New Life, New Community

I find where you can bring your own personal requests and prayers.

So let's pray together now, let's talk to God.

Our Father, we thank you for the world in which we live,

for the beauty of your creation,

for the provision of all that we have every day.

We thank you for your control, for your rule.

We thank you so much for the things that we can enjoy in this world.

But yet we recognize when we look out into the world,

as we listen to our news, we see that not only is it a place of beauty,

but it is a place that is terribly broken,

where people are living in rebellion against you,

which we see in wars, we see in famine,

we see in so much destruction.

And so today we pray especially for the country of Syria.

We pray for an end of the violence and the bloodshed.

we pray for an end of the rule upon the people

that is causing so much pain and so much suffering.

And we pray that in its place,

there would be a new leadership,

a new government

that would not only seek justice and peace,

a government that would not only seek

what is right and best for the most vulnerable,

but leaders who would seek to follow the way of God

and would lead people towards the Lord Jesus.

We pray for the church in that country,

for all the believers,

for all those who know you and love you,

that you would give to them courage

to be peacemakers,

to speak the truth of peace

rather than taking up arms.

So we pray, Father,

that you would intervene into that land

and the many nations surrounding that area too.

Not only that, we pray for our own country.

We thank you for all the privileges

and the benefits that we enjoy.

While we recognize there is hard times

and economic difficulties,

we praise you and thank you

for the things that we do have,

for our education,

for our health,

for benefits,

for care,

for the freedom that we have to meet together

without fear of any authority,

coming to shut this meeting down

or telling us that we cannot talk about Jesus.

We thank you for all that we have

and we pray for our government

and for our leaders

that you would continue to give them wisdom

in leading us and helping us.

And again, we pray that it will be

for the best of those who are most vulnerable

and most in need within our society

and our community.

Now let's just take a moment,

quietness,

to bring our own personal requests to God.

Let's just use the quietness to do that now.

God bless you.

So, let's go.

Thank you, Father, that you are kind, generous, always listening, always caring.

Thank you for this privilege that we can talk to you about all of our needs and concerns.

And we pray that we would be a people who live for you, who follow you, and who trust you in every circumstance of life.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're going to hear God's Word, so if you've got a Bible...

I've got a Bible, and one will be brought to you.

Put it up nice and high.

And turn to Acts 2.

As you're doing that, just for those who are going away on the church weekend, next weekend, I've been asked to announce that if you could read, if possible, all of Philippians.

It's only a short book.

In preparation, the book of Philippians.

It will take you about 20 minutes, I reckon.

Less.

It doesn't take very long at all.

Kirstie.

Thank you.

Our reading is from Acts chapter 2, starting from verse 37.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

That's on page 1094 in the church Bibles.

So page 1094 in the church Bibles.

That's Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Starting from verse 37.

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,

Brothers, what shall we do?

Peter replied,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins,

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call.

With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them,

Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

All the believers were together and had everything in common, selling their possessions and goods.

They gave to anyone as he had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Well, if you've got the Welcome to sheet again on the back,

and also on the screen there's an outline of the talk,

you can write notes on there, or even on the back there.

I'm not sure where the pens are, there are pens around, I think at the back there.

If anybody would like a pen to jot down notes again, put up your hands,

and you can get one there.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help as we hear his word.

Let's pray together.

Father, again, we thank you for this opportunity to come and to join with Stephen and with Shane

as they get baptised.

Help us now as we think about that,

that not only would it be something they are doing,

but it is something that we also understand and respond to.

We pray that by your Holy Spirit,

you would help us to see the good news,

the wonder of who Jesus is,

and all that he has given to us.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

So, baptism.

What's it all about?

Well, I'm quite sure the idea of baptism is not new.

In fact, I'd say that most people who are here have been baptised either as a baby or as an adult.

And depending on your background, we all have a different idea of what baptism is.

But whatever our tradition and our experience is,

we want to hear what the Bible has to say.

In other words, you and I don't get to decide what baptism is or what it is not.

We need to let God's Word, the Bible, tell us what it is.

And that's why we're going to be looking at this section here in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

which is on page 1094.

You can follow along there.

