The Bible

please have a seat and just before the boys and girls head out let's pray at the start of this

new term for for creche and for junior church lord god we thank you for every boy and girl

in our church for those who are able to be here today for those who are at home

lord we pray that you would give to each one of them a love for the bible so that they might love

you that they might love jesus as lord and savior and lord we pray that as they go to their classes

that you would help them to to read and to understand and to be able to put into practice

what your word teaches lord thank you for their teachers pray that you would guide them

as they look to to love our children to show them by example and by words and what it looks like to

be a follower of jesus and we pray for them as we pray for ourselves in jesus name amen

so boys and girls can head to their classes

and while they are doing that perhaps

in your bibles you can turn with me to the gospel of matthew

as we spend january thinking about what jesus says about the church and about

prayer and today about the bible we're going to use the gospel of matthew to help us in that so

we've got three short readings the first from matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 11

Matthew 4:1–11

and then chapter 5 and then chapter 12 and the words will also be up on the screen so let's hear

god's word

then jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after fasting for 40 days

and 40 nights he was hungry the tempter came to him and said if you are the son of god tell these stones

to become bread jesus answered it is written man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that

comes from the mouth of god then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point

of the temple if you are the son of god he said throw yourself down for it is written he will

command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not

strike your foot against the stone jesus answered him it is also written do not put the lord your god to

the test again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world

and their splendor all this i will give you he said if you will bow down and worship me jesus said to him

away from me satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve him only then the devil left him

and angels came and attended him and then a really short reading from the sermon on the mount chapter 5

at verse 17 so matthew 5 at verse 17 do not think that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets

i have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them for truly i tell you until heaven and earth disappear

not the smallest letter not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law

until everything is accomplished therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands

and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices and

teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven and then lastly in matthew chapter 12

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

matthew chapter 12 and at verse 38

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

where we read then some of the pharisees and teachers of the law said to jesus teacher we want to see a sign

from you he answered a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign but none will be given it except the

sign of the prophet jonah for as jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish

so the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth the men of nineveh will

stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for they repented at the preaching of jonah

and now something greater than jonah is here the queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this

generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to solomon's wisdom

and now something greater than solomon is here amen now before we turn back to think about those passages

and also to help us in our confession as we look to confess sin together we're going to sing two sections

of psalm 38 and we're going to sing from the beginning where we see david confess sin and the misery

that it brings and then we'll read from the sing from the end verses 17 to the end where we find

david praying that he wouldn't be abandoned that he'd be rescued that he'd be saved and we can pray these

words as ours and at the same time we need to recognize that our hope lies again in jesus our savior

the sinless son of god who took on for us the weight and misery of sin the one who died for our sin

entrusting himself to god the one who rose again in victory the one who assures us of forgiveness

when our faith is in him so let's stand and sing these two sections from psalm 38 together

if you have your bibles perhaps you can keep them open um at matthew's gospel we'll be beginning

in chapter four as we think about what jesus says um about the bible so as i said we're going to go

back to some of those fundamentals of our faith in january and to think about bible and prayer and

mission and church uh just a couple of days ago we began to watch a little bit of naomi osaka the

tennis player's documentary and there was there was one or two scenes where you would see nothing but

but her constantly hitting the same shot with her coach time and time again as a way to check up on

those fundamentals of her swing and to make any corrections that needed to be made and it's

important for us as christians as the church to think about our fundamentals in our faith and i

think especially in our own times where the world has been out of rhythm for such a long time

so have our lives for a variety of reasons and the church again we find ourselves out of our usual

kind of rhythms and patterns and it can be really easy to lose disciplines the stuff that that has always

been really basic and essential to faith it's really easy to to lose those disciplines and even

to lose sight of perhaps why they matter so today you know why does it matter so much that we we're

hearing from god in his word so and today i want to ask one really simple but crucial question

and it's this what does jesus believe about the bible because when we think about that that simple

question what does jesus believe about the bible if we are christians then our instinct should be to

believe what he teaches to follow his example and to hold to his view of the word of god

and and similarly if we're here today or we're watching online we're not christians again this is a

great starting point and when we have questions about the bible and about christianity what does

jesus say about the bible so so three points that we're going to consider today from those different

passages one we're going to think about the authority of the bible we're going to consider the

fact that the bible in jesus view is unbreakable and thirdly to think about the fact that in jesus view

the bible is reliable so matthew chapter 4 thinking about the bible has authority so here we find

