"What's In Your House?" Colossians 3:1-17 Sunday Morning Worship Service

To start, I want to take you back.

If you were raised in the church, how many of you kind of grew up in the church as a child?

And perhaps your children's ministry leader showed you this little illustration of what the church was.

They would put your hands this way and they would say, This is the church, right?

And this is the steeple.

Open the doors and see all the people.

And you know what?

When when mom was doing this and my dad, we were doing this at bedtime, we'd started to name the fingers of people who were in our church.

It got kind of weird.

But it was a neat little reminder of who we are as the body of Christ.

As has been said, the church is not a building.

It's the people in the building.

It's comprised of believers in Christ.

It's comprised of people who understand what Paul said in Romans 3.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And that the penalty for sin is death, not just the physical death, but a spiritual death as well.

But also what Paul mentioned in Romans, that God in his great mercy extended his love toward us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

And that we turn from sin in order to follow him.

You know, Christ didn't die just for the sake of dying a few months ago at a funeral.

I said that, you know, he didn't come to this earth to be the centerpiece of Renaissance art.

He came to take our sin upon himself to die for us, so that by placing our faith in him, the penalty for our sin would be forgiven and that we would have eternal life.

It is definitely a glorious rescue and repair of the fracture that was made that was caused by the original sin of Adam in the garden.

And now, because of Christ, it is restored and he reconciles us to his Father because of his sacrifice.

It is this gospel, it is this good news that has been proclaimed for 2,000 years in beautiful, magnificent cathedrals, churches that are well designed, as well as in caves and secret hiding places where believers gather who are facing persecution.

Perhaps their worship is less boisterous and loud as ours, but nonetheless, they worship the same God.

And so we worship as well.

It is the saving gospel of Jesus Christ that has been passed down from generation to generation.

And because of Jesus, we're no longer held captive in the bondage of our sins and our trespasses.

We are forgiven.

We are a forgiven people, and we receive pardon because Christ has made it so.

Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians, for our sake, God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

His righteousness becomes our righteousness, his holiness becomes our holiness, his life becomes our life because of Jesus.

We're no longer dead in trespasses and sins.

We're made alive.

By his grace he has saved us and raised us up and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable richness of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

And we rejoice, because there's no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ from the law of sin and death.

And we recognize and remember, if you were raised in the church, that most beautiful verse, the first verse we probably all memorize, for God so loved the world that he set his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And that's not all.

Scriptures tell us that because of our faith in his sacrificial work on the cross, on our behalf, we have a legal standing before God.

It's called being justified.

Paul says to the believers in Rome, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The anger of him toward our sin is removed.

His wrath is withheld.

Paul said to the church in Ephesus, By grace you've been saved through faith.

And this not of your own doing.

It's the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This isn't something we pulled off.

God did it in our behalf and through the death of his Son and the power of his resurrection that gives us life.

And some of you here today may ask, how can I receive this peace with God, this gift of God?

The Apostle Paul said to the Romans, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Believe in Jesus Christ.

And please, please be mindful of this, that he is not to be added to a collection of bobblehead deities.

He is the only one that is worthy of our worship.

When he was brought before the rulers of Israel, the Apostle Peter said this to them point blank, right at their faces.

There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

And the Apostle John, in his first letter, said, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you want religion, you've got plenty to choose from.

But if you want to have your sins forgiven, be made right before God, be saved, and have eternal life, then only Christ can provide that for you.

And so it is appropriate that the first words of this sermon be that is made to us today, that comes to us today, in this freshly renovated worship center, are the sweet phrases from Scripture that proclaim the truth of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is this gospel that has been proclaimed at Emmanuel Bible Church for over 55 years.

And Lord willing, I pray that the gospel that is preached and heard by whoever stands in this pulpit, or whoever sits out there to hear what is said over the course of time, that it will be that gospel that will continue to be proclaimed until the day Christ calls us into his presence for eternity.

And that's something to be praying for because this world has gone crazy.

And churches are being turned upside down because they're seeking to mollify a culture that wants many ways to God, which is contrary to what Jesus said to his disciples.

He said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

Well, last week in his sermon, Jesse answered the question, What is the true church?

And if you weren't here in about 30 seconds, here it is in a nutshell.

Don't tell him I said that, please.

He said, A true church has the right Lord, acknowledging Jesus Christ is the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

A true church has the right gospel saved by the redemptive and atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

That by grace through faith in Him alone our sins are forgiven.

He says a true church practices the ordinances of baptism, acknowledging that a believer is both spiritually baptized into the body of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit at salvation, and that this event is personally memorialized publicly in the life of the believer through water baptism in the presence of the gathered church.

