Second Sunday after Trinity

Consistency is a hard thing. It is hard to be consistent in life, in just about every aspect of life.

It is hard to be consistent. It's hard to be consistently patient with children.

On this Father's Day, I feel that all the more, acutely.

I love my children, but I am a broken man that has great aspirations to be a patient, wise sage of a father

and how quickly it can descend into not that.

New Year's resolutions obviously come and go. Consistency seems to be the hardest thing to see out.

It's hard to be consistent. It's very, very difficult.

It also means that we can be awfully inconsistent in our spiritual lives.

It is hard to maintain a spiritual life on the best of days, let alone in a time when distractions are plenty,

when interests are divided, when goals can be conflicting.

How can we remain consistent as spiritual people that believe in the one true triune God?

We're in our second last week in Nehemiah.

Israel is finally being built up into a godly community once again.

They're finally understanding that rebuilding of the wall, in many respects,

is actually rebuilding of this covenant community, this people, this nation of Israel.

Last week in Nehemiah chapter 8, we read that the people, as they were consulting the scriptures,

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

they realized that there was this wonderful holiday that they haven't been keeping,

this holy week called the Festival of Booths or Sukkot.

This holy day, if you remember, holy week marked, it commemorated God's provision in the desert

when Israel was rescued from Egypt on their way to the Promised Land,

and God provided for them shelter and food and clothes and everything that they needed while they were wandering.

It was also, if you remember, a holiday that proclaimed this transient life,

and it ultimately pointed to the eternal life to come.

Suffice it to say, the people have had a wonderful week with God.

It's been a fantastic spiritual experience.

They're feeling like they are back in God's will.

They are riding high after 70 plus years of being in exile.

Things are starting to look up.

The people have enjoyed God's presence and each other.

They are starting to look like rebuilt people.

Will they be consistent, though?

The history of Israel, and we'll see this, although we won't read every last verse, it's a long chapter.

The history of Israel is, we are a part of God's family.

We're doing great.

Those other nations look kind of good.

I think we're going to go over to those other nations and fraternize.

You know, I think their God is actually better than our God.

Or maybe we'll adopt their God along with our God,

and eventually they forget their God completely,

and they're into all sorts of evil and idolatry,

and the community gets broken,

and then they cry out to God for salvation,

and God hears them,

and then they get re-established with God,

wash, rinse, repeat.

It's a pattern.

It's a cyclical brokenness that the people are falling into.

Will they remain consistent?

They've had this great experience.

Can they keep the good times going?

It's also a big question for us.

As Christians, or as those that identify as Christians,

we may have had a spiritual experience,

confessed our faith before God,

been on an awesome retreat 25 years ago,

had an awesome season of university or college

where our faith was strengthened,

or maybe we've come back to the faith,

and the consistency that comes afterwards is elusive.

It is really hard to be consistent with our faith,

with this spiritual life.

So, the question I put forward to you,

and I think that this text will help us to answer,

here's the question.

How can God's people live a consistent,

God-enjoying, God-glorifying life all their days?

How?

I think it's a really important question,

if you are to take your faith seriously.

So, Nehemiah chapter 9,

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

hopefully we'll answer this question,

and we'll look at three,

really four aspects,

but three big aspects of it,

that the text will help us to answer that question.

Nehemiah chapter 9 will help us to see

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

the importance of habitual and honest confession

as a key aspect of consistent spiritual life.

habitual and honest confession.

The second is worship of the wise and wonderful God,

the God whose glory abounds,

who is eternal,

who is also unique.

And then the last one,

this chapter 9,

will help us to reflect upon the past

as a means for security in the present

and hope for the future.

And that's specifically,

that past is how God has interacted with his people.

Really, it's understanding the biblical story,

the story of redemption.

That's key in all of this.

Finally,

and we'll touch on it at the end,

this faithful,

we'll see in Nehemiah chapter 9,

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

that there is a faithful commitment

to follow after the Lord

as the only true way.

And we'll see that at the very last verse,

in verse 38.

So why don't we jump into it?

If you have a Bible,

please follow along.

There should be some Bibles at the back

welcome table.

Feel free to grab one at any time

and follow along.

So, Nehemiah chapter 9,

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

starting in verse 1.

This is what it says.

