17th Sunday after Trinity 2024

Before we get into our text today, the text that Matt read, I don't think he wrote it, I think he read it.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, written by human hands, inspired by your Holy Spirit.

And Lord, because it is inspired, because it's not just a wonderful story or a classic tale or a myth of old,

but it is your very word, help us to submit to it, to live by it, to be formed by it.

And Lord, we want to be people that seek after your truth.

So Lord, we pray that only truth will last after this sermon, and that you would bless us.

And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Bit of a news flash.

Clairvoyants are making a comeback.

I don't know if you guys knew this.

I mean, at least they are from Disney's point of view.

The past two or three weeks, I've been going on, whether it's YouTube, whether I check the score app to check out baseball scores,

or see if there's any news in the NBA.

I mean, wherever it is, on the side of buses, Disney is pushing their new spin-off of a spin-off called Agatha All Along.

And if you haven't heard of it, it is about a witch.

And she is a bit of an anti-hero.

It's about revenge.

And it is not subtle in any way.

It is about witchcraft.

Wicca, the occult, you name it.

And if anything, a show like this only confirms the popularity of witchcraft reflected in society.

I mean, Disney and other corporations, they want to pick winners.

They want to hit home runs.

They want to make money.

And if they know they can make something that's going to appeal to the cultural moment of the day, whatever is exciting, whatever is popular, they'll do that.

And really interesting.

When I say clairvoyants are making a comeback, it's a bit of a gripping statement.

But I really do mean it.

I found an article from 2022, October 31st, of course, 2022, so 23 months ago, that detailed this new trend on TikTok.

If you are not like 25 or under, TikTok is new social media.

But hashtag witchtalk is a whole subsection of TikTok that is dedicated to incantations, spells, witchcraft, Wicca, wizardry, you name it.

And back in 2022, at the time of the writing of that article that I read,

there was something like over 30 billion specific views on hashtag witchtalk.

I have no idea what it is to say.

I wasn't going to spend an hour going down the rabbit hole of looking for current stats for witchtalk.

I'm sure it's more than 30 billion now.

What's interesting is, you know, on one hand, it seems like there's just a bunch of people trying to do some cosplay stuff.

But it would appear that it is appealing to this growing desire to be connected to something more than the material world that we have.

This now cottage industry of online influencers that push the occult are making coin from people,

learning how to do tarot card readings, learning incantations, learning blessings and curses.

People are making thousands of dollars for private lessons.

Whether or not they're professionals, I don't know where you can get your credentials to be a witch.

But nevertheless, clairvoyance seem to be back.

So we're going to continue in Acts.

That's a bit of an interesting way to open up a sermon.

But we continue in Acts and we're going to read about an interaction with this first missionary journey.

Paul, at the time Saul, he's going to have a name change here and he'll continue to go by Paul for the rest of Acts.

So Saul, Paul, Barnabas and then John Mark will be the first commissioned missionaries.

And within the first story, they're going to have this interaction with a false prophet that's described as a magician.

Not described as like a court jester or somebody who does some fun party tricks,

but as somebody who has real political and cultural power in the city.

In fact, he's an advisor to Sergius Paulus.

He is the pro-council, the highest ranking official, Roman official in the island of Cyprus.

Or is it Crete, Cyprus?

Wherever they are.

So as we read, I want to caution us to be not quick to dismiss this story as mythical and fictional.

Why? For, I guess, a couple of reasons.

The first one is that Luke, who wrote this account, isn't writing a myth.

He is not writing a story, but theological history.

And Luke isn't a writer by profession.

He's a doctor.

He is about facts and he is looking to write a near forensic account,

a near forensic theological account of the birth and growth of the church.

If you remember last week in Acts chapter 12, he details the demise of Herod Agrippa.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

And this description, I mean, different in minor details,

but it is corroborated by non-Christian historians.

Luke is writing history.

The second thing is we have a tendency here in the West to have chronological and intellectual snobbery

towards things that happened in yester century and to people that live primarily in the global South.

We would see them as backwards.

We are rationalistic people.

But this idea of rationalistic, material, enlightenment thinking is very new.

And it fails to see this whole picture of God's creation.

How God created the world.

That there is a spiritual world.

