Seeing Jesus Clearly - Mark 8

Bibles, it's on page 1011. So if you've got a church Bible that's looking really clean and fresh,

then it's the new church Bible and that's on page 1011. If it's the old one, then I don't know what

page it's on. It's probably very similar, 1010 or 1012. So Mark chapter 8 verses 22.

Mark 8:22

They came to Bethsaida and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the

man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see

people. They look like trees walking around. Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes.

Then his eyes were opened. His sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home

saying, don't even go into the village. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around

Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked them, who do people say that I am? They replied, some say John

the Baptist, others say Elijah and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you? He asked,

who do you say that I am? Peter answered, you are the Messiah. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone

about him. He then began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected

by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after

three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan, he said.

You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Then he called the crowd to him,

along with his disciples and said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves,

take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever

loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the

whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone

is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the son of man will be ashamed

of them when he comes in his father's glory with the holy angels. And he said to them, truly I tell you,

some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God has come with power.

Thank you, Ken.

Thank you, Alex.

We'll just have a moment of prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your precious word.

Thank you that through your word we can see and hear your precious son, Jesus.

We ask you that you would bless your word to us this morning, that we may see and hear your

blessed son ever more clearly and so form us to be ever more like him in his image.

As for those who do not know your son, we pray that you would bless them with eyes to see and ears

to hear him this morning. In the name of your son, we pray. Amen.

Well, for those of you who weren't here last week, I was. And unfortunately, I had a scheduling

conflict and I didn't realize I was down to preach this week, not last week. So everybody

made sure to say to me, make sure you come back now next week. So I understand it's a very rare

privilege for a visiting speaker to be asked to speak again so quickly. So I'm glad that

you've honored me in this fashion. So here I am, I suppose, in my other good shirt.

And anyway, so this passage of scripture is one that I suppose when I was young in the faith,

I didn't really, especially this opening section with the miracle, I just didn't get what was

going on here. It's going to seem to be a bit of a strange one. So let's read through

just those first few verses again. I'll read them through and we'll see what happens exactly.

We'll just get a crisp grip on this scene again. So the disciples, they came to Bethsaida

and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand

and led him outside the village. When he spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him,

Jesus asked, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people and are they trees walking

around? Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes and when his eyes were opened,

the sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. And Jesus sent him home saying,

don't even go into the village. Well, just to kind of give you a grip of where I'm coming from,

Rachel and I actually were recently in Killarney and we stayed in a B&B that we like. It's kind

of near the town centre and it's not the most glamorous place in the world, but it's clean

and pretty well appointed. And we enjoy chats with the hosts who are very nice people and very down

to earth. And during our last visit, they told us an interesting story. And as you know, anyone who's

been to Kerry knows that all the stories you hear down there are entirely true.

So apparently, once upon a time, and the host swears by this, there was a church, a local church nearby

and they had this depiction of, a stained glass depiction of the Madonna and child. And we've all

seen these, right? We're living in formerly Catholic Ireland. You could hardly throw a stone in any village

in Ireland without hitting one. So this was a depiction of the Madonna and child, Mary and the infant Jesus.

But there was something different about this little baby Jesus. And specifically, the difference was

that this little baby Jesus had a big, black, beautiful beard. So people were kind of amused and

confused by this. Nobody knows how this picture came to be there. Nobody knew what the origins of this

particular artwork was. And, you know, they were thinking, of course, like this, the artist is

clearly trying to say something. He's clearly trying to teach something through this depiction

of a bearded infant. You know, people thought it was some sort of metaphor, perhaps. Maybe this was

supposed to kind of jar our minds into thinking of Jesus as the eternal Christ and that he was once a

baby. Now he's a man and all this kind of thing. There was all sorts of theories and speculations

about this. And then one time, apparently, there was a man with some expertise in the area of stained

glass and churches and all that sort of a thing. And he decided to take a look for himself because

this had become almost a minor draw all on its own. So he approached the image and he looked at it and

he considered it for a moment. And then he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and proceeded to wipe away

the black marker that some joker could have put there 20 years previously.