Now, on the 24th day of this month,

the people of Israel were assembled

with fasting and in sackcloth

and with earth on their heads.

And the Israelites separated themselves

from all foreigners

and stood and confessed their sins

and the iniquities of their father.

And they stood up in their place

and read from the book of the law

of the Lord their God

for a quarter of the day,

for another quarter of it,

they made confession and worshipped

the Lord their God.

The people finished their feasting

on the 22nd of the month

in chapter 8.

This is happening on the 24th.

So maybe the 23rd,

I don't know,

they were taking down

their makeshift huts

because that was part of the celebration

of the Feast of Booths.

But all that to say is

what's happening here

is on the heels of that holiday.

It's coming immediately after.

The 22nd it ends,

the 23rd clean up,

the 24th,

I'm presuming it's clean up,

the 24th is what we see in chapter 9.

Right away sackcloth,

dirt on the head.

There's a mourning that is happening.

And it's interesting

because if you remember

at the beginning of chapter 8,

the people have read the word of God

and they are cut to the heart,

they are convicted of sin,

they are mourning.

And the Levites say,

listen, no, no, no, no,

it's time actually for feasting.

This isn't the time to fast and to mourn.

Except now,

this is the appropriate time

after the holiday.

We can note three important aspects

of this confession.

And it's a very important

kind of paradigm for us,

a structure for us

to understand confession.

We can notice three important things.

The first is that they confessed

humbly and honestly together.

There are times

that you cannot do

this Christian thing by yourself

and you are supported

by those around you.

And that's just,

that's the reality of it.

You're going to have really low times

and difficult times

and dry seasons.

That's not the time to pull away,

but to push forward,

trusting that we are a part

of something bigger than ourselves.

And there is, of course,

an individuality to our spirituality.

But there is also a corporate nature.

And here we are seeing the people

coming together as one

to confess their sins to one another.

And they're being humble about it.

We see that with the sackcloth,

with what they're wearing

as something that professes,

so to speak,

their attitude,

that expresses their reverence

and dedication to God.

And they are honest

with their confession.

I mean, it says right here

that they are being real

about their sins

and also the state

of their nation

that has led up to this point.

And we'll see that

in the verses to come.

They're being honest.

They're not trying to hide

their sins from Almighty God.

You know,

half the time

on Sunday mornings

we do something called

morning prayer.

Morning prayer is

a prayer service

that's in the Book of Common Prayer.

And we've adopted it

partly because

two weeks out of four

we share this space

and we have like

ten-ish minutes to set up.

And it's a bit of a scramble.

But morning prayer

is a beautiful thing

because it helps us

to come before God

in a very proper way.

In the opening bits

of morning prayer

it says this,

Dearly beloved,

the scripture moves us

in many different places

to acknowledge and confess

our many sins and wickedness.

and that,

and here's,

I have it bolded

on my paper here,

and that we should not

disassemble

nor cloak them

before the face

of Almighty God

our Heavenly Father.

In other words,

may we be honest with you

about who we are.

To not

give an excuse

for what we've done

as we confess our sins

to God.

To not try to take

the edge off

as if we could fool God

or do a partial confession

and He wouldn't know.

God knows everything.

I was talking to my dad,

my stepdad,

but I called my dad

yesterday

about the judgment of God.

I don't know how we got

into this on a Saturday morning.

But we're talking about

the judgment of God

and how we will stand

before God

and we will confess,

we will be without excuse,

there will be no appeal process,

there will be no nuance,

there will be no,

hey listen,

there are these circumstances,

you know,

you don't really understand,

but it was a tough time

in my life.

There will be no excuses

because God is all-knowing

but also completely just.

So when we confess our sins,

who are we confessing to?

The God who knows all,

but the God who is also

perfectly just.

And this is what's happening here

in our text.

They have a heart

that is reflecting

their inner life

and right now

this inner life

is just desperate

to be connected to God.

They're taking this humble approach,

they're being honest

with their confession.

Notice though,

there's this aspect

that might seem a bit

uncomfortable for us

in verse 2,

and the Israelites

separated themselves

from all foreigners.

Now listen,

we live in a very

tolerant society,

more or less.

The idea of

outsiders and insiders

isn't something we,

by and large,

we don't really enjoy

to talk about.

What's happening here,

I'll just say,

isn't an example

of Jewish supremacy.