So, as a bit of an introduction,

and because we are committed in this church to preach through full books of the Bible,

we are going to walk towards a story about a magician this morning.

We are going to see what the Lord would speak to us through it,

how it is going to shape our lives,

and really how we are going to see that the gospel in this story,

that the gospel and only the gospel has the power to transform societies,

to confront deception and evil,

and to bring hope and truth where there is none.

So, let's jump right into it.

We will read starting in verse 4.

And we will read to verse 7.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit,

that is,

Paul, Saul, Barnabas, John, Mark,

they went down to Seleucia,

and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

When they arrived at Salamis,

they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.

That was the custom.

They would first go to these points of connection.

They are primarily Jewish missionaries that have come to faith in Jesus.

So, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews,

and they had John to assist them.

When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos,

they came upon a certain magician,

a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

He was with the procouncil, Sergius Paulus,

a man of intelligence,

who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

You'll notice right off the bat that the missionaries,

even though they're commissioned by the church,

they are really commissioned and led by the Holy Spirit.

Paul, Barnabas, John, Mark,

begin this evangelistic tour across Cyprus.

Barnabas, it could have been,

it's not in the narrative,

but Barnabas is from Cyprus.

It seems in the previous section

that the Holy Spirit or the church

don't give them a commissioning to a specific region,

but they're told to just go,

so maybe Barnabas says,

let's start with my hometown,

my home island.

So they end up going to Cyprus.

They travel, they land,

they travel dozens and dozens and dozens of miles

proclaiming the gospel,

first to the Jewish community

and then to the Greeks.

And there seems to be a growing buzz about them

for by the time they get so far inland

to where the procouncil is,

this guy, Sergius Paulus,

he needs them in his court.

What is going on?

I need to hear what is happening.

There clearly is a buzz.

The message is being embraced.

Things are changing.

The gospel has the power to transform societies.

You notice that the procouncil is described

as a man of intelligence,

which is just to say that he can think in a straight line.

He's a rational, logical man.

Even though he has a very interesting collection of advisors in his court,

he wants truth.

And here's the thing.

When change happens,

when there's a societal shift,

religious or not,

people in power seem to take notice.

And those who are truth seekers want to know what's happening.

And this is what's happening with Sergius Paulus.

Cyprus,

it's implied here that Cyprus,

the Cypriots are coming to faith.

Everyone,

not everyone,

it doesn't say that,

but enough that there is a buzz happening.

And the procouncil is seeing.

He wants to know.

He wants to know what is happening with his people.

And here's the thing.

When the true gospel is proclaimed,

it inevitably causes change.

The gospel,

when it's proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the victor,

that he is defeated death by death,

that corruption and evil

are no longer going to be the main force,

within a pagan society,

but rather that Jesus is king overall,

that righteous and holiness

begins to take root in people's lives,

behaviors are reformed,

money and time are spent in different ways

and on different things.

It doesn't happen overnight.

Sometimes it can,

but by and large,

when the gospel is proclaimed,

heard,

accepted,

and it starts to shape people's lives,

things transform

and things are noticeable.

We'll see a great example

later on in Acts 19,

but there's this instance in Acts 19

where the gospel goes out

and it changes the hearts of the people

so much that they do away with their idols

and it destroys an entire industry of idol making.

Big problem

for the idol makers.

We'll get to that later on.

But here's the thing.

Like with Israel,

like always with God's people,

we are,

as God's people,

called to disciple the nations,

teaching them everything that Christ has taught us.

And that means we are to counsel people

in the ways of God.

What that ends up doing

is it exposes false beliefs.

It's false gospels.

On one hand,

it comforts the afflicted,

but those that are in power

or are enjoying their comfort,

always at the expense of others,

what it does is it afflicts them.

So the gospel always has this two-pronged approach

to the culture.

It comforts those that are afflicted,

but also afflicts those that are comfortable.

Comfortable in their sin,

in their self-glorification,

in their idolatry,

in their unchecked and selfish use of power.

So the gospel isn't the gospel

unless it begins to shake things up

and change things.

And this is what we're seeing here.

The gospel is transforming Cyprus.

And people are noticing.

And things are changing.

And Christ is being embraced

as the true King of kings

and Lord of lords.

This is nothing short of regime change,

the regimes of the heart.

But change doesn't come without conflict.

