THE GOSPEL MATTERS - Acts 17:1-9

Well, amen. If you have a Bible or an

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

continue in our series in the book of

Acts. And this morning finds ourself in

Acts chapter 17. Now, growing up, I

Acts 17 · chapter mention

often heard this phrase. I continue to

hear it oftent times in my adult life.

You've probably heard it before, and it

goes like this. Say what you mean and

mean what you say. Now, because part of

my role as pastor and shepherd is to be

a communicator and hopefully a good one,

I've always appealed to the first part

of that statement. Say what you mean.

The latest data and statistics

statistics show us that though we are

the most highly advanced technological

society, more advanced than we've ever

been before, and it will only continue

to increase in that direction. We've

really lacked in the power of

communication.

Which is why as God's people, we need to

ensure that we say what we mean and mean

what we say. This is where we find

ourselves in Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Paul has now made his way to

Thessalonica.

At the close of Acts chapter 16, if you

Acts 16 · chapter mention

remember, he endured persecution,

oppression. He was imprisoned. He

received lashings. He was beaten and

wounded for proclaiming the gospel.

Rather than fleeing, he pressed in. He

didn't throw in the towel. He continued

to pursue the Lord the way we are all

called to pursue the Lord. And rather

than fleeing Philippi, the scripture

says he went to church and he continued

to encourage the brothers and the

sisters of [snorts] that local body in

Philippi. Fast forward, we don't know

the exact time period, but Paul now

finds himself about a 100 miles away

from Philippi in the town of

Thessalonica. Now, if that sounds

familiar, it's because much later Paul

will write them two letters. First

Thessalonians

And can anyone guess what the second

letter is called? Second Thessalonians.

And if you're familiar with Paul's

writings to the Thessalonian church, in

those writings, he references the

persecution that he faces. Well, we're

going to read about that persecution.

We're going to read what Paul and Silas

and really the church continue to

endure. And if you've been around us for

a while, particularly throughout this

series, you know at this point

throughout Acts, the gospel has faced

persecution.

God's people has faced persecution.

God's people continue today to face

persecution. Now, I've said this often.

Praise God that here in America, in

Western culture, we are insulated from a

lot of that.

Why God has chosen us, why God has

chosen me, why God has chosen you to be

here at this moment in this particular

time, insulated from the persecution

that happens around the world, is only

known by his good sovereign purpose and

his good sovereign will. But the church

today still endures persecution from the

chaos and evil that'll stop at nothing

to silence the gospel. This is what we

have confronted for the majority of our

readings throughout these 17 chapters of

Acts. But I love what Luke does here in

the beginning of Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Luke almost hits the pause button

as a way to reflect on and to get the

audience and the reader to understand

that though persecution has been is and

will continue to be a reality, here is

what the main thing is and has always

been. Because if we're not careful, we

can be so distracted on great stories,

great characters, things that happen in

the peripheral around God's kingdom and

the New Testament church and all the

wonderful things that we grow and learn

from in scripture that we can be so

focused on those things that we really

miss the meat and the core and the roots

of it all. Case in point,

you have a religious group in the time

of Jesus known as the Pharisees. There

were many religious group, but the

Pharisees specifically were a group of

people. They knew the biblical stories.

They knew the prophecies. They knew the

law. And on the surface, if there was

anyone who would serve as an example of

what a Christian should do, the

Pharisees were your group.

But time and time again throughout the

gospel ministry of Christ, he calls them

out

to remind them that it's not just the

thing that you do. It's more who you

are. Let me rephrase that. It's more

about who's you are.

Because we can be enamored by all these

great stories.

We can be people filled with wisdom and

knowledge and even scholars of Old

Testament and New Testament theology and

doctrine. And we can quote it and we can

preach it, but if the gospel is not

rooted in our hearts, it's all for not.

The devil and his demons, they know the

word. They probably know it better than

some of us.

But their hearts are far from God. Her

motivations are not to pursue the Lord.

It's not for the glory of God. It's not

for the good of his kingdom and the good

of his people. It's quite the opposite.

It's to silence the gospel. It's to

distort his glory.

It's to twist the truth just enough to

where it seems palatable.

So that there's just enough truth that

it appeals to us and we embrace it and

thus it opens the door to a whole room,

a whole world of lies.