And that a true church remembers the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross by celebrating the Lord's Supper.

And then he said also that a true church has membership, believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Where people come before the elders and give personal testimony that they have trusted in Christ alone as their Savior, and they make public confession of that faith, and they have been baptized as a believer, and that they're supportive of the statement of faith, the constitution, and the bylaws of the church that govern us, and that they won't teach contrary to that.

And that they understand and agree to abide by the discipline and restoration policy that we've explained in our bylaws, and that to protect the unity of the church, that we treat each one another with love, refusing to gossip and respecting and following the leaders of the church.

And that we share the responsibility of the church by praying for its growth, not the numerical growth, talking about the depth of spirit, that people would understand what they believe and are able to articulate what they believe and to grow deeply in the knowledge of God.

And that they would invite the unchurched to attend, and that we would warmly welcome those who visit us, and that we would understand and search out what our spiritual gifts are and use them for the glory of God and develop a servant's heart.

And then support the testimony of the church by attending faithfully, living a godly life, giving to its ministries, and doing so with cheer and joy.

And that we have this one thing here at Emmanuel that we ask you to do, and it's a wonderful thing, I think, from where I stand.

Just listen for a minute.

You don't hear the crying baby here because we have members who volunteer through their membership to be a part of our nursery and to watch those little children.

And I have been told that there are people in there that pray for those children while they're in there.

And some of those children are going to be standing before you as future pastors.

You do realize that one of the pastors we brought forward in ministry a couple of weeks ago, Dan Crabtree, here at Emmanuel, we call him Baby Jesus.

Because he was in the Christmas pageant at the manger scene, being held up by Mary and Joseph, and now he's a pastor here at Emmanuel Bible Church.

I think that's a pretty cool thing.

He hasn't performed any miracles yet, but we he's doing okay.

And you're all invited as members of the church to attend our elder meetings, our business meetings, and to participate.

So this morning, the question for us to consider is, what is in our house?

And I ask you to turn to the third chapter of Paul's epistle to the Colossians.

Each of the letters that Paul wrote while he was in prison in Rome, to Ephesus, to Philippi, and to Colosse, he would disclose to them in the beginning of his letter doctrinal truth specific to various issues that they were facing, and then he would follow that portion of that letter.

He would show the churches how to apply that truth, to live as a true believer and follower of Christ.

In this letter to the Colossian church, he's trying to warn them and tell them speak out against and provide for them theological ammunition that they would need to do battle with the heresy that was creeping into the church.

This heresy talked about having a superior knowledge and mysticism, and it became known as the Gnostic Heresy.

And so in chapters 1 and 2, Paul presents a sufficient theological argument of the uniqueness and the fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

He is creator, sustainer, savior, redeemer, reconciler of man.

And in doing that, he tells the Colossians not to be held captive by deceitful philosophies, and not according to the human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, but according to Christ.

And so here in chapter 3, he begins the application of that doctrine.

The first thing he says out of the box, he wants them to be seeking the heavenly focused life.

Look at what he says in verse 1.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And so this is a he points to the fact that Christ has risen, that he is alive, and that we are to seek everything that is about him, that our minds need to be moving in that direction.

We don't keep our minds focused on the world and all of that stuff, all of the worries and cares of the world, but that we renew, and like he says in Romans 12, renewing our mind, that we renew our minds through the power of the Spirit of God.

And this takes place when we embrace godliness.

If you're a Christian, I just need to inform you, you've been given a spiritual GPS.

It's not like a map app on your cell phone that's calibrated to tell you how to get from point A to point B.

But you have been given a spiritual gift called the Holy Spirit.

And it lets you know, He lets you know where you are spiritually.

And he does so in a number of ways, but much of it is through the in coordination with the Word of God.

And that's where we need to focus our minds, of taking in God's Word, of learning of Him, learning what He asks of us.

The Holy Spirit has a multi-purpose ability.

He baptizes us into the body of Christ because of our faith in Christ.

He will convict us of our sin.

He will regenerate an unbeliever to life in Christ.

He teaches, he guides, uh, he indwells us, and he secures our salvation by sealing us in Christ until the day of redemption.

This is God the Father's gift in response to our faith in his son.

He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us through this.

I'm reminded of a guy who came into my office uh a while back and he had, you know, he had accepted Christ as his Savior through a gathering and wanted to talk about it.

He wanted to follow up on that because he felt like he needed to talk to a pastor about that.

And in the course of our conversation, he said, Well, I'm I'm right now, and this is the first thing out of his mouth almost.

He says, you know, I'm kind of in a sort of a situation.

I'm living with a woman, we're not married.