It's not as though

the Israelites are,

they're discriminating

the other nations

around them.

But really what we see here

is that they're separating

themselves from foreigners

as, again,

an expression of their desire

for purity before the Lord.

So much of Israel's history

has been connecting

with other nations

and not influencing them

to follow the Lord,

but being influenced by them.

And here,

it is a symbolic act,

in a sense,

of saying that

we do not want

the ways of the other nations,

their gods,

their idols,

their goals,

their philosophies.

We want you.

We can say that

because God's heart

is actually not just

for the Israelites,

but it's for all people.

And it's not like

there's second-class

human beings,

especially when we understand

that all are made

in the image of God.

But here,

we have something,

a symbolic act

of just declaring

their complete desire

for connection

and dedication

and purity

towards Almighty God.

you're starting to see,

again,

a people

that are being rebuilt.

Their motives

are starting

to become pure.

Notice also

that their confession

is deeply connected

to God's Word.

We see that

as they,

sorry,

I just lost my spot.

We see that

as their confession

is a byproduct

of them opening up

the law of the Lord.

We see that in verse 3.

And they stood up

in their place

and read from the book

of the law

of the Lord their God

for a quarter of the day.

I'll pause really quickly there.

Confession

is

an important aspect

of the Christian life

as we encounter

God's Word.

And God's Word

shows us

areas of our lives

where sin is abounding.

So that grace

can abound all the more.

Romans 7,

the Apostle Paul says,

What then shall we say?

That the law

is sin?

By no means.

He's giving a whole

treatise on the law.

Yet,

if it had not been

for the law,

I would not have known sin

for I would have not

known what it is

to covet

if the law had said

you shall not covet.

As we encounter

God's Word,

we spend our lives

looking at it,

hearing it,

reading it,

studying it,

meditating on it.

It will start to form us

and shape us.

We will see areas

in our lives

that do not align

with God

and as we are

wishing to delight in Him

because He has delighted

in us,

we will see

that there's opportunities

for change.

By His strength,

we will change.

But it's by God's Word.

I have a buddy

who we were in

university together

and he was

atrocious

at studying

for midterms

and finals

and he had a final

the night before

but we wanted to go

to the pub

the night before

his final

or his midterm

and we had another friend

who was nursing a cold

and he said,

listen,

just cough in my face.

Like,

cough in my face

because if I get sick,

I'll go to Appletree,

I'll get a doctor's note

and it'll be legit

because I'm actually sick

and he did it.

I couldn't believe it.

He did it.

He went to Appletree,

got the doctor's note,

got his exam deferred

and he came back

very like a peacock,

like he gamed the system

and then our other friend said,

like,

you deceiving liar

just calls him out

in the biggest kind of way.

He goes,

what are you talking about?

He goes,

this is,

your heart is not towards the Lord.

It's finding a loophole.

What you've done is wrong

and my buddy

pushed back a ton

but went to God's Word

and in fact,

it's true.

He tried to deceive

and he took an L

on that midterm

and failed the course

but he did what was right.

He confessed.

I mean,

there's consequences to sin.

It's not like if we confess,

there's no consequences

but his conscience was clean.

God's Word does that.

It gets you,

in some ways,

it doesn't get you off the hook

but it allows you

to connect with the Lord

because the Lord is holy

and we are not

and we look to him

and we confess our sins

and we repent

and we start to walk in holiness.

It's a beautiful thing.

I believe I said this last week

but I'll say it again.

God's Word

both diagnoses the sickness

and treats the ailments.

It leads to health

and wholeness

and this is precisely

what is happening

with the Israelites

and what is that key marker

of spiritual health?

It's worship

and this is where we'll transition

into the next point

but before we do that,

look in verse 3 again with me

and notice this deep connection

between repentance and worship.

And they stood up in their place

and read from the book of the law

and the book of the law of the Lord,

their God,

for a quarter of the day.

For another quarter of it,

they made confession

and worshiped the Lord,

their God.

Confession must lead to worship.

We are getting right before the Lord

and the highest expression

of human life

is worshiping the one true God.

It's to understand

our deep need for Him

and then be connected to Him.

This is what we were made for.

So again,

how can God's people live

a consistent,

God-enjoying,

God-glorifying life

all of their days?

It's confession

but it's also worship.

