work like this?

So that it will be

absolutely,

abundantly clear

this is all

God's doing.

Everything the church

is,

everything God does,

everything God accomplishes

is all

His great kindness.

As Ephesians 1 says,

to the praise

of His glory

and His grace.

So that no one

may look at anyone

and say,

wow,

you are a great leader.

You have done

a great job here.

No, no,

that God may get

all the glory.

We sang earlier,

how great

thou art.

that's the anthem

of the church,

right?

God,

how great

thou art.

Not us,

God,

you.

Okay,

exhibit A.

He says,

just remember yourselves.

Exhibit B,

remember the leaders.

Paul brings

the second piece

of evidence

and he says,

let's consider

the leaders

of the church.

Look at chapter 2,

verse 1.

He says,

and I,

brothers and sisters,

when I came to you,

I did not come

proclaiming to you

the testimony of God

with lofty speech

or brilliant wisdom.

I decided to know

nothing amongst you

except Jesus Christ

and Him crucified.

That means I decided

to forget everything else

except Christ

and the gospel.

And I was with you

in weakness

and in fear

and much trembling.

And my speech,

my message,

were not in plausible

or persuasive words

of wisdom,

but in demonstrations

of the Spirit

and of power

so that your faith

might not rest

on the wisdom of man,

but on the power of God.

Paul says,

just think about

when you became a Christian.

You heard the gospel

from me

and you believed the gospel

and God forgave you

of your sins.

He welcomed you

into His family.

He changed your life.

He gave you an identity

and a security

and a peace.

He completely changed

your life.

And how did this

all come about?

Was it because I,

Paul,

was a great speaker?

Was it because of my

arguments

and convincing style?

Was it because

I'm so wise

and eloquent?

Is it because

I'm a great leader

and I can just

attract the following?

No, no, none of that.

He says,

I was with you

in weakness

and with fear

and much trembling.

My speech

were not persuasive

but in foolishness.

None of these things

came to be.

All that I brought

was my insecurity,

my fear,

my inadequacy,

my weakness.

God worked amongst you

in power.

God is the one

who built the church.

Paul says,

it's like God

looked around

and said,

in the city of Corinth,

I've got a really

important project here.

It's an important city.

I want to establish

a church.

I need a special

assignment there.

Who is the most

weak,

feeble,

insecure person

I can choose?

Okay, Paul.

Paul, you're the guy.

Okay, Paul,

you go to Corinth.

I need you

because you've got

nothing

of what that city

needs

but you depend

on me

so that your faith

might not rest

on the wisdom

of man

but on the power

of God

and of the Spirit

so that everyone

will know

it's not me,

it's all him

so that no one

will be drawn

to follow me

but follow him.

Do you see what

God is saying

to us in the Bible here?

Paul says,

let's consider

two bits of

human elements

in the church.

We've got the church

and we've got the leaders

and it's none of us.

It's all him.

It's all him

so that we may know

it's all his power,

his spirit,

his choosing,

his grace.

It's all him

and why is this?

Well, again,

look at verse 30

because look at what

verse 30 tells us.

He says,

he wants us to see

that everything

that we need,

everything that

in a hundred million

years from now

we're still

going to be having,

everything that's

going to last

the ups and downs

of life

are found in Christ.

Not in the leaders,

not in the church,

not in the people.

He says,

because of him,

that's God,

because of him

you are in Christ

who became for us

wisdom from God.

So Christ's wisdom

as opposed to

wisdom of man

is how we get saved.

Christ came for us

righteousness,

that means right standing

with God.

Christ was for us

sanctification,

that means being

set apart for God.

Christ was our

redemption,

which means freedom

from guilt and shame.

So in a hundred

million years from now,

what are the things

we're going to be

boasting in?

It's not our building,

it's not our church,

it's not Watermark,

our website,

our leaders,

nothing.

What is our confidence

going to be?

Christ.

Christ.

Christ and Christ

alone.

Friends,

the point is,

everything we need,

peace with God,

belonging to God,

freedom from guilt

and sin

and shame,

being accepted

and loved,

security,

identity,

peace in this

restless world,

hope in an anxious world,

everything that we

really need

is found in Christ.

Christ is

our hope.

Friends,

privilege can't give you

those things,

advanced degrees

can't give you

those things,

a great career

can't give you

those things,

your family,

your parents

can't give you

things,

money can't buy

those things,

but Christ can.

And so,

Paul's imperative

to us is this,

let the church

be built on Christ

and Christ alone,

so that your faith

might rest not

on the wisdom of man,

but on the power

of God.