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

ourselves right at the beginning of jesus public ministry and he's just been baptized the spirit has

come down and the father has said at the end of chapter 3 this is my son whom i love with him i am well

pleased so he's been blessed and now he's going to be tested this is a pattern that we see

in the bible adam first man created and blessed he was tested in the garden and he failed

uh israel was blessed they were chosen and saved to become god's people they were tested in the

wilderness and they failed but jesus son of god he is blessed he is tested and we see that he succeeds

now jesus of course when he is tempted has a unique calling the devil

recognizes that saying if you are or since you are the son of god so jesus is the son of god and he must

live as the son of god so there's something unique about the temptation that jesus faces

but when we think about how jesus succeeds and that he trusts the authority of the bible he looks to submit

to it and to obey it we recognize that his resource in resisting temptation is our resource too god's written

and unchanging word of truth is our authority and is our defense when we find ourselves being tempted so if

we are to resist temptation and to honor god we must both love and live by god's word and we see that in

the life of jesus so let's look really briefly at these three temptations the first one if you are

the son of god tell these stones to become bread attempted on the matter of provision we can imagine

as it were the devil saying jesus as the son of god why not use your power and your rights to provide

for your needs why not ensure that you have comfort and how does jesus respond and responding from the book

deuteronomy man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of god

bread is not of first importance the physical life is not of first importance god's word is

our spiritual lives are of first importance notice jesus says every word that comes from the mouth of

god so the whole bible not just parts of it the whole bible is food for our soul and notice too that it

comes from the mouth of god so what the bible says god says and it's so important for us to recognize

as we come to the word of god what the bible says god says to us the second temptation sees the devil

take jesus up to the highest point of the the temple and here the issue at stake seems to be protection

if you're the son of god throw yourself down and then he quotes sam 91 he'll commend command his angels

they'll lift you up in their hands so you'll not strike your foot against the stone jesus the bible

says the angel's job is to care for you so why not jump off the temple to prove it and how does jesus

respond jesus answered it's also written do not put the lord your god to the test what do we see in jesus

jesus trusts his father jesus will not manipulate his father jesus doesn't need a dramatic demonstration of

the care of god he instinctively trusts it he's not going to test his god

and it also shows that for jesus the bible is consistent one part is not going to disagree with

another part

and then the final temptation

from verse 8 is on this the subject of power

the devil takes jesus to a very high mountain and in his mind's eye sees all the kingdoms of the world

and all their glory and the devil says jesus don't you want a world empire imagine what it'd be like

if you ruled imagine the peace and the justice all you need the price you need to pay is simply

to bow down and worship me

and again jesus said to him away from me satan for it is written third time he quotes from deuteronomy

worship a lord your god and serve him

only

because the word of god calls for the exclusive worship and honor of god

he will not pursue his kingdom in a way that dishonors his god

the ends do not justify the means jesus will not take a shortcut to

his kingdom

he will not avoid suffering

and the cross

so here at the beginning of jesus ministry what are we seeing from jesus

we're seeing that he submits his will

his mind

his heart

to the word of god

to hearing it

to to learning from it to be able to recall it

and to apply it

when he is tempted

jesus believes god is the author of scripture and that god's word has

authority

and so he submits to it in his life

now let's just think before we move on why does this matter for for you and me

today why does it make bible reading of vital importance for you and i today

well if we go right to a comparison we need to recognize that just as jesus was

tempted we too will be tempted and when we are we need god's word in our lives

just as jesus was tempted to personal comfort

don't we find sometimes that we are tempted to pursue our own comfort rather than costly obedience

to follow the path of least resistance as christians sometimes

aren't we sometimes tempted

to demand

personal security and health and well-being from god

rather than

confident trust in him

regardless of circumstance

aren't we tempted to want personal glory

rather than committing to worship god and giving him the glory

and aren't we tempted each and every day

towards sin

towards disobedience

and so we need to learn

to submit to the authority of the bible

and we need to be hearing the bible so we're reminding ourselves always of the glory of god