So look with me,

verses 3 to 5.

We read verse 3

so why don't we start

in verse 4.

And the stairs of the Levites

stood,

the Levites,

I'm not going to try to do

what Will did just moments ago,

stood the Levites

and they cried with a loud voice

to the Lord,

their God.

Then some other Levites

said,

stand up

and bless the Lord,

your God,

from everlasting

to everlasting.

Blessed be your glorious name

which is exalted

above all blessing

and praise.

The people are instructed

by the Levites,

the spiritual leaders

of their community

to bless the Lord.

It's an interesting question.

I mean,

when the Lord blesses us

it's because there's a lack.

There is something

that we are lacking

that God gives us.

It is a blessing from Him.

If I see a brother

or sister in need

and I give them money,

I'm helping to reduce

the burden.

I'm taking away

from their lack.

I'm giving to them.

But if God lacks nothing,

how can we possibly bless God?

It's an interesting question.

It's all throughout the Bible

that we are called

to bless the Lord.

Are we lessening

a burden that God might have?

The answer is no.

Rather,

to bless the Lord

is an expression

of thankfulness

and awe towards Him.

What He has done,

who He is,

it is humbly recognizing God

as the creating,

covenant-making,

covenant-keeping,

just, merciful,

and loving God.

In short,

to bless God

is to rightly worship Him.

Two things stand out

about this blessing of God.

That is,

the first thing

is that He is everlasting.

It says right

in verse 5,

blessed be

your glorious name,

which is,

sorry,

a bit before.

Stand up and bless

the Lord your God

from everlasting

to everlasting,

that God is eternal.

And the people here,

they have a big vision of God.

God is not small.

And I'll put forward to you

that as much

as we are serious

about our condition,

where we are broken

and bent

and sinful people,

and as much

as we confess our sins

and throw ourselves

at the mercy of God,

we'll be in direct relation

to how big we see Him.

We will understand that,

my goodness,

I have no ability

to wash myself,

to clean myself,

to atone

for the wrongs

I have done.

But God can?

He must be huge.

He must be greater

than I could ever imagine,

and all of a sudden,

in a sense,

as we decrease,

He increases.

We can have a bigger vision

of God.

But there's something else.

There's also this uniqueness

about God.

It says it at the latter part

of verse 5,

Blessed be your glorious name,

which is exalted

above all blessing

and praise.

God is the only God.

And He's the greatest.

He is the King

of the cosmos.

He is the King

of earth.

Everything,

throughout the Psalter,

we'll spend some time

in the Psalter this summer,

we will see that God,

everything,

that has breath,

belongs to Him.

There is no King

better than Him.

Artaxerxes,

great King,

not God.

Caesar,

who will come?

Great Caesar,

not God.

Successive governments

here in Canada,

depending on where you fall

in the political spectrum,

great leaders,

not God.

There's our friends

that worship other gods

or subscribe to other

philosophies.

They might be really nice people

and maybe a part of their faith

helps inform that aspect.

But there's one God

and it's not their God.

And all of a sudden,

this aspect of worshiping God,

specifically His uniqueness,

might feel uncomfortable for us.

It's easier to affirm

in a pew on a Sunday

that God is the only God.

God,

it's easier to affirm

in a pew on a Sunday

than it is on a team's call

on a Tuesday

or on a Thursday

after a busy week

at playgroup

at the library

or with an adult child

who is spiritual

and not religious.

It is easier on Sunday

than in those situations

or whatever situations

that you might be going through

to affirm the uniqueness

and exclusivity

of the God of the Bible.

Now,

this is a tough one,

but it's a wonderful truth

and a necessary one,

even though it is controversial

for secular people

or people of different faiths

or even ourselves.

But again,

if God's Word

doesn't just diagnose the problem

but gives the solution

for the ailments,

then we need to remember

that God's truth

is the only truth.

And in a pluralistic society

like ours,

our city Ottawa

is very pluralistic,

the truth is bound

to cause offense

because of its audaciousness,

because of its bold affirmation.

But we proclaim truth

not because we are mean people

but because truth

will always lead to life,

lies will always lead to death.

It's an uncomfortable reality,

but it's true.