And he says, Um, and that's wrong.

I didn't even get to say, man, that is wrong.

He said it.

I went, oh, yeah, I did the counselor thing.

Mmm, that must have been hard, or whatever counselors say.

But he was uh, yeah, he knew.

He had moved in with this lady, and she was uh she had he said, I know she's she I don't know how she's gonna take it because um you know she's she says she's open to all kinds of religions, but uh you know I don't know when when we moved in together at the in the townhouse, she went around with every room and and took an eagle feather and was kind of you know blessing the room.

It was a Native American type of thing.

And I said, Yeah, well, when I was growing up, we had a bunch of those together.

That was called dusting.

And uh but but he was really concerned about this whole thing and and and worried about a little bit worried about what she was saying.

But she he said to me, you know, I'm a different person now.

I gotta do what God wants.

And this is only like two or three days after his conversion.

So a week later he comes back and he said, I said, Well, how'd it go?

And she had been away on a business trip and had come back, and he said, Well, when she came through the door, he said, Well, hey, guess what?

I came to faith in Christ, and she immediately got up and took her suitcase and walked out.

And that was it.

And he said, But you know that doesn't matter.

Because I'm new.

I'm not the same that I was, I am totally new.

So here in Colossians, as we move back to the text, Paul's weaving great theology into his instruction, and he reminds the believers that they worship the risen, the ruling, glorified, and coming again Christ, who is in heaven, seated at the right hand of God.

And so he exhorts them to upward thinking, to setting their affections on the person of Christ in glory.

He doesn't tell them to expand their investment portfolio by buying gold or silver.

He doesn't tell them that they can save 15% by switching to this insurance company or they can avoid mayhem by switching to the other insurance company.

He doesn't mention anything about their children's educational opportunities, or the neighborhood that they should live in, or the house they should purchase, or their plans for retirement.

And he's instead he wants them to focus their minds on the living Christ of glory, who will be returning for those who have placed their faith in him.

So then, as this applies to our lives, applying it to our house, are we zealously seeking after Christ with a fully devoted heart?

Are we setting our minds on things that are above?

Are our investments in this life, will they result in eternal dividends in the next life?

He's challenging all believers to be Christ-minded.

You may ask, how can I renew my mind?

How can I set my mind on things above?

Well, thankfully, Paul continues to write in this passage that we're looking at.

He gets very specific on how they should enter what is commonly called the process of sanctification, of setting yourself apart for the glory of God and following him in obedience.

It's a life that's setting apart for God's glory.

And he begins by telling them this that they need to be about the task of putting to death the old life.

Colossians 3, 5 through 9 reads, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry.

On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

In these you too once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away.

Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie with one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.

So in this passage, Paul offers two separate lists.

One is the battle of the body that we face.

It directly addresses sexual sins that are to be put to death.

It's it it it and when you think about it in the context of our culture and how pervasive sexual decadence is, it's a fearful thing.

And it's ruined many lives.

Many lives.

It ruins, it can ruin you physically, it can ruin you in your conscience and in your heart.

But also understand this that in the first century, when Paul first uttered these words, when these became a part of this, his writing to the Colossians, the centerpiece of pagan worship was sexual immorality.

It was a religious act of worship to fertility gods and goddesses in ancient Greek culture.

And it's why Paul faced significant opposition in Ephesus that he had to endure a two-hour riot because the people were upset in that city because he was telling them, Diana is not the way.

Worshiping her is not the way.

Christ is the way.

And so we have these this list of evil activities against the body, against man's earthly nature.

It's where we get the sexual immorality, it's where we get the word pornea, which is pornography or fornication.

We have lust, pathos.

We have uh all kinds of illicit cravings and it and it consumes our country.

It consumes our advertisement.

It's all about how you look and how you behave, and and and and it's anything goes, we're free to do what we want.

But not according to Scripture.

Paul writes similar lists of sins.

They often appear in Paul's writings.

If you look at the second half of the first chapter of his letter to the Romans, you will see what sin does.

To a person sexually if they give themselves over to it.

Also in 1 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 6, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5, he has lists that tell us how we need to behave and warns us of being admired in sin.

Did you know that Jesus had a list?

Matthew 15, 18, he says, What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person.

So we're not left to guess as to how we as followers of Christ are to live, because of the light that has already been given to us in this book, the Scripture, the Word of God.

And Paul tells us with this significant warning concerning this battle of the body.

He says that on account of these, the wrath of God is coming.

And that's one of the missing in action sermons in most churches in America.

You will not hear of the day of judgment to come before a righteous and holy God.

They don't have a category for this in the precious memory section of the bookstore.

It's horrific.

