Hallmarks of Ministry

The scripture reading comes from 1 Thessalonians 2, starting in verse 1.

Please follow along in your bulletin or Bible.

For you yourself know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know,

we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive.

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,

so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts.

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with pretexts for greed.

God is witness.

Nor did we seek made demands as apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God,

but also our own self, because you had become very dear to us.

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil.

We worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you.

While we proclaim to you the gospel of God, you are witnesses and God also.

How holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you, believers.

For you know how, like a father with his children.

We exhorted each of you and encourage you and charge you to walk in a manner worthy of God,

who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God,

which is at work in you, believers.

For you, brothers, became imitators to the church of God and Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,

who killed both the Lord Jesus Christ and the prophets,

and drove us out and displeased God and opposed all mankind

by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved,

so as always to fill up the measure of their sins.

But wrath has come upon them at last.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Jonah.

Can I invite Al to come up this morning?

One of the great things that being in the city of Hong Kong

and being here amongst some of the other churches

is there is a real sense of churches trying to work together.

We have been so blessed by many churches ourselves,

and we've been able to go and engage with other churches in the city.

And one of the amazing things this morning is to have Al come to be with us from St. Andrews.

Al is the Associate Minister of St. Andrews.

We met, I can't remember when we met, a couple of years ago.

I just had such an encouraging conversation.

Al has just got a real heart for Christ and for his people

and really shepherding people in his congregation there.

And one of the things you need to know about Al is,

apart from the fact that he has a wife, two kids, and one on the way,

he's also spent a lot of time in South Africa,

which growing up in South Africa, so that's okay.

We're used to that, but we'll forgive you.

We'll forgive you for that.

But if you repent of that, that's okay.

No problem.

But Al's going to come and bring,

he's graciously agreed to bring God's word to us this morning.

So can I pray for you this morning?

Father, I just want to thank you

that where brothers dwell together in unity,

there is your blessing.

And I'll thank you that in this city,

there is one church, and it's your church.

And we are not part of our own little kingdoms,

but it's your kingdom.

And Lord, I thank you for Al coming this morning.

I pray that you would speak to him, speak through him,

and speak through him into our hearts,

that we would hear your word,

that we would be challenged and changed through him,

and that we would learn to walk by faith

and to be ministers of the gospel,

as you call us to be.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Thank you so much, Chris.

And as Chris has said,

it's a real joy for me to be here with you this morning.

It's great that we do have a network of churches

that work together.

I did spend quite some time in South Africa.

I lived there until I was 15.

But as you can tell,

the accent has become a little bit British.

So forgive me if I'm neither one thing or another thing.

I'm going to suggest,

if you could keep open your booklets,

that would be great,

because we'll be having a look at these verses over here.

Over the recent years,

I don't know if you've noticed,

but there's been a lot of films about con artists,

people who can con,

who can talk their way into kind of any situation

for their own benefit.

So films like The Hustle,

Inception,

Parasite,

Ocean's Eleven,

and the remake,

and all of the sequels.

One film a bit like that,

from a few years ago,

is Catch Me If You Can.

I don't know if you remember it.

Tom Hanks,

Leonardo DiCaprio.

And DiCaprio was actually playing a real-life figure

called Frank Abagnale,

who was a notorious con artist from the 60s.

So whilst he was still a teenager,

he managed to convince people

that he was a medical doctor,

and actually practiced for several months.

That's a bit scary.

He also managed to pass the bar exam

and conduct himself as a lawyer for several months.

And he,

as well as all of that,

he convinced people

that he was an aircraft pilot

and took loads of flights,

and at one stage,

allegedly even took the controls

of a passenger airplane

full of people on board.

Well, fortunately,

he has repented of his ways.

He doesn't con people anymore.

He now tries to help firms

to avoid being conned.

But there is something about these con films

that we rather like,

don't we?

We like hearing about con artists.

We probably enjoy less actually meeting con artists,

and it's not impossible

that some of us have met con artists

in the sort of wrong kind of situation.

Now, in One Thessalonians,

that is the allegation

that is being charged against Paul.

That's the background to the whole letter,

in a way,

that Paul is nothing more than a con artist.

