Luke The Orderly Account of Truth - Remember the Magnificent - Luke 1:39-45

All right, we are continuing our series in Luke called The Orderly Account of

Truth. Last week we looked at the foretelling of Jesus' birth delivered by the

angel Gabriel to Mary the Virgin Mary, through God's unmerited choosing to accomplish his

plan to bring salvation to his people. And we looked at Mary's response of

faith in God's word delivered to her. And today we're going to continue reading

through chapter one. We're going to be in verses thirty nine through forty five,

first when Mary rushes to see her cousin Elizabeth to share in this good

news of Emmanuel's coming of her miraculous pregnancy. And next in verses forty six

through fifty five, will look at Mary's song, a song of praise to

God for his remembering of his people and salvation to all those who believe.

Let's pray, Lord Jesus, we thank you for this body, thank you

for your grace to all of us. We thank you for this time that

we can receive and learn from your word. I asked that all of us

would be humble in our receiving of it, that I thank you that we

can trust in it fully. I thank you for the work of Luke,

who put this book together and put in the hard work, who did the

investigation to confirm the gospel account of our Lord Jesus. We love you,

we praise you. Amen. So my sermon today is titled Remember the Magnificent,

which will make sense later. We're first going to read through Luke chapter

one, verses thirty nine through forty five, and then we'll look at those

verses closely after. So this is after Gabriel left Mary, after delivering the

word of God to her, and after she responded with faith. At that

time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of

Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's

greeting, the baby the baby, I saw his body and I caught myself

midsaid. The biby leaved in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the

Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, blessed are you among

women, and blessed is the child you will bear? But why am I

so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon

as the sound of your grating reached my ears, the baby in my womb

leaped for joy. Blesses she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his

promises to her. So after receiving this miraculous word from God delivered by the

Angel Gabriel, Mary doesn't hesitate to travel what some scholars estimate to be one

hundred miles to visit her cousin Elizabeth. One hundred miles. If you ever

looked at the terrain in that area, it's rocky, it's hill country,

it's desolate, it's not paved, especially back then. One hundred miles.

Mary is young, is pregnant, and makes a one hundred mile journey by

herself to do what to be with family, to be in community. You

see where I'm going with this. The connection I'm making for us is the

importance of being in community with one another. Luke shows us that Mary experienced

something miraculous, something awesome, something joyful, and she immediately goes to Elizabeth,

who is also pregnant, to share in her experience, to share in

her joy. Think about how much more vital this example of community is for

the believer when we're experiencing something other than joy, something painful, sorrowful,

confusing or difficult. The Christian needs to be bonded in community, bonded in

the church for support, for advice, for direction, for love, with

Christ at the center. We have it so easy today to be in community

with one another. Compared to Mary, we don't have to walk one hundred

miles bills in the hill country like she did. A fellow believers is a

short drive away. We're certainly able, but are we willing? Don't downplay

the necessity of Christian community. Don't downplay the necessity of Christian community. Next

up, in verse forty one, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby

leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The

baby leaped in Elizabeth's womb. Now, we are not a political church,

but we are a biblical church. When the Bible speaks to a topic that

is so prevalent to our lives today, you can bet I'm going to talk

about it. We discussed at length in our previous series about the inerrancy and

infallibility of God's word, about how, according to two Timothy three sixteen,

all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and

training in righteousness, and abortion is something that desperately needs the rebuking of holy

scripture. The baby leaped in her room. Sorry three off, Patricia.

The baby leaped in her womb. Life was present. Life inside Elizabeth's womb

was present. John was alive. John was not just a clump of cells.

He wasn't unhuman simply because he was not yet born. He existed,

was filled with the Holy Spirit, and was predestined to prepare the way for

our Lord Jesus Christ. What each person is not merely what he or she

might become, is present in their mother's womb. What each person is not

merely what he or she may become, is present in their mother's womb.

