A KING, HIS BRIDE, AND HIS KINGDOM - Psalm 45

All right. Well, I'm glad you're here.

If you have your Bibles, let's go ahead

and open them up. We're going to be in

Psalm 45 this morning. Psalm 45. If you

have been with us over the last couple

of summers, you know that we dedicate

our summer months to diving into the

book of Psalms. And if you're new with

us, we welcome you as we dive into Psalm

45. Now, let me tell you why over the

last four summers, we've taken a moment

to really dive into the book of Psalms.

The Psalms are written by various

authors, incredibly written, powerfully

written, and it includes everything from

deep, heartfelt prayers

to prayers of lament. If you remember

last summer, we focused on a p on a

specific portion of the Psalms that

dealt with prayers of lament. And I

don't know about you, but what appeals

to me most about prayers of lament is

that they are raw, they're honest, and

they're open truthfully before the Lord.

Which, by the way, the Lord already

knows the depths of your heart.

>> So, if you refuse to be open and

transparent before the Lord, you're not

hiding anything from him. But I think

there is something powerful and

something unique that happens when we

just bear our hearts before the Lord.

when we're dealing with maybe emotions

of bitterness or maybe anger or

confusion or even doubt where we take it

before the Lord and it's okay to say

why.

It's okay to say Lord what are you doing

in all of this? It's okay to say God I

don't understand your plan or your

purpose. But the goal is that we don't

linger there. The goal is those

questions, those feelings, those

emotions become a catalyst for a greater

pursuit and a greater devotion to the

Lord. And so, as we dive into Psalm 45

here, we're going to see a psalm written

by the sons of Kora. And what I think is

amazing about that is if you're familiar

with what took place in Numbers chapter

Numbers 16 · chapter mention

16, the sons of Kora rebelled against

Moses's leadership.

They rebelled against his guidance, his

influence, and the way in which he was

leading the people of God. And in order

to pass judgment upon the sons of Kora,

in order to quell the rebellion against

God's chosen individual and really

against God's chosen plan, the scripture

tells us this. This is where we get into

those dark areas of scripture that the

earth opened up and swallowed them in.

But here's what's incredible.

It didn't swallow all the sons of Kora

because centuries later there was a

remnant of the people of that rebellion

that continued to exist. And I think

this is so ironic. This is what we call

uh how God changes people's lives

because you have a people that were

known for rebellion

now become a people who are known for

worship. Psalms 45 is authored by the

sons of Kora. And I think why that is so

incredible incredible is because I

believe that really hits home for a lot

of our stories.

Many of us may have been children of

rebellion.

But because of Jesus and his mercy and

his grace and the gospel message and

salvation and rescue and redemption,

we're no longer children of

disobedience. were no longer sons or

daughters of rebellion, but were

children who live high in the name of

Jesus and who declare that he indeed is

a lover of my soul.

The one who transforms me, who changes

me,

who resurrects me out of death and sin

and moves me towards life eternal. And

as long as I have breath in my lungs, I

will pursue the Lord with everything in

me.

So, in Psalm 45,

there's 17 verses here, but what I want

to do is I want to read you I want to

book in this psalm. We'll have verse 17

on the screen here, but I want to read

you verse one, verse 17. And then what

we'll do is we'll move through the psalm

by looking at some movement and some

truth that the sons of Kora in this

picture of a marriage that they're

painting in Psalms 45. A marriage that

likely is part of the Davidic dynasty

that somewhere down the line of David's

family, you have a wedding take place.

And the sons of Kora likely wrote this

as a wedding song, as a wedding poem,

something to be read to the bride and

groom and those who were in attendance.

And I want you to notice something as we

walk through the psalm here in just a

moment. I want you to notice that though

it is written in [clears throat] dealing

with an earthly king and an earthly

bride,

that there is messianic picture. There's

a messianic picture written all over

this. Psalms 45 points us to Jesus. As a

matter of fact, the author of Hebrews

will actually quote Psalm 45 in

reference to Jesus. So, let me read

verse one. It won't be on the screen.

We'll throw verse 17 on there. These are

the bookends of Psalm 45. Let's wrap our

minds. Let's wrap our hearts around it.

Verse one. Psalm 45.

My heart is moved

by a noble theme. Church, what moves

your heart?

What stirs you in the morning?

In the midst of your routine, in the

midst of your habits, in the midst of

life,

what is it that ignites a fire in you?

