James - Favoritism and Justice w/Alex Campbell

Good morning. Good morning, church. Happy Father's

Day. I don't think I even got to say that before

David called me out on my shirt here about coolest

dad, but let's just pretend the S isn't there.

I'm just the cool dad, right? Everyone else can

be a cool dad, too. But happy Father's Day. Welcome

to church this morning. My name is Alex Campbell.

I have the great joy, really, of just leading

the student ministry. And I've been doing that

for almost six years now. The 6th through 12th

graders affectionately self -named that group,

The Shed, many years ago. And that has been really

fun for me. I really do love it. And I hope you

guys can see that. But yeah, something really

cool that happened this last year is that the

Norths were added to the team. And so they've

been able to just really start doing activities

and events outside of Sunday morning. From the

start of the year were some bonfires, and then

the end of the year was attending some sports

events and theater performances of other students.

So that has been really cool to see that really

grow. But we are on summer break right now, but

we are looking forward to starting when the school

year starts up again. So if I haven't met you,

student or parent of a student, come find me.

Love to meet you. We can talk about that. I'd

love to talk about what we're doing for the students

here. I'm usually hanging around after church,

wrangling my kids. So I was excited this year,

earlier this year, when I heard that we were

going through the book of James this summer.

And it's largely because I consider this my favorite

New Testament book. I do love the content. The

content's great. But I largely connected with

this book because it was the first book I read

when I decided to follow Jesus. I was in high

school, I think a sophomore. But I do distinctly

remember thinking that if this was real, if Jesus

was real, and I was going to follow him, I needed

to read this book. So I'm not really sure how

or why I chose James. I think it was probably

because it was short enough I knew I could finish

it. But because of that, it just sticks differently

with me. So I am excited to be up here today

to share just a portion of the book of James

and just the series in general. So, as Greg said,

we're in our third week going through James,

and today we will be in chapter two. The first

week, it was said that tradition tells us the

writer of this book was the half -brother of

Jesus. And if we take that as true, it's not

too surprising that we don't find him writing

anything particularly new in this book. A lot

of it is really a callback to Jesus' ministry

and teachings, which... This was the brother

of James. He would be fairly acquainted with

who Jesus is and as someone in his household.

And James introduces this book to the scattered

tribes of Jerusalem. He's writing to his fellow

believers in the risen Christ who have been dispersed

across the land, away from the home they have

called for hundreds of years. For them, this

was a time of uncertainty. a loss of community.

And so when I read this, it's kind of like a

pep talk. It's encouraging, it's uplifting, but

it's also very direct and straightforward, often

without a lot of detailed explanation. But it

was, and that's because it was the callback,

right? Enforcing something they already know.

And so it was needed then, and I believe it's

needed now, because as believers of God, as followers,

in Jesus, we are still affected by the world

in which surrounds us and that we participate

in. And this can kind of lead to what I'll call

a carryover of how we live. You know, as I already

discussed, Paul uses the language, we are a new

creation. The old is gone. And yet the ways we

engage with the world, with people, our thought

patterns, our decisions, our actions, our desires,

They are rarely like a light switch that gets

flipped when we start following Jesus, right?

It's a process. And in that process, we can forget

who we are, even if momentarily. So it's because

of this, James writes this book and other biblical

authors, you know, write encouragements and warnings

and explanations. That's why the church is still

happening today. That's why I believe you're

here today, right? To get help, to help guide

us. to living the way of Jesus, to imitate the

way that he lived. And so before we read the

passage, I just want a quick recap on how we

got here in chapter 2. So if you haven't listened

to the messages prior today, weeks 1 and 2, I

encourage you to do that today or this week.

They were great, but quick recap. In chapter

1, James starts with the difficulty of life,

right? Scattered people, right? Things are just

hard to experience. But they also talk about

some temptations. And in these things, James

says to be joyful. And this is not a, yay, my

life is hard and miserable. But thank God, thank

God that through the worst of it, that there

is a way for me to be like Jesus, that he is

capable and willing and patiently transforming

me to be like Jesus. This is the joy. And James

follows this up with ensuring that our faith

doesn't become just a mental exercise, something

we love in theory that we can talk about and

discuss and find all the nuances for other people

but never actually do in practice. And so, like,

why must this even be addressed? Why is James

telling us this? Well, he kind of just got done

telling us life is hard and temptations abound.