And SAWM One thirty nine. We'll see that we are purposely knitted together by

God. For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my

mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your

works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden

from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven

together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them

came to be. All the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be. Now, even after reading these verses,

or when showing them to someone who supports abortion, a response you might

hear is, but abortion isn't even mentioned in these verses. It's not mentioned

here, it's not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It doesn't speak out against

abortion. That's true. You won't find the word abortion in the Bible.

But as God's word is established for us or abortion isn't the removal of a

clemp of cells. It's the removal of a life. It's the murder of

a life. And that is something the Bible does speak out against. You

shall not murder. It's one of the ten commandments God's law, you shall

not murder. Another response may sound something like, and I'm gonna direct this

at me, but Jordan, you don't understand the hardship a single mother has

to go through. Jordan, the mother was raped, Jordan, the baby

is born of incest. My question is, should one heinous sinful act be

responded to in kind? Should one heinous sinful act be responded to in kind.

We should thank the Lord Jesus that he didn't respond in kind to us.

And don't be mistaken. The acts of the rapists or the family member

that commits that atrocity on a woman should and will face justice in the end.

They will face justice for their sin, but that justice should not be

placed on the life of an unborn child. I know this is heavy.

I know this is difficult to hear, but as believers, we need to

stand up and fight for truth. Before we move on, I'll add one

final thought. If you or someone you know made the decision to end a

life in the womb, that sin was covered by the blood of our Lord

Jesus Christ. That sin is not excluded for those that repent and believe in

Him. That sin is forgiven, and the debt of sin was paid for

by His blood. And you are loved. Hallelujah, Good Ephesians. In

him Jesus, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in

accordance with the riches of God's grace. Hallelujah. That sin is forgiven,

that sin is covered. All right, everyone, take a deep breath,

don't exail yet. Ah okay to hey, praise Lord. That's the wrong

breath. Oh Paul with the singers, Okay, all right, we're gonna

move on to Versus forty one through forty two. In Luke. When Elizabeth

heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled

with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, blessed are

you among women, and blessed as the child you will bear. Notice what

happened here. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then in a

loud voice, she exclaimed, blessed are you among women, and blessed as

a child you will bear. It was by the power and prompting of the

Holy Spirit in Elizabeth that caused her to reply the way she did. I

point this out because it shows us an awesome example of how when we do

something to bring honor to God by way of praise or generosity, or simply

showing kindness in word or deed, it's God that acts. First. Let's

look at some examples. It's the Holy Spirit that empowers us to witness.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you

will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samari Samaria, and to

the ends of the earth. That's Acts one to eight. It's the Holy

Spirit that encourages us two Timothy one point seven, for the spirit of God

gave us. For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid,

but gives us power, love, and self discipline. And it's the Holy

Spirit that makes us more like Christ second Corinthians. Now the Lord is the

Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

And we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed

into his image with an ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,

who is the Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit that gave Elizabeth knowledge of Jesus

in Mary's womb and the prophetic words she speaks to her. Let's read it

again. In verse forty two, in a loud voice, she exclaimed,

blessed are you among women, and blessed as the child you would bear.

That knowledge only came from the Holy Spirit. She continues in verse forty three,

she asked the question, but why am I so favored that the Mother

of my Lord should come to me as soon as the sound of your greeting

reached my ears. The baby in my womb leaped for joy by the Holy

Spirit. Not only does Elizabeth know that Mary is pregnant, she knows and

recognizes that the child is her Lord is the Lord, and she does so

with great humility. She then tells Mary recounts for her the joy that she

and John himself felt being in the very presence of the unborn Messiah. Next,

she acknowledges and celebrates Mary's faith in verse forty five, Blesses she who

has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. Blesses she who

has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. Only have one

thing to say on this before we move on, and that's that it's good

for us to encourage and uplift one another, To uplift one another for being

faithful, Just as Paul did in his letter to the Thessalonians, we always

thank God for all of you, and continually mention you in our prayers.

