Conviction 3: How Do We Make Disciples?

You know, we're now in the middle of this revisioning series,

this sermon series on aiming our church at making disciples of all people.

And I've got to be honest with you all, this is no program.

This is no fad.

What we're talking about is culture, church culture, shaping our culture.

So what we're actually talking about is becoming a church in making disciples.

It's the air that we breathe.

It's the fabric of who we are.

We're a church that is following Jesus ourselves,

and we are looking to bring people with us as we run after Jesus.

Now, for the communion meditation, I reminded you of the big picture.

And I've got to be honest with you, I was going to bring my computer.

I always forget my power cord, so I put the power cord in my backpack,

brought it here to the building, opened up my backpack,

and there was my power cord, but not my computer.

So I'm going to have to verbally remind you of things.

So the big picture, triune God, big plan, Christ at the middle of everything,

flipping people, making people into disciples,

running in domain of darkness away from God,

by God's grace, aiming them at and running them to Jesus,

and it's all for His glory.

And then last week, I sought to aim you from Mark chapter 8

Mark 8 · chapter mention

of what a disciple is,

and I threw at you a bunch of L's.

A disciple is anyone who is,

who is by God's grace,

laying down their life

to learn from Jesus,

to live for Jesus,

to become like Jesus,

all out of a love for Jesus.

I was with some friends last night,

and

I was asked if I cook.

And to be honest,

my greatest joy in the cooking process

is the eating part of the process.

But I've got some cooking skills.

I have some proficiency on the grill.

I can flip a burger,

make some steaks,

I'm hit and miss with chicken.

But if there is one thing I'm known for in my family,

it's my ability to create massive,

substantial chocolate chip pancakes.

Because they're really just four ingredients.

Bisquick,

milk, eggs, chocolate chip.

Very straightforward,

very predictable result.

With just those four ingredients,

give me a hot griddle,

a little time,

a little attention I can give,

and I will work you pancake wonders.

But what does making pancakes

have to do with making disciples?

Well,

if there was a recipe

God has for making disciples,

there are four essential ingredients.

And if we are actively

deploying,

using,

making the most of these means of grace,

God will be working through us

to make disciples,

not just of ourselves,

but of those living in darkness right now.

So this morning,

I'm going to stick pretty close

to the chapter,

conviction number three,

how are disciples made

from this book.

And I want to walk you through

the four Ps.

Proclamation of God's Word,

prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit,

people are God's fellow workers,

and persevering step by step.

These four ingredients

are essential to making disciples.

It's God's means of grace.

We get to join Him

in what He's doing.

So,

I'm going to take

each of these ingredients

one at a time.

I'm going to point you

at a verse in the Bible

that talks about it.

So let's get cooking.

Ingredient number one,

proclamation of the Word of God.

Would you open up your Bibles

to 2 Timothy chapter 3,

2 Timothy 3:16

verses 16 and 17?

Just to give you a little background,

the Apostle Paul is writing.

2 Timothy was actually a letter

to his protege, Timothy,

and he is helping Timothy

establish a church

in the city of Ephesus.

And what a church is,

it's a people

who've been flipped

by God's grace

who are following

Jesus Christ together.

Well, in chapter 3,

Paul's reminding Timothy

of the vital importance

of the Scripture,

the Word of God.

Hear God's Word

on God's Word.

2 Timothy 3, 16.

All Scripture

is breathed out by God

and profitable.

All Scripture,

every word,

is breathed out by God

and profitable.

Here's the claim

of this book in your hands.

Every word of this book

did not originate

in the mind

of a human being.

Every word of this book

originated in the mind

of God Himself.

When we read those words,

all Scriptures

breathe out by God,

it's getting at the very source,

origin,

of the words of this book,

where they come from.

God Himself,

from Genesis

to Revelation,

through the words

in this book,

is speaking to us.

That is a phenomenal claim.

So what this book contains

is God's definitive

and authoritative instruction

on a variety

of different subjects,

one of which is God Himself.

Maybe you remember

coming through

our membership class.

When we talk about the Bible

in our membership class,

I try to make the case

is the Bible is like

God's selfie,

making Himself known to you.

This is who I am

in all my glory.

This book is also

authoritative and definitive.

This is God speaking

on the nature

of human beings

that were image bearers

corrupted by sin

in need of salvation.

