Our Priestly Help for Our Sinful Weakness

Would you turn to your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

! I'm going to read 414 through 510.

! It's on page of your pew Bible.

It's on page 1189, bottom right.

And on to page 1190.

Hear God's word.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,

Jesus, the Son of God.

Let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace

that we may receive and may find help, find grace to help in time of need.

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act

on behalf of men in relationship to God.

To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward,

since he himself is beset with weakness.

Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins,

just as he does for those of the people.

And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God,

just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest,

but was appointed by him who said to him,

You are my son today, I have begotten you.

As he says also in another place,

You were a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications

with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death.

And he was heard because of his reverence.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal life

to all who obey him.

Being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

Let me ask you,

what do you have a weakness for?

I have a weakness for chocolate.

Milk chocolate.

Not any of the dark chocolate business.

I have a weakness for something else.

This is going to be difficult to say.

I have a weakness for 1970 and 1980 soft rock.

Also known as yacht rock.

I'm a huge fan.

Do I have an amen?

It's more than I thought.

Okay.

I have a serious weakness

weakness for petite, curly-haired blondes

who are in their second year of teaching kindergarten

and have recently become a grandmother of a boy named Hudson

who has a preference for dark chocolate.

I have a serious weakness for her.

When we talk about weakness,

we're talking about a soft spot, right?

You've got a soft spot for something.

A desire for something.

A wanting of something.

What do you have a weakness for?

We all have a weakness

that's described in Hebrews 4 and 5

that is not talking about an emotional weakness.

It's not talking about a weakness for chocolate,

a physical weakness, a mental weakness.

It's a moral weakness.

We all have a soft spot to sin.

We all have this want

for things that grieve God.

We have a weakness called a sinful nature.

We see this in verse 15 and 5 too

that the Levitical priests were beset with weaknesses.

Therefore, they are obligated

to offer sacrifices for themselves.

Because we have this weakness,

do you know what this means?

We are in constant need of a certain kind of help.

When you're tempted to sin,

when there's this external temptation

that hooks this internal want to sin in you,

where do you turn?

Maybe you give yourself to the sin.

Or maybe you turn to lesser helps

in that time of need.

You reach for a bottle.

Or you reach for some chemicals.

Or you reach for a TV remote.

Or things like that.

Those are just distractions.

They're not true help.

They're false hopes.

When you are tempted to sin,

don't give yourself to it.

Don't settle for lesser helps

as if you're your own high priest.

Don't turn to yourself.

Draw near to your great high priest, Jesus.

When you become aware of your sin weakness,

don't shrink back from him.

Draw near to him, Christian.

And this morning,

we are given two reasons

why we must near to Jesus,

our great high priest,

in our weakness.

And all of us are weak.

Reason number one,

our great high priest

is both willing and able to help us.

And reason number two,

our great high priest

is better qualified

than anybody else to help us.

When you're tempted to sin,

don't shrink from Jesus.

Draw near to him.

So let's look at this first reason

that comes from

what John read

at the beginning of the service,

chapter 4, 14 through 16.

We draw near to him

because he's willing and able to help.

Last week,

I closed the sermon

by pointing you to 4, 12, and 13.

And in verse 12,

God's word is able to pierce

an open heart

and expose our sin weakness.

It cuts us.

It flays us.

It judges, discerns the thoughts

and intentions of the heart.

And when you get exposed

and pierced by the word,

what do you do?

Verse 13,

we have this picture of judgment.

Nothing's hidden from his sight.

There's nothing in your heart and life

that is hidden from his sight.

And when you become aware

of that weakness,

what must you do?

God is lovingly showing you

your need for help.

Where are you going to turn?

At this point in the book of Hebrews,

at 4, 14,

the author turns his attention

in earnest

to the high priesthood

of Jesus Christ.

The book of Hebrews

is one long exhortation

to hold fast to Christ

to the end.

And what takes center stage

in this book

is the high priesthood of Jesus.

We're to hold fast to Jesus

by fixing our eyes

drawing near to Jesus.

In our passage,

the word priest

shows up

a number of times

in 4, 14,

in 4, 15,

in 5, 1,

in 5, 5,

in 5, 6,

and even in 5,

5, 10.

When you hear the word priest,

I'm guessing

some of you in the room

have a visceral reaction.