We remember before our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your

labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus

Christ. It's good to encourage one another and uplift one another for being faithful

to God's word. Now, the last section of verses we're gonna look at,

that's what I mentioned earlier, is called Mary's Song, or it's known

as the Magnificent in Latin. We get the name from the first word of

the first line of Mary's Song, magnificent anima made dominum, or my soul

magnifies the Lord. The NIV translation, which we're using today switches magnifies to

glorifies, which is fine for us because glorifies as a synonym for magnifies when

speaking in praise and exaltation to God. So let's read through it first.

It says Mary's magnificent, and Mary said, my soul glorifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will

call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me.

Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation

to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered

those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, he has brought down rulers from

their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry

with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped

his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors. Going back to verse forty six through seven,

let's look at it more closely, and Mary said, my soul glorifies

the Lord, in my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. This isn't

just lip service from Mary. She's saying that every part of her, all

of who she is, her innermost being, praises and glorifies God and rejoices

in him. There's nothing mid about this. No, Okay, tang it.

I'll do better. At least expected riot to laugh at that. Come

on, Ryan, you know, millennial making a gen Z joke. Never

mind, Okay, my soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in

God, my Savior. We worship God with our words and actions, and

our service. Are giving all in obedience to His word, with humility and

gratefulness, not meaningless rituals or rules or empty words, like Jesus warned against

In the Gospel of Matthew, speaking about the Pharisees, he said, these

people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain. Their teachings are merely human rules. All of

Mary, every part of her, glorifies and rejoices in Him. What an

example. So why does Mary sing these words? What was she what was

she feeling or thinking about in this moment? Well, she tells us in

her own words, if we go to verse forty eight through forty nine,

For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now

on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done

great things for me. Holy is his name. Mary sings about how God

remembers the lowly, much like how she was ultimately insignateficant in the eyes of

man. But God uses whomever he pleases to accomplish his will, not because

of our own merit, like we talked about last week, Not because of

our own merit, our own estate, or our standing. God does as

he pleases with whomever he pleases. Jesus tells a parable that speaks of this

again. In the Gospel of Matthew. When the rich man approached him,

Nope, this is the wrong parable, not in you, this is me.

I messed up my notes. This is parable out of the landowner for

the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning

to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them at dinaries for

the day, and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning,

he went out and saw others standing in the field in the marketplace.

Excuse me doing nothing. He told them, you also go and work in

my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went.

He went out again about noon in about three in the afternoon, and

did the same thing. About five in the afternoon, he went out and

found still others standing around. He asked them, why have you been standing

here all day long doing nothing? Because no one has hired us. They

answered. He said to them, you also go and work in my vineyard.

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,

call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired,

and going on to the first the workers who were hired. About five

in the afternoon came and each received it innars. So when they came,

when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But

each one of them also received it innurs. When they received it, they

began to grumble against the landowner. These who were hired last worked only one

hour, and you have made them equal to us who have been born the

burden, who have borne the burden of the work, and in the heat

of the day. But he answered one of them, I am not being

unfair to you. Friend. Then you agree to work for a dinaris,

take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired

last the same as I gave to you. Don't I have the right to

do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious? Because

I am generous. So the last will be first and the first will be

last. Now that's a long parable, But Jesus shows us that God is

sovereign. Our positioner works do nothing to earn his favor or his grace or

his blessings, And with whatever is given to us, we should receive it

with all joy and humility. According to his plan, Mary continues in verse

fifty. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation.

This is similar to what Peter is quoted saying in Luke's other book, the

Book of Acts, and Peter began to speak, I now realize how true

it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the

one who fears him and does what is right. The fear of God means

different things depending on if you're a believer or not. Prior to our salvation

in Jesus, we have no awareness or conviction of our sin, and no

knowledge or fear of God and his wrath. The fear of God only comes

from knowing Him, and that only happens. Once a person is regenerated and

brought to salvation, then something credible happens. We no longer have to know.