For some of us, the very thing that

ignites a fire in us is the very thing

that leads us further away from the

Lord.

But what Psalm 45 is going to do, Psalm

45 is going to remind us

that there is one aim,

that there is one pursuit, that there is

one person we should behold, that if

there is anything that is going to

ignite passion within us, may it be

rooted in whom Psalm 45 ultimately is

written about. My heart is moved by a

noble theme.

As I recite my verses to the king, my

tongue is a pen of a skillful writer.

It's not just about what we think. It's

not just about how we feel. It's what we

confess.

It's what's going on in our mind and

filtering down into our heart that

manifests itself in our hands and our

feet. Do your choices, do your

decisions, do your actions, do your

words, do your thought, does the path of

your life demonstrate right here in

Psalm 45, the very thing that ignites a

movement of the heart, is it a noble

theme?

Because what'll take place here

is a revealing of glory.

And it's not your glory, nor is it my

glory. It's not the glory of things that

are created, but it's the glory of the

one who spoke creation into existence.

And what we find is it's his glory

that should rest in our hearts. It's a

desire for the praise of his name.

Let's go to verse 17.

I will cause

your name to be remembered for all

generations. Whose name? His name.

Now notice the psalmist is saying, "I

will cause your name to be remembered."

So there's action,

there's movement, there's an

understanding that the reader and the

audience must step into what God is

doing in order to perpetuate the glory

of his name, the worship of his name,

and the praise of who he is. He

continues,

therefore the peoples,

and what peoples is he talking about?

every tribe, every tongue, every nation.

Those who would hear the word, receive

the word, live out the word, proclaim

the word,

the peoples will praise you forever and

ever. And all God's people said, "Amen."

Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

Spirit, would you stir our hearts this

morning?

Psalm 45

is a beautiful picture

of what it means

to have a life set apart

for, in, with, and through the Lord. And

what I love here is in all the language

that is provided and all the words and

the verbiage that is authored here what

what you discovered is there is no

earthly king that perfectly fulfills

what is being written about and that's

part of the psalmist point

because as this is written to ancient

Israel a people who were enslaved a

people who had been persecuted a people

who had endured battle after battle, war

after war, who had a common enemy that

were constantly coming against them,

that these people would ultimately know

that our hope does not rest in an

earthly king.

And the way we would contextualize that

for us today is that our hope doesn't

rest in the things of this world. Our

hope doesn't rest in elections. Our hope

doesn't rest in bank accounts. Our hope

doesn't rest in your wealth. Our hope

doesn't rest in your gifts. Those are

all great things. Those might even be

blessed things, but they're not ultimate

things. Where our hope rest is in the

King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And

this is what Psalm 45 points us to.

Where does your hope rest?

Because as this song would have been

read, as it song would have been

celebrated, as the audience would have

seen the bride and the groom in the

midst of this wedding ceremony and

celebration and this song being declared

of their love over them, there would

have been a greater recognition that

there is a bridegroom in heaven.

And for us, this side of the cross, this

side of the resurrection, there's a

bridegroom in heaven who one day will

return for his bride.

And that's you and that's me. That's our

brothers and sisters across town. Our

brothers and sisters down 281. Our

brothers and sisters down 359. Our

brothers and sisters across the state,

across this nation, across the world who

are lifting up the name of Jesus. One

day this king will come to receive his

bride. So here's what I want to do.

I want us to go back through Psalm 45.

And I want us to focus on some truths

that are taking place here. Truths that

will help us develop deeper affections

for the Lord. Truths that will help us

take what is said and done in this place

into our Monday morning, into our

Tuesday sales call, into our

conversation with the cashier at the

grocery store. And it'll teach us that

what God does here, he stirs in here so

that it might be active out there. So if

you're taking notes, here's the first

thing we want to recognize. Behold

the king.

I love this.

It's not on the screen, but I'll read it

to you. This is verse two.

Notice what the psalmist writes

in regards to beholding

the king.

What you value

and what you treasure is the very thing

that you behold.

Notice how the psalmist beholds this

king. You are the most handsome of men.

My wife tells me that every morning.

Grace flows from your lips. Father's Day

is coming up. Men, does grace flow from

your lips to your bride?

Do you speak peace and blessing and

encouragements to your bride? I digress.