That word priest

has a bad connotation

to you.

Others of you

in the room

don't have

a bad connotation.

Maybe you have

a fond recollection

of a priest.

Or maybe some of you

are just kind of like,

you know what,

I grew up in a,

we just didn't really talk

about any kind of priests.

A priest is basically

a go-between

between God

and man.

And you can see it

in the passage

in chapter 5,

verse 1.

For every high priest

chosen from among men

is appointed to act

on behalf of men

in relationship to God.

A priest

is a mediator

between God

and man,

especially when it comes

to our sin.

If we were Jews

in the Old Testament times

living under

the Old Covenant,

if you were to sin

or I were to sin,

we would have to find

a priest.

And what we would

bring to the priest

is an animal

to be sacrificed

to God

for our sins.

And that priest

would kill the animal,

shed its blood

in order to cover

your sin,

cover my sin.

But that

that blood

of bulls and goats,

just temporary.

It doesn't have

the power

to change your heart.

It's just temporary.

It temporarily

atones.

The point is

you would have

needed a priest

in your weakness.

But all that

changed with Jesus.

In verse 14,

we read

that this

Jesus,

we see two titles.

And it's the first time

in the book of Hebrews

that the author

brings these two titles

together.

Since then,

we have a great high priest

who has passed

through the heavens,

Jesus,

the Son of God.

Great high priest

is getting at Jesus

as the greatest

mediator

between God

and man

that there is.

And what we're

going to see

as the book

of Hebrews

unfolds

is just

how wonderful

and great

of a priest

he is

for us.

In fact,

he is so great

a priest,

he makes

the priesthood

of the old

covenant

out of date

and obsolete.

complete.

That title,

Son of God,

in chapters 1 and 2,

the author

of Hebrews

wants you

to believe

that Jesus

is

the

Son of God,

which means

he's fully God.

He's the creator

of all,

the sustainer

of all.

Do you remember

that from chapter 1?

He's superior

to the angels

and he

is at the right

hand of God.

You see that

in verse 14,

this idea

of passing

through the heavens.

Jesus

died,

was raised,

and ascended,

passing

through the heavens

to God's

right hand,

exalted

and throned

on high.

That's the passing

through the heavens.

It locates him

for us.

This high,

great high priest,

this mediator,

is also

our exalted

king.

And he is eager

to help you

in time of weakness.

That little phrase,

hold fast

the confession.

Let us hold fast

our confession.

A confession

is a,

is a statement

of truth.

When you think

of confession,

you probably think

about confessing

sin,

and what you're

doing is

you're,

you're confessing

the truth

about your sin.

There's also

another kind

of confession

where you're

confessing the truth

about who God

is.

And right here,

we're being told

of a confession.

Hold fast

to the confession

about Jesus,

that he is

our great high priest

and our king,

our son of,

the son of God

who reigns on high.

So I want you

to speak a confession

back to me.

I'm going to,

I'm going to feed

you some lines

and I want you

to speak it back.

You ready?

Christ is my,

risen and reigning,

priest and king.

Christ is my,

risen and reigning,

priest and king.

Let's do it one more time.

Christ is my,

Christ is my,

risen and reigning,

priest and king.

Hold fast to that.

This week,

don't let go of that.

Hold fast to that truth.

It's true.

It's who he is.

Jesus,

speak that confession

to yourself.

Now you might be thinking,

okay,

that might be true,

but is Jesus

my priest and king?

Does he want to help me?

Is he willing to help me?

In verse 15,

we read,

for we do not have

a high priest

who is unable to

sympathize with our weakness,

weaknesses,

sin,

weaknesses,

but one who in every respect

has been tempted as we are,

yet without sin.

That word sympathize.

It's tenderhearted.

Even he has an affection

for us,

even in our sin weakness.

He's not fond of our sin.

He's fond of us

trying to deal with our sin.

He totally gets us.

He is both completely holy

and deeply compassionate

towards you.

Now you might be asking

this question,

well,

how can Jesus,

how can he sympathize

with our sin?

I mean,

did Jesus ever sin?

Well,

according to our New Testament

and the rest of the Bible,

the Christ never sinned once.

In fact,

in 2 Corinthians 5.21,

we read about this great thing

that God through Christ

has done for us.