of the sinfulness in our own hearts of the wonder of the gospel of the joy of

forgiveness of the spirit who's at work in us to enable us to obey

so we need the bible because we will be tempted and we also

need to recognize the authority of the bible because

we're always choosing

what we're giving attention to

because we know don't we that in our own lives there are so many competing values and so many

competing voices on any number of issues and subjects

and there's always the question of what voice are we going to listen to

whose word carries the most weight in our own hearts and lives

will it be the messages of popular culture

will it be the opinions of my peer group

or will it be the personal living speaking god

and perhaps to make it really practical think about this morning think about a typical morning

which do we reach for first

is it the word of god

or is it our phones

sometimes how we begin the day sets the tone for our day

so it's good to begin the day hearing god and his word

to think about which word we reflect on most

which values are most a part of

how we live day by day

so jesus shows us the bible has authority

and i turn over with me to chapter 5 and at verse 17

to recognize that in jesus understanding the bible is unbreakable

it can be helpful to to ask ourselves the question to reflect on

how strong is my confidence in the bible

and when i approach god's word whatever section we're in old testament or new testament

do i think it is reliable or unreliable

do i think of it as unchanging

or does it always need to change in light of the culture we find ourselves in

when we have questions about god and about faith

is it the authority

to answer those questions

or are we going to be going on to youtube

or looking to some popular expert who might give us an alternative view

in christians and churches sometimes we can be apologetic i think we could be defensive we can we can run away from questions about the authority of the bible or the reliability of the bible

our confidence in the bible but

when we listen to the words of jesus

and you can go through matthew's gospel you see lots of jesus view on scripture

and if we if we trust him and if we listen to those words it's going to give us confidence

because jesus has no doubt that god's word is unbreakable and god's word is unchanging

and that too when we think about how jesus thinks about the bible is going to motivate us

to read so as to obey because we know

that this is our standard and it's not going to change

we don't need to adapt it to fit our culture

point one to think about here

when jesus talks about the bible being unbreakable

let's think about

his understanding that his mission is to fulfill

scripture

the word of god

as it is in the old testament

verse 17

do not think

that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets

i have not come to abolish them

but to fulfill them

so when he says the law and the prophets

it's a way of thinking about the whole old testament

and he says he's not come to abolish them to set them aside as some of his

critics thought he was doing

rather he's come to fulfill them

so let's think about how does jesus fulfill

the law and the prophets

well we read the gospels we discover he fulfills

the whole moral law

he fulfills that first of all in his

teaching

so we're at the beginning towards the beginning of the sermon on the mount

and what jesus is about to do in the next section for the rest of chapter 5 and into chapter 6