In the book of Acts, which is really a great big story

of how the good news of Jesus began to spread in the early years,

we hear people talk about Jesus,

and then in response, people get baptised.

So let me show you a few examples of that from Acts.

So look at verse 41 of chapter 2.

It says,

Those who accepted his message,

that's the message of Jesus Christ,

were baptised.

Then have a look at chapter 8,

verse 35.

This is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian.

Philip had been,

or the Ethiopian had been reading something from Isaiah,

and then Philip explains what it is.

So in chapter 8, verse 35,

it tells us there that Philip began with that very passage of Scripture

and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they travelled along the road,

they came to some water,

and the eunuch said,

Look, here is water.

Why shouldn't I be baptised?

And he gave orders to stop the chariots.

Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,

and Philip baptised him.

Then in chapter 10,

over the page from me,

not sure where it is for you,

but chapter 10, verse 36.

Again, we're back to Peter,

as somebody who went around telling people the good news about Jesus.

We read in verse 36.

He says,

You know the message that God sent to the people of Israel,

and this was the message,

telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ,

who is Lord of all,

whatever country or nation you are from.

And then at the end of his talk,

look at verse 47.

Then Peter said,

Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water?

They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have,

so he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.

So, baptism is related to hearing about Jesus,

and then responding to Jesus.

In fact, baptism is actually a visible picture,

a demonstration of the good news about Jesus.

Two things,

the new life that we receive from Jesus,

and the new community that we enter because of Jesus.

New life from Jesus,

and the new community we have from Jesus.

So, although Stephen and Shane are getting baptised in a little while,

as we said at the beginning,

it's not actually about them at all.

It's all about a person,

the person of Jesus Christ.

So, let's have a look at these two ideas of new life and new community.

First, baptism is a picture of new life,

our faith in Jesus.

I was talking with someone recently

who told me about a man who was both deaf and blind.

So, the way to communicate to this person was through hand signs.

Literally, the hand would go in one hand,

and through the shape he would be able to communicate

and understand the other person.

And this blind and deaf man was told the good news about Jesus,

and in response, he too wanted to get baptised.

But somewhere along the line,

the communication had broken down.

This poor man thought he had to jump into a pool.

Now, if you're blind,

that would be a huge step of faith, wouldn't it?

Being told to jump

and not being able to see what you are jumping into

requires faith.

Well, as you can see,

we thankfully don't have any diving boards rigged up here,

and Shane and Stephen aren't going to have to jump from a height.

But, what is required

is a step of faith.

Faith not in a church,

but faith in a person,

Jesus Christ.

Look at chapter 2, verse 37.

It starts like this.

Chapter 2, verse 37.

When the people heard this,

well, what had they heard?

Well, Peter had been telling them the good news about Jesus.

In fact, we can see what he actually had told them.

Go back to verse 22 of chapter 2.

Because he says there,

men of Israel,

listen to this.

And then he went on to tell them

the good news about Jesus.

Now, there's three things we are going to learn

about Jesus from what Peter told them.

First, who Jesus is.

Look at verse 22.

Jesus of Nazareth

was a man accredited by God to you

by miracles, wonders, and signs,

which God did among you through him,

as you yourselves know.

So he's talking about Jesus

who lived on earth

and did amazing miracles.

By a simple word,

and we can read this in the Gospels,

the Gospel of Mark, for example.

By a simple word,

he calmed the storms.

By a simple word,

he healed the sick.

He raised the dead to life.

He fed crowds of people

with only a few fish

and a bit of bread.

He silenced demons.

He did amazing miracles.

Now, amazing as that was to the people,

the primary reason of all these miracles

were signposts

pointing people to who Jesus is,

his identity.

Because Jesus was doing

what only God could do.

Only God could raise the dead

and heal the sick.

And now this man was coming

and he was doing the same things.

Jesus was God in human form.

The God who created the universe

and who controls the world

was walking on earth

as a human being.

The God-man.

But look what happened

to this Jesus.

His death.

Look at verse 23.

This man was handed over to you

by God's set purpose

and foreknowledge

and you,

with the help of wicked men,

put him to death

by nailing him

to the cross.