And for us,

he made him.

God made Christ

who knew no sin

to be sin on our behalf

that we might become

the righteousness of God.

Jesus is utterly

without sin,

which raises another question.

Well,

then how does it work?

How can he be tempted

and yet without sin?

It's right there in the text.

Yet without sin.

How's that possible?

Well,

we in our weakness,

this internal sinful nature

that when there's

this external temptation,

our internal sinful desires

want it.

James 1 talks about

that we're carried away,

lured,

enticed

by the desires

inside of us.

Jesus

did not have

a sinful nature.

He didn't have

that internal craving

that we do

to grieve God.

It wasn't there.

He was fully God

and fully man,

sinless

to the core,

which means this.

Jesus experienced

external temptation.

Just think about him

in the wilderness

being tempted

by Satan

in Matthew chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Those temptations

were real.

They affected him.

He was

yet he was

without sin

because there was

nothing in him

to grab hold of it.

What it means

is that

what he experienced,

this real

external temptation,

it makes him

sympathetic

to us

when we're

tempted.

And he's not

like this.

It's not like

that Jesus

is looking down

from his throne

on you

and say,

hey,

I handled

that temptation.

You gotta handle

it too.

It's more

like this.

I experienced

that temptation.

I know how hard

it is.

Let me help you.

Let me help you.

You've got a priest king

who's willing

to help you.

Sympathetic.

He's experienced

the full gamut

of temptation

yet without sin.

And his posture

towards you

is,

I'm here to help.

But is he able?

In verse 16,

we read,

let us then

with confidence

draw near

to the throne

of grace

that we may

receive mercy

and find grace

to help in time

of need.

Oh, he is able.

Totally God.

Totally man.

He's the creator

of the universe

and sustainer

of the universe.

He gave himself

for us

bearing God's

wrath in full.

2.17,

this high priest

was our propitiation.

Oh, he's able

to help.

We draw near

in our weakness

to his throne

of grace

and there's the power.

power.

When you read grace

in your Bibles,

think of both

his power

and his posture

towards you.

His power

to change you,

to help you,

to transform you,

to supply

what you need.

and his posture

behind that power

is love.

Oh, he wants it

for you.

He wants to give

you what you need.

He wants you

to thrive

in godliness.

Anybody see the show?

Who wants to be

a millionaire?

It's kind of dated.

And that show

contestants are asked

multiple choice questions

and if they can't

answer the question,

they are given

some options.

50-50,

where two of the four

multiple choice

are removed

or poll the audience,

where the audience

chimes in

on what they think

the answer is

and then there's

phone a friend.

You phone like

your expert

in the field

to help you

with that information.

A million dollars

is nothing

when compared

to holding fast

to Jesus Christ

to the end.

Who in the room

wants to hold fast

to Jesus Christ

to the end?

I do.

And do you know what?

We've got something

that's better

than phone a friend.

It's not a phone.

It's a throne.

Authority,

power,

overall.

And on that throne

sits

your great high priest

who is wanting,

eager to help

in pouring out

this grace

to you.

What's keeping you back?

What's holding you back?

What's holding you back

from just making

a beeline to his throne?

Is it shame?

Is it fear?

Oh, don't be afraid.

We are to draw near

with confidence

to the throne.

Do you know why?

Do you know

what's the source

of this boldness?

It's not your performance.

It's what Christ

has done.

If you flip

in your Bibles

back to Hebrews

Hebrews 10:19–23

chapter 10

verses 19

through 23,

to just

here is

your

confidence,

your boldness

to enter

the throne

of the risen

and reigning

priest king.

Therefore,

brothers,

since we have confidence

to enter the holy places

by the blood

of Jesus,

Jesus,

the throne

is in the heavenly

sanctuary

by the new

and living way

that he opened

for us

through the curtain

that is through his flesh.

And since we have

a great high priest

over the house of God,

let us draw near

with a true heart

and full assurance

of faith

with our hearts

sprinkled clean

from an evil conscience

and our bodies

washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast

the confession

of our hope

without wavering

for he who promised

is faithful.

We draw near

to the throne of grace

in our sin weakness

because Jesus

has paid for our sin.

He's the propitiation

and his posture

towards you is love

and he's eager to help.

Do you know what?

His throne room

is open to you

anytime,

anywhere.