Now, we've been enjoying One Thessalonians

at St. Andrews.

We're just wrapping it up, actually, this Sunday.

And so, I hope you don't mind

me sharing a message from a few weeks ago.

And you may remember from the Book of Acts

the situation that Paul,

as was often his situation,

as often his practice,

when he arrived in Thessalonica,

he went to the synagogue there,

and he preached for just three Sundays.

And a few people became Christians.

They accepted Christ.

He planted a little fledgling church.

But then,

a mob was rounded up,

and he had to leave town in a hurry,

all of these angry people.

And afterwards,

they went to those young Christians,

and they said,

well, you can't believe Paul.

Paul is nothing more than a trickster,

a charlatan.

He's nothing more than a con artist.

And this gospel message of his,

well, that's just empty words.

That's just ideology.

That's just a pack of lies.

You don't believe that he actually cares about you.

He's tramping all over the place,

planting churches.

It's one just,

it's just one big ego trip for him.

He's after fame,

and he's after your money.

I mean, look,

he's left town in a hurry.

He's got something to hide.

That's the kind of allegations

that were coming through.

And if you read the letter through,

it's so very clear.

And so,

Paul has to address these.

And in chapter one,

he firstly affirms the gospel

and the faith of the Thessalonian church.

He says,

with this gospel message,

it's not just empty words.

No,

it's God's power to transform you.

And you yourselves

are the evidence of that.

Just see how you've changed.

You've turned from worshipping idols

to worship the Lord Jesus Christ

and wait for him.

Your lives are now marked

by faith and hope and love.

You've even accepted suffering.

You bear all of the hallmarks

of authenticity.

That's chapter one.

And now in chapter two,

with what we're looking at today,

Paul turns to himself

and he says,

and I bear all of the hallmarks

of authenticity as well.

Now,

Paul isn't trying to boast here,

big himself up.

No,

he's doing it

for the sake of the Thessalonians.

He knows that if they reject him,

then chances are

that in the end,

they'll reject the gospel as well.

And so what we have here

is like a little portrait

of faithful gospel ministry.

Now,

Paul isn't saying

that he's perfect.

In other places,

he admits that he's not perfect.

But he is saying

that he ticks these boxes

of basic faithfulness.

And he wanted the Thessalonians

to be able to discern

what counted as faithful gospel ministry

and what wasn't faithful gospel ministry.

And as such,

these verses are very helpful for us.

You know,

we're inundated

by people who claim

to be Christian leaders.

If you go onto the internet,

there's no end of people

who want you to watch their video

and read their blog

and buy their book.

And some of those teachers

are excellent.

And sadly,

some of those teachers are not.

And we need to be able

to discern

what's faithful teaching

and what isn't.

It's also very helpful

for gospel ministers,

this passage

that we should reflect

on our own ministry

and to think,

am I doing

what the Bible says?

But more than that,

these marks,

these things

that Christian ministers

are meant to do

are for us all.

You see,

the Bible tells us

that we're all the ministers.

We're all the pastors

in the church.

Sadly,

Kevin,

your senior pastor,

has been unwell.

We've been praying for him.

Praise the Lord

that he's on the mend.

But he's not

the only pastor here.

Nor is just Chris

or Henrika

or Jeremy

or the rest of the staff team.

No,

the Bible says

if we're a Christian,

then we're all the pastors.

We're all the ministers.

And so we should all

be doing these things.

So whether we're

in Sunday school

or helping to lead

a community group

or whether we're a parent

teaching our children

or whether we're

just one ordinary Christian

trying to encourage

another ordinary Christian,

these are things

that we should all do.

All aspire to do.

We won't do them perfectly

but these are things

that we should do.

Now we're going to split

our passage up into three.

Forgive me,

I am a kind of

three-point sermon guy.

So we've got

three points this morning.

I'm sorry about that.

Three points.

Firstly,

right motives.

Right motives.

So have a look with me

at verse one.

Paul says,

remember back

to how we lived amongst you.

And he uses this phrase

again and again,

you know.

You know how we lived.

Verse one.

But you yourselves know,

brothers,

that our coming to you

was not in vain.