Now, we know through reading

the Gospel,

through reading the Bible,

that Jesus was a man

who did nothing wrong.

No fault could be found in him.

He was perfect without sin.

He lived the perfect life

that you and I could never live.

But yet we're told here

in verse 23

that he was put to death,

he was executed

by nailing him

to a cross.

Now, why was Jesus executed?

An innocent man.

Well, Jesus' death on the cross

was all part of God's plan.

Look carefully at verse 23.

It tells us that this man,

Jesus,

was handed over to you

not by chance,

but by God's set purpose

and foreknowledge.

This was all part of God's design

and plan

right from the very beginning of time.

Because Jesus' death on the cross

was God's means of dealing

with the big problem of sin.

For Jesus came into the world

to take our sin,

my sin and your sin

on himself

and suffer the punishment

that you and I deserve.

That was the purpose

of his death.

Now, let me illustrate this

for you.

Some of you may have seen it

before,

but I want you to imagine

that this DVD here

is a record

of your life

or my life.

It's a record

of our life.

Right from the very beginning

of your life,

right up to this moment,

everything that you

ever thought,

everything that you

ever said,

everything you

ever did

is all recorded

on here.

Everything.

All those public occasions,

all those private occasions,

everything is recorded

in here.

What would you think?

Maybe you'd be happy

with some of the things

you'd see,

maybe there's some things

you wouldn't like.

Well, if this was a record

of my life,

I wouldn't like it

to be in the public library,

that's for sure,

or in extravision.

Might be entertaining

to you,

but not to me.

Because if this was

a record of my life,

it tells of all the things

that I've ever done wrong.

Now I want us to imagine

that in this room.

Okay, God is up there.

We are here.

This record of our life

is a problem

because it causes

a barrier between us

and God.

All our things

that we've ever done wrong,

all the things

that we've ever said

and thought,

are a barrier

between us

and God.

And God says

the punishment for that

is judgment,

is separation from God.

God is hell itself.

To be separated

from all that is good

and all that is beautiful.

That's the problem.

Christ, on the other hand,

has come,

we are told,

the God-man

who entered into the world.

And he has come

and through his death

he takes the record

of all the things

that we've ever done

on himself.

He takes the blame.

He takes the punishment.

He suffers hell

for you and I

so that we don't have to

so that what was in the way,

the barrier,

is now gone

and we can have

that relationship with God.

We can know God

and enjoy him

and love him

and have all his

wonderful promises

because Jesus

took the record

for us.

But not only that,

let's just change

that this is no longer

a record of us,

but this is a record

of the life of Jesus.

A perfect life,

a good life,

a pure life,

a life that never

did anything wrong.

Not only does Jesus

take our record,

but he gives us

his record,

his beauty,

his perfection,

his life,

so that now

when God looks at us,

when he looks at me,

he doesn't see me,

he sees the record

of Jesus Christ,

which is now applied

to my life

through faith.

And now I'm treated

and loved

and treasured

like Jesus,

like God does

his own son.

That's what his death

is all about.

That's why he died,

to take our record

and to give us

his record.

So we learn about his life,

we learn about his death,

but look at verse 24.

We also learn about

his resurrection.

We're told that God

raised Jesus from the dead,

freeing him from the agony

of death,

because it was impossible

for death

to keep its hold

on him.

Jesus did die,

but God also raised

Jesus from the dead.

Now death isn't something

we like to talk about,

is it?

Not a very popular subject,

because when people die,

it means the end

of relationships.

It means separation.

We don't get to see

those people again,

not on this earth

or in this life.

There's sadness,

a loss of friends.

It hurts,

it's painful.

And amazingly,

we found lots of cures

for all kinds of diseases

and all kinds of

health problems.

We can go to the chemist,

we can go to the doctor,

we can get all kinds

of treatments.

But we can't find

a cure for death.

Nobody has.

Except for Jesus'

resurrection.

Because when Jesus

rose from the grave,

he defeated death,

he destroyed death.

Or look what it says

in verse 24.

Jesus was freed

from the agony of death.

And the good news is,

as Jesus says,

I can free you

from the agony of death.

