The Privilege and Responsibility of God's People

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And then,

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living our Jesus.

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Though the storms may rage, He is strong to save. He's the King forever, Jesus.

When I plead His case, I will sing my praise to the King forever, Jesus.

All my sorrows past, I am home at last with my King forever, Jesus.

With my King forever, Jesus.

With my King forever, Jesus.

So as we've joined our voices in praise, let's now unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank You that we have much cause to give You praise and to give You thanks.

We thank You that You are great and good. We thank You that You are mighty and powerful.

We thank You that You look upon us with grace and favor.

We ask that You would guide us tonight as we read Your Word, as we consider its truth.

We ask that You would remind us that as Your people, we have great and precious privileges.

We have this open access to Your throne of grace.

We are Your witnesses, Your ambassadors.

We are those that represent You here on earth.

So help us, Lord, to represent You well with our character, with our words, with our actions.

We pray that we would be signposts like John the Baptist.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We thank You that You have placed us here in this church, in this community, in this city.

We thank You that there are many people in this city who call upon Your name.

And we thank You that You do not leave Yourself without a witness.

We pray that You would strengthen Your work, Your church here in Edinburgh.

And we thank You that there are many pulpits from which the good news of Jesus sounds forth.

So we pray that You would strengthen that work and that You would extend that work.

That there would be many churches that would soon be planted.

And many new people who would come in contact with the gospel.

We pray for the work of chaplaincy, whether in prisons or in hospitals, in schools, in the armed forces.

We thank You that You place Your people in these key strategic places.

We thank You for organizations like Gideon's who give away thousands of thousands of copies of Your word.

And who supply schools and prisons and the armed forces with copies of the scriptures.

And we thank You that there are many of Your people who have come to faith through the reading of Your word.

And through the circumstances that place them in difficult settings.

Heavenly Father, we pray that You would bless Your word now as we read it.

That You would speak to our hearts.

That You would encourage us.

That You would strengthen us.

That You would correct us.

That You would renew us and restore us.

Lord, You know each of one of our stories.

You know each of our circumstances.

You know the burdens that weigh us down.

You know the joys that bring us smiles.

You know the hope that leads us forward.

And You know at times that sense of sadness or sorrow or despair that can so easily entangle us and bring us down.

So Lord, whatever is needed, we pray that You would amply provide.

And now as we turn to Your word, we thank You that the Holy Spirit promises to accompany the reading of Your word with Your power.

With Your presence.

And You tell us that Your word can never go out and return to You without effect.

So we commit ourselves to You this evening.

In the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Well there are two passages I'm going to read to us.

The first comes from Exodus chapter 19.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

And the second from Leviticus.

Again in my prison work I try to explain the Bible to people.

And to say most of the books of the Bible either have the name is where it was written to or who wrote it.

Of course that doesn't hold for books like Exodus and Leviticus or Numbers.

But you know you quickly get corrected if you say something that is not completely true.

Exodus chapter 19 verses 1 down to 8.

Exodus 19:1

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt.

On the very day they came to the desert of Sinai.

And after they set out from Rephidim.

They entered the desert of Sinai.

And Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

Then Moses went up to God.

And the Lord called to him from the mountain and said.

This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob.

And what you are to tell the people of Israel.

You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt.

And how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant.

Then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.

Although the whole earth is mine.

You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people.

And set before them all the words that the Lord had commanded him to speak.

The people responded together.

We will do everything the Lord has said.

So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

And if you move forward a few pages.

We'll pick up in Leviticus chapter 19.

Leviticus 19 · chapter mention

Leviticus 19 and we'll read from verses 1 down to 18.

The heading is various laws and Leviticus means the law or laws.

The Lord said to Moses speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them.

Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy.

Each of you must respect his mother and father.

And you must observe my Sabbath.

My Sabbaths I am the Lord your God.

Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves.

I am the Lord your God.

When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord.

Sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.

It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day.

Anything left over until the third day must be burned up.

If any of it is eaten on the third day it is impure and will not be accepted.

Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the Lord.

That person must be cut off from his people.

