THE GOD WHO DWELLS THERE - Psalm 48

All right, if you have a Bible or an

app, let's open it up. We're going to be

in Psalm 48 this morning. Psalm 48.

As you know, over the last couple of

summers we've been diving into the book

of Psalms and it is a collection

of Holy Spirit inspired words written

through various [clears throat] authors

over the course of several centuries

that give us a glimpse into what the

prayer life was like for ancient Israel.

What did worship songs look like for

ancient Israel?

What did prayers of lament look like for

them? I think one of my

favorite parts about the book of Psalms

and maybe you can relate with this is

the fact that they are not fearful to

lament before the Lord.

To be open and honest and real.

Whatever it is that they're dealing

with, whatever circumstances they're

facing, whatever raw emotions, maybe

bitterness or anger, the psalmist, the

authors, the writers, they're

they're not afraid to keep that hidden

from the Lord. And if there's one thing

that I've learned

over the last couple of summers as we

have journeyed through this book

together,

I have learned that that we serve a

father in heaven who like any loving

parent

desires to connect with his children.

And one of the greatest ways, and

parents have experienced this, that that

we can connect with our children

is by sitting with them,

being present together,

and having honest and open conversation.

And we've talked about this before. God

already knows what's going on here and

what's going on in here. There's nothing

unknown about you to God. There's

nothing unknown about your emotions and

your feelings to God. God knows it all.

However, there is something special and

powerful and unique that happens when we

lay it all on the table and bear it

before the Lord because we experience a

transformation

within ourselves because of the

confession that we're bringing before

the Lord. And I might add this that that

maybe for some of us we we're we're in

here and what we need for some healing

in our life,

what we need for some genuine hope in

our life, for some peace and some

comfort and some joy is to just lay it

down before the Lord. He knows it

anyway.

And when we lay it down before the Lord,

we don't lay it down for his sake. He

already knows it. We lay it down for our

sake.

And we choose [clears throat] to step

into faith, we choose to step into

trust, and we choose to step into

obedience.

And what I love about our passage here,

we'll read it in just a moment,

in Psalm 48,

is it shows us the power of God's

presence in our life.

Psalm 48 is known as a Zion Psalm if

you're familiar with it and a lot of the

words that are used what the psalmist,

the sons of Korah, and what do we know

about the sons of Korah? They've written

several Psalms in the book of Psalms.

They were a people who were at one point

known for rebellion against God's

leadership.

But now, at this point in the history of

ancient Israel, have now become a people

of worship, which I've constantly

reminded us throughout our series this

summer, is that speaks into our own

story.

We were at one point a people of

rebellion.

Sons of perdition is what some

translations

say. Strangers and enemies to God." But

we praise God because the Holy Spirit

awakens faith in us. Jesus, through his

life, death, resurrection, ascension,

and our hope in his return

is who we place our faith in.

He draws us to himself.

And he opens up the door, the avenue by

which we can be reconciled

to the Father by way of the Son, indwelt

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is who we are now. No longer

children of disobedience, but children

of God.

And in recognizing that,

we begin to experience a greater portion

of God's presence. And And here's Here's

what I want to challenge us with before

we read.

God is omnipresent. If you've been in

the church world long enough, you've

probably have heard that phrase, "God is

omnipresent."

Well, what does that mean? It means that

God is present everywhere all the time.

But But here's the challenge as we read

this Psalm.

Though God indeed, yes and amen, is

present all the time,

there's never a moment when we step into

God's presence because God's presence

has always and is already there,

but there are moments where we step into

a greater awareness of God's presence.

And this is what Psalm 48 calls us to.

Because it's very easy in a

distraction-filled

world, in our routines, in our habits,

in our schedules, and everything else we

have going on in life,

it's very easy for us to miss out on the

God who fills it all.

On the God who dwells

there.

Case in point, God dwells here.

God's presence is here.

God's presence is in your living room.

God dwells there. God's presence is at

your dinner table. God dwells there.

God's presence is at Lowe's down the

street. God dwells there, but are you

aware of God's presence?

Are you in tune with who God is and what

he's doing and what he desires to

accomplish? Not just us as a collective

body of people, but you as an

individual. You as a mom, you as a dad,

you as a daughter, you as a son, you as

a business owner, you as an engineer,

you as a salesman, you as an

an educator, you as someone who works in

an industry. Do you know, are you aware

of what God wants to do in you and

through you?