All accumulated offenses will be enumerated and completely presented as accurate.

The punishment will be filled with suffering, torment for eternity.

This is the wrath that believers avoid because of faith in Christ and the promises of his word.

But for unbelievers, for friends that you have, for members of your family, for people living next door to you, for people who are co-workers that you know, it will be a terrible reality.

And it can be avoided, and that's why the primary ministry of this church is to share the gospel with people who need Jesus.

Because they're headed for an eternal judgment.

And they need Christ to save them.

And Paul says in verse 7, this was your neighborhood.

This was where you lived.

In these two you once walked when you were living in them.

But they came to know Christ.

And they turned from their wickedness and began to follow him.

And he tells them to rid themselves of these things.

Tells them that they need to put off, like throw it off like a dirty shirt.

And you know when you've been working outside, uh, maybe you've done some.

One time I went on a missions project, and the the clothes that we took, uh, when we brought them back, they were, you just, we threw them away.

They were so full of mud and just all kinds of stuff because we worked hard at putting a camp together.

But it was like throwing off a dirty shirt.

And it and that's what we need to be about doing, ridding ourselves.

You put it off like a suit of clothes.

And then comes in verse 8 the second battle.

This is the battle of the heart.

This describes the temperament that's uh of a person who's uncontrolled.

And these habits like anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language are not suitable for Christians.

And when Paul describes these things, he he uses them, the words he uses are uh uh talk about heat.

Uh thermo is where we we we get some of the heat of this.

So when he talks about anger, it's a chronic attitude of smoldering hatred.

And when he talks about rage, rage is like an eruption uh that just comes out of nowhere, an outburst.

And then he talks about malice, that's deeds planned out and done against someone, and slander, words said against them.

And then he finishes it with filthy language.

In fact, the prefix that describes that word in the Greek text is where we get the word excrement, which is filth, manure, dirty words.

And he says, we shouldn't be about that.

And we should be truthful, not liars, but people who represent Jesus, who is the truth.

So as I said, he talks about the imagery he uses is putting clothes taking off clothes and putting on new garments, unstained by sin.

And then he uses a significant metaphor.

He says, put it to death.

Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.

It suggests a decisive action.

As if Paul is saying to us, kill it, mortify sin.

One of the great Puritan writers, John Owen, wrote in The Mortification of Sin, he said these words, Sin is always active when it seems to be the most quiet.

And its waters are often deep when they are calm.

We should therefore fight against it and be vigorous at all times, in all conditions, even when there is the least suspicion.

Sin is always acting, always conceiving, always seducing and tempting.

Who can say that he has ever had anything to do with God or for God, which indwelling sin has not tried to corrupt?

This battle will last more or less for all our days.

If sin is always acting, we are in trouble if we are not always mortifying, meaning to kill it.

I remember growing up in our house one time uh my mother uh encountered uh a small mouse in the kitchen, and uh we had this one of those uh kitchen chairs that had the two steps.

Well, when we arrived, mom was on the top step, and she was in full voice.

I mean, it was yelling and get it out, and I believe I did uh the only time I think in my life I ever heard mom say kill it.

Uh and so my dad began to take the kitchen utensils and do whatever uh do what good husbands do.

But we got that thing out of there.

And and in the same way, the things that we battle, the thoughts, the actions, the words, the the condemnations, the the the our attitudes, those are the things that we need to be about.

Killing the old self.

And not just leaving something there dead, but in the next passage, it talks about putting on the new life.

It says in verse 10, we put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, scythian, slave free, but Christ is all and in all.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy, beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another if one has a complaint against another, and forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive.

And above all these things, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which you indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

Here he talks about renewing ourselves, being something new through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And in verse 11, in Christ, distinctions are removed.

There are national distinctions, Greeks and Jews.

There are religious distinctions of circumcised and uncircumcised, there are cultural distinctions of the Greeks.

You know, the Greeks called anyone who was a foreigner a barbarian, and the barbarians doubled down and called anyone who was less than them a Scythian.

And those folks were wild savages.

And so you have these distinctions that are taking place.

We find it even in our own culture today, and in social distinctions, slave and free.

But understand this: all who have come to faith in Christ are new creations, they are new people, they are made new in Christ, because Christ is all and is in all.

So all of these categories, all of these distinctions are overruled because salvation and belief in Christ, because of what God did for us, we have become transfigured with Him and united with Him.

So where can religious and racial barriers be obliterated?

At the cross of Christ.

Where can broken people, broken marriages, broken families be mended?

At the cross of Christ.

Where can political division and sectarian rancor ever find peace?

At the cross of Christ.