We not only have a fear of God and how awesome he is,

we have a deep, unshakable reverence and gratefulness to Him for saving us from

his wrath. In Hebrews twelve, it says, therefore, since we are

receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship

God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire so should

we fear God. Yes, everyone should fear him. Everyone should have a

fear of him. But the believer can rejoice because we no longer have to

fear his wrath. Because Jesus is in us and we are in him.

We should have a fear of God, but we no longer have to fear

his wrath if we are in Jesus. It's the good Galatians too. I

have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives

in me the life I now live in the body. I live by faith

and the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jesus made the price for our sins. The wrath of God looked on his

son when he was nailed to the cross. When he looks at us,

he sees his son. We should praise the Lord every day for that.

Mary continues in one f one. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm.

He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, he has

performed mighty deeds with his arm. Now, Mary here is using imagery of

God's arm in the human sense. And I'm reminded of this. Honestly,

quite hilarious story in the Book of Numbers when God provides manna for the Israelites

to eat and sustain them while they're in the desert, and some among them

start to complain about the mana, because it's all they ever eat, you

know. After he says them from slavery and oppression and certain death, and

you know all that, I'm going to read it for you. It's not

going to be up here on the screen. The rabble with them began to

crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, if only

we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at

no cost, also the cucumbers, the melons, leeks, onions, and

garlic. But now we have lost our appetite. We never see anything but

this manna. Then Moses gets fed up with complaining and gets defensive towards God's

anger at the Israelites ungratefulness. He asked, the Lord, this is Moses.

Why have you brought this trouble on your servant. What have I done

to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?

Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do

you tell me to carry them in my arms as a nurse carries an infant

to the land. Promise on oath to their ancestors. Where can I get

meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, give us meat.

I cannot carry all these people by myself. The bird is too heavy

for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please

go ahead and kill me. If I have found favor in your eyes,

and do not let me, let me face my own ruin. Now,

after letting Moses say his peace and do a little bit of a little bit

of his own complaining, God replies, this is the funny part. Tell

the people, consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat.

The Lord heard when you wailed. If only we had meat to eat,

we were better off in Egypt. Now the Lord will give you meat,

and you will eat it. You will not eat it just for one

day or two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a

whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it because

you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wailed before him

saying, why did we ever leave Egypt? It will come out of your

nostrils, and you will loathe it. But Moses said, here, I

am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and that's just men. And

you say, I will give them me to you for a whole month.

Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they

have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them? Then

Moses answered, Then the Lord answered, Moses, excuse me. Is the

Lord's arm too short? Is the Lord's arm too short? Because Moses is

doubting. Moses is doubting what God said he will do. And guess what

happens. God shows that his arm is not too short. It is indeed

mighty. As Mary said, watch what happens verse thirty one in numbers.

I forget the chapter. I'm sorry I didn't write it down. It's in

there, by the way. If a pastor says that, go look it

up for yourself. But it is in there. Now. A wind went

out from the Lord and drove quail from the sea. It scattered them.

Listen to this. It scattered them up to two cubits deep that's three feet

three feet deep, all around the camp, as far as a day's walk

in any direction. Is the Lord's arm't for you? Short quail three feet

deep? As far as you can walk in any direction in the camp,

it gets better. All that day and night and all the next day.

Remember he said, six hundred thousand men, All that day and all that

night the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten

homers. That's an estimated one point six metric tons one point six metric tons

each. WHOA. The Lord's arm is indeed mighty, and don't complain,

because they'll give you a ton of quail. Thank you. Chapter eleven,

Thank you, Shari, Thank you, Sari. Thank you for doing that

too. The Lord's arm is indeed mighty, and his word never fails.

All right, Mary continues in verse fifty two, How am I doing it

on time? Oh? Good? Okay, that's Jordan's enter monologue you're hearing

right now. Verse fifty two. He has brought down rulers from their thrones.

That has lifted up the humble. The thrones, as we all know,

they're symbols of authority, authority, and power for kings. But the

Lord God topples the thrones of monarchs and drags the mighty down from their positions

of authority. In contrast, he raises up and exalts those of low estate.