I mentioned in Acts 19,

I don't know when we're going to get there.

I think it might be in a couple months.

Maybe before the start of Advent.

But this change doesn't come without conflict.

And we're going to see this conflict here

with Bar-Jesus or Elemis.

Look with me now in verses 8.

And this is our second point,

that the gospel confronts deception and evil.

Verse 8.

But Elemis,

the magician,

for that is the meaning of his name,

opposed them.

That is the missionaries,

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark.

Opposed them,

seeking to turn the procouncil

away from the faith.

But Saul,

who was also called Paul,

filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked intently at him,

and said,

You son of the devil,

you enemy of all righteousness,

full of all deceit and villainy,

will you not stop making crooked

the straight paths of the Lord?

Make no mistake,

he is called out.

Saul,

Paul does not use

flowery language.

There's a time to be

to be winsome.

There's a time to find

bridges and build bridges.

I want to be careful

with narratives,

drawing out prescriptive

truths out of them.

This is not necessarily

the way you

deal with every person

that opposes the Lord.

But in this case,

filled with the Holy Spirit,

he is led

to call a spade a spade.

This magician,

this conjurer,

this clairvoyant,

this warlock,

whatever he is called,

he is not on God's side,

but on the devil's side.

Bar Jesus,

his name literally means

the son of salvation.

He is influencing

the leading

highest ranking official

of the Roman

outpost in Cyprus

and not leading him

towards righteousness,

not leading him

towards truth

or goodness

or mercy

or love.

Paul calls him out,

again,

inspired and filled

with the Holy Spirit,

which is to say

he is not acting

on his own accord.

He doesn't have a grudge

against this guy.

He is simply

a mouthpiece

and tool

in the Lord's hand.

He says,

you're an enemy

of righteousness.

You are full of deceit

and villainy

and he is making

the straight paths

of the Lord crooked.

If this helps at all,

he is like worm tongue

in the Lord of the Rings,

if you're familiar

with that,

influencing

the King Theoden

of Rohan,

he is speaking

sweet deceit

in his ears.

He's actively

opposing the missionaries

from sharing

the gospel

with Sergius Paulus

because he's

also making

his coin

from being

an advisor.

He has status

in standing

in the court

of the most powerful

man in the land

and he stands

to lose it.

He knows that.

He doesn't seem

to care

that in Christ Jesus

the court

of a procouncil

of Cyprus

is nothing

compared to the riches

of glory

of knowing Christ.

He wants to hold on

to his earthly power.

He's not letting it go

and the apostle Paul

gives it to him straight.

The gospel message,

it will never shy away

from addressing

deception

and evil

and confronting it

because the good news

is that Christ Jesus

has come to bring freedom

and righteousness

and truth

and therefore

it has to oppose

deception,

lies,

and oppression.

It has to.

Oppression

in Christ's name

is not

the gospel

or Christianity.

Money

under the table

and corruption,

lying,

deceit,

ends always

justifying the means

that is not

Christianity.

True Christianity

will always

bring freedom

and righteousness

and truth.

It will always

have in mind

the glory of God

and the flourishing,

true flourishing

of humanity.

going back to our

modern day,

Wicca has no real

power in comparison

to our Lord.

It is a false

gospel,

it has false

promises

that do not

proclaim God

as sovereign

and creator

of all things.

If some of our

friends and family,

maybe even

some of us,

maybe we're

intrigued by it,

there's something

alluring and

we have

an over

excited curiosity

towards it.

If we have been

or our friends

have been exposed

to this kind

of

Wicca

belief,

just a little

dabble of it,

a little sprinkle

of it,

the Bible

is very clear

that it is

irredeemable

and it is

evil

and ungodly.

But also,

and we'll see

this later on

in the third

point,

that there is

great hope

for somebody

who is engaging

with that.

It is not

the end.

But I want

to suggest

something,

maybe a bit

of a bigger

application

and maybe

one that might

ruffle some

feathers.

So I have

a broad back

when it comes

to criticism

or pushback,

so feel free

to talk

with me

or write

me an email.

I promise

you I won't

get offended.

That's like

a 100%

promise.

We might

spar a little

bit,

but I'll

just put

forward this

to you.