But though we had

already suffered

and been shamefully

cheated at Philippi,

as you know,

we had boldness

in our God

to declare to you

the gospel of God

in the midst

of much conflict.

So he's saying,

remember back

to what happened.

We arrived in your city

and we'd just come

from Philippi.

In Philippi,

Paul had preached

the gospel

and he'd been opposed.

An angry crowd

tried to take hold

of him.

The city officials,

they arrested Paul

but instead of protecting

him from the crowd,

they unlawfully beat him

and threw him into prison.

Eventually,

he managed to extricate

himself from prison

but that didn't stop him.

Then he went on

to Thessalonica

and he was opposed there.

He had to leave

in a hurry.

Next,

he went to Berea.

Again,

he was opposed

and had to leave

in a hurry.

Then he went on

to Athens.

His message

was mainly rejected.

Eventually,

he found himself

in the city of Corinth

where he was writing

this letter from

and he's saying,

remember

how our lives were.

We weren't doing it

for fame

and glory

and money.

No,

it was highly inconvenient

for us

sharing the gospel

with you

and that shows

that our motives

were right.

See what he goes on

to say

in verses 3

and 4.

For our appeal

does not spring

from error

or impurity

or any attempt

to deceive

but just as we

have been approved

by God

to be entrusted

with the gospel

so we speak

not to please man

but to please God

who tests our hearts.

For we never came

with words of flattery

as you know

nor with a pretext

for greed.

God is our witness.

He's saying,

look,

we never did any

of that con artist stuff.

We never used flattery

to get into your good books.

We never put on a mask

to hide greed

in our hearts

because we were

after your stuff.

No,

we weren't trying

to please ourselves

or to please others

or even really firstly

to please you.

No,

as custodians

of the gospel

firstly we were seeking

to please the Lord

not con artists.

One of the most infamous

con artists

in the animal kingdom

if you can call it that

is the angler fish.

I don't know

if you know

about angler fish.

I'm at the stage

where my oldest daughter

is three years old

so I'm always

showing her pictures

of animals and things

and the angler fish

is this rather grotesque fish

that lives in the murky depths

of the ocean

where there's hardly

any light at all

and it's got this bulbous protrusion

that comes off

that someone's nodding.

You know what I'm talking about

at least.

Or the top of its head

which glows in the light

and the little fish

are attracted to this

and they swim up to it

and then it just swallows them

with one big gulp.

Fortunately,

it's only this big

so you don't have to worry

too much about the angler fish

but there's almost

a sense in which

some gospel ministers

are sadly

a bit like that.

They're holding out

the light of the gospel

in a dark world

and people are attracted

to that

but their intention

all along

is to exploit those people

and so we hear about

ministers

who are after money.

They're stolen

from their church.

They're paying themselves

huge salaries.

They've got luxury cars

and private jets.

Meanwhile,

their congregation

is impoverished

after money

or after fame.

They've turned ministry

into a vehicle

for self-promotion.

It's all about them

and what they're doing

and their latest CD

and their latest book

and Paul here

is defending himself

against that.

He's saying,

look,

I really wasn't

that kind of

con artist

Christian minister.

I really wasn't.

Just remember

to how I lived amongst you.

You know.

It wasn't like that.

It had the right motives.

Right motives.

And I think

this reminder

about having right motives

in what we do

is so important.

It's so easy

if you're anything like me.

It's so easy

to do what seems

to be the right thing

for the wrong reasons.

Now,

we'll never have

perfect motivation

because we have

a sinful nature.

We can't wait

until our motives

are perfect

before we do something

because otherwise

we'll never do it.

But we do need

to work on our motivation

and I need to be reminded

that sometimes

at church

it's so easy

first to be

thinking about

what other people

think about

what we're doing

whether that's

in the music team

or whether we're

serving in kids zone

or Sunday school

to be thinking

about other people

and to want

their affirmation.

It's not wrong

to want to please others

but we need to

remind ourselves

we're doing this

firstly

to serve the Lord

to please Him.

The same is true

in evangelism.

