Gospel Humility

Now, while our boys and girls are heading back to their places, we can also be turning in our Bibles to the book of Philippians.

Philippians chapter 2, and we're going to look at verses 1 to 11 together in God's words.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Philippians 2, and the first 11 verses.

Let's hear God's word together.

Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and of one mind.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.

Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

This is God's word.

Now, let's once again come before God in prayer.

Let's pray together.

Our Father, we give you thanks for what we have just read, of the humility of Jesus in coming into this earth to become one of us,

to lay down his life for us, to die on the cross for our sins before being exalted to the place of all glory and honour.

Lord, we pray that as we see the pattern of Jesus' life, that you would help us to be a humble people,

that you would help us to be ready to help other people and to sacrifice for them.

Father, as we think about being built into a church, we pray that you would enable us to be having the time and the energy and the will

to use our gifts, to use our opportunities, to help other people, to serve others in the name of Jesus.

Lord, we pray that you would establish our faith on your word of truth.

We ask that you would make us attentive listeners, that we would allow your word to do its work in our hearts,

that it would comfort us, that it would challenge us, that it would rebuke and correct and teach us,

so that we might live according to your righteous will.

Lord, we pray that you would have soft hearts whenever we gather around your word together,

to hear your word read and preached.

And we pray that you would give us soft hearts when we read our Bibles alone or with others.

And we ask that you would help us to apply those truths that we learn to our lives.

Help us to meditate deeply on your truth, so that it would change our hearts and our will more and more.

Lord, we give you thanks for the country in which we live.

And we thank you for the peace that we enjoy.

Lord, we thank you for the peace that we live.

Again, we thank you for the freedom that we have to gather together to worship.

Lord, we thank you for the relative security that we have,

even as we acknowledge turbulent times and times of crisis.

Lord, we pray for our government today.

We pray recognizing the struggles that continue,

the need for wisdom that there is,

for guidance as to how to steer our country through an energy crisis and a food price crisis.

Lord, we pray especially for the ability of government to care and to help for those who are

the most poor and weak and vulnerable within our society.

Lord, we ask for compassion and for justice.

Lord, we pray thanking you for the freedom that we have to worship and to live out our faith

without fear of extremes of persecution.

Lord, we pray for the peace that we have to worship and to live out our faith in our faith.

Lord, we continue to pray for our government towards that end,

that we might be able to live with that peace,

that the gospel might be able to flourish.

Lord, as we give thanks for the freedom that we have,

we want to pray for the nations that don't have such freedom,

where there is persecution and where there is opposition.

Lord, we give you thanks that Jesus is a savior for all nations,

that your word declares it wasn't enough that he would just be a light to the Jewish people,

but he was to be a light for the world.

And so we thank you for wherever the gospel is spreading today.

Lord, we pray for the church in hard places,

where it is illegal to meet publicly,

where to confess that you're a Christian could mean the loss of everything,

including one's own life.

Lord, as we see the unfolding scenes in Iran and Ukraine and Russia,

as we see troubled places,

Lord, we recognize that Jesus is the only solid hope for the world.

And so we pray that you would protect your persecuted church,

give them a solid and eternal hope,

give them the ability to love you and to love even their enemies.

And may you turn hearts and minds towards Jesus as they see and hear the good news as it's lived out among your people.

Lord, we pray for the nations to be glad in confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.

Lord, help us to be prayerful.

Help us to be doing our part in supporting mission around the world.

But we also pray that you would give us that boldness and that courage that we need,

that love for the Lord Jesus and that love for other people that we need

to be able to share good news in our communities,

in our families, with our friends.

Lord, help us, we pray,

so that you would be glorified among us and in every nation.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, let's sing together again a section from 119.

We're going to sing from verses 105 to 112.

And again, we'll stand as we sing.

Your word's a lamp that shines before my feet.

It is a light that guides me on my way.

The oath that I have taken, I've confirmed,

that all your righteous laws I will obey.

O Lord, you know that I have suffered

much.

Preserve my life according to your word.

Accept the willing praises of my mouth.

Instruct me in your righteous laws, O Lord.

I will not disregard your holy law,

though constantly my life is in my hands.