Like in Mary's case. Mary is thinking that she is just a lowly

handmaiden for the Lord. Her estate is low in her culture, but God

raised her up to use her for his purposes and plans. She continues in

verse fifty three, he has filled the hungry with good things sometimes quail,

but has sent the rich away empty. The first part of this verse,

he has filled the hungry. It actually presupposes the sir that Mary's on sun.

The Lord Jesus would one day preach if you go to chapter six in

Luke, which we'll get there in like a year, do I have this

slide? Thank you? Looking at his disciples, he said, Blessed are

you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are

you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who

weep, now for you will laugh. Amen. He has filled the hungry

with good things, but has sent the the rich away empty. All right,

this is what I was talking about earlier. When I confuse my parables,

it's not a parable, it's a what happened when the rich man came

to Jesus. So the last part of Mary's line in her magnifica. He

has sent the rich away empty points to another. We'll call it a teaching

from Jesus. In Mark chapter ten, the rich man comes up to him

says, how can I be granted eternal life? How can I earn it?

Jesus responds, you know the commandments. You shall not murder, You

shall not not commit adultery. You shall not steal, You shall not give

false witness. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not defraud.

Honor your father and mother. Teacher, he declared, this is the rich

man. All these things I have kept since I was a boy. Jesus

looked at him and loved him. And it almost feels like Jesus like,

oh, bless your heart. Imagine that's hello. Okay anyway, yeah,

bless your heart. I could be wrong, all caught up, all right,

no matter what happens today, where the Lord's word will be preached.

Amen, one thing you lack, Jesus says, Go sell everything you have

and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then

come follow me at this the man's face fell. He went away sad because

he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to disciples, how hard

it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. But the disciples

were amazed at his words. The disciples not but anyway, But Jesus said

again, children, kids, boys, listen, how hard it is to

enter the Kingdom of God. It is. It is easier for a camel

to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to

enter the Kingdom of God. Our riches in wealth and accompliments, accomplishments are

fleeting, their vanity, their wind gone, no matter how great they are.

Without salvation in Jesus, God will turn us away empty. We come

into the world empty, we leave empty. Can't get the band to come

up. Mary finishes her song with this last line, verses fifty four through

fifty five. Am I holding this high enough? Okay? Mary says he

has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants

forever, just as he promised. Our ancestors. Arcie Sproll gave this great

quote about remembering God in all He's done. It's not going to be on

the screen. He said, as Christians, we tend to be as strong

in our faith as the memory of our latest blessing. We tend to be

as strong in our faith as the memory of our latest blessing. We forget

all the time, all the benefits that God has poured out on us in

our lives. That's our nature to forget. This is one of the ways

we differ greatly, I might add from God. God does not know how

to forget. Once God makes a promise, it is sure his promises can

never and will never be broken or forgotten. Israel's faith and the spiritual health

of the people were weak at the time of Jesus' coming. People like Elizabeth

and Zechariah, Mary Joseph, who held fast in their faith, probably felt

alone. They likely wondered where is God? At this time there were no

prophets for how many hundreds of years? Four hundred, four hundred years.

They're probably wondering where is God? And then in the Magnificent in Mary's song

I'm Gonna read this again, she says He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever just as he promised our

ancestors. Mary says, he remembers, He remembers the covenant he made with

Abraham and our fathers forever. That's the God we come to worship here every

Sunday, the God who remembers, the God of promises, the God of

providence, the God of miracles, the God who saves, the God who

doesn't forget his plans or his people. That's who we come to worship every

Sunday. So how do we as believers do better at remembering God's promises?

How do we do better at remembering that God is a god that provides,

that he keeps us safe, that he is to be feared, that loves

with an everlasting love. How do we do better at that? One thing

we can do is worship Him with song, like Mary did, singing songs

of praise to God to help us remember and ponder and contemplate the wonders and

the mysteries of God in all the ways that He has blessed us. And

we're going to do that in just a little bit. But like Mary's song,

King David wrote a psalm that perfectly captures what we are to remember about

God. So I'm going to read through this long, but it's good.