But Paul and Silas

in Acts chapter 17,

Acts 17 · chapter mention

they take a moment

to meet in the synagogue, not once, not

twice, but for three weeks

to sit with the people who normally

would gather together. And the scripture

says they proclaim why Jesus is the

Messiah.

You know, when we talk about saying what

you mean, often times it can be easy for

us, particularly if we've been raised in

church, to have part of all our

vocabulary phrases like this. Jesus is

Lord. Christ is Messiah.

I place my hope, faith, and trust in

him. He was born of a virgin. He was

risen from the grave. And those things

we spout out here and there. And for the

most part, people in our circle

understand what we mean. But what

happens when you have individuals who

have no context for what we're saying,

who have no understanding, who don't

know what's happening underneath the

truth that we apply to our life. So when

we say Christ is Lord, well, what does

it mean that he's Lord? It means that he

saved us. Well, why do we need to be

saved? Because we have sin in our life.

Well, what is sin? Sin is rebellion

against the Lord. Well, why is that

wrong? Because God is holy. Well, why is

God holy? Because he's the creator of

the universe. How do we know he's the

creator of the universe? And now you can

see how questions upon questions upon

questions can drive people into a deeper

conversation about what the gospel is

and who the gospel is.

And this is what Paul and Silas are

doing.

Now I want you to imagine this. They go

to Thessalonica.

Their reputation has preceded them.

People know this is what Paul and Silas

do. They go into the synagogues. They

sit with the people and they begin to

open up the scriptures and explain it.

And I love Acts chapter 17 because it

Acts 17 · chapter mention

gives us a window into what that looked

like. So, as we read here in just a

moment, I want you to picture this

posture

of teaching that Paul is taking and

teaching back here in biblical times

wasn't done like this.

There wasn't an individual from the

stage preaching to a group who listened.

Now the teaching that takes place here

is is a teaching where people picture

this people are encircled

the scrolls are open. Someone's reading

someone's teaching and questions are now

being asked conversation is taking

place. It's not a monologue it's a

dialogue

as people have why is he Messiah?

What do you mean we're born with a sin

nature? What do you mean death is the

result? Why does somebody have to die?

Why did Jesus have to die? Why did he

have to die so violently? Why did he

have to rise from the grave? This is

what happens. Acts chapter 17,

Acts 17 · chapter mention

beginning in verse one, we'll go through

verse 9. Here's what Luke writes.

After they pass

through Amphipilus and Appalonia,

they came to Thessalonica

where there was a Jewish synagogue

as usual. And I love that some of your

translations might read, "As was the

pattern of Paul." Now, we can preach an

entire message on that specific word

alone. That this was the pattern of

Paul's life. This is what was usual to

his routine, to the rhythms of his

ministry. Which then begs the question,

what is the rhythm and routine of your

ministry?

What is the pattern of your life?

Because the pattern of Paul's life, one

who was saved by God, called by God,

experienced the risen Christ, and

proclaimed the risen Christ, his path

was one of gospel proclamation. And did

you know, church, that's not unique, nor

is it exclusive to an evangelist, to a

paid preacher, to a pastor of a church,

to a Sunday school teacher, to those who

volunteer for children's church. It is a

responsibility and an expectation of

you. If you say Christ is my Lord and

Savior then you are expected to have

this pattern in your life to sit with

people and in just a moment we'll read

to reason and to show who the gospel is

and why Jesus is Messiah. Verse two, as

usual, Paul went into the synagogue and

on three Sabbath days, that's three

weeks, reasoned with them from the

scriptures. Paul is sitting, he's

talking, he's conversing with them,

explaining, watch this, and proving that

it was necessary for the Messiah to

suffer and rise from the dead. I love

that because I've been a Christian going

on 25 plus years, been in ministry 22

plus years, and I've often had this

question. Why did Christ have to die the

way that he died?

Why did it have to be under those

circumstances? Why did it have to be

during that time period? Why couldn't it

be anything else? Why did God have to

send his only begotten son? These are

questions that Paul is answering when

the scripture says he is sitting, he's

talking, he's reasoning, he's

explaining, he's proving, he's not

rushing through it.

He's taking the time. Patience is at the

forefront. And he is saying the Messiah

had to suffer. He had to rise from the

grave. And we would look at this and we

would say, man, how phenomenal. Way to

go, Paul. But Luke brings clarity.