This is a

bigger application

for us

as it extends

into many

of our

workplaces

and is

the defining

mood of our

cultural moment.

And here it is

and hear me out.

Every level

of our government,

our bureaucracy,

our big

corporations

that we use,

that we buy

from,

they employ

equity officers

and inclusion

officers and

diversity officers.

And they

proclaim a

gospel of

sorts that

on all

appearances

seems great.

Equity is a

good thing,

like full

stop.

Inclusion,

it's very

good.

Excluding

people,

being prejudiced

towards people,

it's problematic.

Fairness in

the workplace,

human rights,

all great

things.

However,

the

vocabulary

is used,

the English

vocabulary is

used,

but not the

English

dictionary.

It's

ill-defined.

Inclusion

doesn't mean

true inclusion,

equity doesn't

mean true

equity,

diversity

seems to be

at the

exclusion of

some parts,

so it can't

be full

true

inclusivity

or diversity.

And what it

does is it

promotes a

contrary

worldview that

is antithetical

to the

one true

gospel.

And like

Bar

Jesus,

Elemis,

they influence

politicians,

their staff,

the bureaucracy,

executives,

our cultural

elite,

and they

promote a

vision for

the created

order that

denies that

God has

created all

things and

called it

good.

And that

mankind,

when he

created mankind,

he said,

he didn't

say good,

he said very

good.

So in

effect,

God is

called a

liar and

any deviation

from such

a vision

is not

met with

indifference

but scorn.

I'll give

an example.

In 2021,

the TDSB,

the Toronto

District School

Board,

hired a

diversity

consultant.

It's all

public and

I don't,

so it's

whatever.

I mean,

I know about

it,

you can look

it up.

Her name

was Kiki

Ojo

Thompson.

And in

this meeting,

and it was

public,

like you can

find it on

YouTube,

she was

pushing the

diversity,

equity,

inclusion,

and a

man,

a long-time

teacher,

pushed back.

Not saying

you're wrong,

this is

garbage,

to hell with

you,

just say,

hey,

listen,

can we

talk about

this?

Anyways,

a teacher

in high

standing,

decades of

experience,

also happened

to be an

openly gay

man.

She went

after him.

And she

had it

elevated to

higher-ups,

and in

the end,

this man

pushed back,

she went

at him

hard,

there's a lot

more details,

but for the

sake of time,

he ended up

taking his own

life,

because of

bullying.

There was no

discussion,

there was no

desire for human

flourishing,

I'm not

saying it's

her fault

that that's

what happened,

but the

direction was

never towards

the glory of

God and

the human

flourishing and

treating somebody

with dignity,

but rather

only observing

immutable

characteristics,

not what's

going on in

his heart

or in his

character.

what I am

not suggesting

is that every

DEI officer

that you may

know is

really a

part of a

coven,

is Wicca,

is practicing

some kind of

witchcraft,

I am not

saying that

at all.

But what I am

saying is that

the same

deception and

opposition to

all righteousness,

making crooked

the straight

paths of

God,

the same

character that

characterizes

bar Jesus,

this elemus,

it's alive and

well in

anything that

actively and

obviously opposes

the almighty

triune God and

his gospel of

grace and

looks to go to

war against

it.

Friends,

I am also not

saying don't

fight for

justice in the

workplace.

You see a

problem,

fight for it.

But you see

the difference

there because

what you are

doing isn't

attacking somebody

for the way

they are

immutable,

but you

are going to

war for

somebody's

dignity and

fighting for

the truth that

is affirmed in

God's word,

the common

grace.

I'll say this

as well because

I think this is

important.

I don't want

our church and

I don't want my

ministry to be a

culture war

ministry or

culture war

church.

I just don't

want it.

I think it

is a dangerous

road to go

down.

I don't want

to be a

pawn for

right-wing

politics.

The cultural

right has its

own idols and

false gospels and

when the

scriptures touch

on that,

we're going to

call it out.

We're going to

call it out.

Okay?

However, the

media and our

thought leaders and

our entertainment do

not push us

towards a

right-wing type

of idolatry and

agenda but a

progressive one and

therefore, I want

to call it out.

It is the

cultural air we

breathe.

There is growing

parts of the

internet that are

wildly neo-fascists

and they're growing

and they're getting

very popular but

that's not getting

pushed by CTV or

CBC or 580.