And I would go so far as to say this,

many people

are not aware.

Not because there is

a desi- Not because people wake up in

the morning and tell themselves, "I

don't want to praise God."

I believe many of us, and maybe I'm

being more gracious than than I should,

but I believe many of us in here, if not

all of us, we mean well.

We want to praise God. You're here this

morning.

We want our lives to embody obedience

before the Lord and faith in the Lord.

That I am certain by virtue of us being

here this morning, we want our marriage

to model the gospel. WE WANT OUR

CHILDREN TO know and and understand what

it means to be obedient to the Lord. So,

I I don't believe that we wake up in the

morning and we tell ourselves, "I want

to disobey God." But I think because of

all the distractions in our life,

we miss out on the power of God's

presence. So, Psalm 48,

let's dive in

beginning in verse one.

The Lord

is great

and highly

praised.

Isn't it amazing that this is how the

psalmist starts?

The Lord is great and highly

praised.

The more you understand the greatness of

God,

the more your heart's going to be drawn

to praising God.

And we'll talk about this here in in

just a moment. God's greatness

is not determined by whether life is

going great.

God's greatness is not determined by

whether things are going well for you

or your plan is working out the way that

you hoped

or the bank account is full or your

health is well.

God is great because God is great.

And because of that, he's highly

praised. Well, where is he praised?

Well, let's unpack this.

In the city of our God.

His holy mountain rising splendidly

is the joy of the whole

earth. Isn't that beautiful?

This invitation

is given to the whole earth. We talked

about this last week. This is why

in Revelation chapter 7, when John is

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

given this vision of what is taking

place in heaven,

he hears the exuberant praise and

worship of a people

that are not distinct by tribe, tongue,

and nation, but a people of every tribe,

tongue, and nation.

This is the picture that God gives us

and here,

centuries removed from when Jesus comes

on on scene later in the New Testament,

Millennia removed from when John would

have this vision of worship taking place

in heaven. God's people knew that the

praise of his name is not exclusive to a

particular people group, but is

available to the earth.

To anyone who would recognize God as

great.

And if you remember a couple of years

ago, we

we went through a sermon series

throughout the first parts of the book

of Genesis.

And one of the taglines in that series

was this.

We understand who we are in the context

of who God is.

Well, Roland, what does that mean? That

that's church talk. Lay it to me very

clear. Here's what it means. The The

more that we recognize, understand, and

see who God is, the more I'm going to

recognize, understand, and see who I am.

And here's what that means.

It means that I am a sinner

who cannot stand in the presence of the

holy God of creation.

So then what hope is there for me if I

cannot, because of my sin, stand in the

presence of the holy God of creation?

This is where Jesus comes in.

And through his life, through his death,

through his resurrection, his ascension,

his eventual return, he provides the

way, which is why in John's gospel,

Jesus will say, "I am the way, the

truth, and the life. No one, no

exceptions, no one comes to the Father

except through me."

And then they crucified him for it.

Cuz Jesus, God in the flesh,

proclaimed that he came for

the earth. Let's continue. Mount Zion,

the summit of Zaphon,

is the city of the great king.

God is known as a stronghold in its

citadels.

Look,

the kings assembled.

They advanced together. They looked and

froze with fear. They fled in terror.

Trembling seized them there. Agony like

that of a woman in labor.

As you wrecked the ships of Tarshish

with the east wind.

Just as we heard,

so we have seen in the city of the Lord

of armies, in the city of our God, God

will be established forever. Selah.

God within your temple,

we contemplate your faithful love.

Like your name, God, so your praise

reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with justice.

Mount Zion is glad. Judah's villages

rejoice because of your

judgments.

Go around Zion.

Encircle it.

Count its towers.

Note its ramparts. Tour its citadels so

that you

can tell a future generation. This God,

our God forever and ever, he will always

lead us. And all God's people said,

"Amen." Lord, would you bless your word?

Holy Spirit, would you stir our hearts

this morning?

An incredible passage.

A lot of symbolism

here. And this is what theologically we

would call

a double-sided theological coin.

In other words, what the sons of Korah

are writing about was indeed something

that happened in the history of Israel.

We don't know exactly what particular

point in the history of Israel does this

Psalm reference, though there are some

particulars that theologians and

Christian scholars agree on. One of them

is during the reign of Hezekiah.