This book describes for us

over and over again

God's big plan

for the fullness of time

in which He is rescuing

and restoring sinners

into a relationship

with Himself.

This book tells us,

God tells us

how we are to live

in light of what He's done

on our behalf.

How to follow Jesus now.

This book,

it lays out a way

for us to live.

This book is absolutely

essential

to becoming a Christian

and to growing

as a Christian.

It shows us

how to become a disciple

and how to continually

to lay down your life

in order to learn from,

live for,

and become like Jesus

again and again.

So this book,

our posture

is not this.

Hmm.

Our posture,

each and every one of us,

is this.

Each one of us

comes under the authority

of God speaking to us.

It's authoritative.

It's definitive.

It makes a claim

on our lives.

It's vital.

We can't live

without God's Word.

Jesus said,

man cannot live

by bread alone,

but by every word

that proceeds

from the mouth of God.

So 2 Timothy 3.16

is talking about

the nature,

all scriptures,

God breathe,

of this book.

But it also

points to

its effectiveness.

All scriptures

breathe out by God

and profitable.

It gets something done.

And if you look

at the rest of 16,

it starts telling me

what it gets done.

For teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

and for training

in righteousness.

Okay,

does everybody have

a directional app

on their smartphone?

Yes.

I see some heads nodding.

Well,

if you have a directional app

on your cell phone,

it shows you how to go

from point A to point B.

It shows you

the path to travel on

to get to your destination.

And if you go off the path,

your phone app

will let you know

you're off the path.

And then your phone app

will reroute you

in order to show you

how to get back

on the path.

And then,

if you are regularly

using that directional app

on your phone,

you are regularly

trained by your app

and how to get

to certain places.

God's Word,

this book,

God speaking to us,

shows us

how to live.

live.

It lays out a path

for us to walk.

It teaches us

the way we should go.

And then when we veer

from God's path for us,

it rebukes us.

You're driving over the curb.

Don't do that.

Stop.

That's not good for you.

And then it corrects us

how to get back

on the path.

How to get back

on the path of life

and following Jesus.

And then it trains us

in righteousness.

It shows us

again and again

how to live

in terms of our speech,

in terms of our sexuality,

in terms of how you

think about yourself,

how you steward

your finances,

what it means

to follow Jesus

again and again.

It lays out a path

for us to walk,

helps us know

when we fall off the path,

step out of the path,

how to get back on,

and then over and over again.

This book

gets something done.

It's life to us.

It's transformational.

And so what this means

for our discipleship

is that it's absolutely

for us

in our following Jesus

and it's absolutely essential

in helping others

follow Jesus too.

So the question now becomes,

how do you respond?

How do you respond

to this reality

that we must be

proclaiming God's word?

Well, it begins

with our own intake

and application

of God's word.

So let me just give you

a quick visual.

This is from the Navigators.

Here are four ways

you can take God's word

into your life.

It's by hearing

God's word proclaimed.

It's by reading God's word,

having time,

where you're regularly

reading His word,

studying God's word.

We have a bunch of ladies

on Tuesday

studying 2 Timothy

by memorizing God's word,

hiding it on your heart.

These are all ways

where we take God's word

into us

so that God can move us.

But there's one thing

to take it in.

There's another thing

to live it out.

That's why you need

your thumb.

Your thumb

is your applier.

It's what gives you

a grip

on God's word

and gets God's word

a grip on you.

And so what it is

is when you hear God's word,

you seek to apply it.

It gives you a grip

on what God is saying.

And when you hear God's word

and you read God's word,

it gives you a better grip.

And then you go on

with studying

and then you go on

with memorizing.

As long as you're applying it,

you're going to be

getting a hold

on God's word

and God will be

getting a hold on you.

You take it in

to live it out.

And that's what we teach

other people,

other disciples.

We help them

take God's word in

by hearing it,

by reading it,

by studying it,

by memorizing it.

Because this book

shows us the way to live,

how to follow Jesus.

Now,

this point

about how to make disciples

means we need to be

proclaiming God's word.

And typically,

when Christians hear that,

they think,

I need to preach God's word.

I need to pull up a pulpit

and proclaim God's word

to someone.

That's one way

you proclaim God's word.

It's not the only way

to proclaim God's word.

Think about it more

in terms of having

conversations about God's word.