And I suppose, really, this, I suppose, is just to illustrate that our imaginations or depictions

of Jesus are prone to error. They're so often wrong sometimes. And how we conceive of Jesus and how we

think of him is perhaps even vulnerable to deliberate distortion by jokers and charlatans.

Now, it's a silly story. And whether it's true or not, please be true.

But questions over who Jesus was were rife at the time of this particular section of Mark's Gospel.

Speculation as to who he was was something that people were engaged in.

So, if we just go back to our text for a minute, we have this kind of strange miracle,

this kind of strange two-stage healing that's taking place.

We have this blind man. And how often do we read of blind people being healed and deaf people

being given hearing?

But people brought this blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him, begged him to heal him.

So, Jesus takes him away from the village, away from the crowds.

And he touches him and he's given partial sight.

And he asks him, do you see anything? And he said, I see people, but they're like trees walking.

That's kind of strange, isn't it? I mean, that's not your typical kind of,

how you would conceive of a healing.

Here's this blind man, being given partial sight.

Then Jesus lays hands on him again.

And this time he's healed completely. He can see perfectly.

And, I mean, this is kind of odd.

You know, this is kind of a strange, like, when I read this when I was young in the faith,

I didn't have a clue what was going on.

I mean, you know, your instinct, of course, is to kind of say, well, Jesus obviously meant to do this.

He wasn't, like, distracted halfway through or anything like that.

But Jesus' miracles were always meant to teach.

There were never, there was nothing incidental about them.

Jesus' miracles, and the New Testament words are actually signs and wonders,

are very deliberately performed.

There was nothing accidental about them.

They all revealed something very important.

Jesus' miraculous signs, they point to something.

I mean, these astonishing wonders are meant to teach us something.

And in this surrounding section of Mark's Gospel,

something about Jesus himself, rather like the sight being given to this man,

has gradually been revealed to the people.

But there's one other detail here at the end of this story.

Once Jesus had healed this man, what did he command him to do?

He sent him directly home.

And he told him to keep quiet and to avoid the village.

Jesus apparently wanted him to say nothing about this to anyone.

At least for the time being.

And there's a reason for this.

But in a moment, he's actually going to do the same thing again.

So we'll take a look at this secret aspect to Jesus' work,

and we'll get to the bottom of it in a little bit.

But for the time being, let's just read the next few verses.

Verse 27.

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.

On the way he asked them,

Who do people say that I am?

They replied,

Some say John the Baptist.

Others say Elijah.

And still others, one of the prophets.

But what about you?

Jesus asked,

Who do you say that I am?

Peter answered,

You are the Messiah.

And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

So, after this two-stage healing of the blind man,

Jesus journeys on to Caesarea Philippi.

And on the way he asks them,

Who do people say that I am?

And,

if we actually had been reading through Mark's Gospel from the beginning,

we would have seen that in chapter 6,

that there had been speculation about who Jesus was,

and we would know what the disciples are about to tell him.

Spike,

the speculation as to Jesus' true identity had been rife.

I mean,

it was obvious to everyone who had heard this man speak,

or seen him do his works,

that this was not your typical rabbi.

And here,

Jesus' disciples pass on the gossip that we would have already read.

They tell him that Herod,

who had just executed John the Baptist,

believed that Jesus was somehow John the Baptist again,

kind of,

almost kind of come back from the dead to haunt him.

Other people said that he was the returning Elijah,

as promised by the prophet Malachi,

or perhaps one of the other prophets.

In any case,

Jesus doesn't let them run down these kind of rabbit trails for too long.

He immediately makes it personal and pointed for each of them.

He asks them again,

but who do you say that I am?

And Peter's next few words,

they immediately enter history,

don't they?

You are the Christ.

And he was right.

So what was Jesus' response?

Was it a congratulation?

A pat on the back and a little rolled up diploma from Munster Bible College?

No.

Mark says,

he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

And there it is again,

this command to keep silent about who he was.

It's kind of baffling.

You know,

as New Testament Christians,

2,000 years on,

in being,

what I suppose could be categorized as evangelicals,

telling people about Jesus

is or should be second nature to us.