When you reap the harvest of your land.

Do not reap to the very edges of your field.

Or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Do not go over your vineyard a second time.

Or pick up the grapes that have fallen.

Leave them for the poor and the alien.

I am the Lord your God.

Do not steal.

Do not lie.

Do not deceive one another.

Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God.

I am the Lord.

Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.

Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind.

But fear your God.

I am the Lord.

Do not pervert justice.

Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great.

But judge your neighbor fairly.

Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life.

I am the Lord.

Do not hate your brother in your heart.

Rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you will not share in his guilt.

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people.

But love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord.

Amen.

And may God add his blessing to these readings from his own word.

Let's pray together before we turn back.

Father God, we do again thank you for your word.

We ask once again that you would speak to us from it.

That you enable us to hear and to store up in our heart.

And to put into practice those things that you have for us.

Amen.

So we are continuing to think about the mission of God's people.

Thinking about this reality, as we mentioned at the beginning, that we are called to represent God to the world.

Often when we hear the word represent, representation, maybe we think in terms of the privileges that that involves.

In certain cases, in certain cases, other times responsibility.

For those of us who were paying attention to football yesterday, World Cup qualifying was on again.

And you'll notice whenever somebody is called up to represent their national team for the very first time.

They'll always, without fail, talk about the honor that they have in representing their country.

Of course, that also brings with it a certain measure of responsibility.

And Scottish players have that responsibility to make sure it's not another 20 years before we have a major championship.

So there's privilege, there's responsibility.

Closer to home, perhaps we have been asked to represent our school, our university, or our company in some way or another.

Giving a talk, perhaps.

Launching a new product.

And there, while there is privilege, perhaps the emphasis there falls on responsibility.

For that time, you become the face of your school or your business and industry.

So these are the ideas that we're going to focus on together.

That sense of the privilege of being chosen by God's grace.

We've seen that week after week as we've been in Genesis and Exodus.

But also the responsibility.

The responsibility to represent God well in the world for His glory and on His mission.

So again, as with our usual pattern tonight, we'll look at the Old Testament to see this theme.

In our community groups and student and young workers group, we'll look at the New Testament.

So we'll turn first of all to Exodus 19.

Where we'll see privileges and responsibilities as the people are called into covenant with their God.

So we're told at the beginning, the setting.

So this is the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt.

So three months ago, they were enslaved.

But now, by God's grace, by God's power, they've been set free.

And they're meeting God at Mount Sinai.

They're about to get the Ten Commandments.

This covenant relationship is about to be established where God will say to them,

You will be my people and I will be your God.

It's a covenant of grace, as we've seen all the way through for the last few weeks.

And that's crucial to understanding the place of the law for the people.

It's crucial to understand how they are to live in the promised land and for their mission.

Exodus 19 is crucial for the people of God in helping them to understand,

And indeed, by extension, helping us to understand who are we?

And what are we here for as God's church?

And this chapter helps us to do that by looking at these privileges and responsibilities within the covenant.

So let's begin thinking about the privilege.

Verse 3,

So Jacob, Israel, here are reminders for them that God has already spoken promises to their forefathers.

This is recalling for us that original promise made in Genesis 12 that then gets passed down the generations.

And it's a reminder that God has been faithful to his promises and will continue to be faithful when it comes to the covenant.

And then in verse 4,

Again, the privilege of God working for his people and working for his intended goal.

Why does he set them free?

Why does he bring salvation?

That they might know God.

That they might enjoy relationship and life with God.

That's always the goal of salvation, to know and enjoy our God.

The privilege continues in verse 5, the second part.

If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.

Boys and girls, when we think of treasure, probably we think something like pirate gold.

Might be our first connection.

Perhaps if you've read The Hobbit, you'll think of Gollum and my precious.

But it can be anything that we have and hold on to dearly.

And what God is saying to the people here is that God has a special Father's love for his church.

He looks at his people and considers them to be precious, treasured in his sight.

Who are we as the people of God?

Exodus 19 says we are a people who've been saved by grace.

We are a people who've been saved by God's power.