It doesn't mean to say

that we won't face death,

we all will die,

but the Bible says

death for the believer,

for the person

who trusts in Christ,

is just like waking up

from your sleep

in the morning.

Just a simple waking up

to eternal life.

That's what it's like.

And Jesus is the one

who can free us.

He has the cure,

the antidote,

his resurrection

from the dead.

So we have here

a story,

an account of Jesus,

the God-man

who came to live

in this world,

who deals with sin

through his own death.

He defeats death

through his resurrection.

Now the question is,

what are we to do

with this good news

about Jesus?

What are you going to do?

What am I going to do?

Well, it requires a response.

Look at verse 37.

So when the people heard this,

this was the good news

about Jesus' life,

his death and resurrection,

when they heard

all of this explained to them,

they were cut to the heart

and they said to Peter

and the other apostles,

what shall we do?

What are we to do

in response

to what we've heard?

Well, Peter replied,

repent

and be baptized

every one of you.

He was talking

to crowds of people,

far more than there is

in this room.

Repent every one of you

in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness

of sins

and you will receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now repentance

is a double action.

It means simply

turning away

from going your way

and living your own life

and turning around

not just 90 degrees

but 180

and going Jesus' way.

A complete turnaround.

Repentance.

Turning away from self

and turning to Jesus.

So no longer

are we putting

our faith

in our own ability

to deal with sin

and death

but now our faith

is in Jesus

who deals with

the punishment

that we deserve

and he destroys

death that we can

never defeat.

So we've got to do

something about

this good news of Jesus.

Am I going to trust

in myself

to deal with

sin

and with death?

Am I going to face

the grave and say

well I'm going to

count on myself

and I'm going to

figure out a way.

Am I going to

trust myself

to do that?

Or am I actually

going to turn to Jesus

and say no

he actually died

for me.

He took the blame

that I deserve.

He is raised

from the grave.

He defeated death.

I can never do that.

I'm going to trust him.

Shane puts it

like this

in his story.

You can read it

in the little sheet

later.

He puts it

like this.

He said

I had come to

realise that

Jesus is our

substitute on the

cross.

He takes the pain

and experiences

death and hell

for us

so that we

never have to.

Not only that

but because of

Jesus we have

an amazing promise

eternal life.

Stephen says

it simply

like this.

I believed

in God

and asked him

to forgive me

for my sins.

Now baptism

as we'll see

in a minute

is just a picture

of that.

It's a picture

of our faith.

A visible

demonstration

of our faith

in Jesus Christ.

In his death

and in his resurrection.

So when we

climb into this

pool here

when we go

down into

the water

it's a picture

of Jesus'

death.

And when

Stephen and

Shane go down

under the water

they are saying

that when

Jesus died

he was dying

for me.

Jesus'

death was

my death.

He was taking

the blame.

He was experiencing

hell for me

so that I don't

have to.

So when they go

down under the water

they are putting

their faith in Jesus

and saying

he died for me.

He did it all

for me.

I'm not trusting

in myself

but in Jesus.

And then when

they come up

out of the water

we promise

we'll do that.

We'll not leave you

down there.

We're going to

bring you up.

It's a picture

of Jesus'

resurrection.

That Jesus

was raised

for me.

That his

resurrection

was my

resurrection.

That his

life,

his ability

to defeat

death

is in

Jesus.

They're not

trusting

on their

own.

They're not

trusting in

their own

self or

anyone else

or anything

else.

Only in

the death

and the

resurrection

of Jesus.

And this

is a wonderful

picture of

new life.

Their death

and their

rising again

to new

life.

And that's

what baptism

is all

about.

It's new

life.

A transformed

life.

The hope

of eternal

life.

A new

life today.

Sins

forgiven

and the

future

secured.

So that's

the first.

It's new

life.

Second,

baptism is

also a

picture of

the new

community or

if you like

the family

of Jesus.

Community

is vital

to all

of our

lives,

isn't it?

In fact,

most of us

I say long

for real

community.

Friendships,

relationships,

people that

are going to

support us

and encourage

us and

never let

us down.