Although the wicked set us near for me,

I have not left the path of your commands.

Your statutes are my heritage always,

And every day they make my heart rejoice.

My heart is set on keeping your decrees.

And to the very end, they are my choice.

Now, can we turn once again in our Bibles

to Luke chapter 18.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 18, and we're going to read

Luke 18 · chapter mention

from verse 9 to verse number 34.

We're going to be thinking this morning

about verses 9 to 14,

thinking about gospel humility,

but we'll read this whole section.

To some who are confident of their own righteousness

and look down on everyone else,

Jesus told this parable.

Two men went up to the temple to pray,

one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed,

God, I thank you that I am not like other people,

robbers, evildoers, adulterers,

or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.

But the tax collector stood at a distance.

He would not even look up to heaven,

but beat his breast and said,

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

I tell you that this man, rather than the other,

went home justified before God.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled,

and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

People were also bringing babies to Jesus

for him to place his hands on them.

When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

But Jesus called the children to him and said,

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Truly I tell you,

anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God

like a little child will never enter it.

A certain ruler asked him,

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Why do you call me good?

Jesus answered,

No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not murder.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony.

Honor your father and mother.

All these I have kept since I was a boy, he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him,

You still lack one thing.

Sell everything you have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.

When he heard this, he became very sad

because he was very wealthy.

Jesus looked at him and said,

How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

Those who heard this asked,

Who then can be saved?

Jesus replied,

What is impossible with man is possible with God.

Peter said to him,

We have left all we had to follow you.

Truly I tell you, Jesus said to them,

No one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children

for the sake of the kingdom of God

will fail to receive many times as much in this age

and in the age to come eternal life.

Jesus took the twelve aside and told them,

We are going up to Jerusalem,

and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man

will be fulfilled.

He will be handed over to the Gentiles.

They will mock him, insult him, and spit on him.

They will flog him and kill him.

On the third day he will rise again.

The disciples did not understand any of this.

Its meaning was hidden from them,

and they did not know what he was talking about.

Amen.

So we're thinking about humility and how that connects with the gospel.

Let me begin with an image,

just to say that the church is to be like an accident,

an emergency waiting room,

not like an interview waiting room.

When we gather together week by week,

we recognize that we all need help.

We all stand in need of mercy and healing and wholeness.

We come as a waiting room of sinners and sufferers

looking to God, looking to Jesus for help.

That's very different to the image that you find with an interview waiting room,

where everybody is doing their best to put on their very best self,

carrying the CV of our own personal achievements,

perhaps eyeing up the competition in the room,

ready to show that we deserve a place more than the next person.

John Stott once said that humility is another word for honesty.

So we've been thinking for the last six weeks or so about the gospel

and how time and again we've seen the gospel reveals our problem.

In the gospel we discover that by nature we are slaves to sin.

Indeed we are dead in our sin

and we deserve the wages of sin,

which is death, which is eternal,

separation from God and all that is good.

But we've also heard the good news.

We've heard the good news of God's heart of love

towards sinners and sufferers.

We've heard of God saving by grace

through sending his son Jesus.

To be our savior.

We've heard of that great exchange

that has taken place on the cross

where Jesus takes the judgment and the wrath that we deserve

and he gives us his righteousness

and the glory that he deserves

and all of that as a free gift.

So that God's church

should be a place of deep humility.

Every Christian heart should be a place of deep humility.

Church culture should always look different

to what we see in the world.

And when Christians and churches live with pride

and when we're boasting and we're criticizing and judging

and we're comparing and competing,

there's something desperately sad about that.

There's something so opposite to the character

and the pattern of Jesus in that.

And so we're going to look today at this parable,

Luke 18, verse 9 to 14,

Luke 18:9–14

which shows us that the way up in God's economy

is to go down.

It's those who humble themselves

who will be exalted.

And of course, we read in Philippians 2

and we saw that was the pattern of Jesus' life as savior.

In his coming, he humbled himself.

In his taking the place of a servant,

in his being obedient to death on the cross,

Jesus at every point in his life humbling himself

and then God exalted him.