The New Testament reminds us we've been saved at great cost.

The cost of the blood of the Lord Jesus.

Saved from slavery to enjoy freedom.

For us, again, that's slavery to sin leading to death.

Freedom to know forgiveness and life with God.

And who are we as the people of God?

We are precious to him.

We are loved by him.

And as Christians and as the church, we need to feel that sense of privilege.

That amazing grace, as it were, would be the song of our heart.

Amazing grace.

How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

That we understand how desperate our situation was because of sin.

And to understand God's grace in saving us and opening blind eyes.

We need to feel it.

We also need to believe it.

We need to be telling ourselves the truth of the gospel.

We need to learn to listen to the right voice.

Because we have in the devil an accuser.

Who would be very glad to pull away any sense of security and joy we might have

from knowing God by pointing to our sin and taking our eyes off our Savior.

We need to let the privilege of the gospel shape our identity.

Individually as Christians and together as a church.

That our unity comes from being united to the Lord Jesus.

Our whole Christian life then is to be built on this.

To recognize it is an honor to represent our Savior God.

So, so much for privilege.

What does Exodus 19 tell us about responsibilities for the people of God?

Verse 5 speaks of responsibility.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,

then out of all nations you'll be my treasured possession.

God has acted in saving grace.

The people, God's people, are to respond with obedience.

We've said it before, but the order is vital.

In chapter 19 we have,

You have been saved by grace, therefore obey.

Ten commandments begins with that reminder of rescue, redemption from Egypt,

therefore obey.

The law was, never, is, never, will, never be

God's way for people to be right with Him.

Rather, the law as it gives us God's perfect standards

show just how far short we fall of that and how much we need a Savior.

We need the saving work of God first.

Because when that happens,

we're given a new heart.

We're given a new will to obey.

And we're given the Spirit,

so we have a new power to help us to obey.

So we don't use the law as a way to earn God's favor,

to earn God's salvation.

Following this, in verse 6,

there are two pictures of God's people,

two ways to think about the reality,

how do we represent God,

and they're very much connected.

First of all,

in verse 6,

there's the idea of being a kingdom of priests.

Although the whole earth is mine,

you will be for me a kingdom of priests.

Now, to help us to understand that,

we need to think about,

well, what did a priest do

that God is then saying to the people of God collectively,

we are then to do?

Well, we know that one of the key jobs of a priest

was to teach the law.

The law of God was brought to the people.

And we also know that the priests

had the responsibility to offer sacrifices,

offer the right sacrifices,

so that the people's sin could be atoned for,

it could be forgiven,

it could be cleansed.

And the priests also had a responsibility

to speak God's blessing over God's people.

Ed Welch has written a whole book,

little book on this topic called

Created to Draw Near,

what it means for the church to be royal priests.

And in that book,

he emphasizes holiness

for the sake of relationship.

God calls us to be holy

so that we might be near to our holy God

and that we might serve our holy God

because we are in a living fellowship,

relationship of love with him.

When we think about the task

of representing our school

or representing our job,

we are saying, you know,

these are our values.

This is the product.

These are the skills we offer.

What are we saying as we represent God

as a kingdom of priests?

What's the mission of God's people?

We're saying we represent not ourselves,

we represent the one true and living God.

And we are saying these are his ways

in the way that we live,

in our obedience,

in our ethics.

And we'll think about that in a few moments.

And as we say,

this is the way to be right with him

as we speak of Jesus

and salvation

through his work on the cross.

We are to be that kingdom of priests

representing our holy God.

And for the nation of Israel to do that,

for the church today to do that,

what must we be?

And the answer is there in verse six.

We must be holy.

You will be for me a kingdom of priests

and a holy nation.

And again, it's important for us to recognize here

that the whole nation is in view.

Their shared life together

is what is being referenced here.

God understands

and wants the people to understand

from the beginning

the power of Christian community

to make God's truth

and to make worship

credible and attractive.

that our shared life

and worship

is to draw attention

to our God.

I was thinking about this

in terms of

baptizing people.