The difficulties can be unrelenting, but... They

cannot overcome or overwhelm our God, so therefore,

James says, obey the scriptures. Chapter 1, overall,

then, is dedicated to an internal shifting of

our perspective. A little generalization, because

there's a lot in chapter 1, but overall, we see

James leading the church into the personal and

internal work of this perspective shift, whose

primary focus is how you relate. How you handle

yourself, how you handle yourself in the light

of the reality of God. It's how you think, it's

how you feel, it's how you view yourself and

your situations that surround you. And then here

in chapter two, it is the natural progression

from the internal to external. Now, it's not

just the lens in which you see the world, but

how you physically engage in it. Now, if the

internal work has been done, or at least started,

right, let's experience it with those around

us. James leads believers into how to handle

relationships with others in light of the reality

of God. It's how you make decisions. It's how

you engage with other people, particularly those

that are different from you. And this setup,

like, is no accident, right? He's writing something

persuasive, a persuasive letter here. And so

today we get to see... see that shift in this

chapter too. We get to take notice of the first

example of right relationship. And so if you

would, please open your Bibles to James 2. There

are Bibles on your tables and out in the lobby.

They are for you or anyone you know. You can

take them home or you can download it on any

smart device. Here at the house, we love to give

the scriptures full attention, however you're

able. So if you would please do that with me,

I will be standing as, continue standing as I

read. James 2, 1 -13 My brothers and sisters,

believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must

not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into

your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes,

and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes

in. If you show special attention to the man

wearing fine clothes and say, here's a good seat

for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there

or sit on the floor by my feet. Have you not

discriminated among yourselves and become judges

with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers

and sisters, has not God chosen those who are

poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith

and inherit the kingdom he promised to those

who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.

Is it not the rich who are exploring you? Are

they not the ones who are dragging you into court?

Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the

noble name of him to whom you belong? If you

really keep the royal law found in scripture,

love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing

right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and

are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For

whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles

at just one point is guilty of breaking all of

it. For he who said you shall not commit adultery

also said you shall not murder. But if you commit

adultery but do not commit a murder, you have

become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who

are going to be judged by the law that gives

freedom, because judgment without mercy will

be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. Let us pray. Father,

we just thank you for this day, and we pray that

you would be here in this room, Lord, that we

would feel your presence, that you would help

us open our minds and our hearts to what you

have for us today in receiving this word as we

continue in worship of you, Lord. We love you,

and we praise you, and we just pray that the

words and the message we hear today will become

foundational to who we are. In Jesus' name we

pray. Amen. As you take your seats, what are

some of the favorite things that you heard or

said? Tacos. Tacos and pizza are always up there,

right? Dogs, yep. Pets, that's always up there.

Hiking, camping. It's a joy. Farmer's market.

Go almost every week. Games, board games. Great.

Thanks. These are great things. It was interesting,

and James, as I read through this, it's interesting

to find for myself that there are some very specific

things I have favorites for. If you ask me what

my favorite animal is, I'm going to tell you

right away, it's a hedgehog. I mean, it's been

that way since almost as long as I can remember.

Before that, it was the armadillo, but the hedgehog

is way better. That's my favorite. But instead,

if you ask me just what animals I like, I'm not

going to just give you one. I'm going to give

you a top six. I have a top six. Hedgehog, turtles,

frogs, not toads, okay, seahorses, jellyfish,

and chameleons. Those are my top six favorite

animals in that order. I have a thought out list.

Yeah, yeah. I have the same list for fruits.

Yeah, it goes on. I have lists. And through this

simple change of questioning, I began to realize

that the language of favoritism can sometimes

limit the way we think or respond. But I also

found it's also really embedded in our daily

lives and how we use it. And this passage actually

convinced me to try to remove some of that favorite

language from my speech. You rarely hear me asking

a question about favorites. I'm not going to

say never, but rarely. But especially with my

kids, I tuck my son into bed almost every night.