And I think Luke brings clarity because

maybe for some there's this expectation

that people just know what we're talking

about.

But did you know, especially in today's

society, in today's culture,

that people are more biblically

illiterate today than they were

generations ago.

You think about the irony behind that.

the fact that we have more access to

God's word than ever before. We have

more technology at our fingertips to

understand God's word than ever before.

Biblical illiteracy

is more today than it's ever been

before. And and and this is the shocker

within the church.

The people who proclaim Christ as savior

don't know the basics of what it means

that Christ is savior. They don't know

the basics of what it means if someone

were to come and ask them why did Christ

have to suffer? Why did he have to rise

from the grave? Why and how is he the

Messiah? Why should I trust him for the

salvation of my soul? And so Luke, Paul

in particular, doesn't have this

expectation that everyone knows what

he's talking about. So Luke makes it

clear. He quotes Paul's words. Paul

saying this Jesus,

this Jesus. And in today's world, we

have to specify what Jesus we're talking

about because there are countless

religious systems

that will call their God Jesus, but it's

not the Jesus of scripture.

So when Paul is saying this Jesus, what

Jesus is he talking about? He is talking

about the lamb of God who came to take

away the sins of the world. The one the

prophets for told of. The one who was

present at creation. The one who came to

restore everything to God's plan,

purpose, and will. That Jesus, because

oftent times you can get in

conversations with people who will say,

"I believe in Jesus." Remember, say what

you mean, mean what you say.

Well, when you say you believe in Jesus,

what does that mean? When you say you

know Jesus, who are you talking about?

And Paul is clearly pointing

to the Messiah of scriptures. He's

clearly pointing to Jesus of Nazareth.

And he says, "He is the one that we've

been ma waiting for. It's his kingdom

that we're crying out for restoration.

He is the one who is the Messiah." Verse

four, some of them were persuaded and

they joined Paul and Silas,

including a large number of god-fearing

Greeks as well as a number of leading

women. Now, we talked about this a

little bit last week, but but I love

what's happening here between Acts 16

and Act 17 in particular. You see the

gospel crossing ethnic, religious, and

gender boundaries. In other words, the

gospel is for everyone. It's for men.

It's for women. It's for people who grew

up on the opposite side of the tracks.

It's for the wealthy. It's for the poor.

It's for the popular. It's for the not

so popular. The gospel is for anyone and

everyone who would call upon the name of

Jesus in faith. Verse 5,

but

the Jews became jealous

and they brought together some wicked

men from the marketplace. They formed a

mob and they started a riot in the city.

What a bunch of jokers and haters.

We don't like what you're saying, so

we're going to respond with hate and

anger. Anybody ever experience that in

today's world?

We all the time.

Because truth demands a response. We're

going to talk about that here in just a

moment.

And there's one of two responses. You

will respond faithfully to truth and

have your lives transformed by it. Or

you will respond in hate to truth and be

filled with nothing but bitterness and

anger. It continues, "They attacked

Jason's Jason's house. They searched for

them to bring them out to the public

assembly. When they did not find them,

they're looking for Paul and Silas.

They go to a member of the Thessalonican

church, Jason. They probably had been

staying there. He had probably had been

hosting church services there. They look

for Paul and Silas. They don't find Paul

and Silas. And what do angry people do

when they can't really pinpoint or find

what they're angry at? They take it out

on someone else. And so, what do they do

here? It says, "When they did not find

them, they dragged Jason and some of the

brothers before the city officials,

shouting, "These men who have turned the

world upside down have come here to

maybe you're not familiar with the story

of Acts and the role the church plays.

But maybe you've heard this quote time

and time again." And the reason

is because this is true. This is what

the gospel does. The gospel turns the

world upside down. Now notice,

they say these men, these individuals,

you know, it's my hope and prayer as

your pastor that people look at the

Grove and they would say those people

have done a change in this community.

Those people raise their family well.

Those people have a Godexalting

marriage. Those people honor the Lord.

Says Jason has welcomed them. Verse 7.

And they are all acting contrary to

Caesar's decree and saying that there is

another king, Jesus. Highlight that.

We're going to get back to that here in

a moment. The crowd and the city

officials who heard these things were

upset. After taking a security bond from

Jason and the others, they released

them. And all God's people said, "Lord,

would you bless your word? Holy Spirit,

would you stir our hearts this morning?"