Exhibit A,

God's unimpressive

church.

Exhibit B,

God's unimpressive

leaders.

Conclusion,

it's all Jesus,

it's all Christ.

Okay,

so what does this

mean for us?

How do we apply

this to our lives?

Well,

let me close

with four bits

of application

for us here.

Four things

for us as a church

to think about,

and some of them

apply to us

as a church,

some apply to us

individually.

Friends,

first thing is this,

let the grace

of God

melt the pride

of our hearts

and evaporate

the division

in churches.

Remember,

what's the issue

in the church

here?

The issue

in Corinth

is the division

and the conflict

in the church.

There's groups,

there's factions,

there's fighting,

there's division.

There's this group

over here,

and they think

this leader's

impressive,

and they want to,

by association,

look impressive

themselves.

And there's this group

over here,

and they vicariously,

because he's a great

speaker,

want to look impressive

and sophisticated.

And so there's all

these groups

and divisions.

And Paul says,

what?

You're thinking

just like the world.

Don't you see,

the church is not

a place where we

promote ourselves,

where we try

and outdo one another

with our impressiveness.

The church is a community

of nobodies.

The church is a community

of sinners saved by grace.

From the leader

on the stage

to the six-month-old

at the back

that's crying,

hey, the church

is nobodies.

There's one person

that's important

in this church.

His name is Jesus.

And so let the grace

of God,

which is the one

common denominator,

melt the division

and the conflict

in the church.

Friends,

how is it possible

that we can look down

upon one another

when we grasp

the grace

and the mercy of God?

I mean,

how is that possible?

How is it possible

that we can sit

in judgment

of one another,

keep a distance

with one another

when we see

that everything

we have,

everything we've been given

is the grace

and the mercy of God?

Friends,

let the grace

of God melt

the conflict

and the division

of our hearts.

So friends,

let's just say,

Oscar,

Oscar's one

of my best friends,

so let's just say,

I don't like Oscar,

right?

I mean,

he dresses funny

and he's,

you know,

there's a lot

of reasons

to be upset

with Oscar,

right?

But friends,

when I look

at the mirror

of God's word

and I see

what an idiot

I am,

who am I

to distance

myself from him?

Who am I

to judge him?

So friends,

here are two

questions for us.

Is there somebody

in the church

you don't get along

with?

Is there anybody

in the church

you're tempted

to keep

your distance

from?

Is it possible

that maybe

we're thinking

of ourselves

more highly

than we're ought?

Is it possible

that we think

of ourselves

more impressive

than we are?

Is it possible

that the thinking

of our meritocracy

of Hong Kong

has gotten

to our hearts

and we keep

a distance

from one another?

Friends,

let's let the grace

of God

melt our pride

and division.

Secondly,

let's be a church

of prayer.

If the Corinthians

aren't that impressive

and they're not

and Paul is not

that impressive

and he's not,

where does the power

lie?

I mean,

where is the power

in this church?

What makes the church

the church?

And Paul gives

two answers.

He says,

Christ and the gospel

and the power

of the Holy Spirit.

This is the power

of the church.

This is the secret

weapon.

Look at verse

four and five.

He says,

my speech

and my message

were not persuasive

but I came

in demonstration

of the spirit

and of power

so that your faith

might not rest

in the wisdom

of man

but on the power

of God.

Now,

Watermark,

I think we as a church

are quite clear

on Christ

and the gospel,

that first one.

We try to be

quite clear on that.

If you're new

to Watermark,

one of the things

if you come again,

you'll notice

we talk about Jesus

and the gospel

a lot.

The one thing

I think we're not

so good at

is prayer.

We are not

a praying church.

I think we're

quite weak at prayer

and as this week

I was thinking

about this on Friday

as I was walking

down the hill

to go get something

from the shops,

I was deeply convicted

of my own

prayerlessness

and I just had

to repent.

God,

I am so sorry.

I am not a man

of prayer.

I think our church

is not a church

of prayer

and maybe

that's why

we don't

encounter

the power

and the spirit

of God

in ways

that we long

for.

Friends,

can I be honest

to you?

I long

for revival

to come to

Watermark.

I long

for a powerful

move of God

that is beyond

anything anybody

can explain

in human terms.

I long

for God's spirit

to be here

in such a tangible

powerful way

that it changes

people and sets

people free

in an instant.

But that's nothing

that any human being

can manufacture.

That's something

only God can bring

and God can give.

And so how is that

going to happen?

As we become

a people of prayer.

Dear friends,

we'll never encounter

the power of God

by wisdom of man alone.

And so here's a couple

of questions.