But here we have Jesus giving explicit commands

to keep quiet,

keep stum.

But he won't keep us in suspense much longer

because

he immediately starts to

reveal something more about himself.

So let's go back to verse 31.

He then began to teach them

that the Son of Man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders,

the chief priests,

and the teachers of the law,

and that he must be killed,

and after three days,

rise again.

He spoke plainly about this

and Peter took him aside

and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned

and looked at his disciples,

he rebuked Peter.

Get behind me, Satan,

he said.

You do not have in mind

the concerns of God,

but merely human concerns.

Now that Peter has identified him,

Jesus begins to tell everything

to his closest followers.

He now tells them

for the first time

of the grim fate

that lay ahead of them

as his,

or laid ahead of him

as their Messiah.

He gives them the awful news

that he was to be rejected

by the Jewish establishment

and executed

like a criminal.

And this is too much for Peter.

And now,

we begin to see

why Jesus

had been telling people

to keep quiet about him.

You see,

Peter,

almost like our blind man earlier,

was gradually beginning

to see Jesus

for who he really was.

And it's almost as if

you're looking up at the sky

and it's kind of a

partially clouded day

and then the sun comes out

from behind the cloud

and it's just too intense.

That's where Peter was at.

Because Peter,

like almost all of his fellow Jews,

had expected this

all-conquering Messiah.

One who would appear in glory

and swat Israel's enemies aside

in an overwhelming display of force.

But this

submission unto death thing

just

didn't compute.

Didn't work.

And Peter was

capital O

offended

by this.

and he takes Jesus aside

and begins to tell him off.

And Jesus' response

is very grave.

Get behind me,

Satan,

he said.

You do not have in mind

the concerns of God

but merely

human concerns.

Ouch.

I mean,

Peter had simply spoken rashly.

hadn't he?

Peter is famously impulsive.

And he just couldn't contain

his disbelief

that Israel's Messiah

could die

such

a shameful

death.

Cursed is anyone

who hangs on a tree.

And with hindsight,

we know,

of course,

that Jesus was right

to rebuke him

but to say this,

to say,

get behind me,

Satan.

Why would he say that thing?

Well,

James says

in the third chapter

of the epistle

that

if you have

bitter jealousy

and selfish ambition

in your hearts,

do not boast

and be false

to the truth.

This is not the wisdom

that comes from above

but is earthly,

unspiritual,

demonic.

And we also read

in Luke chapter 4

Luke 4 · chapter mention

how when Satan

had finished his temptations,

he departed Jesus

to return at a more

opportune time.

And you know,

truth be told,

many of us,

and I would count me

as somebody

who would probably be

on the hot-headed side

by nature,

are probably more like Peter

than we would like to admit.

I mean,

we would much rather

take part

in an all-conquering

Christianity

that allowed all of us

to look like

spiritual heroes

as we accomplished

great feats for God

in luxurious comfort

and, you know,

while looking amazing

the whole time

while doing it,

you know,

with the Instagram account

and the Facebook followers

and all the rest of it.

But this is a self-exalting attitude

and it does bear

a dreadful resemblance

to that of the

Prince of Darkness.

That particular attitude

is not healthy.

It is not good.

Now, I mean,

while our impulses

can be for good,

Jesus' rebuke of Peter

is frightening.

And it does show us

that our impulses

and our instincts

and our inclinations

can also be

much darker spiritually

than perhaps we realize.

And this is why

Jesus simply could not

let people going around

yapping excitedly

about the arrival

of the Messiah.

I mean,

a little knowledge

is a dangerous thing,

isn't it?

To have only

a partial picture

is to have a

distorted picture.

And this is kind of

what is behind

what is happening

in our text.

Jesus is always teaching

throughout his ministry

with both words

and actions.

He is both showing

and telling

who he is.

Unlike our blind man earlier,

Peter could see a little,

but he couldn't

really see clearly.

He understood

who Jesus was,

but he was

utterly clueless

as to Jesus' mission.