As the Canaanites attempted to invade

Israel, they were drawn away because

of the walls,

the towers,

the army,

and they fled in fear, and they fled in

terror, and therefore the sons of Korah

write Psalm 48 as a means to exalt the

Lord and praise him. Now, let's make one

thing

understandable for us. When we read the

word Zion in the scripture, not just in

the old but New Testament as well, it's

almost always referencing

Jerusalem,

the city of David,

God's dwelling place, but but also and

more than that, it's referencing God's

kingdom.

And God's kingdom is not unique to

geographical boundaries.

It's not unique to land masses. God's

kingdom is the entire world, his

creation, the universe, which is why

time and time again we'll read things

like this, the heavens declare the glory

of God.

The expanse, the the mountains,

creation, the the birds of the air, the

the animals of land, the the fish of the

sea, all of it points to the beauty of

God. And this is Paul's argument in

Romans chapter 2 when he's calling the

Romans 2 · chapter mention

believers in Rome to understand that God

desires to be known, his presence

desires to be amongst his people so that

there is a greater awareness within us

of how God is moving and how God is

working. And here's what I want us to

understand. I want us to understand cuz

this is the heartbeat of of the passage.

That God's people

are secure not because of what surrounds

them,

but because of the God who dwells among

them.

And what I want to do for just a moment

is I want to talk to you about walls.

In ancient Israel, there were cities

that were known for their incredible

walls.

Walls were erected around these nations

for protection. Massive stone walls

several feet thick were constructed

around these nations for one sole

purpose, security.

We're no strangers to stories about

these walls. The city of Jericho was

known for its thick walls and in an

instant God tore them down.

If you remember the story of Jonah,

Nineveh was known for its thick walls.

Or the story of the prophet Nehemiah,

when he hears of Jerusalem laying

being laid in waste, he travels back

home and his first task, his first order

of business is to reconstruct the walls.

Walls are a big deal. They were a sign

of security. They were a sign of

prosperity and it's not very different

for us today.

Though we may not erect physical walls,

we have walls in our life nonetheless

that provide for us assurances, that

provide for us security. You think of

things like your job

or your health

Or your finances.

Things that make us feel comfortable. A

strong marriage.

Your savings accounts.

Or a carefully planned out

future. And every single one of us

has walls in our life that we've come to

trust in.

For stability and for security. But but

here's the question. What do we do when

those walls come tumbling down?

How does that stir our faith?

How does that stir our spirit? What do

we do when we discover that those walls

in our life will never provide for us

what only God can.

And this is where Psalm 48 speaks.

Because while Psalm 48 has great

descriptors of the city,

the focus of Psalm 48 is not the city

itself.

But the focus of Psalm 48 is the God who

dwells there. That's why the city's

great.

That's why the city has stability.

That's why the city has security.

Because God's presence is there.

So let's do this.

For the rest of our time, let's go back

to the Psalm. Let's reference some

passages here in Psalm 48 and let's draw

out some truths

that will allow us to see God for who he

is. Because remember, the more we

understand who God is, the greater the

awareness we have of his presence. And

so if you're taking notes, here's the

first thing. It's right there in verse

one. It's very simple. God is great.

Now let's just be honest. Often times it

doesn't feel like God is great.

And the reason it doesn't feel like God

is great is because we've allowed

circumstances in our life to dictate

whether God is great.

And so you know this feeling, I know

this feeling, we've all been there,

we've all experienced this feeling. When

life is not going well, it is the

tendency within human nature to point

the blame somewhere.

And the last place we want to point the

blame to is ourselves. We see this

pattern all the way back in Genesis 3.

When Eve took of the fruit,

she gave it to Adam, Adam ate, sin

entered the world, God came looking for

them, he asked Adam, "Did you eat from

the tree?" What did Adam say?

The woman gave it to me.

We always want to point blame somewhere

else. And often times when it comes to

the greatness of God, we allow

circumstances and the things of this

world to interfere

with our perspective, our focus, and our

view of who God is. And so for many of

us, God's not great because life is not

going great. But if all we ever do is

rely on the things of this world and

what is taking place in our life to

determine whether God is great, then

we'll never have an accurate

understanding of who God is.

And if we never have an accurate

understanding of who God is, then what

that does is lessen the ability for us

to really understand and experience

God's greater presence in our life.

Which is what Psalm 48 is drawing us to.