Resurrection, ascension to the Father's right hand.

So let's use this parable of Jesus

to consider gospel humility.

And let's think, first of all,

in verse 9 about the problem.

So boys and girls,

there's a first point on your worksheet,

the problem of pride and prejudice.

Look at how it's put here,

to some who are confident of their own righteousness

and look down on everyone else,

Jesus told this parable.

Sometimes we don't know who the audience is

that Jesus is telling the story to,

but here we do.

It's a group who are always confident.

Confident that they are self-righteous.

That they are, in effect, saying,

I, by myself, I'm good enough for God.

And they are always despising

those who are not like them,

those who don't make the grave.

Most likely, the audience is made up of Pharisees.

The Pharisees, with their badge of honour,

we keep the law better than everybody else.

We keep ourselves separate from the bad people

better than anybody else.

We are the great and the good,

and God should be so happy to have us.

The problem with that audience,

and the problem with self-righteous pride,

is a wrong view of goodness.

When Jesus spoke to the rich young ruler,

he reminded him,

no one is good except God alone.

Pride compares with other people.

Well, I'm better than that person,

I'm better than that person.

When we're invited to compare against God,

God's perfection,

God's perfect standard,

that should humble us.

So religious pride always has this problem.

It's always going to have

too high a view of self.

I can, by myself, live to please God.

And we'll always also have

too low a view of God's holiness,

too low a view of personal sin,

and too low a view of other people.

We'll always tend towards prejudice.

How does this pride and prejudice

show itself today?

How does it show itself in us?

Do we recognize a tendency sometimes

to compare and to compete,

where we're boasting about our own achievements

or performance,

where we build ourselves up,

and in the process,

we want to tear others down,

where we have a critical or judgmental spirit?

Do we know that?

Perhaps we find ourselves

being puffed up in pride.

Tim Keller, in his wonderful little book,

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness,

uses the image of people with pride

being like a big balloon.

Boys and girls, think about a big balloon

that you've seen at a party,

and you just know it's ready to pop

at the least moment.

When we are like that,

when we are puffed up,

what's true about us?

We are empty at the center.

If we make life all about me

rather than God,

that is too small a center.

That is not a good foundation to build on.

And if we don't have God

at the center of our lives,

our lives will also be very fragile.

We don't have that security

that we know that we belong to God,

that we are in right relationship to Him,

and so we're going to feel

every time we get snubbed or ignored,

we're going to struggle to enjoy

the success of other people,

we're often going to feel deflated.

This pride and this prejudice

can also lead to us

living in the wrong courtroom,

where what matters most to us

is public opinion.

What are other people saying of me?

What do other people think of me?

Or living in the courtroom

of personal opinion,

where my whole life and identity

is bound up with

what do I think about myself,

and we forget,

what does God think about me?

The problem of a proud

and self-reliant heart

is a deadly one.

Jesus tells the parable against it

because it goes against

the pattern of the gospel.

What have we seen week after week

as we think about the gospel?

We've seen that we are so bad

because of our sin,

that we are so bad

because of our pride

that someone had to die for us.

The sinless, spotless Lamb of God

died for us.

We have seen time and again

that our sin, our guilt,

and our need is so great

that we by ourselves

could never earn God's salvation.

But what we have seen

is that Jesus came

and He took the sin and death

that we deserve

and He gave us

His righteousness

and glory

as a gift of grace.

And we're being led

constantly to understand

that all we have

as a Christian

comes from the mercy of God.

So the only boasting

we should ever make

is to boast about

the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ

as Paul encourages us.

So even as we consider

the audience of the parable,

we are invited to hear

the call of Jesus today

to turn from our pride,

that instinctive pride,

and to trust in Him.

To receive His mercy,

to find our identity from Him,

and to ask Him to be our Lord

and our Saviour.

Now let's get to the parable

and let's get to the two prayers

that we find here

in verses 10 to 13.

Again, we find a setting

for our story.

Boys and girls,

this is the second part

of the worksheet.

The setting for the story,

verse 10,

is the temple.

So this is taking place

in the context of

public worship.

So we can imagine

people sitting across

the aisle from each other,

but these two figures

could not be more different

as they gather for worship.