Pluralism cannot hold up

under the weight

of an eternal hope

because all roads

do not lead

to the same destination

because they do not lead

to the same God.

to proclaim this truth,

friends,

is an act of mercy

to those around us,

to our family,

to our friends.

Again,

there's ways to be winsome about it.

You're not going in there

on a soapbox

screaming at people.

There's ways to be winsome,

but it's still an act of mercy

to proclaim the uniqueness

and exclusivity of God.

It also helps us

to remember, too,

that God

is over everything,

which means

He's also

over all of my troubles

and all of the difficulties

I go through,

all of

my disappointments.

And because

He's also eternal,

it means that

all of the problems

that I have

are temporal,

and they might feel

like they're eternal,

but they're temporal.

And that this eternal God

who is over everything,

He has promised

that if I am in Him,

that blessings are mine

forevermore.

Disappointments that I have

will not last,

and ailments that I feel

are just fleeting.

It's a wonderful truth.

And this is what

they're worshipping God for.

They're proclaiming

His goodness.

The God who extends

mercy and grace

time and again

to wayward people

is the God we serve,

and there's no other God

that could do it

apart from Him.

So the Israelites

confess their sins,

they worship the Lord,

and then they reflect

on their history,

which is to say

they reflect on

God's Word,

God's redemption

throughout all of Scripture.

In a sense,

it's to

meditate on

and to consider

and to reflect upon

the biblical story.

This is another

key aspect

of what it means

to live a consistent

God-enjoying

and God-glorifying life.

Knowledge of God's Word.

I mean,

turn with me

verses 6 to 37.

We won't be reading

the whole thing.

I have it marked out

on a page here

a number of key points

I want to draw

to your attention.

But if you were to read

through all of this,

from verses 6 on,

we have a rehearsal

of all of redemptive history

from God creating

everything,

heaven and earth,

to their current moment,

from Abraham

to Egypt

to their wanderings

in the desert

to their time

in the promised land,

but playing around

with idols

and their exile.

And throughout

all of it,

the key bits

that I commend to you

when you go home

or later on today,

is to see how many times

within verses 6 to 37

God is described

as a merciful God

or a steadfast God

or a loving God

or a God that hears.

And then consider

how many times

throughout verses 6 to 37

Israel are wandering,

how they've left God,

how they've forsaken God,

how they have given

themselves over to idolatry,

how they have left God.

And time and again,

time and again,

it is the reality

of God's people

to drift,

to be inconsistent.

We can look at Israel,

the history of Israel,

and we can think,

man, stiff-necked people,

but friends,

we are God's people too.

And we, on one hand,

have been given

the Holy Spirit

if we have put our faith

and trust in Jesus

so that we can say no to sin,

but the flesh

and the world

and the devil

still rage

against our desire

to do good.

And we find ourselves

being identified

with the people of Israel

as well.

But back to God's mercy.

God is extending mercy

time and again,

time and again,

time and again,

time and again.

You read enough

of the Old Testament

and you even go through

these 31, 32 verses

and you think,

at what point

do people exhaust

the mercy of God?

Like, at what point

is enough enough?

How long is this

going to go on for?

It's exhausting.

You read it,

it's exhausting.

Do they not know

the history of their people?

And yet,

the mercy of God

is never exhaustive.

And in fact,

it continues on

and on and on

until it finds

its fulfillment,

the mercy of God

in Christ.

Where God gives himself,

the eternal God,

the unique God,

the God who created

heaven and earth,

all things in it,

who has existed

for all time,

he takes on human flesh

and pays the penalty

that we could never pay.

He conquers the enemy

we can never conquer.

So that

we can know him

and delight in him

and to live a consistent

God-delighting,

God-fearing

life with our God

and it's an act of mercy.

It's the fulfillment of mercy

and you start to see

that verses 6 to 37,

rehearsing this whole history,

it puts in our hearts

a longing for Christ,

a longing for us

to be done with sin

and a longing

for God's mercy

to finally take root

in our lives

so that we know him

and we walk with him

in a consistent way

because ultimately,

living a life

apart from God

might feel good,

might sound good,

might do good

for a season,

but it will never last

for eternity.

Talking to Christine

about a bit of this

last night,

we think,

I think,

I should always say that

because it's true,

I think,

you come to church,

you get charged up

for like wireless devices,

we get charged up,

we go on our week,

analogies break down,

but, you know,

be with me here.