As they're rejoicing and praising God

for his presence in their life. It's not

about the walls, it's not about the

towers, it's not about the beautiful

city, it's not about your bank account,

it's not about your health, IT'S NOT

ABOUT ALL THE GOOD things in YOUR LIFE.

PRAISE GOD for those things. We don't

minimize those things, but those good

things are never the ultimate things

because there's only one ultimate thing,

and that's Jesus Christ.

And so, what does the psalmist do? Right

here at the get-go, verse one.

The Lord is great and highly praised in

the city of our God. Before the

descriptors

of the citadels and the stronghold of

Mount Zion, where is our focus drawn to?

The greatness of God. So, notice what

Psalm 48 is doing. Psalm 48 is giving us

a pattern by which we are to view life.

We look at everything else in life

through the lens of the greatness of

God.

And if we approach everything else in

life through the lens of the greatness

of God, even though everything else in

life may not be great, we can still

experience a peace, a joy, and an

understanding that Paul talks about in

the book of Philippians that doesn't

come from the world, but is hand

delivered to us by the indwelling power

of the Holy Spirit because the lens by

which we look at everything else is the

greatness of God. But, here's the trap

that we fall into.

We look at the greatness of God through

the lens of everything else.

And Psalm 48 says, "No."

The Lord is great and highly praised.

We praise God for who he is, not what he

does. Yes, praise God for what he does.

But, if we're not careful, we can seek

all the gifts

and neglect seeking the gift giver.

Here's some homework for you. Go and

read John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

This is what Jesus runs into.

After he multiplies the bread and the

fish,

he goes to have some alone time with the

Father the next morning. the people that

he fed come looking for him.

When they find him, they say, "Where

you've been? We've been looking for you

all day." And Jesus is keen. He's aware

on what's taking place. And do you

remember what he says in John 6?

He says,

"You came looking for me not because you

desire me,

but because I gave you something to

eat."

Now, it's not wrong to enjoy, {quote}

{unquote}, the things Jesus gives us to

eat and feast on. It's not wrong.

Becomes wrong when that overshadows the

one who gave it to us.

So, remember that God is great.

Everything that follows is rooted in who

he is. Now, look at verse two with me.

This is incredible.

Because the psalmist references the

summit of Zaphon.

Well, what in the world is that? Some of

your translations um might read the

northern hills or the northern tribes.

This was a reference to the Canaanites.

And if we take the consensus among

Christian scholars that this was written

as a praise song

because of the Canaanites when they came

against King Hezekiah and then fled in

fear when they recognized the power of

the city. And it wasn't the power of the

city, it was the presence of the one who

dwelt in the city.

Then we understand this, that the

psalmist

is saying because the summit of Zaphon,

where the northern hills of the

Canaanites,

where they worshipped idols,

where they sacrificed

to idols.

And the author is saying, "God's

greatness is greater than that."

Every mountain, every hill, every rival,

God is greater than that. He is the

great king over all the earth. How do we

know this? Look at verse three.

God is known as a stronghold

in its citadels. The citadels are not

the stronghold. Who's the stronghold?

God.

The God who dwells there.

The towers, which is what the citadels

were, the towers aren't the refuge.

God is the refuge.

How does that translate for us? Your

bank account's not the refuge.

Your gifts is not the refuge.

The things that you hold on to deeply

and tightly in life for stability and

security, that's not the refuge. God is

the refuge. Because in a moment

for some of you, this is your story. In

a moment, it's all can all come tumbling

down.

And if it does, what do you What do you

have left to stand on? It's sinking

sand.

But if our life is built on the

greatness, rock-solid foundation of God,

then we know that while every earthly

kingdom will crumble, while every

earthly pursuit will crumble, only God

remains unshaken.

And here's what I love, cuz here's the

next thing that we see. When you know

that God is great

for who he is,

not what he does, then you begin to

trust him more.

You begin to pursue him more, and you

recognize his faithfulness. This is

>> [laughter]

>> This is the pattern the psalm takes us

on.

So, not only is God great, what do we

see in the text? That God is faithful.

Look at verses four and five.

Verse four.

Look.

I love that. We've referenced this

before in these types of Psalms that

just have those one-word attention

grabbers for us.

Look.

Some of us need to hit the pause button

in our life and just look.

We want God's presence, but are you

seeking a greater awareness of God's

presence?

You know, I'm

I'm saying this because I've experienced

this in my own life.

There are moments because I know the

truth. I know the Sunday school answer.