About raising it like this.

You're in a life group.

Someone brings something up.

Well,

what does God's word

say about it?

That's how you get into

a conversation

about God's word.

But that doesn't end there.

It continues on

by saying,

now that we know

what God's word

says about it,

how do we live our lives

in light of that?

How do we live it out?

Could you imagine

more and more

of those conversations

in our church?

What does God's word say?

How do we live it out?

We're proclaiming God's word

to one another.

It happens conversationally.

It happens over text.

This past week,

the life group I was in,

we are swapping definitions

of what it means

to be a disciple.

It was encouraging.

It's getting God's word

into our lives.

So this book,

God's speaking to us,

this is our shared,

authoritative,

directional app

that we're all

working off of

to follow Jesus together.

That's the first ingredient.

Here's the second.

The second ingredient

is prayerful dependence

on the Holy Spirit.

If you would turn

in your Bibles

to John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

we're going to be looking

at verses 12, 13, and 14,

specifically 14.

But as soon as you bring up

the Holy Spirit

in a room of Christians,

you can have a variety

of different responses.

Here are two.

People hear Holy Spirit

and they think,

oh, we long to experience

more of the Holy Spirit's fullness,

and that's a good thing.

But many times,

people have a very specific idea

of what it looks like

to experience

the Holy Spirit's fullness.

On the other side,

people hear you say Holy Spirit,

and they get a little guarded

and a little suspicious

because they've come out

or they've seen abuse

of the Holy Spirit.

Whether that's in teaching

or in experience,

it's left a bad taste

in your mouth.

And so, what do we do?

Here's what we do.

What does God's Word say

about the Holy Spirit?

That's why I have you

in John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

In John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

Jesus is preparing

His disciples

for His departure.

He's going to be crucified.

He's going to be raised.

He's going to ascend.

He's leaving them,

but He's saying,

there's someone better

that I'm going to leave with you.

The Holy Spirit.

So, let me just read verses.

It'd be good if I'm

in the book of John.

Verses 12 through 14.

Jesus speaking,

I still have many things

to say to you,

but you cannot bear them now.

When the Spirit of truth comes,

He will guide you

into all truth,

for He will not speak

on His own authority,

but whatever He hears,

He will speak,

and He will declare to you

the things that are to come.

He will glorify Me,

for He will take what is Mine

and declare it to you.

Just a couple things to note.

The Holy Spirit is sent

to guide us into truth.

This book is our truth.

The Holy Spirit is seeking

to guide us in our living

according to the truth

revealed in this book.

Furthermore,

the Holy Spirit's a proclaimer.

Did you see that in this passage?

He will not speak

on His own authority,

but whatever He hears,

He will speak,

He will declare.

The Holy Spirit is a revealer.

He's an illuminator.

He wants to make you know

what God's truth is.

He wants that.

The third thing I want you

to quickly notice is

the personal pronoun He.

He will guide you

into all truth.

He will not speak

on His own authority.

He hears.

He will speak.

He will declare.

He will glorify Me.

The Holy Spirit

is the third person

of the Trinity.

He is not

some kind of

impersonal force.

He is a person.

Ephesians 4.30 says

you can grieve Him

just like you can grieve Jesus.

So let me aim you now

at what He says

in verse 14

because this is a very

simple, general way

to understand

what the Holy Spirit

is seeking to do

in our lives.

We don't need to be

afraid of this.

It's not the only thing

but it is

the primary aim

of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says of Him

He will glorify Me

for He will take

what is Mine

and declare it to you.

Jesus says

of the Holy Spirit

He will glorify

spotlight Me.

the one in whom

salvation is accomplished.

The one in whom

we are called to follow.

He will spotlight

Jesus.

J.I. Packer

a prolific author

and teacher

recently died.

The story goes

he was on his way

to preach

an evening service

in Vancouver,

British Columbia

and he was walking up

a hill to the church

night was falling

and he was preaching

on this passage

He will glorify Me

and he still hadn't

he didn't have

an opening illustration.

So he's trying to think

of the opening illustration.

He's walking up

to the church building

and then he looks up

and bam

he has

his opening illustration

because as night

was falling

on the front

of this building

was a cross

illuminated

illuminated by a spotlight.

That's it.