There's a lot of gospel packed into

these nine verses.

We see what happens as a result of

gospel proclamation.

But what I want to do for the bulk of

our remaining time is I want to focus on

what Paul and Silas are teaching here in

verse three. that they are explaining

and proving that it was necessary for

the Messiah to suffer and rise from the

dead. And we'll get to that powerful

statement,

that allconsuming

gospel declarative statement that Jesus

is the Messiah. But let me tell you why

this is important.

Because while the gospel is enough, it's

simple enough for anyone to receive and

believe. There is a depth to the gospel.

There is so much beneath the surface

that we will spend a lifetime

discovering.

This is why you can preach through the

entire Bible time and time again and it

never gets old and it never gets boring.

And the Holy Spirit continues to move

and the Holy Spirit continues to work.

And so as we move through the passage, I

want to look at three things that Luke

is showing us. Three things that are

happening here in Thessalonica as this

church is planted, as this church begins

to grow. And what we're going to notice

that each of these movements, each of

these things all center on the gospel of

Jesus. So if you're taking notes, here's

the first one. The gospel is a truth

worth explaining.

So many of us, we believe the gospel and

praise God for that.

We're living out the gospel in the

kindness and the compassion that we show

and the giving of our time, talents, and

treasures. That's the way we phrase it

here at the Grove. And praise God for

that. But have you ever taken advantage

of the opportunity to explain what the

gospel

is?

Look at verses two and three. Let me

read them one more time. As usual, Paul

went into the synagogue and on three

Sabbath days reasoned with them from the

scriptures, explaining and proving that

it was necessary for the Messiah to

suffer and rise from the dead. This

Jesus I am proclaiming he says to you is

the Messiah.

Now you'll notice that words used

throughout the scriptures

because they are God's words, Holy

Spirit inspired words. There's there's

no word in the scripture that that

doesn't produce an arrow pointing

towards Jesus Christ as Lord. And so

Luke is purposeful to paint this picture

of what it means that Paul was reasoning

with them. He was explaining and proving

that Christ is the Lord. What it tells

us is the gospel absolutely matters.

That we can't take lightly this

assumption that people know what we're

talking about.

Now verse two

says it was necessary for the Messiah to

suffer and rise from the dead. If you're

anything like me, you've have questions

about that at least at some point in

your life. Why did Jesus have to die?

Why did he have to suffer? And to do

that, we have to go all the way back to

the beginning.

God creates the heavens and the earth,

the scripture declares to us. And at the

end of the creation mandate, at the end

of the creation ordeal, it tells us that

it was good. Heaven on earth, God's

kingdom as it should be. And you

remember what God commanded Adam.

You shall not eat from the tree of

knowledge and good and evil.

Because disobedience would bring what?

Death.

Well, why death, Roland? Couldn't it

have been some other penalty? Couldn't

it have been some other consequence? It

could have. God can do anything. He's

God. The things that God does, he

doesn't do them because those things are

good and holy. Those things are good and

holy because God does them.

And sure, God could have done it any

other way. But I think what is happening

here scripturally at least what we see

in this pattern throughout the truth of

the gospel

is that it is showing us the seriousness

of our rebellion against God.

God is both just and God is both loving.

And what we see in the life, death and

resurrection of Jesus is both.

So death reveals to us the seriousness

of our sinful nature. The consequence of

sin is death. Death separates you from

God. So a law was broken. The holy law

of God was broken. His righteousness was

attacked. We have made this assault. We

have declared war against the holiness

of God. And God's justice declares that

death is the payment for our rebellion.

So what does that mean? That means you

and I are destined for death.

And the scripture talks about two

deaths. The first death, did I just

squeak?

The first death

is when this body withers away. When the

body is done.

The second death is when the soul is

separated from God.

And what the death of Christ

accomplishes is the payment for both.

Death shows us the seriousness of our

sin. And it shows us the beauty of God's

holiness.

I don't think we would recognize that

any other way.

And so because of the sin in our life,

death needs to be paid. That's God's

justice. But likewise, God is so loving.

God is so merciful. God desires that his

children would desire to be with him

that he provides the death in our place.

And so all throughout the Old Testament,

there were signs and shadows and

pictures of what this looked like. This

is why the prophets in the Old Testament

are so important because the prophets

number one are telling the people of

God, you're sinning before God. And if

you don't quit it, if you don't turn to

him in repentance, if you don't turn to

him in faith, judgment is coming. And

what is the judgment of God? Death.