There is, first of all,

the Pharisee.

The Pharisee who was admired

by everyone,

part of the religious elite.

Let's notice a few things

about how he sees the world.

First,

what's his view of God?

God.

It's very interesting

to look in verse 11

at the beginning of his prayer.

Sounds like we're about

to hear a psalm of praise.

God, I thank you.

But instead of,

God, I thank you

that you are holy

and good and merciful

and righteous

and compassionate.

God, I thank you

that I'm not like others.

He glances briefly at God,

but he stares at himself.

God, I thank you

that I'm so great.

Sounds really ugly, doesn't it,

when it's put there so boldly.

What about his view of self?

Just to hear his prayer

reminds us that

for this man,

as Jesus pictures him,

I, me, is right at the center.

I thank you

that I'm not like other people.

I fast.

I give a tenth of all I get.

He compares with pride.

I'm better than that person,

better than that person.

Here's my religious record

of achievement.

What's his view of others?

He doesn't hide

his disgust of them, does he?

In his prayer,

he's actively pointing fingers.

God, I thank you.

I'm not like that tax collector

over there.

And his posture says it all.

He stood by himself.

I'm a cut above everybody else.

If we were to ask

what's his view of his need,

we would have no answer.

He doesn't feel any need,

certainly nothing that he asks God for,

except that he comes expecting a reward.

I've lived this way.

I've done this thing.

Therefore, I expect reward.

Augustine, in his day,

said if the church was like a hospital waiting room,

the man in this parable is sitting there

in the waiting room saying,

well, I'm glad my disease isn't that bad

as that person.

I'm glad my sickness isn't like that person.

And he never talks to the doctor

and he never gets help.

In the sickness of sin,

he never gets help.

He is so full of himself.

Think about our catechism.

He cannot see that he does not love God.

He cannot see that he is not loving his neighbor.

He does not recognize

that he is actually far from God,

even as he comes to the temple to worship.

He has a very deadly blind spot.

If you cycle in the city,

you probably notice on the back of buses or lorries

those warnings to cyclists

to beware of a driver's blind spot.

There is danger.

If you find yourself in the blind spot,

well, when it comes to God,

there are some spiritual blind spots.

If we fail to see our sin,

if we fail to acknowledge God's great holiness,

if we fail to acknowledge

a need of mercy of Jesus

as the Savior that we need,

like this Pharisee,

we stand in eternal danger.

And so we are invited out of pride

and to humble trust in Jesus.

Jesus, when he tells stories,

likes to use contrasts.

So if the Pharisee shows us pride

and a pride to avoid,

let's see the tax collector

in his humility

that we should embrace and practice.

So let's think about this tax collector.

Who is the tax collector?

Well, the people in Jesus' day,

instantly they would know

this is the villain of the peace.

He's one of the lowest of the low.

He's one of the bad guys in society.

So we need to ask the question,

why has Jesus made a bad guy

the hero of the story?

Why does Jesus often do this?

Think about the story of the good Samaritan

who shows love to his neighbor.

Think about the wild younger son

who receives the welcome from the father.

Why does Jesus choose to do that?

To show us that grace is amazing.

To show us that grace is shocking.

That actually grace is outrageous

in the way it comes to us.

Here is Jesus in the flow of Scripture

saying anyone can be saved.

They choose the way of humility.

Even the lowest of the low.

Even the tax collector.

Now let's think about this man.

Let's think again about his view of God.

Look at verse 13.

The tax collector stood at a distance.

He would not even look up to heaven.

He has a proper sense of who God is.

The holiness of God.

The majesty of God.

He knows that he has no natural right

to approach God's mercy seat.

What's his view of himself?

Look on at verse 13.

How does he talk about himself?

He talks about himself as a sinner.

Or the sinner.

He's not busy looking around

as a way to boast.

Well at least I'm not as bad as that person.

No he's looking in and he's looking up

and he's comparing himself to God.

In God's holy law.

What's his view of others?

We're not told.

Because he is doing business with God.

He's not looking to judge and criticize.

Not looking to make himself feel good

by making others seem worse.

He understands God is holy.