Where can separation and judgment that exists between righteous God and sinful man be reconciled?

It's at the cross of Christ.

At the cross of Christ, that's where sin is atoned for, forgiveness extended, mercy obtained, pardon granted, and eternal life is made secure.

And Paul says that we are God's chosen ones.

He has selected us.

Academically, you can get chosen for scholarships, athletically, you can make the team, make the all-star team, become a pro.

Occupationally, you can be promoted, be given a new job title.

But all of those things are merit-based, based on your ability.

Being chosen is specifically a work of God, solely of the mind and will of God, according to his sovereign purpose.

Paul wrote in Titus, the third chapter, when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.

By the washing of generation, regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

We are saved by God's calling, and it involves each person of the Trinity.

And just as Christ called forth his friend Lazarus from the grave, we are called forth from being dead in our trespasses and sins to abundant and eternal life.

And I encourage you to look through the scriptures and see where this is so.

Anytime you see the word called or chosen or elect, predestined, or God's foreknowledge, God's purpose, it becomes abundantly clear to us.

Moving on, Paul has called all believers to take decisive action, to clothe yourselves in these things.

And he talks about five hearts that we need to embrace.

Where the life of us, the Spirit working in us can help us conform to the image of Christ.

And think about these in terms of how did Jesus demonstrate this?

How did he demonstrate compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience?

This is the gold standard of godliness.

This is how we're to be.

And then he says in verse 13, we're to bear with each other.

He mentions in verse 12 about forgiveness of each other, forgiving, just as the Lord forgave, you need to forgive.

That's our vertical relationship with each other.

But then, you know, we need to be about mending relationships.

Grudges have no place in the Christian life.

And over all these virtues, he says, put on love.

The virtue of love to cover it all and bind it.

It's the perfect bonding agent for all of it.

Now I know a lot of this sounds like uh this is not going to go well in a culture of toxic masculinity.

But think about that.

The thing that Christ did, the most profound thing that he did on the cross, I think, was when he looked down at those who were killing him and he said, Father, forgive them.

They don't know what they're doing.

So we need to be a people who forgive.

And then he talks about the peace of Christ that rules in our hearts.

That we would understand that even while the world is out of control and things are going crazy, we have this peace because we have a Savior who loves and cares for us and walks with us through the challenging times, the difficult times.

Finally, the last aspect is to live the worshipful life.

He says in verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

He speaks of the Word of God indwelling.

That is the most productive thing I think a believer can do is spend time in God's Word and to understand what it says, meditate upon it, apply it, and it becomes a permanent part of our lives.

It's as though the words of God will, in due time, in due season, become our words as we speak them to others.

As we love one another, as we love the lost.

We do this through the indwelling of the Word of Christ.

We also do it through the out, and as we continue in doing that, we find that there's an outpouring of worship that comes from it.

Joyful singing.

It springs forth naturally from the psalms, from hymns, from all of the songs that we sing.

When you think about what we experience this morning in worship, how wonderful that is.

And it's through these that we can encourage each other, teach one another, and admonish each other.

And then finally, doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul mentions through this area that we are to be a thankful people and we're to give praise to God.

And that is uh we have a we have a response that we can give to the Lord with our joy and our thankfulness.

So, as we continue in this season of ministry, as believers of the risen Savior here at Emmanuel Bible Church, I think it's important for us to get individually our houses in order.

So let's be seeking and setting our minds on things above.

Let's put to death the old sins that beset us.

Let's put on the new life that brings honor and glory to the Lord and Savior of all.

And let us each have hearts that bear evidence that we are a loving and forgiving and a thankful people that our lives might resonate with worship and praise to the glory of Christ our King.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you.

Thank you for your word that reveals your love, your mercy, your grace.

Thank you for Christ and for the church.

Lord, we do ask your blessing on this place.

It would be a beacon of light in a world of darkness.

The people would come to faith in Christ, that they would come here, that they would be fed spiritually, that they would grow, that they would be communicators of the gospel to those they know who need Jesus.

Lord, we pray that we would do this until you come.

And Lord, we we pray selfishly, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

But until you do, may we be found faithful.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you for being with us today.

And now a parting word from Pastor Jesse.

If you have any questions about what you heard today, or if you want to learn more about what it means to follow Christ, please visit our church website, emmanuel Bible.church.

If you're not a member of a local church and you live in the Washington, D.C.

area, we'd love to have you worship with us here to menu.

I hope to personally meet you this Sunday after our service.

But no matter where you live, it's our hope that everyone who uses this resource is involved in their own local church.

Now may God bless you this week as you seek Jesus constantly, serve the Lord faithfully, and share the gospel globally.