Like over the years,

thinking about people

who've come for baptism.

People from very different countries,

very different backgrounds often.

But one common feature

of their stories,

especially if they didn't have

any Christian background at all,

was coming around a church

or coming around a group

of Christian friends

and receiving a welcome

and seeing a different kind of love

in operation

and enjoying hospitality

from people who were strangers

just moments before.

And all of those things

serving to give that sense of intrigue

and a compelling quality

then to the Bible

that we read and spoke about,

the Jesus that we spoke of as Savior.

There is something compelling

about the shared life of God's people

when we live God's way.

And so he calls on his people

to be a holy nation.

Now recognize

that that in one case

is a fact.

You will be a holy nation.

New Testament letters

speak of Christians

as being saints,

not something that happens

when we die

and we go up to heaven.

Saints today set apart

from the world

to belong to God

in our relationship

of love and response.

That's fact.

That's who we are

as Christians.

It's fundamental

to our identity,

but it's also,

at one and the same time,

our mission.

We're called to live out

who we truly are.

In a sense,

verse 8 is the ideal.

Moses went back

and summoned the elders

of the people

and set before them

all the words

the Lord had commanded

and the people responded,

we will do everything

the Lord has said.

That's the ideal.

We know that Israel

falls short.

We know that we fall short,

but the ideal is that

we seek to live

in joyful obedience

so that others might see

something of God

in us,

something of Christ

in us.

So when it comes

to representing God,

we have this wonderful privilege,

but we also have responsibilities.

Now,

perhaps we're asking the question,

well,

what does it look like

to be a holy nation?

We might understand that

as concept,

but how do we see it

on the ground?

That's why we need

to turn to Leviticus 19.

So turn with me

in your Bible

or your device

to Leviticus 19,

and let's see

very briefly

what representing God

in all of life

looks like

according to this chapter.

It's a wonderful chapter

and we read half of it,

Bob read for us,

half of it

and it's a wonderful chapter

because it's so remarkably diverse

in its laws

and we'll think about that

in a moment,

but it's governed

by one great reality

which is there in verse 1.

Speak to the entire assembly

of Israel

and say to them,

Be holy

because I,

the Lord your God,

am holy.

And that's then repeated

in shorthand

and perhaps as you read

you noticed

the number of times

the verse would end,

I am the Lord your God.

See it there in verse 3,

each of you must respect

your mother and father,

you must observe my Sabbaths,

I am the Lord your God.

But then you can go

to verse 4,

verse 10,

verse 12,

verse 14,

it's all the way through.

What's the point?

God is saying,

keep these laws,

do these things

to reflect me.

He's saying to his people,

let my holiness

shape your,

our whole of life,

holiness.

How can we go wrong

when we think about

the idea of holiness?

holiness?

Two ways I think

we can easily go wrong

is we can think holiness

is for special Christians,

some kind of special category,

but not for a,

might be for a monk,

or it might be for a minister,

but not me.

You might be tempted

to think that.

Holiness is for special people.

Or we might think holiness

is for special occasions.

Well,

we know Sunday

is the Lord's day,

that's a holy day,

but maybe sometimes

we struggle to think,

well,

how does that holiness

work through Monday to Friday?

How does it work

through my nine to five

or life at school

or university

or in the family?

How does holiness

apply there?

That's why Leviticus 19

is so important,

because as we look

at the details

very briefly,

we're going to notice

that holiness

isn't just for some people,

for a special category,

it's for every one

of God's people.

Holiness is for every Christian,

and holiness

isn't just for Sunday.

Holiness is for all of life.

As Chris Wright

puts it in his book,

Old Testament Ethics

for the People of God,

holiness is thoroughly practical,

social,

and very down to earth.

Holiness was a community ethic

with a wide range

of implications.

So what we're going to do

is we're going to

very briefly survey

just how wide

this idea of holiness

goes in this chapter.

So let's think about

how these various laws,

and these aren't all the laws

by any stretch,

but these are various laws,

how do they impact

on society

in the first place?

We could go to verse 11.

Do not steal,

do not lie,

do not deceive

one another.