I don't ask him what his favorite part of the

day was. I simply ask him, what did you like

about today? Did you have fun today? Did you

help anybody? And in doing so, I found that I

actually get much longer responses. Where I think,

especially with kids, I can limit their imagination

when they're only looking for one response. Understandably,

that is the intent of favorites, right? To delineate

it, separate it from everything else. But as

an adult, admittedly, I am not good at making

quick decisions. This question is, like, stressful

for me. Not, like, a really tough stressful,

but just, like, a why are you trying to limit

me, right? Why do I only get one thing? Like,

what qualifies it as a favorite? If you ask me

a favorite question, that's fine. It's fine.

But I'm going to ask you to define what you mean

by favorite. What qualifies that? But in that,

I asked, you know, why are we so obsessed with

finding favorites in every aspect of our lives?

It's all around us, right? The restaurant menus,

Amazon Music, our reviews, music playlists. I

think it's an attempt to make sense of this world,

right? It's a way to get to know ourselves by

delineating our favorites and then everything

else. To have something to kind of cling to that's

usually well -defined and mostly unchanging.

After all, this is how we choose things like

career paths and hobbies to things as simple

as the clothes we wear. And all that is to say

that this passage isn't actually about having

favorite things. I don't think that's what it's

saying. I don't think it's wrong to have favorite

things. Many would argue that that's the way

we're designed. Our taste buds enjoy different

foods, our brains are not wired the same, and

then you pile experiences on top of that. We

are just all uniquely... Different people and

favorites can actually help us unite with a few

similarities that we do have. And so where my

favorite things can be the source of creating

a new relationship, because oftentimes we find

friends and bond with people that we have, share

interests and ideals. Not wrong, right? My favorite

things can also be the divider that prevents

me from getting to know someone else. particularly

if they're vastly, vastly different. But at its

worst, at its worst, favoritism establishes a

system for judgment. So what do I mean by that?

The distinction is where our propensity for favorite

things changes or dominates our actions, or even

more so when it affects the way we think and

act towards people. People. Favoritism, here

in James, can also be translated as partiality.

depending on your version, or most appropriately,

prejudice. And prejudice is the unfair preferential

treatment of a person or group at the expense

of another. Prejudice enforces a system of hierarchy

that is dependent upon exploitation of a lower

group. It says, I'm better than you, and you

don't even have to say or think it. It can sometimes

just be in our actions, and it separates people.

And prejudice, therefore, is really a singular

act. It builds on a system of judgment. And the

more it happens, the stronger it becomes, not

just as an external system, but internally in

our hearts. James here is saying that when we

operate in this system of preferential treatment,

it is a sin. As we separate people, we separate

ourselves from God. And though this doesn't explicitly

talk about this, he is showing believers through

the way that he wrote, the examples that he gave,

that favoritism, partiality, and prejudice are

a deviation from a foundational attribute of

God. Namely, his justice. So I know justice,

bringing justice into this passage can feel like

it doesn't really belong, but I think we think

of justice... in the culturally relevant version

of the law and sentencing punishments. And the

way that we think, we think of it as a neatly

balanced scale. We have good and bad. And as

long as the good outweighs the bad, there is

justice in this world. This is the thinking that

says, for the greater good. Look at that. This

is an incomplete view of justice. This is not

godly justice, because godly justice, is treating

people equitably. To give people their rights,

not just punishments, but also protection and

care. Because systems of favoritism and impartiality

and prejudice are actually systems of oppression.

When one group is receiving favorable treatment,

there's another group that gets left out. And

this... Separation, this injustice is antithetical

to the God that we follow. He has revealed himself

inseparable from justice. And so if we're doing

this over here, we're separating, we're operating

in favoritism, partiality, and prejudice. We're

not operating under God. I mean, justice is all

over the Bible. Justice and, I'll say, his little

brother, righteousness, are used over 1 ,000

times in the Bible. According to Google AI overview,

anyway, so I didn't count, but by this understanding,

we can see how intertwined prejudice and justice

really are. Prejudice is the unfair treatment,

preferential treatment, where justice is treating

people equitably. They contradict. And since

prejudice is experienced through relationship,

therefore, justice must also be experienced through

relationship. If prejudice is breaking and tearing

apart relationship, justice is uniting and restoring

relationship. Do you see how that works? So if

favoritism is such a deviation from who God is,

the foundational attribute of who God is, why

does it happen? Why does it happen within his

church? And why is it so convincing that it has

persisted over time? He gives us a clue in this

example. Suppose a man comes to your meeting

wearing gold ring and fine clothes and a poor

man in filthy old clothes also comes in and you

show special attention to the man wearing fine

clothes and say, here's a good seat for you.