Let's say that you are being,

you're like,

I'm going to be tempted

to sin later today

because I know

that situation.

Go to the throne of grace.

Maybe you're in a situation

and you're being tempted

in that moment.

Make a beeline

to the throne of grace.

Maybe you're on the backside

of when you've sinned

and you're feeling shame

and guilty.

Make a beeline

to the throne of grace

at any time.

Before,

during,

after.

Let me ask you this question.

When tempted,

where do you turn?

When you become aware

of your sin weakness,

to whom do you look?

Don't shrink back.

Don't turn to yourself.

Draw near to the throne.

Draw near to Jesus.

Your great high priest

is both willing

and able to help.

Do I have an amen?

Amen.

The second reason

why we draw near

to our great high priest

and our weakness

is that he is better

qualified to help.

We see this in chapter 5,

verses 1 through 10.

Let's just pretend

for a second.

Let's just pretend

that we were all members

of the original church

that received

the letter of Hebrews.

More likely than not,

you would have come

to faith in Jesus

out of Judaism.

You would have been

a Jewish background believer.

And we know

from chapter 10,

verses 32 through 34,

that we would have suffered

greatly for Jesus.

But we also know

from this book,

we're going to see

this next week,

that we had become

dull in our hearing

and sluggish.

And we've been tempted

to drift from our confession,

to let it go

instead of holding fast.

Our temptation

in those moments

would be to go back

to that old, familiar,

culturally acceptable way

of Judaism.

To go back

to the old priesthood,

to go back

to the old

sacrificial system

of the old covenant.

But you've got to understand,

to go back to that

means you'd have to

reject Christ.

You can't have both

and you can't have

but let's be honest.

If we're granted

to suffer

or if we grow

sluggish

or dull of hearing,

I'm guessing

we're not going

to go back

to Judaism.

We weren't saved

out of Judaism.

No,

I think we'd be tempted

to go back

to a

Christ-less

hedonism

or a

Christ-less

materialism

or a

Christ-less

conservatism

or a

Christ-less

individualism.

And do you know

who the high priest

of individualism is?

you appoint yourself

high priest.

You mediate

what you want

in a

Christ-less

individualism.

Brothers and sisters,

we are not

to go back

to that.

It's

Christ-less.

We've been called

out of a

Christ-less

way of

thinking

and

living.

So if we're

called to share

in the suffering

of Jesus

and we find

ourselves

tempted

to become

dull and

sluggish,

we don't

go back

to individualism.

We draw

near to

Christ

Christ.

And there

are five

reasons

from

5.1

through 10

why

Jesus is

better

qualified.

It's like

the writer

saying,

don't

go back.

And here's

why.

Number one,

Jesus is

better qualified

in his

appointment.

5.1

says,

for every

high priest

chosen from

among men

is appointed

to act

on behalf

of men

in relationship

to God

to offer

gifts and

sacrifices

for sins.

4.

And no

one takes

this honor

for himself

but only

when called

by God

just as

Aaron was.

So the

similarities

between the

Levitical

priesthood,

the priesthood

that comes

from the

line of

Aaron,

and the

priesthood

of Jesus

who he

is in

line with

Melchizedek,

the similarity

is both

priests are

appointed by

God.

Verse 5,

Do you

know what

the difference

is?

The

difference

is that

the Levitical

priesthood,

well,

they were

appointed

according to

kind of

family lineage,

chosen from

among men,

one.

Jesus

was appointed

by prophetic

word of

God.

5.5,

quoting

Psalm 2.7,

we saw this

in chapter

one,

you are my

son,

this is

God the

father

speaking to

God the

son,

you are

my son,

today I

have begotten

you,

and when we

saw this

in chapter

one,

this is

about his

kingship,

this is

about his

deity,

this is

about him

being

enthroned

on high.