Let's read it. So I'm one O three. Praise the Lord my soul,

all my inmost being, Praise his Holy name. I'd imagine that Mary

probably memorized a lot of scripture, and these verses probably came to her when

she was singing. Her song sounds very familiar, doesn't it. Praise the

Lord my soul, and forget not all of his benefits, who forgives all

your sins and heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion, Who satisfies your desires with good things,

so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord works righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

low to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor

will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins

deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. Praise God, for as

high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for

those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Think about that imagery.

You can go west forever, You're never gonna meet east. It's just a

direction. That's how far he's removed our transgressions from us. Hallelujah. As

a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those

who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that

we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass. They flourish like

a flower of the field. The wind blows over it, and it is

gone, and its place remembers it no more, but from everlasting to everlasting.

The Lord's love is with those who fear him and his righteousness, with

their children's children, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his

precepts. The Lord has established his The Lord has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise

the Lord all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord my

soul. So to remember the magnificent Jesus. That's how think about all he's

done, all he's promised to do. I would encourage each and every one

of us. I already did it, but I got a head start to

make a note. Just make a note Psalm one oh three. Commit to

reading it, and then read it again, and then read it again,

reflect on it, pray it. Sing it. If you can write an

awesome song to those lyrics, that's going to be a banger. And then

come talk to Duncan and Jesse and I and we'll sing it ourselves. Remember

Him in all that we do. Remember his promises, Remember his providence,

Remember his love for you. Remember that his word never has and never will

fail. He alone is holy and worthy of all blessings and praise, and

he never forgets except our sin. Praise God. We're going to move into

a time of response. What are we singing living hope? We get to

remember how Jesus is our living hope. With the Act on the Cross,

it was finished, the work was done, our sins were covered and bought,

the debt was wiped away. All those looking forward to singing that with

you all again. Some other things we do in this response time. These

are all ways to worship God. The first is giving. If you came

prepare to give, you can use the offering envelope or put your whole credit

card right in the box out there. If you came prepared to give,

God loves a cheerful giver, not one who gives under compulsion. Just remember

that. Next way we worship and how we connect with you is with the

connect card. Got some next steps here you can check mark we'd love to

connect with you. Get you involved in a community group. Teach you how

to drum with a feeding tube in your nose. It's not too soon.

He's tough, look at him. And then prayer. Lastly's prayer. If

you have a prayer request, I encourage you write it on the card.

We would love to pray for you throughout the week. If it's a private

prayer, just write private on there or elders only, and then only the

elders will read it. Lastly, and today, this is a special one

is baptism. You probably notice the giant blue tub. This is exciting because

this is a very last minute baptism that we're honored to be able to accommodate.

We're gonna have we have one person that is baptized. Greg's gonna talk

more about this. If you just because there's one person doesn't mean that's it.

If you have committed your life to Jesus, whether today praise God or

prior to this, and have not been baptized, that water's heated. It's

not lake water like it was for me with frogspawn and lake weeds. It's

comfy. I encourage you get baptized. We want to celebrate your salvation in

Jesus. Let's pray and then we'll do all of that. Lord Jesus,

I thank you for remembering us, for remembering your promises. I thank you

that you're a god who's not even capable of forgetting. I thank you that

you are a god who accomplishes his word. I thank you that you use

us to accomplish your purposes and plans. I pray that you would help us

to be humble and faithful in the way that Mary was humble and faithful.

Lord, help us to remember you each day, not just on Sundays when

we come and it's easy because we're around other believers, but when we're alone

and it's hard. We're distracted by work, distracted by the latest video game

coming out, the latest movie, whatever it is. We forget how vastly

and richly you bless us. In our Lord Jesus Christ, help us to

remember you and to show you, to bring you to display, to speak

honor and glory and praise and rejoice into your name in our remembrance of you.

Thank you for your word. Help us to leave your change because of

it. In Jesus Name, Amen,