But to the poor man, you stand there or sit on

the floor by my feet. Just like in this example,

we can legitimately argue in ourselves that we

are showing the love and care kindness of Jesus

simply by letting the poor man with dirty clothes

stay. We're not turning away because of his outward

appearance. We're not turning away because he

won't financially give to the church. He's still

getting a church experience. He's still participating

in the worship and hearing truth preached in

prayer and communion even if it's at a distance

or alone. It can be so convincing that simply

proclaiming to the poor man that Jesus loves

you, that that's the worker part of us, that

as a church -abiding Christian, it's our job

to tell the world Jesus loves you. Jesus loves

you. See you next week. So convincing. And James

doesn't just warn us against this poor practice.

In verse 8, he shows us how it violates God's

law. to love your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus'

parable of the Good Samaritan started when a

Jewish teacher asked, who is my neighbor? Often

our default is like that of the teacher. Wanting

to justify ourselves, we begin to question God's

instruction rather than consider our own actions.

We tend to think of neighbors as someone of the

same social class, same means, same interests.

Same, keyword being same. Same is where partiality

hides. It doesn't like different. So take this

story. Take this story and replace the poor man

with dirty clothes with any person or group that

is excluded or othered in the church. Replace

it with someone in your community that maybe

you don't particularly like or maybe someone

who has different opinions. or positions than

you. See, we just completed a series titled Imago

Dei that started conversations with people in

this church that have and still often experience

partiality or prejudice. James writes this example

about that kind of person. When we operate in

a system of partiality and prejudice, it strips

a person's intrinsic value as an image bearer.

This prejudice doesn't even have to be something

particularly divisive, like appearance, wealth,

theology. It could be simply neglect. Like, we

let him in. He's attending. Back there somewhere.

But listen, inclusion without community is partiality.

Community requires more than just presence. It

requires relationship. This is the justice that

God has shown his people, a relationship with

him that isn't deserved, that we can't earn.

And James addresses favoritism here as his first

example of right relationship because humanity

tends towards favoritism. It wasn't just a problem

then, it's a problem now, just as it was at the

beginning of sin. To me, it's like having that

one Aldi cart with a squeaky wheel and it just

won't go straight, right? This is humanity. It's

like you're fighting it to go straight. So this

is the hope we have, that God has been breaking

down systems of favoritism and systems of judgment

all along. It's all in here. So I want to go

through just a few examples today. And I want

to start with a Jesus encounter that is just,

it's just packed full of them, okay? So we're

ready to go through some examples. So number

one, society or culture says that men or a patriarchal

system is favored. In the time of Jesus, the

testimony of a woman was not valid in the court

of law. A woman's witness was not even trusted

as true. It had to be validated by a man. But

God, God says, I will make a woman the first

evangelist. But people will hear and believe

truth from the mouth of a woman. In John 4, Jesus

asked a woman for a drink of water from a well.

To start with, men, the norm was not to speak

to women in public. On top of that, this just

wasn't any woman. She was a Samaritan. And Jews,

they didn't associate with Samaritans. They were

considered outcasts because of their ethnic heritage.

They were a product of a Jew marrying... As someone,

a people of the land, and even combining religious

practices, Samaritans weren't just looked down

upon, they were hated. They were seen as idolaters.

And on top of that, okay, third level here, this

woman was a social outcast within her own community.

Having had five husbands and living with a man

who was not her own, she wasn't there with the

other women in her town. Three times an outcast.

Yet Jesus engaged her and even more so did not

exclude her from receiving the truth of who he

was as savior. You see, Jesus is breaking down

systems of favoritism based on gender. He's breaking

down systems of favoritism based on class. He's

breaking down systems of favoritism based on

race and ethnicity. So too, there's... More in

the ministry of Jesus. But to show that this

wasn't just some new work of Jesus, let's look

at the Old Testament, okay? What systems of favor

do we see there? And a big one is society favored

the firstborn son. They favored the firstborn

son because they were the symbol of family preservation.

They received the majority of the inheritance.

They were supposed to keep the family line going.