We get charged up

and we go on our week

and we have enough juice

till next Sunday,

another spiritual experience,

another connecting

with God's people,

and it's great,

but it's better

to look at ourselves

like we are wired devices.

The second we unplug ourselves,

we unplug ourselves

from the source of love

and light and life

and we cannot exist

apart from it

because we are not made for that.

So to live a consistent life

is to live a life of life,

truly life,

to live a life of love,

true love,

to live a life of light,

true light,

and that is what

consistency will bring.

We can't do it ourselves,

we just,

we really can't.

We need the Lord's help for that.

So in verse 38,

and this is where I'll end,

another final key aspect

to being a consistent people

that enjoy God,

glorify God all their days

is something called covenant renewal.

Okay, stick with me here.

Verse 38,

and this is where

we'll start to wrap things up.

Verse 38 says this,

Because all of this,

we make a firm covenant in writing.

On the sealed document

are the names of our princes,

our Levites,

and our priests.

Chapter 10,

we'll go into those names

and the obligations of that covenant.

But it's essentially a covenant renewal.

God has made a covenant with his people.

God always keeps his covenant.

And what's remarkable of it

is because his people

never keep his covenant.

But,

when they come back to God

and they make a covenant,

they renew the covenant

in the sense of

just saying,

we,

you are our God,

we are your people,

we,

to this day,

this day and forever,

they're going to fall

in the future,

but,

but starting today,

we are back.

Like,

no more idolatry,

no more sin,

no more inconsistency.

We're back.

Please keep your end of the bargain

like you've done in the past,

your covenant.

We're going to do our best

to keep our,

our end.

And how does that work out

for us here?

Covenant renewal is,

is every Sunday

as we gather as God's people,

where we hear his word,

where we confess our sins,

where we worship him,

we gather as a solemn assembly,

we praise him

for what he has done,

what he will,

what he has done,

what he is doing,

what he will do,

and then we gather at his table.

Most weeks,

we gather at his table,

and it is a form of covenant renewal,

where we once again remember

what Christ has done

on the cross,

but we don't just remember,

we taste

what he has done.

We hear

the cracking of the bread,

symbolizing his body

broken for us.

We see the wine,

it's red,

our eyes

are reminded

that Jesus

poured actual blood

for us.

And we come to him

afresh

every week,

and we say,

I covenant

to be with you forever.

I have been wayward,

please forgive me

of my sins,

but it's me and you again.

It's us and you again.

And that's what covenant renewal is.

And it's a key aspect

of a consistent

Christian,

God-enjoying,

God-glorifying life

for all your days.

Church doesn't save people.

It certainly doesn't.

Christ saves people.

But to know Christ,

to love him,

to enjoy him,

to receive the benefits

of his death

on the cross,

his burial

and his resurrection,

we must gather together.

We must gather together

and like the Israelites

confess our sins,

we must gather together

like the Israelites

and worship God

for who he is

and what he has done.

We,

like the Israelites,

need to gather

and rehearse our history

to be students

of God's word

and then finally

to gather together

and as often

as we gather together

to renew the covenant

that he has made

that we will likely break

later on today

in some thought,

word or deed

but that when we come

back together

he is merciful,

he is loving,

he is kind,

he is slow to anger,

he is abounding

in steadfast love.

That is our God.

So friends,

let's live out

this consistent life together.

Not by our own strength

but by God's strength

and by the strength

he gives our community.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we thank you

for your people.

Lord,

we thank you

that we aren't

just called

to salvation

and then left

as

as independence

but we instead

are welcomed

into a family

where when one person

suffers

we actually all suffer

whether we know it or not.

So Lord,

let us be people

that covenant together

to go after you,

to be consistent

in our walk,

to enjoy you,

to fear you,

to live a life

that is worthy

of our calling.

Lord,

we ask for your strength.

We are bound

to break

our covenant

with you.

We are bound

to sin.

But Lord,

we don't put

our hope

in our keeping

of the covenant.

You put our hope

in your keeping

of the covenant.

Lord,

that your mercy

has been extended

to us

to the end

that your son,

God,

the son of God

died on our behalf.

If you didn't

withhold your son,

what else will you

withhold?

Nothing from us.

So Lord,

may we be people

that go after you.

Give us strength,

we ask in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.