Someone is going to pay the price.

Either you or Jesus.

And so all the law, all the Old

Testament sacrifices were a reminder

that a greater sacrifice is coming. This

is why Paul here in verse three, at the

end of verse three says, "This Jesus

that I'm proclaiming to you, he is the

lamb.

He is the sacrifice.

His death is efficacious for you. It is

the death that God requires." It wasn't

these sacrifices.

It wasn't the actual lamb. It was a

picture of Jesus.

And so Jesus dies because that is what's

required of God. Why is it required?

Because it demonstrates the power of his

holiness and his righteousness.

He's making this enormous claim. Paul is

and he is explaining time and time again

why death was necessary, why it is

necessary. And so Christ comes, he dies.

But notice something else. Paul doesn't

just say the Messiah had to suffer. What

does he say?

He had to rise from the dead.

>> Now, why is that important? Because a

dead Messiah is not a Messiah that can

save.

And if our Messiah stayed dead, then who

has the power? Death has the power. And

his death accomplishes nothing. But

three days later, Sunday came around and

he rose from the grave.

40 days later, he ascended into heaven.

And right now he's sitting at the right

hand of the father advocating for us

telling the devil that he has no

authority over the lives of God's

children. He has no claim to your soul

because Jesus is the one that BOUGHT IT.

HE PAID THE PRICE WITH HIS LIFE AND he

rose from the grave to demonstrate his

power and authority over sin.

And Paul as he is explaining this says

Jesus is this individual. Now if you've

been follow following along with our

Bible reading plan over the weekend, we

read the part in the Gospels where where

John is preparing the way for the

Messiah.

And some of the most powerful words in

John the Baptist's ministry is he

declares these words. He says, "Look,

the lamb of God who has come to take

away the sins of the world." He was

making the connection. Likely John was

showing them how the Old Testament

pointed to the coming Messiah. And as

Jesus walks towards John there on the

banks of the Jordan River to be baptized

as a fulfillment of righteousness and as

a demonstration for us even today, John

declares, "Here he is. the Messiah has

come. And maybe you sit here this

morning and you've always had these

questions

and you wonder what why did it have to

happen that way? Hopefully today the

Holy Spirit is illuminating to you the

reason why death is required for your

sin. And Jesus willingly steps into your

place and he takes the penalty for your

sin. He dies in your place, but death

doesn't hold him. Death doesn't defeat

him. He rises from the grave in victory.

This happens at the cross.

The gospel is a truth worth explaining.

Now, we should never become so familiar

with the gospel that these things

that we don't take heart with these

things, that these things no longer

steer us and and move us to passion.

That we stop being amazed by these

things. And we should never assume that

people already know what we're talking

about. Especially in today's society, we

should assume that people don't know

what we're talking about. in our

calling. Here's here's why this is

important. Because you you need to take

the time to explain the gospel. And if

you don't know the gospel, there's

opportunities here to learn and grow in

how you can share the gospel and how you

can explain who Jesus is and why he is

Messiah and why he is Lord and why he is

savior. But we should never expect other

people to know that. Which is why the

gospel is a truth worth explaining. And

here's the second thing. Let me run

through these.

The second thing is the gospel is a

truth that demands a response.

Did you see that in verse four?

Paul, he takes the time. He's reasoning.

He's explaining. He's proving.

And truth demands a response. We say

that pretty often at the end of our

services. You've heard the gospel

proclaimed. And when the gospel is

proclaimed, a response is required.

There's no middle ground in the Bible.

Throughout the scripture, from Genesis

to Revelation, everything in between, we

don't see middle ground. You are either

in or you are out. Christ has paid the

price for your sin or he hasn't. And one

day you will pay the price for your sin.

There's no middle ground in the story of

the gospel, which is why it demands a

response today. If you have never said

yes to Jesus, today's the day of your

salvation

is to understand who Christ is, that he

is Lord and Savior.

And out of his grand and great love for

you, let's wrap our minds around that,

please. Let's not let the love of Christ

get lost on us. It's not a generic love.

It's not an umbrella term that we use,

at least not biblically, when it comes

to the gospel. It's a specific type of

love that can only and forever be

experienced through God the Father by

way of the Son and awakened in us by the

indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

If you don't know Christ as Lord, today

the day for your yes.