I should seek God's presence.

I'm a pastor. I'm called to shepherd

people. I'm supposed to seek God's

presence.

And sometimes that stirring is not

there. That desire is not there. And the

trap that we can fall into cuz I fall

into it several times

is I tell myself, "Well, I'll just wait

till I experience the desire and then

I'll start to seek God." But, there's a

problem with that. Do you know what that

problem is? No one desires the Lord.

No one wants to seek after him. There's

a sin nature that exists in every single

one of us that is constantly at battle

with the spirit.

It is not natural for us to seek the

things of God. It is natural for us to

seek sin and the things of this world.

So, left to ourselves, we'll never get

the desire, which is why we need

intentionality and discipline. And maybe

some of you are there today. You keep

telling yourself, "One day I'll get the

desire to pray more. One day I'll get

the desire to serve in ministry. One day

I'll get the desire to read my Bible

more. One day I'll get the desire to

step out in faith to what God is

stirring in me." Maybe for some of you

men, God is stirring in you a call to

the pastorate.

Maybe to the mission field.

Maybe to be part of the worship team.

Maybe to lead a Bible study.

God is stirring in you something and if

all we ever do is wait for the desire

for it to happen, rarely will it ever

happen, which is why we need to crucify

the flesh and intentionally step into

the disciplines and the lifestyle of

obedience God calls us to, not for the

sake of earning salvation,

but for the sake of experiencing a

greater awareness of God's presence and

work in our life.

So, the psalmist says, "Look, church,

are you looking?"

Let's continue.

The kings assembled, they advanced

together, they looked and froze with

fear, they fled in

terror.

I love how this scene shifts cuz cuz

we're given this picture into the

greatness of God.

And then the sons of Korah begin to

expose to us what it means that God is

faithful. So, what scene is being

painted here? Kings are assembling

together, armies are gathering

at the foothills of Jerusalem, Zion, and

what happens? They flee in terror.

Why?

Because God's presence is there.

Because God is its stronghold.

No kingdom, no economy, no army, no

human power can stand against the Lord.

This is why we have the greatest hope

that there is.

Because while the world has gone to pot,

we know

that at the end God will bring

restoration to all that's broken.

The enemy is trying to ruin and destroy,

steal, kill, and destroy, that's his

motive,

all that God has planned for your life.

But in the end, who wins?

We know the end of the story.

Flip all the way to the end.

And what does the end say?

That you and I will be with God forever.

If you have placed your hope, faith, and

trust in Jesus Christ

as savior

and your lord.

The scripture says,

this is as worse as it gets for us. This

is the worst it'll ever be for the child

of God.

But if you don't know Jesus Christ,

if you've never placed your hope, faith,

and trust in Christ as lord and savior,

this is as good as it gets for you.

That's a sobering thought.

Which begs the question, do you know

Christ as your lord and savior? Do you

see him as great? And do you see him as

faithful? Look at verse 8 with me real

quick.

Cuz notice the shift here.

Just as we heard, so we have seen in the

city of the Lord of armies, in the city

of our God, God will establish it

forever.

Selah.

What does that mean? It means that

previous generations who had experienced

the faithfulness of God were sharing

God's faithfulness.

And now the psalmist is say is saying,

we have heard these stories. Now we've

not just heard them, we've seen them,

we've experienced them. Mom and dad,

what stories of God's faithfulness and

God's greatness are you sharing with

your kids?

Knowing that one day your kids will grow

to not just have heard those stories, to

have seen and experienced those stories.

And then the pattern continues. They'll

tell their children. Their children will

experience it to the then tell their

children, and it would just continue

until the Lord returns.

Every generation

must move

from hearing about God's faithfulness to

experiencing it personally. And here's

here's a challenge for some of us. Some

of you, your faith is built just on what

you've heard.

Amazing stories maybe from your parents,

your grandparents, a trusted pastor, a

Bible study teacher, and your faith is

lived out in proxy based on what other

people have experienced. But have you

walked in a personal relationship with

Jesus?

I remember, you know my story. I gave my

life to Jesus when I was 17. I didn't

really give my life. He He took it. He

resurrected me out of death and sin to

life eternal.

When I was 17, 2 weeks after September

11th, September 11th was the catalyst

that got me thinking about good versus

evil, and if evil takes place in the

world, what role does God play? That

search led me to faith in Jesus Christ.