And today,

remembering

our bearded baby

from earlier,

how many times

do we see

partial or distorted

pictures of Christ

around us?

Jesus as just

a great teacher.

Jesus as merely

a great moralist.

Jesus as,

it would seem,

exclusively only

our problem solver.

A wise man,

a political radical,

a Jesus who will

heal every disease

and solve any problem

by spellcasting his name

like some magical incantation.

What does Jesus

look like

in the lives of people

who profess him

as saviour,

but is not,

as far as anyone can tell,

their Lord?

Now,

I'm certain that

Jesus was quite aware

of the speculation

surrounding him

before he asked

that question

of his disciples,

and at that stage,

nobody had clear sight

of who Jesus is.

They could see

partially,

but they could not

see clearly.

this was all part

of the plan.

Jesus was granting

Peter and the other

disciples

spiritual sight

in stages.

And now,

in one of the most

famous passages

in the New Testament,

who he is

and what this means

for their lives

and means for ours

is going to become

crystal clear.

So,

following this rather

pointed exchange

with Peter,

Jesus doesn't waste

an awkward moment.

He uses it

to teach his disciples

and press the truth

home.

Let's just look

at the next few verses.

Verse 34.

Then he called

a crowd to him,

along with his disciples,

and said,

whoever

wants to be

my disciple

must deny themselves

and take up

their cross

and follow me.

for whoever

wants to save

their life

will lose it,

but whoever

loses their life

for me

and for the gospel

will save it.

What good is it

for someone

to gain

the whole world

and yet

forfeit

their soul?

Or what can

anyone give

in exchange

for their soul?

This is the

crucial moment

for us here

today,

this afternoon,

when we start

to piece

all of this

together,

because it is

here

in our text

with these words

that Jesus

starts to give

his followers

a clearer

and clearer

vision

of who

he really is.

And not only

that,

he was now

making this

personal

for each

of them.

describing

to each

one

the true

cost

of following

him.

First of all,

he tells them

that his

identity as

Christ,

the Messiah,

meant that

following him

was even

more important

than their

own lives.

I mean,

whoever loses

his life

for my sake

and the

gospels?

Serious

stuff.

Then he goes

beyond even

this,

to say

that even

if one

could acquire

the whole

world,

it would

not compare

to losing

their own

soul.

Try and

comprehend

that for a

moment.

Jesus is

not merely

talking about

the globe

that we're

on,

but the

entire world

has always

existed from

his eternal

perspective.

All its

creatures,

all its

ages,

its aeons,

its history

and its

future,

vast as

all that is

in its

breadth and

its scale

and its

scope,

it is all

as nothing.

When compared

to the

fate of

one human

soul before

God.

That's

staggering.

Like our

stained glass

image earlier,

the distortion

is being

wiped away.

Like our

blind man

earlier,

Jesus'

followers are

finally starting

to see him

with unclouded

eyes.

In our text,

it was Peter

who saw him

first,

but even

then,

he couldn't

make up

the whole

picture.

Now Jesus

is revealing

himself to

all his

followers

explicitly,

whereas before

he had been

actively hiding

his true

identity,

and his

identity had

real consequences

for them,

and has

consequences for

us too.

But this

begs the

question though,

why not

simply just

tell them all

this right

from the

start?

I mean,

all this

speculation

about who

Jesus is,

all this

kind of

hiding of

identities,

and gradual

revelations,

and moving

in the shadows,

the astonishing

miracles,

and then the

secrecy that

came after it.

No wonder

people were

confused about

him.

I mean,

perhaps you're

maybe a bit

confused yourself,

right?

But if you

are,

your mind

has actually

been opened

up to my

point,

or rather

a subtext

of Mark's

gospel up to

now.

that when

people are

unable to

see Jesus

for who

he is,

they're also

unable to

hear him

clearly.

I mean,

how many of

Jesus' miracles

are ones

where he

grants sight

to blind

people,

hearing to

deaf people?

How many

times has he

raised the

dead?

His works

set the

stage for

his words.

Jesus had

to show

before he

could tell.

And now

he has just

told them

that following

an apparently

doomed Messiah

was more

important than

even their

own lives.