But it's

not just

his being

an exalted

king,

for the

first time

in Hebrews

we have

a quote

from Psalm

Psalms 110:6

110,

verse 6,

as he says

also in

another place,

you are a

priest forever

after the

order of

Melchizedek,

this is

God speaking

to God

the son,

you are

a priest

forever

after the

order of

Melchizedek,

it's a

better

appointment,

prophetic

word

fulfilled

in Jesus

Christ,

because

Jesus is

at the

center

of God's

plan

of salvation,

in chapter

7 we're

going to

come back

to Melchizedek

where the

writer will

unpack more

of that

for us,

but let me

just tell you

this,

Melchizedek

first shows

up in

Genesis

Genesis 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14,

Abram has

just rescued

Lot,

he's coming

out with

all this

stuff,

Melchizedek

comes from

nowhere,

and what

his name

means is

king of

righteousness,

he's introduced

as both

the king

of Salem

and the

high priest

of God,

he's both

a high priest

and a

king,

and you

know what

Abram does?

He gives

him a tenth

of everything

he's got,

it's from

that priestly

order comes

Jesus,

the

appointment

of Jesus

as great

high priest

is the

fulfillment

of scripture,

it's a

better

appointment,

the second

way that

Jesus is

better

qualified

is in

his

nature,

both the

Levitical

priests

and Jesus

the

Melchizedekian

priest,

both

priests

are totally

human,

chosen from

among men,

5-1,

verse 7,

in the days

of his flesh,

speaking of

Jesus,

the difference

is that the

Aaronic

priesthood,

the Levitical

priesthood,

was in

verse 2,

they were

beset,

beset by

weakness,

the weakness

of indwelling

sin,

they were

sinful

human beings,

whereas in

5-5,

we read

about Jesus

being you

are my

son,

today I

have begotten

you,

he's fully

God,

we saw in

4-15,

yet without

sin,

he is a

sinless

human being,

by nature,

Jesus is

better qualified

to be a

high priest

because he's

sinless in

his humanity,

better in

nature,

third,

he's better

in relating,

both

priests,

both Levitical

priests and

Jesus,

our great

high priest,

they were

tender-hearted

to those

they cared

for,

in 5-2,

we see,

speaking of the

Levitical

priest,

he can

deal gently

with the

ignorant and

wayward since

he himself is

beset with

weakness,

Jesus,

we saw in

4-15,

he is

sympathetic,

he's been

tempted in

every way,

the difference

is that

Jesus

is not a

fellow

sinner,

sinner,

he's a

fellow

sufferer,

Jesus

relates to

us,

he understands

our being

tempted to

sin,

but he

also

suffered,

and for

a church

that was

suffering,

this is

really helpful,

we see in

verses 7 and

8 that in

the days of

his flesh,

Jesus offered

up prayers and

supplications

without cries

and tears to

him who was

able to save

him from

death,

and he was

heard because

of his

reverence,

although he

was a son,

he learned

obedience through

what he

suffered,

Jesus learned

obedience,

not because he

was disobedient,

but he learned

true trust and

obeying of

God his

father through

hardship,

he learned

it as a

fellow human

being,

he went

before us,

and now he's

an example to

us of how

to endure

suffering,

he relates

to us that

way,

because he

himself suffered,

he relates

with us when

we suffer for

him,

he's tender

towards us,

he relates

to us better,

he understands

our temptation

to sin,

but he

absolutely

understands what

it's like to

suffer,

the Levitical

priesthood,

they didn't,

it's better in

his relating,

it's better in

his sacrifice,

this is the

fourth qualification

that separates

him from the

Levitical

priesthood,

you know

it's similar

between the

two,

Levitical

priests and

Jesus,

our great

high priest

from the

line of

Melchizedek,

both offered

sacrifices,

the difference

is that the

Levites had

to offer

animal sacrifices

for themselves

because they

themselves were

sinners and

that animal

sacrifice only

lasted for a

little while for

their sin,

just temporarily

atonement,

they had to

offer sacrifice

repeatedly

because they

were repeatedly

sinning,

Jesus who

learned obedience

through suffering

became the

source,

verse 9,

of eternal

life to all

who obey

him,

to all who

hold fast to

him to the

end,

he became the

source of our

eternal life,

he is the

greatest sacrifice

of all,

our high

priest is the

once and for

all sacrifice

for our sins,

and he sat

down at the

right hand of

God,

he's a better

sacrifice,

that in chapter

2,

verse 17,

the first time

high priest

shows up,