There is to be

truth-telling

within the community.

Verse 14,

do not curse the deaf,

or put a stumbling block

in front of the blind,

but fear your God.

There is to be

care and compassion

for those with disabilities.

Verse 17,

do not hate

a fellow Israelite

in your heart.

Rebuke your neighbor

frankly,

so that you will not

share in their guilt.

There is to be

love within the community,

a love that sometimes

says hard things

in order to draw

a person back from sin.

Verse 32,

stand up

in the presence

of the aged,

show respect

for the elderly,

and revere

your God.

respect

within society,

respect for

our elders is there.

Verse 34,

the foreigner

residing among you

must be treated

as your native-born.

Love them

as yourself.

In light of the gospel,

in light of God's

saving grace,

love those

who come

from other countries.

So when you see

how wide-ranging

this is,

holiness applies

to so many levels

of society.

Let's take a couple

of examples

as it applies

to family.

Verse 3

gives us that

command that heads

up the second table

of the law.

Each of you

must respect

your mother

and father.

Essential,

family essential

to society,

and essential

to good family living

is respect

and honor.

But there's also

reference

to family

in verse 29,

a very different way.

Do not degrade

your daughter

by making her

a prostitute,

or the land

will turn to

prostitution

and be filled

with wickedness.

So God's people

are to follow

God's sexual ethic,

not that of

the surrounding

countries.

There are laws

about agriculture

in here.

Verse 9,

When you reap

the harvest

of your land,

do not reap

to the very edges

of your field.

Do not go over

your vineyard

a second time

or pick up

the grapes

that have fallen.

Leave them

for the poor

and the foreigner.

As they went

about their

essential business,

they were to be

concerned for the

weakest and the

most vulnerable

within society

and to make

provision for them.

Justice is mentioned

in verse 15.

Do not pervert

justice,

do not show

partiality to the

poor,

or favoritism

to the great,

but judge

your neighbor

fairly.

The idea that

justice is to be

blind.

Now,

we don't show

favoritism on

either side.

What about

business?

Verse 35,

do not use

dishonest standards

when measuring

length,

weight,

or quantity.

Use honest

scales

and honest

weight.

Integrity

in business

practices.

Religion is in

here as well.

Verse 3,

you must observe

my Sabbaths.

Verse 4,

do not turn

to idols

or make metal

gods for yourselves.

Verse 30,

observe my

Sabbaths

and have

reverence

for my

sanctuary.

So,

religious life

matters

because God

is holy,

but so too

does family

life and

business life

and agriculture

and life

in society.

All of life

matters to

God.

All of life

is an

opportunity

to represent

God.

Holiness

represents

a morally

consistent

and good

God.

God.

So,

in these

values,

we see

honesty,

we see

compassion,

we see

truth-telling,

justice for

all,

respect,

generosity,

care for

the weak,

racial equality,

all of these

reflecting the

character of

our God

and all of

them matter

to God,

all of

these and

more.

and in

that way

then,

we have

so many

opportunities

in day-to-day

life

to bear

witness to

the character

of God,

to live

for the

glory of

God,

to recognize

what a

gift it

would be

to our

workplace,

to our

school,

to our

family,

to our

community

if we

were to

live out

these holy

lives as

recognized

here in

Leviticus 19

and throughout

God's

Word.

And think

about this

as well.

Think about

what a

difference it

would make

to your

Monday morning

if you

were to

get out

of bed

or to

go out

of the

door

recognizing

I go

as one

of God's

representatives.

I have

been called

to be part

of that

kingdom

of priests,

to go

to our

work,

to go

into our

day,

to go

onto our

university

campus saying

I want

to be a

blessing

to others

and to be

on the

lookout for

how that

might happen.

I want

to be able

to speak

God's

Word to

others

just as

the priest

used to,

to encourage

a fellow

Christian or

to perhaps

share with

a non-Christian

friend something

that we've read

in the Bible

or something

we were thinking

about on Sunday.

Imagine what

difference it

would make

if we went

out praying

day by day.