Yet God, God continually chose the second son,

saying, Basically saying, right, I will persist

regardless of the systems you create for yourself.

He chose Abel over Cain and Isaac over Ishmael,

Jacob over Esau, or even take Joseph. He was

the 12th son. King David was the 8th son. God

is breaking down systems of favoritism based

on personal preservation. He's working outside

of what we establish. Okay, three, another system.

We see his favoring wives who are able to bear

children. This is a lot for the same reasons,

right, of family preservation. And yet God continually

used women who could not or should not be pregnant

to tell his story. Take Sarah, who gives birth

to her first child, Isaac, who we just said was

the second son of Abraham. But Sarah's first

child, she had an old age, so much so that she

was the one that laughed at the idea of getting

pregnant, which is why she named her son Isaac,

which means laughter. Rebecca was barren, but

God answered prayers and she gave birth to twins,

Esau and Jacob. Hannah was barren, but God answered

prayers and she gave birth to Samuel. Samuel

was the one that later anointed Saul and David

as king. All of these people were prominent in

the history of the Jews and the story of Jesus.

They weren't just some unconsequential people,

right? They were part of this. massive story

that God was working in his Bible. And even take

the mother of Jesus, Mary, who was not supposed

to be pregnant since she was a virgin and not

yet married. Yet God chooses these people. He

breaks down systems of favoritism based on expectation

and even physical abilities. Okay, four. Another

system of favor is for specific people groups.

This one is very much alive today. But biblically,

we see this today in many different forms. From

a large, big scale, right, we see from Jews to

Gentiles. Like the Samaritans were Gentiles.

There was this divide and this prejudice against

being a Jew or a Gentile. And it was a little

bit smaller competition even amongst the 12 Jewish

tribes. To as small as prejudice between the

city people and the country people. within those

tribes and yet god gives his people a law that

makes room for the foreigner and the immigrant

to be fully included in the jewish community

leviticus 19 33 -34 when a foreigner resides

among you in your land do not mistreat them the

foreigner residing among you must be treated

as your native born love them as yourself for

you are foreigners in egypt i am the lord your

god Furthermore, God says that I will send you

myself. I will send you my son, Jesus, from a

small, poor family in a rustic country town that

is looked down upon. So much so that the disciple

Nathaniel is infamous, I'll say, upon hearing

that the one that they had been waiting for has

come. He says, Nazareth? Can anything good come

from there? That's how they viewed. Yet that's

what God chose. God breaks down systems of favoritism

based on your past and where you come from. So

I hope you see even parts of your story in just

these examples, but they're all over. That God

is working with his people to break down systems

throughout history by lifting up those that don't

fit. And they all have something in common. James

sums it up here at the end of this passage. It

says, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs

over judgment. God has continually shown great

mercy where people have shown judgment. When

people were wrong to participate and build these

systems, God shows us how to mercifully pursue

those that have been burdened by it. And yet,

we continue to see mercy as a kind of injustice.

By offering mercy to someone who deserves punishment,

it feels like a breach of justice, right? That's

not what you deserve. But, again, justice isn't

weighted scales. We're not trying to outweigh

the bad with good. Biblical justice is about

restoration. It's about healthy. about righting

what is wrong, and mercy is the best way to get

there. Zechariah 7 .9 says as much. It says,

This is what the Lord Almighty said. Administer

true justice. Show mercy and compassion to one

another. True justice. Show mercy and compassion.

Compassion, not punishment. So to James' point

he made in chapter one about not just listening

to the word and so deceive yourselves, but do

what it says. All this sounds great in theory,

right? Like we talked about we can find the nuances

and we can figure out how we should think about

this and what we should believe and how other

people should do these things. But what does

it look like practically for us? Well, it may

look like willingly stepping into something that

is uncomfortable. May look like something, willingly

stepping into something that is difficult. And

we get a little bit of a blueprint of this in

Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25. Verses 35 and

36 reads, For I was hungry, and you gave me something

to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something

to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.

I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick,

and you took care of me. I was in prison, and

you visited me. James shows us we can't even

have an opportunity to do these things when we

live in partiality. When you have partiality

and favoritism towards the people closest to

us, or like those like the rich man who come

in and we think, I'm going to stick next to this

guy because he's going to boost my status, or

he's going to help me out. When you take a closer

look at what that list entails, it's quite extensive.