And this

is why he

didn't lay

the whole

truth on

them right

away.

The

consequences

for their

lives would

have been

too crushing

to bear.

Only once

they had

caught enough

glimpses of

him,

of who he

really was,

could they

then have

the confidence

in him

that was

necessary to

each bear

the individual

consequences for

following him.

And let's

only know in

our passage

for today that

Jesus doesn't

just reveal who

he is, but

also what he

had come to

do.

He was to

be the

crucified and

risen Christ

who raises

the dead,

opens the

eyes of the

spiritually blind,

gives those

who are deaf

the ability

to hear God.

and calls

those who

confess him

as Lord

and profess

him as

saviour to

follow him

down that

same road

of cross

bearing.

I mean,

that's a

glorious truth,

but it's a

heavy one.

But to

return to our

text for a

moment,

back to

verse 37,

he now makes

those words

bind on all

those who

would follow

him, not

just the

disciples

present in

that moment.

Sorry,

verse 38,

excuse me.

If anyone

is ashamed

of me and

of my

words and

this

adulterous

and sinful

generation,

the Son

of Man

will be

ashamed of

them when

he comes in

his Father's

glory with

the holy

angels.

Jesus knows

that we're

tempted to be

ashamed of

his words.

he knows

that many

of us,

me

included,

especially

me,

I find

it's hard

to read

even as I

speak it,

have that

tendency to

be a little

gun shy

when an

opportunity to

share the

gospel presents

itself.

What sort

of feelings

do we

experience in

some of

those moments?

some people

are gifted

evangelists,

I'm not

one of

them.

I feel the

way of this

even as I

speak to

you.

The urge

to gloss

over the

confrontational

aspects of

the gospel,

it can be

overwhelming.

The urge

to skate

around the

number of

issues is

very,

very powerful.

I feel it.

I'm sure

that on some

level we

all feel it,

but we

cannot yield

to it.

You know,

I'm not

trying to

offend,

I'm just

simply pointing

to what

Jesus is

saying,

or else

why would

he have

said it?

Jesus

makes it

clear that

submission to

him will

mean that

we will

endure some

degree of

disgrace for

him.

This is

where I'm

grateful for

Connor last

week.

that was

his first

sermon,

preaching

about

wives

submitting to

husbands and

husbands laying

down lives

for wives.

Not okay in

our cultural

context.

But what

is it that

is so

offensive about

Jesus'

message?

Well,

back in the

first chapter

of Mark,

for one

example,

what is the

message that

opens his

ministry?

There's no

need to

go there.

I'll read

it to

you.

The time

is fulfilled.

The kingdom

of God

is at

hand.

Repent

and believe

the gospel.

There it

is,

repentance.

That's

the problem.

As fallen

creatures,

apart from

Christ,

as sinful

and rebellious

humanity,

we love

our sin.

We,

nowadays,

identify

ourselves by

our sin.

We don't

want to

change our

minds about

sin.

Because that's

what repentance

means.

We want to

live apart

from Christ,

as fallen

people,

our lives

on our

terms,

deciding for

ourselves,

our own

level of

commitment and

comfort and

so on.

At least that's

who I was

before I became

a Christian.

We want to

set aside

God's law

and decide

for ourselves

what right

and wrong

are.

And this

was the

problem in

the garden,

wasn't it?

When you

eat that

fruit,

your eyes

shall be

opened.

You should

be like

God,

knowing good

and evil,

or in other

words,

deciding for

yourself what

good and

evil are.

And,

friends,

I don't know

everybody here.

and if you

haven't heard

this message

of repentance

before,

we pray

you would

hear it

now.

We pray

that you

would be

given ears

to hear

it,

eyes to

see Christ

for who

he is

and where

he stands

in history

as Lord

of everything,

everything.

Not

merely as a

wise man,

or as we

see in so

many church

buildings,

kind of

frozen and

time as

some mutant

powerless

child on

his mother's

lap,

but as

the creator,

the king,

the messiah,

the one

who in

love and

in perfect

obedience to

his father

sought to

rescue us

from eternal

separation from

God because

of our sin,

took the

criminal's

punishment,

which is

death,

that we

all deserve

for a

rebellion

against God.