If you're a CG leader,

do we pray for the people

in our CG?

If we're a kids ministry leader,

do we pray for the kids

in our classes?

If you're a youth leader,

do you pray for the kids

in the youth?

Friends,

for those of us

that are elders,

do we pray for the church

regularly?

Friends,

how much do we pray?

What we need

is the power of God,

not the wisdom of man.

Here's a third

application for us.

For those of us

that are Christians,

when we share the gospel,

share the gospel,

talk about Christ

on the cross.

My assumption is that

if you are a Christian

this morning,

you long to tell people

about Jesus.

My assumption is that

you long to tell

your colleague

who sits across the way

from you in the office

about the wonder

of what Christ

has done in your life.

My assumption is that

we long to tell

our family members

or the person that lives

across the hallway from us

about Christ and the cross.

Friends,

if you're a parent,

my assumption is that

we long for our kids

to know Jesus

more so than to get

into the best schools.

friends,

when you share the gospel,

don't try gimmicks

and tricks.

Don't try and be

brilliant or winsome

or persuasive

in your own wisdom.

Tell your friends

about Christ

and the cross.

Don't try and be brilliant

in your own eyes.

You can't force anyone

to become a Christian,

but you can pray.

You can pray.

And so tell your friends,

tell your neighbors,

tell your colleagues

about Jesus

and what He's done

in your life.

Tell them about

how He died on the cross

and rose again

to save us,

to forgive us.

Don't come with lofty speech

or human wisdom.

Decide to forget

everything except

Christ and the cross

and share that.

Friends,

point people to Jesus

and then pray and trust

in the power of God

to speak to their hearts.

And then,

last thing is this.

If you're not a Christian

this morning,

I know that some of us here

are not yet followers

of Jesus,

I hope you can see

that our greatest longing

as a church

is not to be impressive,

is not to be smart,

is not to try and show you

how brilliant Christians are,

is to help you

to see the wonder of Jesus.

Friends,

we feel so privileged

that you would spend

a Sunday morning with us.

There are a thousand

other places

that you could be.

Thank you for the privilege

of joining us

this Sunday morning.

Our greatest longing,

our deep desire

of our hearts,

is not that you will

be impressed by Christians,

but that actually

you'll see how ordinary

and unimpressive we are.

But that you'll see

through the ordinariness

of the church,

you'll see something remarkable.

You'll see something

of the power

of the living God.

Through the unimpressiveness

of the leaders

and the band

and the church here,

you'll see something

that no human being

could organize

or orchestrate.

And you'll see

the power

of the living God.

The God who went

to the cross for you.

The God who loves you

so much

that He's calling you

to Himself.

Friends,

if you're not a follower

of Jesus this morning,

our great desire

is that you will come

to not just see that,

but experience that

and know God

for yourself.

So friends,

when you go to church,

what makes

a church impressive?

When you look

for a new church,

what kind of church

are you going

to stay at?

Friends,

when you decide

to join a church,

what impresses you

the most?

Don't let it be

the leaders.

Don't even let it

be the people.

Let it be

the power of God

and the Christ

and the gospel

at the center.

That here is

a community of people

that are not

impressed with themselves,

but impressed by God

and want to keep

Him at the center.

And let the power

of God change

your life

as you seek God

together with Him.

Let's pray together.

Oh, Father God,

as we conclude,

we remind ourselves

that, Lord,

so often our thinking

is like the thinking

of our world.

It's like the thinking

of Hong Kong, God.

We seek to try

and be impressive.

We seek to try

and look impressive

in the eyes of others.

God, we want to

we want to try

and boast in ourselves,

God.

God, won't you remind us

that

the cross reminds us

the only thing

in this church

that is praiseworthy

and commendable

is you

and what you've done

for us.

God, we pray also

for the power

of the Holy Spirit

to be at work

in our church, God.

We pray, God,

more than anything else

or anyone else

that this church

will be marked

by a move

of the Holy Spirit, God,

and your power.

That you, God,

will make yourself

known to us.

God, we pray

the words of John the Baptist

that we will decrease

and you will increase.

That more and more

the song

of this church

will be

how great

thou art

and not us, God.

And God,

where we are tempted

to look down

on others,

where we are tempted

to stay away

from others,

we are tempted

to pull back

from others,

God, won't you remind us

of the cross?

Won't you remind us

that your way

of working

and your way

of thinking

is so inverse

to the ways

of our world?

And may your gospel,

God,

melt the division

of our hearts.

Lord Jesus,

we need you.

Come and have your way,

I pray.

In your great

and glorious name,

Amen.