A place

where we

can feel

safe,

a place

where we

feel we

belong,

a place

where we're

not going

to be

left out

and even

if we

mess up

we're

still going

to be

welcomed.

That's

the kind

of community

we want.

Now most

of us

belong to

communities.

You live

in a

neighbourhood

don't you?

Or on a

street

somewhere?

That's a

little

community.

We all

live within

the bigger

community of

Carragaline.

Maybe some

of you belong

to a sports

community or

a social

club.

We all

belong to

little

communities.

Now it

tells us here

that when our

faith is in

Jesus Christ

you know

what?

We become

part of a

new

community,

a new

family.

family.

Look at

verse 40.

It says

with many

other words

Peter warned

them and

he pleaded

with them

save yourselves

from this

corrupt

generation.

He's telling

the people

look you're

to leave

this old

community.

Leave the

community of

people who

do not

put their

faith in

Jesus.

Who do

not have

Jesus at

the centre

of their

lives.

And devote

yourself or

join this

new community

who do

have Jesus

at the

centre.

Now of

course that

doesn't mean

we all have

to leave our

neighbourhoods

and go and

live in some

little commune

somewhere or

stop going to

our sports

club or

anything else

like that.

Don't do

that.

Stay where

you are and

live where

you are and

keep being

involved where

you are.

Both of

you.

Keep

involved where

you are with

your friends.

Don't ever

leave them.

Alright?

But what

does it

mean this

leaving to

another

community?

Well it

simply means

that we

have this

awesome

privilege and

responsibility

of belonging

to those

who also

love Jesus.

Look what

it looks

like.

Verse 42

it says

they now

devoted

themselves

so they

leave one

community

and connect

themselves to

another

community.

They

devoted

themselves

to the

apostles

teaching

that's

devoting

themselves

to the

good news

about

Jesus

and

learning

from

God's

word

to the

fellowship

that's

to the

rest of

the people

to the

breaking

of bread

remembering

everything

that Jesus

had done

for them

his death

and to

prayer.

And verse

44

all of

the

believers

were

together

and they

had

everything

in

common.

They

were even

selling

their

possessions

and goods

and they

gave to

anyone

as he

had

need.

Now

this isn't

a community

of rules

and regulations

where everything

is decided

for you

or we're

suddenly going

to ask

Stephen and

Shane to

hand over

their bank

account details

or no

it's not

like that

at all.

It's like

a family.

It's a

place of

support and

care,

a place

where people

grow and

learn.

It's a

community

of

continual

forgiveness

and

unconditional

love.

And of

course it's

not perfect

because this

community is

made up of

people.

I'm involved

in that

community.

That's one

good reason

why it's

not perfect.

And Stephen

and Shane

are joining.

That's another

reason why

it's not

perfect.

He was

already blaming

his brother

earlier on

for being

late.

That's how

imperfect it

is.

But this

is a

community

that depends

on the

daily grace

and mercy

of God.

We're

messed up

people who

get it

wrong all

the time

but we're

simply

depending on

his grace

each and

every day

and seeking

to live

that grace

out with

each other.

Stephen

puts it

like this

in his

story.

This is

after his

faith.

He says

I then

knew in

my heart

that God

really had

forgiven me

and that I

was saved.

I knew I

was part of

God's family

and that I

was a citizen

of heaven.

From then

on I began

to grow

every day

as a

believer.

Shane

says it

like this.

He says

it's bizarre

to me

that you

can know

someone for

five minutes

but instantly

have a

strong bond

thanks to

a shared

love of

Jesus

you automatically

feel as if

you have a

bond with

the other.

It's bizarre

isn't it?

But it's

very true.

Now the

question is

how do

people know

that Stephen

and Shane

are a part

of this

new community?

Well hopefully

by the way

they live

and the way

they care

for others

and the way

they help

out which

is what

they do

but the

sign

well look

at verse

41 was

that they

were

baptized.

Look at

verse 41

those who

accepted the

message

the good

news about

Jesus

were baptized

and about

3,000 were

added to

their number

that day.

They just

simply became

part of

the community.

You see

baptism was

like an

initiation.

It was a

sign to

say that

we're no

longer part

of this

community

we're

part of

this

community

the family

of Jesus.