is he is about to remind the people that the law is a matter of heart

it's a matter of motive

it's not some kind of tip box exercise

it's not just superficial legalism

no it's about our heart attitude

towards god

and towards his word

and so jesus fulfills it in his teaching

but jesus also fulfills the whole moral law in his life

so remember jesus summarizes the whole law

in two ways

one love the lord your god with all your heart soul mind and strength

and two

love your neighbor as yourself

we read the gospels

isn't that what we discover

in jesus

one who was determined always to

to obey

to honor

to glorify his father

even to the point of his dying on the cross

and don't we see him

so readily loving others at great cost to himself

loving the least

loving the outcast

loving the sick

loving those

who were needing

spiritual teaching

they were like sheep without a shepherd

so jesus

in his life

in his words

in his actions

fulfills

the whole moral law

jesus also fulfills the whole moral law

in his death

because one of the things that the law is really clear on

is that the wages of sin

is death

that sin must be punished

offenses against a holy god must be dealt with

and jesus comes as a substitute

and what we see on the cross

is the penalty

that sin deserves

what we see is jesus going under

the curse

that sin

and rebellion

deserves

and jesus isn't doing that because he has done anything wrong

rather he is taking the sins

of his people

so he fulfills the moral law in his death

but not just in taking the penalty

but also in being that great sacrifice

to atone for sin

all those sacrifices in the old testament

that speak of forgiveness

that speak of peace with god

point towards the great sacrifice

of god sending his son jesus

to be that once for all sacrifice for sin

so he fulfills the law in his teaching

in his life and his death

and he also fulfills what the old testament

anticipates

and promises

sacrifices

sometimes people

think about the old testament as promise

and the new testament the coming of jesus

as fulfillment

so we talked about sacrifices

the promise of sacrifice is fulfilled

in jesus forgiveness from god

through the sacrifice of his son

the old testament emphasis on the temple

the place where we can meet with god

and jesus says

i am god with you

i am the way to meet with god

all the kings that we read about

in the bible

speaking to us

of the one great king

who would rule in perfect righteousness

forever

the seed promised to adam

who would crush the head of the serpent

the seed promised to abraham

who would be blessing to the nations

that's jesus

all those rich promises

anticipating a messiah

who would come from god

with the authority of god

but he would die as a suffering servant

before rising and returning to glory

it's jesus

and so jesus

reads the old testament

he says this is all about me

and that too informs how we read

especially how we read the old testament

we're looking to find

jesus on every page

so jesus mission is about fulfillment

but then if you look at verses 18 and 19 of chapter 5

we see that jesus understands the bible to be permanently valid

really strong words from jesus verse 18

for truly i tell you

until heaven and earth disappear

not the smallest letter

not the least stroke of a pen

will by any means disappear from the law

until everything is accomplished

now compare that with an article yesterday

talking about the the stress and the exhaustion that people are facing

as they're dealing with as we are dealing with

never-ending covid laws and regulations and restrictions

i compare that with god's word

jesus saying all of god's word

is more permanent than the universe

all scripture is permanently valid

this is bedrock

this is unchanging for us

jesus is addressing in a sense

the misunderstandings of the pharisees

one of the things the pharisees did

was they divided into heavy and light laws

they decided which ones to prioritize

jesus says

all the law matters

every part matters

and not just the externals but also the heart

how helpful is this when

we sort of think about the time that we live

many modern thinkers

writers

if there's a clash of culture and cultural values

with the bible

then of course for them culture always wins

but when jesus says the bible is all truth

and the bible is always truth

then for us as christians

we need to say that the bible always wins

some principles that follow

when we think about culture and the bible

we need to have humility

recognizing

that god's word is not broken

but that we are

beginning personally

but before we think about the society that we live in

it's my assumptions

my culture

my pride

my prejudice

my ignorance

that needs to be confronted

not god's word

and so when jesus says the bible is unbreakable

that needs our humility

let's think about commitment to the bible as well

because here is one place where jesus would clearly reject any concept of

a pick and mix approach to the bible

a pick and choose approach to the bible

you will read scholars

you will hear people in culture say

well i really like the sermon on the mount

or i like the love commands

i'm not so keen on

on this part

not so keen on what jesus says about sexual ethics

or about marriage

if the bible is unbreakable and unchanging

and jesus said it was

then we must humbly submit to it all

and seek to obey

those parts that we naturally agree with

and those parts that challenge us

and confront us

and make us address our assumptions

and to think too about christ and the bible

there was an old minister in london