The Holy Spirit

isn't seeking

to draw attention

to Him

Himself

but to the Son

to Jesus

to His cross

work

to His person

so that we could

glorify Jesus.

So this third person

of the Trinity

is by God's plan

the first person

of the Trinity

seeking to glorify

the second person

of the Trinity

who is at the very center

of God's plan

of salvation.

So what does this mean

for us?

Simply said

the primary aim

of the Holy Spirit

is to spotlight

Jesus to us

to reveal Jesus

to us

to spotlight

Jesus in us

to make us

like Jesus

to sanctify us

and then to empower

our witness

to others.

The Holy Spirit

is looking to

spotlight Jesus

to us

in us

and through us.

And the good news

is this

we don't need

to fear the Holy Spirit.

We don't need

to fear Him.

Jesus Himself

is saying here

He's going

to glorify me.

We don't need

to fear that.

In fact

it should compel you

to seek

the Holy Spirit.

To seek

the Spirit

to do His work

to us

and in us

and through us

for the glory

of Jesus.

So what does it mean

to prayerfully

depend upon

the Holy Spirit?

Well we regularly

ask God our Father

to pour out

the Holy Spirit

on us

in various ways

so that Jesus

would be exalted.

And I tell you that

because that's exactly

what the Apostle Paul

does in Ephesians

Ephesians 3:14–19

chapter 3

verses 14 through 19

when he prays

for the Ephesian church.

He asks God the Father

to pour out

the Holy Spirit

so that Christ's love

would fill them

with the fullness

of God

and that's what

unites them.

So here's how

you could pray.

It's

you're

regularly

asking God

the Father

oh God

fill me afresh

fill me afresh

so that

by your Spirit

so that I can

I can live for Jesus

in front of my children

today.

Fill me afresh

so that I can

kind of speak

encouraging words

to my life group.

Fill me afresh

so that I can

exercise my gifts

in the church

for the glory of Jesus.

Fill me afresh

because I got a hard

phone conversation

and I want to exalt Jesus

in me and through me.

It also gives us

a diagnostic

and here's what

I mean by that.

How do we know

that the Holy Spirit

is working in our church?

Is Jesus

being glorified?

Is He being revealed

to us?

Are we being

conformed to Him?

Is Jesus being

made known

through us?

These are ways

in which we respond

and live in light of

prayerful dependence

on the Holy Spirit.

That's the second

ingredient of making

disciples.

It's not by my

not by power

but by my Spirit

says the Lord.

The Lord

let me now

move you to

the third ingredient.

People

are God's

fellow workers.

I don't know

if you knew this.

When you became

a Christian

you were called

into Christian

ministry.

When you put

your faith in Jesus

He put His claim

on you

and called you

into the priesthood

of all believers.

believers.

A disciple

of Jesus

is to be

making disciples

of Jesus.

A couple weeks

ago when I was

preaching on

God's plan

for the fullness

of time

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

I really sought

to impress upon you

that God

right now

is carrying out

His plan

all around the world.

He is moving

people to the cross

flipping them

by His grace

and calling them

to follow Him.

He is doing it

right now

and we get

to join Him

in what He is doing.

In fact

He calls us

to join Him

in what He is doing.

When you are

converted

you are called

into ministry.

I am going to

develop this

next week

in a sermon

unto itself

but I just want

to point you

to Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

real quick.

I want to show

you just a few

things to whet

your appetite.

right.

In Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

11 through 16

Paul is talking

about Christian

ministry

and in 411

he says

and he gave

the apostles

the prophets

and the evangelists

the shepherds

and teachers

to equip the saints

for the work

of ministry

for building up

the body of Christ

until we all

attain to the unity

of faith

and of the knowledge

of the Son of God

to mature manhood

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ.

Look at verse 15.

Rather speaking

the truth and love

we are to grow up

in every way

into him

who is the head

into Christ.

Let me point out

just three quick things.

First,

the nature

of the work

of ministry.

In verse 12

to equip the saints

for the work

of ministry

for building up

the body of Christ.

What is ministry

in this passage?

Building up

the body of Christ.

Don't confuse that.

Don't think

that's something

other than

making disciples

of Jesus.

building up

the body of Christ

and making

disciples of Jesus.

We're talking

about the same thing.

We're just talking

using different language.

Paul's using

his favorite metaphor

for the church.

Building up the body

into our head

Jesus Christ.