You see

our faith

in Jesus

is not

just some

personal

affair

that we

conduct

out there

somewhere in

our house

on our

own

and do

it when

we want

to.

No it's

a public

event

of joining

the family

of Jesus.

Faith in

Jesus

and the

family of

Jesus.

You can't

separate them.

They belong

together.

And that's

why we have

this public

event inviting

people to

come and to

share that

they're saying

yes I'm a

follower of

Jesus,

yes I have

faith in

Jesus and

yes I'm in

the family

of Jesus.

Jesus.

Now in a

moment Shane

and Stephen

are going to

get baptised

but as we

said at the

very beginning

it's not

actually about

them.

If we think

it's about

them we've

missed the

point.

And it's

not even

about this

church.

It's a

Baptist

church.

So be it

but it's

not actually

about this

church either.

It's all

about Jesus

Christ.

Their

baptism is a

picture of

their new

life.

Our faith

in Jesus.

The new

community.

The family

of Jesus.

But is this

just for

Shane and

Stephen?

Is the

good news

of Jesus

Christ just

for these

two people

here?

The new

life, the

new community

is it just

kind of for

a few?

Well look

at verse

39.

I don't

think it

is.

I think

it's open

to all.

Look at

verse 39.

This

promise,

the new

life, the

new community

is for

you and

your children

and for

all who

are far

off.

So he

was talking,

this is like

2,000 years

ago, so

we're these

people who

are far

off at

this stage,

a long

ways off,

2,000 years

off.

and for

all whom

the Lord

our God

will call.

You see,

God has

done a

work in

Stephen and

Shane's

life.

He's

helped them

to see

and understand.

He's given

them understanding

and he's

brought them

to a place

of faith.

That's God's

work in

their life

and this

promise is

open to

everybody

who will

come and

trust him.

they've

responded to

the good

news.

They've

put their

faith in

Jesus.

They've

identified

themselves

with belonging

to the

family of

Jesus.

Baptism

is simply

a sign

of those

things.

What's

our

response?

What's

my response?

What's

your

response

to the

good

news

of

Jesus?

Have

you got

faith in

Jesus?

is your

faith in

his death

and

resurrection

or are

you going

to trust

yourself

or are

you going

to trust

him?

What about

the family

of Jesus?

Is the

Christian life

something you

just want to

live on

your own

or have

you committed

to the

family?

It's part of

the same

thing.

If you have

faith in

Jesus,

you're in

the family

of Jesus.

You can't

separate it.

This is the

good news

that Christ

has come

to bring

us.

Stephen and

Shane have

responded.

We all

need to

respond

to this

message.

Let's

pray

and then

we are

going to

baptise

Stephen and

Shane,

but we'll

pray and

then we'll

just have a

little minute

or two and

somebody can

go and get

the others.

But let's

just pray

together

first.

Let's

just use

a moment's

silence

for us

all to

respond to

what we've

heard.

When they

heard the

message,

they said,

what shall

we do?

And Peter

replied,

repent

and be

baptised,

every one

of you.

Father, we

thank you

that it's

not dependent

on ourselves,

but it's

dependent on

the Lord

Jesus,

that he

died our

death.

He took

the blame

that you

and I

deserve.

He defeated

death for

us,

something that

we could

never do,

so that we

might have

new and

eternal life.

But not

only that,

he has given

us the

wonderful family

of Jesus,

other people

to care and

support and

encourage,

people who

forgive.

People who

show grace

and mercy

and love.

We thank

you for

these wonderful

things that

we can have

because of

you.

We thank

you for

Stephen and

Shane.

Thank you

that they

have put

their faith

in you.

Thank you

that they

love you.

And we

pray your

help for

them as

they go

into school

and college

at the

beginning

of this

week.

That they

would be

strong for

you,

that they

would live

for you,

that they

would be

people who

tell others

the good

news and

bring that

same love

wherever they

go.

Encourage

them in

their lives.

Bless

them.

Keep

them strong.

Keep

them focused

on you.

We pray

all these

things in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

So I'm

going to

ask Stephen

on you.

Hold on

water on e

and for

to

to

be

good.