We know that we

should be doing

evangelism

and it's possible

to do that

in a way

to please ourselves

just so that we

get it off our conscience

phew,

I've told them

I can rest now

or to convince

other people

that we're keen

other Christians

can see that

we're bringing

our friends

to church

and that

we're a keen

Christian

but we should be

doing evangelism

firstly to serve

the Lord

and to please Him.

Equally wrong

motivation

can keep us

from service.

For instance

if we firstly

are thinking about

serving our boss

and getting ahead

in our career

then we might be

quite reluctant

to take on

additional responsibility

at church

because it might

get in the way

or if we're seeking

to please ourselves

if someone asks us

to take on a role

on the welcome team

or the AV

we might think

well this is quite

menial and inconvenient

I don't really want

to do it.

Well gospel ministry

wasn't convenient

for Paul

but he was willing

to do it

because he had

the right methods

inspired through

the gospel

and what Jesus

had done for him.

Right methods

and secondly

right methods.

So Paul says

well I was an apostle

and I could have

made demands of you

but I didn't live

like that.

Instead

verse 7

have a look with me

he says

but we were gentle

among you

like a nursing mother

taking care

of her own children

so being affectionately

desirous of you

we were ready

to share with you

not only the gospel

of God

but also

our own selves

because you had

become very dear

to us.