You probably won't

see it that much in

ads that pop up when

you're watching

YouTube.

Or if you're

cheap like our

family and get

the base

subscription of

Netflix and

whatever.

You're not.

It's going to be a

progressive push.

I'll say this as

well.

I don't want to be a

culture warrior but

there certainly is a

war that's happening

and we need just to

be wise about it.

There's a war for

the health of our

families and our

friends and our

workplaces.

Our children

our intellect,

our time.

Let's do a really

interesting conversation

by two educators this

week.

They're Christians but

they just said hey

listen there's a

spiritual battle just

to read a book

these days.

Not the Bible,

just to read a book.

Can you turn the

phone off?

Can you turn the

noise down just to

pick up a book for

20 minutes?

It's not easy.

There's a war going

on.

And this goes beyond

an internal battle of

doing right or wrong

or exercising self

control.

It goes beyond getting

your preferred candidate

in office.

There are real forces

that seek to make us

less human and that's

the key to all of

this.

To make us less human

and to demean our God

and to draw us away

from love and grace

and goodness that is

found in Jesus Christ

who is the righteous

one and who loves

our souls.

We would be, I would

be foolish to think

otherwise.

So where is there

hope?

Because that can seem

a bit hopeless.

How does the gospel

provide hope?

Are we destined to be

cultural warriors

forever in social

media, media battles?

I hope not.

I pray not.

So what happens next?

How does the gospel

of Christ confront

such deception and

evil and therefore

bring us hope?

Let's read on,

verses 9 to 12.

But Saul, who was

also called Paul,

filled with the Holy

Spirit, looked intently

at him and said,

You son of the devil,

you enemy of all

righteousness, full of

all deceit and

villainy, will you not

stop making crooked

the straight paths of

the Lord?

And now behold the

hand of the Lord,

that is to say God's

judgment, the hand of

the Lord is upon you

and you will be blind

and unable to see the

sun for a time

immediately.

Mist and darkness

fell upon him and

he went about seeking

people to lead him

by the hand.

Verse 12,

Then the procouncil,

that is Sergius Paulus,

believed, and he saw

what had occurred,

for he was astonished

at the teaching of

the Lord.

There's no standoff

like in the movies.

There's no epic battle

at the end of the

trilogy.

But like Jesus, the

spirit-filled apostle

Paul just pronounces

the Lord's judgment

and it is so.

If you remember

Jesus, he's on the

boat with the

disciples.

The wind and the

waves are crashing

down.

He is sleeping.

They cry out to him.

And what does he say?

He says, be still.

He just speaks.

And it is so.

It is a judgment.

We talked about this

way back when we were

in Mark.

Wind and the waves

and the storm

represents the evil

forces at work.

And he just pronounces

his judgment.

Be still.

There's no battle.

They have to submit

to him.

And this is what we

are seeing here.

That there's a

submission not to Paul

but by the Holy

Spirit that fills him

up.

And this man is

struck blind.

What we are seeing

is the outer working

of an inner reality.

Because Bar Jesus is

spiritually blind and

he is leading people

into all sorts of

spiritual blindness.

And now the judgment

of God is on him so

that physically he is

like he is spiritually.

He tries to deceive

people and now he is

struggling to find a

hand to lead him

here and there.

I'll say this.

And this is where the

hope is.

There will always be a

judgment upon those who

act in God's name

or proclaim a competing

gospel and vision for

human flourishing that

is against what the

scriptures say.

They might persist for a

time but they will not

persist forever.

God will not stand by

when people make his

straight paths crooked.

It won't happen.

He won't allow it.

God will not be mocked

nor allow evil to persist

indefinitely.

And this is where our

hope is.

What's interesting here is

that the physical

blinding of Bar Jesus

leads to the spiritual

awakening of Sergius

Paulus.

In our story,

Sergius Paulus comes to

faith not simply because

of the supernatural

event but we see in

verse 12.

What does it say?

The procouncil believed

when he saw what had

occurred.

But here it is.

What the Holy Spirit

does is he always

proclaims the message

and then confirms it

not necessarily in

supernatural ways but

by his spirit making

alive our souls to

hear and to see so

to speak spiritually the

truth of the gospel.

And this is what we are

seeing with Sergius

Paulus.