You are the most handsome of men. Grace

flows from your lips. Therefore,

therefore, God has blessed you

forever.

There is a beholding of the king.

There's a recognition

of who the king is. And what we find

throughout the scripture, this is

thematic. This is a pattern that you see

from Old Testament to New. You see that

beauty is often connected with

character.

that when we read things like this in

the scripture

about the beauty

of your frame or how handsome is your

face or how beautiful are your lips,

that's not just talking about outward

and physical things. But the picture

it's painting is something more

beautiful and something connected to the

spirit, to our character. to

righteousness, to holiness, to glory.

The king is beautiful because the king

is everything the king ought to be. And

this is what we find happening in the

rest of the psalm. The king is referred

to as a mighty warrior. Verse three,

majestic and splendid.

The king is triumphant. The king is the

cause of truth. Not just one who

proclaims truth, [snorts]

but the king himself is the cause of

truth. The king is humble. The king is

just. The king is miraculous, church. Do

you behold that king?

Or do you behold a king of your own

making?

Do you behold the king of finances?

The king of pride, the king of gossip,

the king of lust, the king of

popularity, the king of social media.

What king do you behold? I pray it's the

king of Psalm 45.

And if you didn't know, this isn't some

random king.

This isn't some fill-in-theblank with

any name sort of king. This king is the

only king. He's who we call the king of

kings and the lord of lords. And this

king has a name and his name is Jesus.

Do you behold that king?

Second thing that we see here, and I

really want to spend some time on this,

is that not only are we to behold the

king,

but we are to become his bride.

Now, if you're a man in the room, you

hear that and you say, "Roland, what in

the world are you talking about? Become

his bride? I only have one bride, and I

wake up to her every single morning."

But let's throw some biblical language

on here. Let's throw some theological

terms. Look at some doctrine on what it

means to become the bride of the king.

Remember Psalm 45 is written as this

wedding song, as this love song

between a king and his bride down the

Davidic line. And who would who would

eventually come from the line of David?

The king Jesus Christ. And the scripture

tells us that Jesus is the head of the

church, the bridegroom.

And if Jesus is the bridegroom of the

church, what does that make the church?

>> His bride.

That means that that you and I as we

engage and experience and walk in and

place our faith and live out this

relationship with Jesus Christ. It means

that we are walking hand in hand with

them. And in every wedding ceremony I

do, I always love to focus on this

aspect of of marriage is that the

marriage covenant, the marriage

relationship between one man and one

woman for life is one of the greatest

earthly pictures that we have of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. It's two

individuals covenanting together, being

united physically and becoming one. No

longer divided by individualism. No

longer divided nor separated but joining

together in one spirit together in one

faith in unity in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Church, this is who we are with the

Lord.

It's not Roland separate from Jesus, but

it's Roland and Jesus together. And

here's what I love specifically what we

read in the New Testament. The scripture

tells us

that the spirit of God in the Old

Testament dwelt where? Do you all

remember that the presence of God dwelt

where? It dwelt in the temple in the

holy of holies above the ark of the

covenant. Which is why the people of

Israel needed the Levitical priesthood

to go and offer atonement on the day of

atonement to sacrifice for the sins that

they have committed before the Lord.

But then Jesus comes on the scene. He

lives the life we couldn't live. He dies

the death that we deserve. He resurrects

in glory from the grave. Three days

later, 40 days after continued ministry

here on earth, he ascends. And now we

wait and we hope for his return. And

because of that, the scripture says that

as the spirit dwelt upon the church in

Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

that God's presence, God's spirit no

longer dwells in a temple made by human

hands. But where does God's spirit

dwell?

God's spirit dwells in you.

So as he is the bridegroom and I am the

bride, it's not me over here and God

over there, but it's through his life,

death, and resurrection, his ascension,

and our hope and his return that I am

united with the Lord. And so I JUST

DON'T BEHOLD THE KING of glory.

I just don't look to him in his

greatness and his splendor,

but I know that I am a part of who he is

and what it is about. And I think

here's where it can really hit home for

us because one of the greatest dangers

in life, one of the greatest dangers of

of Christianity is we can become so

fascinated with the things of God more

than God himself.

We can seek and crave and pursue the

blessings of God rather than God

himself.

And here's a challenge I want to leave

you with this morning.

When was the last time you stood in awe

of God?

Let's go back to verse six real quick.