i think in the 19th century

who said that just as all roads in england eventually lead to london

so all the old testament themes

ultimately lead to christ

i think one of the most helpful things that we can

we can ask as we come to an old testament section of the bible

is to ask ourselves

how does this

anticipate

the life of jesus

the ministry of jesus

the words of jesus

as jesus himself

taught his disciples

that

that he is what the whole scripture is about

we need to be looking for him on every page

but we also need to be looking to jesus

to understand what heart obedience looks like

so as we said

in the next section of the sermon on the mount

jesus is going to say

that that command about murder

isn't just about murder

it's also about anger

because it's a matter of the heart

that command about adultery

isn't just about adultery

it's also about lust

because it's a matter of

the heart

and so we need to be looking to jesus

to know

what true obedience looks like

so the bible is unbreakable

the last section we're going to look at

is that little section we read in matthew 12

and to think about the fact that the bible

is unbreakable

nope

we thought about that already

the bible is reliable

ever since the 19th century

i guess

with the rejection of miracles

rejection of the supernatural

begun to come increasing criticism

of the bible

and old testament history

and challenges raised

over whether we can trust it

but those challenges aren't just

reserved for old books

or modern books

we have probably

had some of those challenges

perhaps from our friends

or from our family

can you really believe

in the historical Adam

that we all come from

Adam and Eve

perhaps we will have questions

about some of those dramatic events

of the old testament

maybe the story of Noah

or the story of Jonah

as we'll think about

there are questions

about the general

reporting

and the accuracy

can we really trust

what an oral culture

has to say

and again

as Christians

and as churches

it can be easy

for us to feel

like we're on the defensive

it can be easy

to perhaps feel embarrassed

or to lose confidence

and that again

is why we need to hear Jesus

if we're going to be those

who live by the word of God

we need to have confidence

that is reliable

and so it's really helpful

again to listen to Jesus

in Matthew 12

because for him

biblical history

is history

you can go through

all the gospels

and you will never find

Jesus ever question

a historical figure

a historic event

a historic miracle

that's recorded

in the old testament

that's our basis

for confidence

Jesus believed it

so I can believe it too

which takes us to

Matthew 12

and perhaps the

classic objection

that people might have

when it comes to

old testament stories

surely you can't really

believe in Jonah

being swallowed

by a giant fish

well

in reply

we can say

well Jesus did

look at those words

Matthew 12

Matthew 12:39

verse 39

a wicked and adulterous

generation

asks for a sign

but none will be given

it except the sign

of the prophet Jonah

and now listen

as Jesus compares

the situation of Jonah

with what's coming

in his own life

for as Jonah

was three days

and three nights

in the belly

of a huge fish

so the son of man

will be three days

and three nights

in the heart

of the earth

just as Jonah

was in the belly

Jesus would be buried

Jesus is saying

Jonah's history

is as real

as my story

and so when we are

met with lots

of skepticism

about the reliability

of the Bible

that one place

we can go

as Christians

is to the opinion

of Jesus

you know

who am I going

to trust

am I going to trust

Jesus

or am I going to

trust an expert

writing some

two thousand years

after Jesus

and if there was

any doubt

about how

Jesus sees

Jonah

as a historical

figure

he then

moves on

to talk about

the queen of the south

or the queen

of Sheba

the queen of the south

will rise at the judgment

with this generation

and condemn it

for she came

from the ends

of the earth

to listen to

Solomon's wisdom

and now something

greater

than Solomon

is here

Jonah is historical

just as the queen

of Sheba

is historical

Jesus uses

Old Testament

history

to point

towards

himself

and his message

there came

with a challenge

remember

Nineveh

Jesus says

they really

repented

at the real

message of the

real Jonah

Jesus says

to the crowds

and by extension

says to us

have we repented

have we believed

in have we listened

to and trusted

in the one

greater than Jonah

who is

Jesus

says of the

queen of Sheba

she moved

heaven and earth

to listen to

real wisdom

from the real

king Solomon

but what about

us

are we living

by the greater

wisdom

of that greater

king

king Jesus

are we listening

to him

in his

word

so in

conclusion

knowing what

Jesus believes

about the

Bible

should help

us

as we turn

to read it

and to hear it

you know just as

tennis players

often return to

their coaches

to make sure the

fundamentals of

their swing

are right

we should

regularly return

to Jesus

our master

to think

is my view

on the

Bible

right

and not just

is my theory

about it

right

but am I

living

by God's

word

am I

prioritizing

it in

my

life

wouldn't it

be wonderful

to share

Jesus view

of the

Bible

to share

his heart

for it

you know

Jesus said

God's word

has authority

and he

loved it

and he

submitted

to it

and he

obeyed

it

Jesus

said

God's

word

is

unbreakable

and so

he came

on a

mission

to

fulfill

it

and to

show

us

what

true

heart

obedience

looks

like

Jesus

said