I want to

bring the

hope of

God's saving

grace to

someone.

I want to

have the

chance to

tell someone

about the

good news

of Jesus.

Can you

imagine what

difference it

would make to

our sense of

purpose and

mission,

our sense of

dependence on

God,

our prayerfulness,

if we were to

recognize that

we're called to

be that kind

of ambassadors,

to be those

kingdom of

priests,

to be that

holy nation.

So as we

close,

let me,

I'm not a

teacher so I'm

going to invite

you to do a

homework assignment.

Teachers don't

usually invite you

to do it.

But imagine,

go home tonight

or find some

time in the

next few days

by yourself,

in your family,

with a friend,

read through

Leviticus 19,

ask yourself,

what is the

principle being

taught here?

And how would

this law apply

to my

21st century

context?

Bearing in mind

that holiness

matters,

and representing

God well

matters,

how can I

take these

laws that

reflect the

heart of

God to

understand them

in our

context and

then to

prayerfully seek

to live them

out?

Why do that?

Why take the

time to do

what would

seem like a

homework exercise?

Because of our

privilege.

God's

because it's a

privilege to

represent our

holy God who

saved us through

Jesus.

It's a privilege

to be part of

God's holy

priesthood.

But it's also

a responsibility,

a responsibility

we want to do

well for the

honour of our

God and for

the sake of

those around

us.

God says,

be holy

because I,

the Lord,

your God,

am holy.

Let's pray

together.

Lord,

our God,

we thank

you for

these passages

that we have

read and that

reminder that

you are a God

who entered

into covenant

with your

people, a

covenant with

grace.

And we thank

you for the

new covenant

in the body

and blood of

Jesus given

for us.

Thank you for

your saving

and eternal

commitment to

love your

church and to

save your

church.

And Lord,

as you have

called us,

we ask that

you would

enable us to

be that royal

priesthood and

that holy

nation, that

you would give

us that sense

of privilege and

wonder, a joy in

the gospel day

by day.

But you'd also

give to us that

sense of

responsibility,

that we would

be aware of

our mission,

of our

calling, so

that we would

want to think

about how to

live holy

lives for you,

recognizing that

we all have

different families

and friendship

groups and

different workplaces

and different

levels of

responsibility.

responsibility.

Lord, may you

make each one

of us wise to

make the best

use of our

time and to

be aware of

you at work

in the people

around us and

to see how you

might use us for

your kingdom and

for your glory.

And please help

us together to

endeavor to live

those holy lives

as we recognize

that we are saved

by your grace,

we are united to

the Lord Jesus

and united to

one another

through faith.

We pray in his

name.

Amen.

Now, we will

close singing

Psalm, the first

nine verses of

Psalm 105

together, and

then we will

sing by way of

response,

Speak, O

Lord, and we'll

stand together

to sing.

Give thanks to

the Lord God

and call on

his name,

his wonderful

deeds to the

nations proclaim,

sing praises

to him and

his exploits

record.

Let all

those who

seek him

rejoice

in the

Lord.

You

chosen

ones,

look to

the Lord

and his

might,

seek ever

his face

and his

wonders

recite.

his miracles

too, and

his judgments

divine.

You

children of

Abraham,

Jacob's

own

line.

The

Lord is

our God,

and he

rules all

the earth,

remembering

his

covenant,

the

word he

set forth.

He

vowed for

the

ages

to come

to make

good,

his

promise

to

Abraham,

to

Isaac,

renewed.

faith and

he

and

thy

them

come to you to receive the food of your holy word. Take your truth, plant it deep in us,

shape and fashion us in your likeness, that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.

Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of your purity.

Cause our faith to rise, cause Christ to see your majestic love and authority.

Words of power that can never fail, let their truth prevail over odd belief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us.

Truths are changed from the dawn of time that will echo down through eternity.

And by grace we'll stand on your promises. And by faith we'll walk as you walked with us.

Speak, O Lord, till your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.

Say, O Lord, till your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.

Let's close with that wonderful blessing from Aaron.

Amen.

This is how you are to bless the Israelites.

Say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.