Verse six says, "Your throne,

God, is forever

and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter

of

justice."

This is where the book of Hebrews would

appeal to Psalm 45

and tell the New Testament audience,

"This is Jesus.

This isn't random. This wasn't just a

statement for an earthly king in the

Davidic dynasty. It was pointing

forward. And who it pointed forward to

is here right now in the midst of us.

Have you become his bride? Here's what

it takes.

When a bride

was received by her bridegroom in the

context of Psalm 45, in the context of

ancient Israel, here's what it meant. It

meant that she left everything behind.

She left loyalties.

She left family.

She left riches.

She is called to draw near to her

bridegroom. She is called to delight in

him. And do you know what that's the

language of church? That's the language

of growing spiritually.

That's the language of disciplehip.

To become his bride. It means laying

everything aside for the glory of his

name. That means repenting of your sin.

That means looking to his holiness and

righteousness and making the decision to

walk and to thrive in obedience to his

name, not as a way to merit or earn his

approval,

but as a way to experience the greatest

type of joy in a relationship with him.

When I think about this, it it makes me

think about Paul's words in the New

Testament over and over again.

that talk about the denial of the flesh,

that talk about putting to death

the sin in my life,

and if I'm going to leave behind

loyalties, if I'm going to leave behind

everything that might hinder me from

fully walking in obedience as the bride

of Christ, not just as a church body,

but as individual believers, as sons and

daughters of God, God every day. It

takes the intentionality and the

discipline to crucify the flesh

because as long as we remain on this

side of heaven, there is a nature that

exists in us.

That nature is called the sin nature.

And the sin nature, you know this just

as well as I do, the sin nature wants to

creep up. It wants to creep in and it

wants to take over.

Which is why Paul in his letter to the

churches in Galatia say this. I have

been crucified with Christ.

Therefore, it is no longer I who live

but Christ who lives in me. There is

this beholding. I've been crucified with

Christ. Christ lives in me. I'm becoming

his bride. And then he says this, "And

the life that I now live right now at

this moment, I no longer live by my own

whims and desires, but I live by faith

in the son of God who loved me and gave

his life for me." Christ did it for you.

He did it for me so that he would call

you his own. in church, if you don't get

it, Jesus requires your surrender.

He requires you to leave it all behind.

And the question that we're faced with

is is not whether Jesus is beautiful,

but the question is, do you treasure

him?

The bride in this psalm, we'll read it

in just a moment, the bride is adorned

and prepared for her king. And so she

comes joyfully. She comes willingly.

Let's look at verse 10.

Listen, daughter.

Pay attention and consider.

Forget your people and your father's

house. Let's hit the pause button.

Because we read that with modern eyes

and we think, "What,

Roland? There's no way I can forget my

family. There's no way I can turn my

back on them. This is where we need to

battle against reading the scripture

through western eyes.

The Bible was written to an eastern

people

in Eastern culture

which oftent times is completely

opposite

from what we experience in 2026 in

western society.

And this is why when we come to God's

word, this is for free this morning.

When we come to God's word, we have to

understand several things. When was it

written?

Who was it written to? What things

historically and culturally are taking

place? Because until I understand those

things, I'll never really grab hold of

the context of what's taking place here.

So, what in the world does a psalmist

mean when the psalmist writes, "Forget

your people and your father's house?"

Let me put it simply for us. The

psalmist is saying, "Have your

priorities in order.

Have your affections ordered correctly

because when your affections are

disordered, your worship will be

disordered."

And so in the context of marriage, this

might this might rock some people a bit,

but in the context of marriage, it's

God,

my wife,

then my kids.

It's not my kids before my wife. It's my

wife before my kids.

Because if I can model what biblical

covenant is with my wife, then that

filters into the relationship I have

with my kids.

And then really in the grand scheme of

life, let me just kind of clue you in,

give you a little sneak peek of how it

works for me. And this is not unique to

me. This is biblical. You can ask any

God-fearing pastor. It's God,

wife, children, then the church.

I am grateful to shepherd you. I am

grateful to pastor here. I've said this

so many times. I pray this is the only

church that I ever pastor.

But this church will never take from me

what belongs to my family.