Well Paul is making

an analogy here

saying that he's

like a mother

and mothers

I think are really

the epitome of caring

that's true isn't it

and I see that

very much first hand

in my wife

as Chris has said

we've got

a little girl

who's three

and one who's one

and another little girl

who's coming in October

we're absolutely

thrilled by that

it is quite an

exhausting phase

of life

and a lot of that

falls on the mum

now obviously

dads have to do

their part

but there's some

things that dads

can't easily do

and so the mums

are the ones

who end up doing

a lot of it

and they just keep

on giving

and giving

and giving

and I see that

in my wife

just the epitome

of caring

and Paul is making

this comparison here

now I don't think

that we need

to misunderstand him

he isn't trying

to claim motherhood

for himself

he's not trying

to say that he

understands all women

he's just using

an image

that most people

can understand

and he's saying

look we cared for you

we didn't want

to be a burden

at all

we weren't

so often Paul

would get a job

as a tent maker

or repairing tents

and he's saying

look remember

how we lived

amongst you

during the day

we were working hard

repairing and making

those tents

and then in the evening

we'd come

and we'd tell you

about Jesus

and we'd do a bible study

and we'd pray together

and we'd be there

late in the evening

up in the early morning

repairing those tents

and all the while

we were opposed

and sometimes even

fearing for our lives

but through it all

it was worth it

because we really

cared about you

like a mother

and also

like a father

see what he says

in verse 11

for you know

how like a father

with his children

we exalted each of you

and encouraged you

and charged you

to walk in a manner

worthy of God

who calls you

into his own kingdom

and glory

now again

I don't think

Paul is trying to

promote gender stereotypes

he's just saying

that in the average family

so often

the mother

is a bit more gentle

and the father

is often

but not always

a bit more stern

often in a helpful way

and he's saying

we were a bit like

a dad to you

we set you an example

through our conduct

through our speech

and we wanted

the best for you

we didn't pander to you

no we were willing

to have that slightly

more difficult conversation

because we wanted you

to really live

for the Lord Jesus Christ

there's a kind of honesty

and straightforwardness

gentleness

on the one hand

and honesty

and straightforwardness

and sometimes

those things

are lacking

from Christian leadership

there can be

a lack of gentleness

some Christian leaders

are so determined

in their zeal

to build the kingdom

that they become

quite authoritarian

and domineering

in order to get things done

and that might work

in the short term

but in the end

it always leaves

a trail of destruction

and sadly

over recent years

there's been a number

of high profile pastors

who've had to step down

from their ministry

amongst allegations

of bullying

and abuse

now that is

absolutely scandalous

a Christian leader

should not be

a bully

Paul was not a bully

Christian leaders

should be gentle

gentle

but also

honest

and forthright

some Christian leaders

are so scared

about upsetting anyone

that they're not

willing to say

to anyone

hey you're a Christian

you shouldn't be

doing those things

but for Paul

the gentleness

and the forthrightness

went hand in hand

that's how it works

for Christians

gentleness

and forthrightness

go hand in hand

Paul was willing

to get emotionally

involved in the lives

of these individuals

not a kind of

professionalism

keeping them

at arm's length

no he says

we loved you so much

that we were willing

to share our lives

our very selves

getting emotionally

involved

now I think

that's a big challenge

for us here

in Hong Kong

getting emotionally

involved

you know

we lived in a city

that's just packed

with people

and so many of those

people are stressed

and angry

and tired

and don't have

much energy

and we're stressed

and tired

and without much energy

and it's easy for us

to say to ourselves

well if I had more

time and energy

and more emotional

resources

then maybe I could help

but I just

don't have it in me

to deal with

all of the stuff

that's going on

in other people's

lives at the moment

but brothers and sisters

the Christian way

is to get involved

to get emotionally

involved in other

people's lives

now obviously

we all have our limits

in a larger congregation

like this

we can't get to know

everyone

which is why

I think our

small groups

are so important

and at St. Andrews

we're always saying

join

we call them

growth groups

join a growth group

join a growth group

join a growth group

because of course

in these smaller groups

we're able to

study the Bible

and pray

but more than that

to really get to

know each other

and support each other

so that if we hear

that someone in our

community group

is going through

a rough patch

well we pray for them

but more than that

we bring them up

and we say

hey how are you doing

can I take you out

for lunch

can we go out

for coffee

what can I do

to help you

because we really can

and if we hear

that someone

in our community group

is maybe

making a bad decision

or fallen into

some kind of sin

then we don't ignore it

we don't bulldoze

they know we're gentle

but we don't do

nothing at all

instead

we get in touch

with them

and we say

brother, sister

I care about you

very much

but these are the reasons

why I think

this may not be

the right course

of action

and these are the verses

in the Bible

that say that

maybe this is not

the right thing

to do

and we're willing

to have that conversation

and the potential pushback

that we might receive

in it

because we care

about that person

right motives

right methods

and finally

right message

well Paul is talking

about a gospel message

here

which is not his own

look with me

at verse 13

and we also

thank God

constantly for this

that when you received

the word of God

which you heard

from us

you accepted it

not as the word

of men

but as it really is

the word of God

which is at work

in you

believers

say

he repeats

word, word, word

it's not his word

it's the Lord's word

and it's a word

which is opposed

see what he says

in verse 14

for you brothers

became imitators

of the churches

of God

in Christ Jesus

that are in Judea

for you suffered

the same things

from your own countrymen

as they did

from the Jews

who killed

both the Lord Jesus

and the prophets

and drove us out

and displeased God

and opposed

all mankind

well Paul is making

the point here

that from beginning

to end

this message

was opposed

now he mentions

the Jews

not because he's