He understands he is the sinner.

What's in the middle

between God and the sinner?

It's mercy isn't it?

It's mercy.

Have mercy on me.

That's really significant language.

In the temple this is temple language.

This is atonement language.

This is an acknowledgement.

I need a sacrifice to cover my sin.

I need a substitute to take my place.

I need for one to turn away the wrath of God

that I deserve to take it on himself.

He understands the gospel.

In this spiritual hospital

he is looking to Christ.

Not to himself.

for the cure that he needs.

He needs mercy.

We all need mercy.

Where is mercy to be found?

For sinful people.

For suffering people.

Mercy is found in Jesus.

The humble savior.

Look at verses 31 to 33.

And we are reminded of the humility of Jesus

as he predicts his death.

A third time.

As we are being reminded of Jesus

in his humility

coming as a suffering servant.

Coming to give his life

as a loving sacrifice.

Coming to be the sin bearing substitute.

Coming to pay the penalty of sin

in full for his people.

For all who would trust in him.

All the way back in 1779

John Newton wrote a diary entry.

He was aware on that day

I imagine every day

of his sin

and of his guilt.

And that prompted him

to write this.

He said

I may

I must

I do

mention the atonement.

I have sinned

but Christ has died.

There's mercy.

I have sinned

but Christ has died.

That we might enjoy mercy.

Friends, our daily diary entry

should be Jesus Christ

came into the world

to save sinners

of which I am the chief.

The gospel,

when it does its work

in our hearts

will always serve

to kill pride

and to cause us

with humility

to look to Jesus

our humble

saviour.

Let's move from there

to the verdict

how this story

finishes.

Verse 14.

Luke in his gospel

loves the reversal theme.

And so we read

I tell you

that this man

the tax collector

rather than the other

went home justified

before God.

Showing us the way up

is down

in the gospel.

So there's this picture

of these two men

they've been at the temple

and they've been

in the place of worship

and they're going home

and they're going home

to two very different

verdicts

in God's law court.

This Pharisee

who had the view

well I'm good enough

I'm a religious person

I try my very best

to keep the law

and I certainly keep it

better than others

God's verdict on him

he was not justified.

He's not in right

standing with God.

Why?

Because he never

sought God's mercy.

He presumed that he

could please God

by himself

and he never

looked to God

for mercy.

To ask the question

why should God

accept me

is to ask one of the

most important questions

we ever could.

How do we answer

that question

is equally vital.

If we answer

that question

God should accept me

because of my

efforts

because of my

morality

because I come to church

because I read my Bible

because I try and be

a good person

those answers

miss the point.

Those answers

miss God's grace.

the only answer

is because Jesus

because Jesus

loved me

because Jesus

died for me

because Jesus

paid the price

for my sin.

That's the only

basis for our

acceptance.

The tax collector

who prayed

God

have mercy

he was the one

who was justified.

He humbled himself

before God

and he was the one

who would be exalted.

He came

to the accident

and emergency

room

in his sickness

and in his distress.

He asked

the doctor

for the help

that he desperately

needed

and he received

the cure.

Humility

coming to

Jesus

is the way

to find the cure

from the sickness

of sin.

The way

to be right

with God

the way

to healing

and wholeness

is not

entrusting

in ourselves

it's entrusting

in Jesus.

So the tax collector

and the Pharisee

teach us

about humility

about humility

in the gospel.

Now as we finish

three lessons

for us to begin

to think about

when it comes

to gospel humility.

One for our heads

something to believe

something for our heart

something for our hands

a point of action.

So first of all

for our head

we are

Philippians 2

called to have

the mind

of Christ.

We are called

to this

humble

way

of thinking

and to do that

according to

Philippians 2

what we need

to do

is we need

to fix

our mind

on

our humble

Christ.

We need

always to have

our mind

fixed on him

the one who

gave up

privilege

to rescue

us.

The one who

humbled himself

to become

one of us.

The one who

gladly became

an obedient

servant

for us.

The one who

in love

died

to save

guilty

people like

us.

And when

our mind

is fixed

on him

that's

when

God

by his

grace

and by

his

spirit

is able

to bring

an end

to

the selfish

ambition.