And I remember leading up to that, we

had a little youth revival at our

church.

And there was a peer of mine, someone in

the same grade who who was a a a

hardcore believer. He came and he

preached.

And then when we were having a meal

afterwards, he says, "Have you given

your life to Jesus yet?" I had not given

my life to Jesus yet.

But I tried to fake my way.

Cuz I had heard other people talk about

faith in

Jesus, and I had all the right things to

say.

But I never experienced it personally. I

think that might be some of us here this

morning.

From young to old, we we've been

building a life of faith based on the

stories we've heard from other people.

But have you seen and experienced it

yourself?

Because someone else's faith doesn't get

you to heaven.

It's your faith All right.

in Christ as your Lord and your savior.

Let me continue. We're running out of

time.

Our story must focus on the Lord.

God's greatness leads us to trust him.

God's faithfulness gives us confidence

in him.

And finally, what do we see here in the

Psalm? That God is glorified it

glorified through it. Also, God is

great, God is faithful, and God is

glorious. This is my favorite part of

the Psalm beginning in verse 12.

Go around Zion.

Encircle it. Count its towers. Note its

ramparts. Tour its citadels. So that you

can tell a future generation. Now Now

notice your what's What's the goal of

the Psalm?

The Psalm is referencing the city. The

Psalm is referencing the structures.

But ultimately, what is the Psalm

getting at? It's not about those things.

It's about the God who dwells there.

Because that wall is powerless if God's

not there. That tower is powerless if

God's not there. You remember how this

played out when God

told Moses, "Hey, it's time to break

camp. You need to go forward, continue

to journey towards the promised land."

And you remember Moses' response? "Hey

God, I'll obey you, but only if you're

going to go with us. If you're not going

with us, I don't want to be somewhere

where you're not."

God's presence is the focus. And what

are we called to tell a future

generation?

This will be us as long as I'm pastor

here at The Grove. We will tell the

future generation, which is why we put a

high emphasis on our kid and student

ministries.

This God, our God, forever and ever he

will always lead us. What leads you?

What influences you? What directs

you?

Because these towers and these walls,

though they were not the focus, they

became the testimony

of the one who is the focus. So, it's

not my wealth is where my security is,

it's my wealth leads me to glorify God

in a greater in a greater way.

These blessings are not where my

security is, but these blessings lead me

to glorify God in a greater way. And I

know the rebuttal because I I have the

rebuttal as well. Well, Rowan, it's not

just the good things. I agree.

Last summer we spent an entire summer

looking at these Psalms of lament that

said this, God is still praised even

though all the bad things happen in my

life.

Even though the valley is despicable,

horrible, dark, and painful, and

insufferable, God is still praised. Both

good, both bad. God is glorious.

And if we haven't picked it up already,

this Psalm ultimately points to Christ.

His eternal kingdom where God will dwell

with his people forever and ever.

So, don't leave here admiiring the walls

in your life. Leave here worshipping the

God

who has allowed you

to build the life that you have.

Leave here lifting up the name of Jesus

who is greater than anything that you'll

face

because his presence is enough. Let's

pray.

Lord, thank you for this morning. We

thank you for today.

We thank you for how you move and how

you work.

And how in everything and through

everything

you call us to be your children.

And so today, Lord, we receive that

call.

Stir us to deeper affections and greater

faith.

And no matter what we might be facing or

enduring

may we know, Holy Spirit, would you

would you confirm in us

the beauty of your grace and mercy to

know that that no sin is too far gone.

No pit so deep that your love is not

deeper still. And so so Holy Spirit,

would you awaken us [music] to faith in

you?

To grab hold of relationship with you

and to leave here forever changed. In

Christ's name we pray. All God's people

Amen. Hey, let's stand together.

We're going to sing together.

Let the words on the screen be a prayer

of your heart. Let's not sing for the

sake of singing, but let's sing because

this is our prayer to God.

And we're going to have a time of

response. Our altar's going to be open.

If you want to have some one-on-one time

with the Lord, this is for you to come

before the Lord

to confess some sin

to receive prayer. Pastor [music] Eric

and myself will be available. We'd love

to pray with you.

If you have questions about salvation,

baptism, [music] church membership

maybe the Holy Spirit is just doing a

work in you right now and and you have

some questions

we want to come alongside you guys. If

you want to bring your family and just

pray with them [music] at the altar,

this time is for you. I love you,

church.