anti-semitic

of course

he's a Jew

himself

he has a deep

love for the Jewish

people

but he's making

this point

that from beginning

to end

this gospel message

was opposed

it was first

preached in Jerusalem

and there was

opposition

that message

spread all over

the place

and now even

in Thessalonica

there was opposition

even from their

own countrymen

that is what

the Thessalonians

had experienced

so opposition

and suffering

was intrinsic

is intrinsic

to the gospel message

and isn't that

what we see

in the Lord Jesus Christ

the Lord Jesus Christ

was opposed

the Lord Jesus Christ

suffered and died

when he bled

on the cross

in order to bring

God's love

into this broken world

in order that we might

receive his forgiveness

and if you're here

and you're still exploring

the Christian faith

then all you need to do

to receive God's forgiveness

for sins

that our shame

might be washed away

is to say

Lord Jesus

I'm trusting in you

I'm trusting in your

suffering

in my place

that's all we have to pray

and our sins

are washed away

but even as we

receive Christ

the Bible says

that we also need

to submit

to Christ's authority

that we need

to pick up

our cross daily

and that leads us

inevitably

into a path

of opposition

and even of suffering

but that aspect

of the gospel

is often deeply

unpopular today

and sometimes

people want to

minimize it

and even to deny it

so take for instance

two ways

in which that

sometimes happens

liberal theology

amongst other things

I think

liberal theology

often says

well you don't need

conflict in the Christian life

the main thing

is that we're a nice person

and that we get on

with everyone else

and don't worry too much

about doctrines

and the miracles

and other religions

and the resurrection

and things like that

it doesn't matter

exactly what you believe

so long as you're

a nice person

we don't need conflict

liberal theology

or another

another form of false teaching

is prosperity gospel

which in many ways

says we don't need

suffering in this world

that God loves this world

and he wants to bring

an end to pain

which is true

but that we can have that now

if we just believe

and trust

then he'll give us

healing

and he'll give us

health

and wealth

and self-actualization

and we can receive

all of our dreams now

we don't have to have

suffering

in this world

well those two forms

of teaching

are at variance

with the apostle Paul's

personal experience

and so clearly

with the verses

that we've been looking

at this morning

and it's important

that we as Christians

are able to discern that

you know sometimes

people come up to me

at St. Andrews

and they say

oh Pastor Al

I was watching YouTube

last week

and there was a brilliant

guy on that

and I watch him every week

and you should really

watch him too

you'll love him

and then they mention

the name of the person

and my heart sinks

because it's a well-known

prosperity gospel preacher

or liberal theologian

and just because

someone holds a bible

and smiles

and tells a few nice stories

and is emotionally engaging

doesn't make them faithful

we need to be able

to discern

what's faithful

ministry

and what's not

of course

I'm not talking

about watermark church

but the ministry

here is very faithful

I mean more

what's out there

on the internet

and in the books

that we read

now Paul was that

kind of faithful

minister

even through the

opposition

even through the

persecution

he went to Thessalonica

and the Lord

used him

to richly bless

those Christians

there

he told them about

Jesus

he led them to Christ

he nurtured them

he discipled them

he wrote to them

he prayed for them

he sent other Christians

to look after them

and it was a wonderful

thing

now we haven't had

the privilege

of being led to Christ

by an apostle

but if you're a Christian

here today

then the Lord

would have used

someone in your life

in order to richly

bless you

and I want to ask

who is that person

and who are those people

just think back

I can think of many people

in my life

like that

take for instance

a few

just to mention

take for instance

my parents

my parents

would describe themselves

as ordinary people

and ordinary Christians

but every single Sunday

they went to church

and every single morning

they got up a little bit early

in order to read the Bible

and pray

and as a young person

that made an enormous

impact on me

or take for instance

my youth group

when we immigrated

from South Africa

to the UK

I was a confused

Christian teenager

trying to figure out

what it meant to be a Christian

in a foreign culture

and having a youth group

to journey alongside me

was profoundly helpful

during that time

or when I was at university

I arrived at university

not really sure

what I wanted to do

with my life

and it was really

really really helpful

when an older Christian

from the local church

met up with me

for about six months

in order to read the Bible

and pray

and that started to change

the whole trajectory

of my life

as I began to think

more seriously

about Christian ministry

now my hunch is

that you probably

have people like that

in your life as well

everyday people

ordinary people

broken people

sinful people

but people who

nevertheless

the Lord has used

to bless you

richly

and I think

part of the challenge

of this passage

is whether we're willing

to be that kind

of person

to the people

whom God

has put in our lives

and to the people

whom God

has put in the room

around us

and we might feel

like we don't have

much time

or that we don't

have much experience

or that we're the wrong

kind of character

remember the apostle Paul

he was completely

the wrong kind

of character

and the Lord

turned his life around

and used him

to richly bless others

the Lord can use you

to richly bless others

and what we see

in this passage

is a little portrait

of how we go

about doing that

right motives

not seeking to

please others first

but seeking to

please the Lord

right methods

being gentle

but also honest

right methods

sticking faithfully

to that good news

of Jesus Christ

despite opposition

and suffering

let's pray

heavenly father

thank you so much

for your rich goodness

to us

in the Lord Jesus Christ

thank you

that he suffered

and died

that we might have

forgiveness

a new life

and renewal

and thank you

that you bring

that renewal

through everyday

ordinary broken people

thank you

for the example

of the apostle Paul

and the way

that you used him

to bless that church

in Thessalonica

thank you

for the ways

in which you've used

people in our lives

to bless us

and strengthen us

in our walk

and help us

we pray

and show us

how we can do that

and be used by you

to bless others

Amen