So what about the

magician though?

What about our friends

that are deep?

in another form of

spirituality that

really is demonic at

its core or a way of

thinking and a

worldview that does not

elevate Christ as king

but seeks to actually

dethrone him and

doesn't see dignity in

the person but actually

sees the person as less

than human?

Where's their hope?

We're not told what

happens to Bar Jesus.

The narrative leaves

him as blind.

It's really sad.

But, but, it's

interesting that the

apostle Paul who was

himself acting as a

hand of the devil

trying to destroy the

church, he meets the

risen savior.

And what happens?

He is struck blind.

The judgment of the

Lord comes upon him and

he comes to faith.

Notice here, verse 11.

I'm sorry, yeah, verse 11.

The second part of it.

I'll read the whole thing.

And now behold, the hand

of the Lord is upon you.

This is Paul talking to

Bar Jesus.

And you will be blind, not

forever and unable to see.

Not forever, but for a

time.

Maybe this is, maybe this is

a tipping of, of Luke's

tipping of the cap to, to, to what

actually happened with Bar Jesus.

Maybe, like Paul, he came to

faith.

He, he did away with his

attacks against the church

and decided instead to

humble himself before the

king.

Could God not have turned this

false prophet who claimed to

be the son of salvation, could

he not have turned him to put

his faith in the son who is

salvation?

Could he not have?

Is this too big for God?

I would say no.

And I can't say, guys, this is

what happened because it's not

in the narrative.

But I want to say I really,

really, really, really hope it

can happen.

I believe it can happen.

That it, that it happened.

And that it can happen today.

And this, friends, is why we

proclaim the gospel in obedience

to the Great Commission.

And this is where I'll wrap

things up.

What we are seeing in Acts 13

is the fulfillment of Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, 8 and the Great

Commission at the end of

Matthew's gospel account.

That people called by God,

faith in Jesus, filled with the

Holy Spirit, are just bearing

witness to who Jesus is and

things are transforming.

And churches that think the

Great Commission and Acts

Acts 1:8

chapter 1, verse 8 are optional

are churches that are on, on the

way down a terrible spiral.

And we might be a church, God

forbid, that, that finds

ourselves in a time where we

think this is optional.

And we might have the best

catechism, which, by the way, we

had a fantastic catechism this

morning.

Next week we're on, 930, if you

want to come.

We've got the best catechism,

small groups, best everything.

And we think that the Great

Commission and Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1:8

verse 8 is optional.

Friends, we are cut off at the

root.

We are failing to obey Christ.

Let us then proclaim hope and

truth in the gospel.

So, to wrap things up, are we to

fear evil?

No.

Because we serve the almighty,

eternal maker of heaven and

earth, who does not battle our

enemies as they appear to us, but

has already defeated them on the

cross of Calvary.

Cutting down the power of death,

hell can rage all it wants against

you.

Your eternity is secure.

Your joy in Christ is complete.

And there is hope and health and

restoration for our friends and our

family and our loved ones and our

neighbors and our co-workers and

ourselves when we falter or look to

oppose the sun or look to make

crooked the straight paths of God.

So, friends, let us walk in this

truth and proclaim that the Lord is

Christ.

He has brought us salvation and our

hearts and our souls, they long after

him.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Father, we pray that whatever we do,

your name will be lifted high.

And when we inevitably get in the way,

because even though we are saved, we

are not yet made perfect.

We are growing in holiness, not yet made

perfectly holy.

When we get in the way, Lord, that you

would be gracious to us and very

obviously but gently just guide us

away from our folly back to you.

And Lord, as we are your people out in

the world, help us to, by your Holy

Spirit, have bravery and to stand for

truth, to stand for your glory, to

elevate the people around us to the

dignity that you have bestowed upon

them.

Lord, that we would be people that

stand for true justice, that we

stand for true inclusion.

Lord, thank you so much that your

church from the very beginning wasn't

a monolith of an ethnicity but

included people from all sorts of

different backgrounds and ethnicities.

And Lord, help us to be about that.

Lord, help us also to be people of

prayer, to not try to do your work

apart from you.

Lord, that you would fill us afresh

every day with your Holy Spirit as we

turn our faces and seek yours.

We pray all this in Christ's name.

Amen.