So,

when Paul talks

about ministry here,

he's not talking

about something

other than

making disciples.

It's exactly

what he's talking

about.

Moving people

towards Jesus.

Christians.

The second thing

I want you to note

is who does

the work

of ministry?

In verse 11,

he gives

Christian leaders,

apostles,

prophets,

evangelists,

shepherds,

teachers,

to verse 12,

to equip the saints

for the work

of ministry.

The saints

are all Christians.

It's not an elite

group of Christians.

Saints are all

Christians.

Christians.

And it's the saints

who are to do

the work

of ministry.

Building up

the body of Christ,

making disciples

of others.

When you were

made alive

by the grace

of God,

you were

deputized

as a minister

of the gospel

to make disciples

to build the church.

The third thing

I want to point out

quickly is

the primary way

we

build up the body,

make disciples.

It's in verse 15.

Rather,

speaking the truth

in love,

we are to grow up

in every way

into Him

who's the head

into Jesus.

We use this book

and speak this book

in love

to one another

to move us

to Jesus.

Imagine with me,

you go to the

Christ the King

Church webpage.

You click on it,

you enter in,

you have this menu

that says

leadership

and then it says

ministry staff.

You click on

the ministry staff

of Christ the King

Church

and to your surprise,

pages

full of members

and regular

attenders

of Christ the King

Church.

Pictures of faces,

names,

names,

you just scroll

through person

after person.

Brothers and

sisters,

the ministry

staff of

Christ the King

Church

is Christ

the King

Church.

We

are the

ministers.

We are the

priesthood

in this church.

So what does

this mean?

We're all in it

together.

we're all

ministering

together,

moving towards

Jesus.

You've been

called by Christ

and gifted by the

Spirit of God

for the work

of ministry.

So the question

isn't,

should I do

something,

serve in the

church?

It's where

and how is the

best way to

steward my gift?

All of us

are on the

Christ the King

Church ministry

staff team,

all of us.

It should

change the way

you think about

yourself.

It should

move you from

thinking of

yourself as a

consumer to a

participant because

you're part of the

ministry staff of

this church.

The third

ingredient to be

making disciples is

people are God's

fellow workers.

God, by His

grace, works

through all of

us to build

us up and

others,

into Jesus.

That's essential

to making

disciples.

The fourth

ingredient is

persevering step

by step.

Persevering is

godly grit.

It's gumption.

It's the ability

to endure

hardship and

heartache and

headache for the

good work Jesus

is doing in you

and in others.

you endure.

You persevere.

Discipleship is a

lifelong process of

daily laying down

your life, of

daily learning from

Jesus, of daily

living for Jesus,

of daily becoming

like Jesus because

we love Him.

But it's a

lifelong process.

A church is a

community of

disciples in this

lifelong process of

following Jesus.

And we're all at

different points in

this race of

following Jesus.

Some people are

just starting out.

It's all new.

Other people have

been running for a

while.

Other people are

moving towards the

end of the race.

discipleship is a

lifelong process.

And if I can

borrow a title of

a book from

Eugene Peterson,

discipleship is a

long obedience in

the same direction

to Jesus.

It's going to

require perseverance,

not just for you in

running the race.

It requires

perseverance for us

who are making

disciples of others.

It gets hard.

That's why I want to

point you to 1

Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15 is

that great passage at

the end of the first

book of Corinthians.

This chapter starts

with Paul receiving

of first importance

what he heard and

passing on to us.

It's the first

importance that

Christ died for our

sins according to

the scripture.

He's buried and he

was raised on the

third day according to

the scriptures.

He says that is of

what's first importance.

We call that the

gospel.

And it's that good

news in which

Paul picks up in

verse 56 and he

says,

the sting of death

is sin and the

power of sin is the

law.

But thanks be to

God who gives us

the victory through

our Lord Jesus

Christ.

The gospel is a

proclamation of

victory that Jesus

won over death and

the power of sin.

It's victory.

And then in verse

58, therefore my

beloved brothers, be

steadfast.

That word means to

be, to have a

singularity of focus.

Immovable.

That word means you

keep on keeping on

that focus.

You don't veer to

the left or the

right.

You stay on target.

You press on.

Always abounding in

the work of the

Lord.

Always being a part

of God's work.

Doing, moving people

towards Jesus

together.