Jesus is

the one who

lived a

sinless life

on our

behalf so

that he

could give

us his

righteousness.

If we

would only

believe that

this was

so,

see our

desperate

need,

confess our

sinfulness and

our helplessness

before him and

submit to him as

lord of our

lives.

We pray that

Jesus opens your

ears to hear his

word to you

today.

Dear friend,

you need to

change your mind

about who is

right and who

is wrong.

You need to

change your mind

about your

sin.

And that's

where the

rest of us,

the professing

believers here,

you know,

it would be

much easier

to, you

know,

to achieve

great things

for God

and have

the world

on a

string as

well.

But that's

not how

it works.

And I'm

sure,

even for

those disciples

who were

there with

Jesus,

as he said

those words,

these truths

landed on

them like a

ton of

bricks.

But Jesus,

however,

reminds them

and us,

it doesn't

end there.

The ultimate

glory is yet

to come.

First verse

of chapter

nine.

Truly I

tell you,

some who are

standing here

will not

taste death

before they

see that the

kingdom of

God has

come with

power.

Will not

taste death

before they

see that

the kingdom

of God

has come

with power.

Jesus is

coming back.

Next time

though,

he won't

be the

submissive

servant.

Next time

though,

it won't

be a game

of shadows.

He will

be the

crowned

king of

heaven and

earth,

coming to

bring his

people to

glory and

to judge

the world.

Next time

he won't

be merely

before me,

healing

miracles,

he will

bring about

a universal

resurrection.

And having

reminded his

disciples of

this future

event,

which is

coming,

he simply

didn't leave

them hanging

at this

point.

The next

event immediately

after our

text is

his

transfiguration.

And he

reveals himself

in his

full glory

to his

closest

followers.

They are

given eyes

to see

him.

and given

ears to

hear the

father saying,

this is my

beloved son.

Listen to

him.

They

miraculously

see and

hear who

Jesus is,

perfectly in

line with the

teaching signs he

has been

performing

throughout his

ministry and

with the

healing of

our blind

man today.

So,

how do we

hear from

Christ today?

How do we

see him

perform his

works?

Well,

Peter

tells us

how.

Peter,

who was

sorely

rebuked in

our passage,

tells us

how we can

do this.

And if you

want to turn

to 2

Peter 1

16.

That's

page

12222

in the

New

Bible.

2

Peter

1

16.

For we

did not

follow

cleverly

devised

stories,

only told

you about

the coming

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ in

power,

but we

were eyewitnesses

of his

majesty.

He

received

honour

and glory

from God

the Father

when the

voice came

to him

from the

majestic

glory,

saying,

this is

my son

whom I

love,

with him

I am

well pleased.

We

ourselves

heard this

voice that

came from

heaven when

we were

with him

on that

sacred

mountain.

We

also

have the

prophetic

message as

something

completely

reliable,

and you

will do

well to

pay attention

to it,

as to a

light shining

in a

dark place

until the

day dawns,

and the

morning star

rises in

your hearts.

Above all,

you must

understand that

no prophecy

of scripture

came above

by a prophet's

own interpretation,

for prophecy

never had its

origin in

human will,

but prophets

through human,

though human,

spoke from God

as they were

carried along

by the Holy

Spirit.

Peter is

saying,

and don't

miss this,

that we

see and hear

his works

today in

in this

book,

your Bible,

which Peter

says is

something even

more certain

than seeing

the transfiguration

occur before

your own

eyes.

That's

astonishing.

What a

blessing God's

word is to

us today.

We understand

that these are

heavy truths,

but at the

same time,

our ultimate

hope is not

just in Christ

who was

2,000 years

ago.

Our ultimate

hope is Christ

as he is

now,

Christ as

he will

return.

We pray

that this

portion of

scripture is a

blessing to us

today.

Amen.

Amen.

Our closing

hymn, I think,

is In Christ

Alone.

In Christ

Alone.

So we'll sing

this together.