And when we become the bride of Christ,

it means ordering our affections for

him. So every act of obedience,

every prayer, every moment of

repentance, every gathering in this

place, watch this, it's preparation

for the ultimate wedding that will take

place. Psalm 45 is read,

it is sung, it's declared

in a wedding that took place in ancient

Israel. How cool will this be? the day

that we go to be with the Lord in glory

where we behold our king and we are

actively part of his bride that Psalm 45

is read and we not only hear it and

agree with it, we experience the

prophetic fulfillment of it. What a day

that will be. And here's the last thing

that we see.

We're called to participate

in his kingdom.

Now, let me really drive this home.

It's one thing to behold the king and

and oftentimes I think we do a great job

of that. We lift high the name of Jesus.

I love when we gather in this place and

we sing songs together. I've said this

so many times. The reason I like to uh

stand back there during service is

because I get I get a view where the

church is in front of me and I get to

hear your voices and I get to see your

hands raised and I get to see some of

you clapping who get the spirit in you a

little bit. I get to see those things. I

get to experience those things because

what we do here is not for the sake of

just feeling good. Yes, we feel good

from it. It's not just for the sake of

filling up our spiritual bucket. That's

part of it. The scripture says that that

we gather to be equipped for the work of

ministry. That that one of the role of

the pastors is to equip the saints for

the work of ministry. So, we gather in

this place. We participate in its

ministries so that we can be equipped

for Monday morning.

What God does here, he desires for you

to live out there. But but but here's

what's incredible. It's not just for the

sake of those things. When we gather in

this place, even now as you sit and

listen and your spirit is opened and the

Holy Spirit is maybe stirring you,

challenging you, maybe convicting you,

maybe holding you accountable. Maybe

right now the Holy Spirit is is bringing

to the surface some sins you need to

repent of. Maybe for some of you that

the Holy Spirit is resurrecting you out

of death and sin. And for the first time

ever, you're seeing clearly who the Lord

is. And today is the day of your

salvation. When all of this takes place,

from the singing of songs to the

listening of the word to participating

in Bible studies to walking in the

parking lot and hugging people that we

haven't seen this past week, we are

participating

in what God is doing.

We are actively being a part of the

spirit moving and working. And do you

know what that tells us? It tells us

that we should never discount what we do

for the kingdom.

what you do serves a purpose

because it's who you're doing it for and

it's the king that we behold as we are

actively part of his bride. So it's not

that we should just look to Jesus and

say, "Man, you are amazing. I'm so

grateful." It's not that we should just

gather together as part of his bride, as

part of his people.

But it's that we should step into what

God is doing. We must participate in his

kingdom. Go with me to verse 16.

Your sons

will succeed your ancestors.

You will make them princes [snorts]

throughout the land.

I will cause your name to be remembered

for all generations.

Therefore, the peoples will praise you

forever.

and ever.

Can you imagine hearing that? Men,

married men, picture this with me.

You're standing with your bride

and you're hearing this declared over

you. Your sons will succeed your

ancestors,

and you will make them princes

throughout the land. I will cause your

name to be remembered for all

generations. Therefore, the peoples will

praise you forever and ever.

When I hear that, let me tell you what I

don't think. I don't think there was a

sense of self-p pride that filled the

king.

I think there was a sense

and maybe even a deeper and greater

understanding that one day there will

come an individual

who will be the fulfillment of this.

And what does that mean for us? That

means as we participate in the kingdom

of God,

as we recognize that the things that we

do are not just for ourselves. If that's

all that we ever if that's the only way

we ever look at it, then we steal into

self idolatry

because we think, "Oh, the sermon is

there to build me up. The worship is

there to make me feel good." No, we sing

not so that you would feel good. We sing

so that God would be praised.

We grow in the word not so that you

would feel good, but we grow in the word

so that God would be praised.

And if all we ever do is look at life,

look at the church, look at Christianity

as an avenue by which I will be served,

then we've missed it and we live in

idolatry. But when we understand that it

is all part of participating in his

kingdom,

then I become part of something that

extends beyond me.

I don't know when the Lord will return.

He can return tomorrow. He can return a

100 years from now. He can return next

week. The culture and society are always

set up in such a way where we can look

at the signs. We can look at what's

happening in the culture and say, "Woo

man, we're getting close to the Lord's

return." And that's on purpose so that

there will be a sense of urgency in us

to get our right to get our lives right

with the Lord and to go and tell people

to get their life right with the Lord.

My point is we don't know when Christ is

coming back. And so as your pastor, I'm

often confronted with this question that

I ask myself. What will the grove look

like when when all of us are gone?