Today is the day that you place your

faith in Jesus Christ. That you turn to

him for the hope of the world. That you

turn to him for the forgiveness of your

sin.

And he is like the prodigal father

who's not pointing the finger, scolding

you and say, "How dare you? I can't

believe you would do that. I can't

believe you WOULD DISRESPECT MY LAW.

THAT YOU WOULD DISRESPECT MY KINGDOM."

He is the father that comes running to

you. And he doesn't unleash his wrath

and fury on his children because he

unleashed it on his son Jesus. And Jesus

took it on our behalf. The gospel

demands a response. And let me just be

frank with you. My name's Roland, but

let me just be clear with you. Some of

y'all got that.

If you don't respond today in faith to

Christ, then you risk eternal separation

from him.

We don't know what tomorrow holds. There

are so many in here who can share a

story on how the life of their family

changed with a phone call.

You don't know. But what we can know

today is that we've responded in faith

to the gospel. And here's the final

thing I want us to look like look at.

The gospel is a truth that challenges

competing kingdoms.

Did you pick up on that as well?

Verse seven, I think this is where where

Paul brings clarity

where at least it's being demonstrated

where Luke is bringing clarity and it's

being demonstrated. Look at verse seven.

So, so we notice the response. Some were

persuaded, some rebelled. There's only

two responses. Now, notice

what the others who rebelled, what they

still recognized.

Verse seven, they are all acting

contrary to Caesar's decree, saying that

there is another king,

Jesus.

Church, there is another king. His name

is Jesus. And he's not just another

king. He is the king. He is the one and

only king. And if he is king, then he

has a kingdom. And his kingdom invites

you in because the king has paid the

price. The king has answered the call.

And suddenly, we're right back to where

we started.

What does Jesus being the Messiah mean?

It means that he is God's promised and

anointed king

who lived the life that we couldn't

live. Roland, what does that mean? It

means that God requires perfection.

You and I cannot live up to God's

required perfection, but Jesus can.

And he did.

God required death as payment.

You and I apart from Jesus will pay that

payment by being separated from God. The

second death, the spiritual death. But

Jesus stands in our place

and he dies [clears throat]

for

us.

Paul doesn't simply enter Thessalonica

and say, "Hey, Christ forgives you. Hey,

believe on the Lord." know he reasons,

he explains, and he shows from the

scriptures. And so here's here's what

I'll leave us with

because the gospel gives an invitation.

Paul will do this in Romans chapter

10:9. If you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord and believe in your

heart that he was raised from the grave,

you shall be saved.

So the question that our passage leaves

with us are twofold. Number one, and

personalize this. Do I believe in

Christ? Do I believe in Jesus? Do I

believe him to be the Messiah?

And the second question is, have I

surrendered to him as king?

Because if you haven't,

perhaps today is the day of your

salvation. Would you pray with me?

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for how you move and how

you work and how even now you are

working in the live the lives of your

church and of your people. We pray your

blessing upon us. May you stir us to

greater faith.

And maybe even for some of us who are

present here, would you stir them to

faith for the very first time that they

might leave here as saved people,

redeemed people, delivered people,

rescued people,

and to know that they have been invited

into your kingdom forever. In Christ's

name we pray. All God's people said,

"Amen." Would you stand to your feet

with me?

We're going to sing together. We're

going to call upon the name of Jesus. He

is moving [music] in this place.

I believe this. I believe some of us may

have entered into this morning with some

heavy burdens in our heart and our life.

Maybe for some of you that's the sin

that you [music] have yet to repent

from. Today's the day of your salvation.

Maybe you've come with a heavy heart

just because of some spiritual battles

you've been facing. This is a time of

response. Our altar is open. Come and

have some one-on-one time with the Lord.

Dads, [music] bring your family. Come

before the Lord and just lift up his

name for power, for strength, for

wisdom. Declare [music] that he's good.

Declare that he's Lord.

Pastor Eric and myself will be

available. We'd love to pray with you.

We'd love [music] to celebrate a

blessing with you. But if you have never

placed your whole, faith, and trust in

Jesus [music] Christ, I'd love to speak

with you today. Pastor Eric would love

to speak with you today. Come and join

us [music]

during our response time and let's talk

about what it means to leave here a

believer in Jesus Christ. I love you,

church.