Announcing the

victory.

Helping people live in

light of the victory.

Knowing that in the

Lord your labor is not

in vain.

When you're doing

that, you know you're

on target.

You know you're

pleasing the Lord.

And it keeps you

from discouragement.

It helps us

persevere.

Do you know why

the Apostle Paul is

writing this to this

church?

If you're familiar

with the

Corinthian letters,

you know that the

Corinthian church,

it was a complex

and chaotic mess

of divisions

and disputes.

And here Paul is

calling the entire

church,

therefore,

my beloved

brothers,

to focus on

one thing.

To go after

one thing.

To be steadfast,

immovable,

abounding in it,

knowing that your

work regarding it

is not in vain.

Gospel work.

Moving people

towards Jesus.

Well,

like the

Corinthian church,

people have been

messy forever,

since Adam and

Eve fell.

Perseverance is

necessary.

It's a necessary

ingredient to making

disciples because

people are messy.

It gets hard.

It's challenging.

It's discouraging.

It's disappointing.

Sometimes you just

want to bail.

Sometimes you just

want to cut out,

go somewhere else.

Yesterday, I

volunteered with a

handful of folks

from our church at

the Wisconsin

Marathon,

aid station number

one.

You know,

a marathon

requires

perseverance.

Jesus,

following Jesus

is like running

a marathon.

Hebrews 12

says,

let us run

with endurance

the race marked

out for us,

looking to Jesus,

the founder and

perfecter of our

faith.

Each of us

is running a

marathon after

Jesus,

and each of us

will be tempted

to discouragement

and to despair

and to give up.

But here's what

disciple-making is.

Disciple-making is

you yourself

are running

the marathon,

enduring and

persevering,

and as you're

running,

you're seeking to

help other

fellow runners

persevere too.

You're seeking to

come alongside of

them and help

them press on.

Help them fix

their eyes on

Jesus.

Keep going.

don't give up.

You've got a

little more to

go.

We are running

after Jesus

together as a

church,

as a pack,

and we are

making disciples

of one another.

It's hard work.

We need to

persevere.

Here's what's

going to help

you persevere

as you run

this race.

this word is

central to all

that you do.

It's your

directional app.

It keeps you on

the way.

And you pray,

God, fill me by

your spirit.

Give me strength

to persevere.

And I pray for

this person that

you would help

them persevere.

Give them

strength.

Prayerful dependence

on the Holy Spirit.

And then people are

God's fellow workers.

And so if you're

discouraged, you

tell somebody else

so that they can

minister to you.

So that they can

say to you, oh

brother, I'm there

to fix your eyes

on Jesus.

Let's do this

together.

Let's press on

together.

Let's not get

thrown by things

that aren't that

important.

Let's focus

together on Jesus

and run the race

marked out for us

all the way to

the end.

People are messy.

It's challenging

and it's hard.

But we run with

perseverance together.

When it boils right

down to it, this

fourth ingredient, the

secret to persevering,

is fixing your eyes

on Jesus.

These are the four

ingredients to make

disciples.

These are God's

means of grace

which we use with

one another and

others to move

them to Jesus

together.

We're moving people

towards Jesus.

Proclaiming the

word of God,

prayerful dependence

on the Holy Spirit.

People are God's

fellow workers and

persevering step by

step.

We're in it for the

long haul.

They're means of

grace.

Wouldn't it be

wonderful if more

and more of us are

saying to one another,

let's fix our eyes on

Jesus and let's call

other people to come

run the race with us,

to come follow Jesus,

to lay our lives down,

to learn from Jesus,

to live for him,

to become like him

because we love him.

We know this is God's

plan for the fullness

of time.

making disciples of

Jesus is way better

than making chocolate

chip pancakes.

Do you know why?

We get to see God

change people and we

get to be changed in the

doing.

Will you pray with me?

God in heaven, we're in

over our heads.

we want to faithfully

live according to your

word.

We want to be

empowered by your

spirit.

We want to be

faithfully stewarding

the gifts you've given

us to the building up of

your body.

We want to persevere

step by step in our

own pursuit of you and

helping others in their

pursuit of you.

Father, would you pour

out your Holy Spirit

upon us, your people?

Would you do a work

that you alone will be

glorified for?

That Christ would be

exalted in our midst?

It's for your glory,

God, we ask.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.