the author

connects him

as being our

propitiation,

the sacrifice

that satisfied

God's wrath

for our sins,

he paid it

all,

all of your

sin,

all of the

penalty of it,

paid in full

in that once

and for all

sacrifice by

your great

high priest

king,

he is

better qualified

because he

offers a

better sacrifice,

you need

help,

do you need

help,

he's addressed

your greatest

need,

what else

do you need

to see

that he

would give

his life

for you,

that he

would pay

the sin,

the wrath

your sin

deserved,

but I've

got one

more,

hang in

there with

me,

he's

better,

he's

better in

his living,

you know,

the similarities

between the

Levitical

priesthood and

the priesthood

of Jesus is

all of the

Levitical

priests,

as Jesus,

they lived

and they

died,

that's what

they have

in common,

the difference

is that

Jesus

was raised

from the

dead,

he's alive,

we have a

great high

priest and

king who

is exalted

at the right

hand of God

and he

is alive,

and that

quote in

verse 6,

as he also

says in

another place,

you are a

priest

forever

in the order

of Melchizedek,

did any

of you

get a little

confused

when you

were reading

verse 7,

in the days

of his flesh

Jesus offered

up prayers

and supplications

with loud

cries and

tears to

him who

was able

to save

him from

death,

and you're

thinking,

hold on a

second,

but he

died,

what do

you mean

saved from

death?

He died

on the

cross,

do you know

how God

answered

that prayer?

He raised

him from

the dead.

God heard

his prayer

and answered

it,

and so

now,

check it

out,

our great

high priest

and king

is victorious

over sin,

death,

and the

devil.

Oh,

he's better

qualified.

Draw near

to him,

he's better

qualified

than any

Levitical

priest,

even

yourself.

Stop

dealing

with your

own sin.

Go to

your great

high priest.

Now,

I don't know

about you,

but hey,

if I were

taking resumes

for who's

going to be

the great

high priest

of my

life,

and I'm

looking at

resumes

from

Levitical

priests,

and I'm

looking at

my own

resume,

and I'm

looking at

the resume

of Jesus,

do you

know who

I'm going

with?

Jesus.

Better

in his

appointment,

better in

his nature,

better in

his relating,

better in

his sacrifice,

better in

his living.

He is

alive today.

He is

uniquely

qualified to

help you

in your

weakness.

What's keeping

you from

his throne?

Is it

your shame?

Is it

you don't

want to

come to

terms with

your sin?

Are you

just trying

to avoid

him?

Are you

just trying

to handle

your sinfulness

on your

terms?

You make

for a

lousy

mediator.

He is

uniquely

qualified.

He's

willing and

able,

and he's

qualified like

no other.

draw near

to him.

Don't

shrink back.

Don't go

back to

your

Levitical

priests.

Don't go

back to

your

self-appointed

priesthood.

Draw near

to Jesus

in your

weakness

and you

will find

help.

God

will

we all

have a

weakness,

a soft

spot to

sin,

craving to

sin.

It's

internal.

You're

going to

face it

this

afternoon.

You're

going to

face it

tonight.

You're

going to

face it

this week.

All of

us in

the room,

our

internal

sinful

nature,

this

weakness

that we

carry around

with us,

it's

going to

get

tempted.

Where

are you

going to

turn?

don't

shrink back

from Christ

in your

weakness.

Draw

near.

Draw

near in

your

most

gross

weakness.

Draw

near to

him with

confidence.

And

he'll

give you

grace at

just the

right time.

He's

willing and

able to

help.

He's

better

qualified to

help.

Now

repeat

after me.

as you

get ready

to go,

repeat

after me.

I want

you

holding

fast to

this.

Christ

is

my

risen

and

reigning

priest

and

king.

Draw

near to

him

this

week.

Let's

pray.

Lord

Jesus,

we do

have a

soft

spot

for

sin,

but we

love

you.

I

pray,

Father,

that you'd

pour out

your

spirit

on this

people

in this

room

and that

you would

convince

them

that your

throne of

grace

is a

place

of

welcome

for the

weak,

for the

tempted,

for those

who blew

it,

that you

welcomed

them,

that you

have grace

for them,

that you

want to

strengthen

them,

that you

want to

help them

hold fast

to you

all the way

to the

end.

God,

I do

pray that

you would

help us

to

remember

our

priest and

king who's

gone through

the heavenlies

and is at

the right

hand of

you,

majesty on

high,

and that

you invite

us in

and it's

blood-bought.

We pray this

in the name

of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.