The end

to

the self

interest.

This is

where the

beginning

comes to

value

others

above

yourselves.

Gospel

humility

begins

with

having

the

mind

of

Christ

by

having

our

minds

fixed

on

Christ.

The second

thing,

to think

about

what we

need

in our

hearts,

we need

to

believe

the

gospel.

And when

we truly

believe

the gospel

and as

it

transforms

us,

we

recognize

that as

we reflect

on what

Jesus

has done

for us,

it is

impossible

to have

pride at

the foot

of the

cross.

There is

a wonderful

fact for

us to

treasure

that should

always

humble

us.

That Jesus

loved me

and gave

himself for

me.

There is

also a

wonderful

truth for

us to

treasure

about

Jesus

right now.

That

Jesus who

humbled

himself to

become one

of us,

to die

in our

place for

our

sins,

he is

now

exalted

as the

Lord of

glory.

He rules

and reigns

in heaven.

And that's

where our

hope of

salvation

is found.

That God

exalted

him and

gave him

the name

above every

name.

That at

the name

of Jesus

every knee

would bow

and every

tongue

confess that

Jesus is

Lord.

We need

to believe

the gospel

for our

own sense

of identity

and security.

To remember

every day

that in

God's

law

court

the

verdict

on your

life

is

already

in

if

you're

trusting

in

Jesus.

We need

to relive

that reality

that in

Christ

I am

loved,

I am

welcomed,

I am

accepted.

When I'm

tempted to

pride and

despair,

when I'm

tempted to

become

anxious

about

how people

view me,

here's where

security is

found,

here's where

our identity

rests,

here's how

we can

live with

humble

confidence

as we

remember

that in

Jesus

God's

verdict on

our life

is already

in.

And then

something for

our hands,

we are

called

to follow

Jesus'

pattern

of humility.

That begins

with what we've

been thinking

about,

since Christ

did that

for me,

since he

humbled

himself

for me,

surely there

is nothing

too low

for me

to do,

or for

you to

do.

There is

no sacrifice

that we

can make

for others

that will

ever compare

with the

greatness of

Jesus'

humble

sacrifice.

The gospel

says that

Jesus was

humble so

that you

and I

could be

humble

too,

so that

you and I

could

live our

lives making

the gospel

seem good

and beautiful

and true

as we

love others,

as we

sacrifice

for our

others,

as we

put the

interests of

others ahead

of our

own.

So this

week,

can you

and I

find one

person to

sacrifice

for in

order to

put their

interests

first?

Can we

begin to

put this

gospel

humility

into

practice

in our

lives?

gospel

humility

changes

everything.

It means

we look

across the

aisle,

not to

compare and

criticize and

judge or

boast,

but in

humility,

we're looking

for opportunities

to extend

the grace and

mercy of God

that we have

come to

discover to

others.

We want to

spend ourselves

and to be

ready to go

low in order

to lift

others up.

because we

know that the

church is a

place of

mercy and

we have

come to

find mercy

and we

want to

extend that

mercy to

others.

Let's pray

about that

together.

Lord,

our God,

once again,

we want to

praise you

for the

humility of

the Lord

Jesus,

for his

readiness to

leave the

glory of

heaven,

to be born

of the

Virgin Mary,

to live a

life of

humble

obedience,

to suffer

and die

for us

before being

exalted

once again to

his Father's

right hand.

Lord,

we pray that

the humility

of Jesus

would move

us,

would remove

pride from

us,

would instill

a humble

confidence in

us as we

trust him

as Savior

and as we

understand that

we are

justified as

our faith is

in him.

Help us

to wrestle

with pride

and anxiety

that we feel,

prejudice that

we can show.

Help us to

pursue this

kind of

humility.

for the

sake of

our

church,

for the

sake of

our

community,

for the

sake of

our

world,

to make

the gospel

look good

and beautiful

as we have

discovered that

it is.

Please help

us, we pray,

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Now we're

going to

close with

a wonderful

hymn to

help us to

reflect on

these truths

when I

survey the

wondrous

cross.

And let's

again stand

together to

sing.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.