What will the grove look like in a 100

years? What will the grove look like in

200 years?

What will the grove look like in 10

years?

I pray

that we participate in the kingdom so

much so that this becomes a reality that

our children

will succeed us

and they will be princes and princesses

throughout the land not because of

anything good in them but because

they're children of the king.

And it's through that that the name of

Jesus will be remembered. So here's the

question.

What are you doing to build the kingdom?

How are you participating in the

kingdom?

Because here's where it gets real. If

you call the grove your home, how are

you participating in the grove?

We sing together. We grow in the word

together.

But we have several ministries that

exist beyond the hour and 15, the hour

and a half that we meet in this place.

How are you participating in the kingdom

by avenue of the local church? We have

vacation Bible school coming up and I

know Miss Jen would love to have you on

the VBS team.

If to serve no other purpose to say, you

know what, I'll be here, but I'll just

help with crowd control or I'll be a

floater. put me where you need me or

I'll be here and I'll just in a spirit

of underbreath prayer just be praying

that hearts and minds would be open and

kids would come to know Jesus. There are

so many avenues

by which you can serve.

How are you building the kingdom?

Parents, how are you disciplining your

children? Grandparents, how are you

investing in the next generation? You

may be retired. You may be a little bit

more tired than you were in years

previous. But you're not done yet.

Because as long as you have breath in

your lungs, God is not done with you.

How are you investing in the next

generation

and church? Are you serving? Are you

sharing the gospel? Are you making

disciples? Are you mentoring young

believers?

And let me just let me put some handles

on it for us. I want to challenge you

this week.

Say you're in a sales call. Let's say

you're in a meeting with someone. Let's

say you're in the break room. Let let me

just challenge you with something that

can be so simple.

Say something to the effect of, "Hey,

before we begin, if you're open to it,

and no pressure, if you say no, we'll go

on and it'll be okay. But before we

begin, can I just can I just say a quick

prayer? And is there anything that I can

pray for you about? Is there anything

that that I could maybe take before the

Lord with you? No, I'm not really into

that. Oh, okay. No, no worries. And then

you just just continue with the meeting.

Or if they say, "Man, I'd love that."

Or, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." Hey, well,

what do you need prayer for? Well, I

have an appointment or, you know, I have

an aunt or grandmother who who is sick

and what's her name? Her name is so and

so. His name is so and so. Okay. Lord, I

pray for so- and so. Would you grant

them peace and comfort during this time

in Christ's name? Amen. And if they

didn't say, "I don't have anything." But

yeah, you can pray. Just say, "Lord, I I

I thank you for this interaction.

I pray for our week. I pray for our

family. I pray that your hand of

protection will be over us in Jesus

name." Amen.

Let's participate in the kingdom. Let's

build it together. Would you pray with

me? Lord, we thank you so much for the

opportunity to be gathered here today.

And Lord, I pray that your hand of

blessing would be upon us. I pray that

as you move,

as you work and spirit, as you continue

to awaken hearts and minds,

I pray Lord that

you would resurrect us out of death and

sin to life eternal.

And Lord, I pray if there is anyone

present this morning who maybe for a

long time would behold lesser kings,

maybe the king of wealth or the king of

talents and gifts or the king of gossip

or the king of ly or the king of lust or

whatever it may be that today would be

the day of repentance. And they would

know that they would know that it is

only through faith in the work and

person of Jesus Christ

that eternal life is possible.

And if that's you today, this is your

day of salvation. All this we ask in

Christ's name. All God's people said,

>> amen.

>> Amen. Hey, would you stand to your feet

with me?

We're going to sing together. Amen.

We're going to lift up the name of

Jesus.

Our altar is going to be open. This is a

time of response for you as you have sat

in the service, as we have sung

together, as we've grown in the words

[music] together.

Maybe you have felt the spirit working

in you. Well, our altar is open. Maybe

you want to come and have a prayer

moment with the Lord, some one-on-one

[music] time, maybe to thank the Lord

for some blessings or to pray for a need

that you have or to intercede on behalf

of someone. Or if you would like Pastor

Eric or myself to come [music] alongside

you and pray, we would love to do that.

If you have questions about membership,

about baptism, about salvation, we would

love to have that conversation [music]

with you this morning. This is an

opportunity for you to do that. I love

you, church.