God's

word

is

reliable

and he

had

full

confidence

in it

he received

it as

the voice

of God

and he

understood

that it

all

pointed

to him

and his

great

work

of

redemption

and so

as we

look to

establish

fundamentals

as

Christians

and as

a church

surely

this is

something

to be

so basic

for us

to be

reading

God's

words

one or

two

practical

suggestions

maybe

this is

the time

for some

of us

to start

building

or

rebuilding

habits

when it

comes to

Bible

reading

to set

aside

time so

that we're

hearing

we're

reading

every day

that we

would make

that time

that we

would have

that self

discipline

to prioritize

time in

God's word

if that means

going to bed

a little

earlier

or getting

up a little

bit earlier

so that we

have that

bit of

time

regular

time

to be

with

God

to think

about our

own patterns

our own

habits

how we

typically work

best so that

we would

know for

ourselves

when be a

good time

for us

to try

and build

in

time

with

God's

word

and that

connected

with the

word of

God

we'd be

praying

about it

that we

would want

our hearts

to have

that hunger

for the

word of

God

that we

wouldn't

be just

opening it

so that we

can tick

our box

and say

well we've

done our

duty

because we've

read our

Bibles

that we'd

want to

meet with

God

in his

word

we'd

want to

be filled

with joy

we'd

want to

have

strength

for the

day

as we

find

God

in his

word

that we'd

pray that

we'd have

a heart

like

Jesus

that we

would

submit

to the

bits we

find easy

and the

bits we

find hard

that we

would ask

God

to open

our eyes

that we

would see

wonderful

things in

the word

of God

that the

same spirit

who inspired

the Bible

would light

it up for

us so that

we would

see it

we would

understand

it

we'd

apply

it

we'd

obey

it

that we'd

be like

that wise

man

from the

end of

the

sermon

on the

mount

who

built

his

house

on the

rock

the rock

of

Jesus

and his

word

that it

would be

strength

for us

it would

be strength

for our

families

it would

be strength

for our

church

our life

would be

built on

the word

of God

now let's

pray

together

Lord

our God

we want

to give

you thanks

that your

word is

true

that it is

reliable

that it

is

unchanging

that it

is

life

giving

that in

your word

we discover

the gospel

of your

grace

towards us

in sending

Jesus as

our

savior

and so we

pray that you'd

help us to

trust your

word

to make

time to

read your

word

and a

will and a

desire to

live by

your word

we confess

that so

often we

don't do

the things

that we

want to

do

we confess

that we

know in

theory how

vital the

bible is

for our

church and

for our

lives but

so often

we find

ourselves

slow to

make time

for it

we can

find ourselves

so distracted

we can find

other things

far more

easy to get

into than

we find to

come to

church or

to read

our bibles

Lord we

confess our

hard hearts

and we

pray that

you would

give us

that desire

to read

that you

would give

us that

understanding

so that we

would hear

from you

and know

what you

are saying

to us

Lord we

pray for

our country

we remember

that Scotland

was once

known as

the people

of the

book

Lord we

realise how

few people

today read

the bible

how few

really know

who Jesus

is

how little

biblical

literacy

there is

Lord we

pray that

you would

renew

and revive

and we

pray that

you would

give a

hunger for

your word

and we

thank you

for organisations

like the

Bible Society

and for

Scripture

Union and

for Christian

unions and

for those

who look to

encourage

Bible reading

Lord we

pray for

the nation

of Kazakhstan

which we

have seen

in the news

recently we

think of

them in

the chaos

and unrest

we think

too of

your people

there knowing

that there

is real

persecution

for the

significant

Christian

minority

as they

don't have

freedom of

worship

as those

who convert

to Christianity

from Muslim

backgrounds

can find

themselves

isolated

or imprisoned

Lord give

them a

steadfast

confidence

in your

word

in Jesus

the word

who became

flesh and

made his

dwelling among

us

that he

would show

the glory

of salvation

so that people

would believe

and have

life

Lord we

pray for

every nation

that is

enduring

persecution

and trouble

because of

their faith

help them

to know

and to live

by your

word of

truth

Lord we

pray today

for those

in our

church

who find

themselves

in special

need

Lord may

you grant

wisdom

may you

grant

comfort

may you

give

encouragement

as we

need it

Lord for

those who

are seeking

you

for those

who are

not yet

Christians

may they

read your

word and

may you

reveal

yourself

and your

love and

your way of

salvation

through faith

in Jesus

to them

break down

barriers

we pray

Lord we

pray for

those who

find that

their faith

is weak

who perhaps

have lost

those basic

spiritual

disciplines

through

Covid or

other

circumstances

Lord please

gently

restore

and renew

to folks

the joy

of their

salvation

Lord all

this we

pray in

Jesus

name

Amen

Now by

way of

reflecting on

what we've

been thinking

about our

closing hymn is

Speak O

Lord

quick book

review before

we finish

not a book

review

if you want a

good book on

why the Bible is

worth knowing

trusting and

loving

Kevin DeYoung

Taking God

at His Word

nice and

short

really good

read

you can have

a flick

if you want

after

let's stand

and let's

sing together

Speak O

Lord