Food, water, clothing, the essentials, right?

That can be hard enough sometimes. But it keeps

going. It goes to housing, safety, and care.

And this list implies much more than basic necessities.

Much more than basic necessities. It is a full

invitation into life. to friendship and advocacy,

to lifting one another up, to iron sharpening

iron participation in a community. It's a relationship.

And the last one on this list is what today we

might call extra, right? When I was in prison,

you visited me. What happened here, right? Prison?

Sure, the person might have done something accidental,

or maybe they came to Jesus while they were in

prison. We'll go visit those people. But the

implication is clear. The reason isn't given

because it's not needed. It is a call to justice

through mercy, the restoration of healthy relationships.

And we can say this is a hard thing to do. Because

it is. It's a hard thing to do. Justice takes

effort. It doesn't just happen. So consider it

great joy, says James. Because we often see joy

when it is next to something difficult or a trial.

And this is why James addresses our internal

perspective first in his letter. So that we,

here in chapter 2, can start to see how we are

to do justice. How we are to engage with people.

And this is what Jesus offers his church. Jesus

came to earth and lived a life in perfect relationship

with God. And for the joy set before him, he

endured the cross. In his death, in his resurrection,

in his ascension, he restored the relationship

we get to have with God. Man, the ultimate restoration

of relationship could not have happened without

mercy. Because we don't deserve that. We can't

earn that. That's mercy. That is by his mercy.

When we are hungry, he feeds us. When we are

thirsty, he gives us living water. When we are

a stranger to him, he welcomes us home. When

we're naked, he clothes us with righteousness.

And when we are sick, he takes care of us. And

when we are in the prison of our own sin, he

visits us. He does not abandon us. This is what

we too are to offer each other. This is what

it takes to imitate Jesus. He's not calling us

into right relationship just with God the Father,

but with each other. This is the justice he is

calling us into by imitating his mercy to restore

healthy relationships with those around us. We

can join the justice work that God is doing and

has been doing in breaking down the systems of

judgment. So engage others, engage each other

in mercy rather than favoritism, partiality.

and prejudice, because mercy triumphs over judgment.

You know, there's something interesting about

this idea of justice being more than just punishment

for wrongs. Vanessa Grace, can I have you pass

out this side? Caden, can I have you pass out

this side? If punishment fulfilled justice, if

punishment fulfilled justice, what would our

world look like? If that was it, what got me

was, what would our parenting look like if all

I did was punish my kids and never restore that

relationship? Justice is not satisfied with punishment.

Punishment is a means to an end, yes, but not

the end itself. The end is repentance. The end

is renewal. The end is restoration. This is what

we are seeking. One way we get to share in all

of this is through communion. And communion is

the experience of forgiveness for our sins because

of the mercy God has shown us. It is the restoration

of relationship with our God, and we get to experience

it not alone, not in isolation, but as a community.

Take a moment and look around this room. This

is your church, not the building. Don't talk

about the building. Don't look at the walls.

Make that awkward eye contact with someone. This

is your church. And you may have chosen to come

through those doors and into this building, but

you don't get to choose who else walks through

those doors. Let us do justice by engaging in

relationships without preferential treatment.

Show mercy in place of judgment and start here.

Start here in this room. That's the goal of everyone

in this room, I think, right? That's what we're

pursuing, this right relationship. And then continue

on your employment, your hobbies, your vacations,

your grocery runs. Wherever you go, as you go,

engage others in mercy. So as a community that

seeks a right relationship, let's take this together.

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took

the bread, saying, this is my body, broken for

you. Eat and do this in remembrance of me. After

the meal, he took the cup, saying, this is my

blood poured out for you. Drink and do this in

remembrance of me. Let's pray. Father, we just

thank you for this day and for this church. Lord,

I pray that you would engage our hearts and our

minds to sometimes step out of our comfort zone

in what we are used to. to make sure that we

are not operating in a system of preferential

treatment, Lord, that we can lift those up that

feel oppressed, that feel left out, or just feel

neglected. Lord, build relationships here in

this church that we may be a shining example

of your justice, that we may reflect and imitate

you. Lord, we just thank you for your forgiveness

of our sins. may continue to as we go out here

today to follow you and to know you