1 Peter 3:8-12 “Living Blessings”

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Good morning, everybody. If I haven't had the chance to meet you, my name is Derek Harris.

I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm just going to go ahead and throw down that I am reeling from the events this past week.

So you can pray for me.

Thank you.

Sorry.

There's two guys sitting in the back there who are in my youth group in Nashville.

I know you're hurting.

I love you.

That's why we do what we do.

That's why we preach the Word of God.

Our world is changing.

Our world is changing.

And America has often been thought of as a Christian country.

And it's changing.

It's changing drastically.

Okay?

This is not an alarmist thing.

This is a realistic thing that's been happening gradually, not just this past week.

I want us to consider this slide here.

Let's see if this is working.

Oh, let me get back.

I'm going to talk about four things this morning.

We're going to talk about the world.

We're going to talk about the Word.

We're going to talk about why it matters.

And we're going to talk about what now.

But first, with the world, it's changing.

Okay?

It's changing a lot.

And it may be changing rapidly for you.

I want you to consider this quote here from Pew Research just in 2022.

Only a few decades ago, a Christian identity was so common among Americans that it could almost be taken for granted.

And as recently as the early 1990s, about 90% of U.S. adults identified as Christians.

But today, about two-thirds of adults are Christians, identifying as Christians.

And the change in America's religious composition is largely the result of large numbers of adults switching out of the religion in which they were raised to become religiously unaffiliated.

Many times they're known as the nones, N-O-N-E-S.

Okay?

Because that's what the box that they would check on a survey or a test or something like that.

Because they have no affiliation with faith, none, when it comes to the faith.

And not only is religious affiliation changing, so is the treatment of those who claim to be Christians, especially in America.

Especially in the deep south, the Bible Belt, where you have been protected for so very long.

It could be due to the past failures of leaders in the church.

Workers of the church.

Members of churches who may have hurt people.

Missions, organizations.

In regards to claims.

Rightful claims.

Of abuse.

Racism.

Discrimination.

Etc.

Right?

Church.

Quote-unquote church.

Institution church.

Has done a lot of damage to a lot of people.

And there's a lot of anger.

And there's a lot of disappointment in our society towards these religious institutions.

Not just the Christian church.

And so you may not affiliate yourself with church leaders who've been caught up in some sort of public controversy.

Or an organization as such.

But there's a good chance that those people who aren't in church.

Who you really wish were here.

There's a good chance that they actually do affiliate those people with you.

Okay?

And us.

And when you enter into any conversation.

You may find yourself needing to take punches.

And we're going to sense that more and more and more as Christians.

Okay?

I will walk up to some conversations.

And if they just hear that I'm a pastor.

Conversation's over.

Or it's instant anger.

My wife was in a conversation with someone recently.

And they were giving her the dagger eyes just because they knew that I was a pastor.

And sometimes it's the opposite.

Sometimes it's actually, oh, breath of fresh air.

Please, can I ask you this?

Can I ask you this?

But you may feel some of that too.

As followers of Christ in the West, we don't live in a Christian country anymore.

We live in a post-Christian country.

This is what I mean by that.

The fundamental, this is a quote again.

The fundamental societal institutions, family, school, church, that took their meaning and place from a basic Christian worldview shaped by Protestantism,

are going through a rewriting of their status, which undermines their traditional outlook.

Christians need to learn or relearn how to be creative and faithful minorities.

The transition may be painful and difficult, but nostalgic attitudes toward a status quo, somewhat marked by Christianity, will not serve the cause of the gospel.

I thought that was an interesting quote there.

So what he's getting at is this, that we as Christians now moving into the, living in this post-Christian era and moving forward,

we might need to unlearn some of our old habits to be able to share the love of Jesus with the world that we so desperately want to have in the church.

And that's going to be a challenge for us, okay?

It's not far-fetched.

We're kind of at a crossroads right now.

It's not far-fetched to believe that in our generation and kids and the generations that you grow up in,

that if you follow the basic tenets of Christianity,

you're going to be seen more and more as unloving, not loving.

You're going to be seen as a renegade.

You're going to be seen as extremist.

And I just want to prepare you for that because we have to be ready.

We have to be ready to love, okay?

And it's not something to be alarmed about, but it is something that we have to be aware of.

And this is why.

Because the world is really, really confused about the church, okay?

Most of the cars that drive by here that never set foot in here think what we do is really, really weird, okay?

I recently was watching a documentary of the band U2,

and they've rewritten the words to Sunday, Bloody Sunday,

to reflect more where the heart of what they've learned over the years is.

And this is what they said.

Here at the murder scene, the virus of fiction, reality TV,

Why so many mothers cry?

Religion is the enemy of the Holy Spirit guide, and the battle just begun.

Where's the victory Jesus won?

You ever asked that question?

That resonated with me.

He was coming from a heart of the love of Christ and wanting to share it,

but just creating that tension in those lyrics.

The world's confused about the church, and the world is longing for the love of Jesus.

And the culture is looking for an alternative to itself, not an echo of itself.

So how are we as Christians supposed to behave and live within a world that doesn't understand us

and is potentially hostile towards us?

Well, remember, though, it may appear more challenging to follow Jesus right now

than it has in the years before in your life,

it was also very difficult for those who followed Christ in the first century.

And they left us some really, really good notes.

The Word of God.

So let's read that today.

The Word.

I'm going to open it up and read it from my Bible,

because I just like reading it from my Bible.

Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love,

a tender heart, and a humble mind.

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,

but on the contrary, bless.

For to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

For whoever desires to love life and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

Let him turn away from evil and do good.

Let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the Word of our God will stand forever.

And it is what we need.

It's what we need to learn,

and it gives us the direction that we need.

It's not changed.

God's love hasn't changed.

So a little bit about this.

Are you all familiar with the TV show Friday Night Lights?

It's an older show.

So Coach Taylor, one of the great TV characters,

he had this phrase that he would say,

clear eyes, full heart, can't lose.

Although I think he said full hearts.

I think there was an S on it, but you know.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

Well, this text that we just read,

think of Coach Peter, okay?

He's getting in our faces.

He's helping us see how we're supposed to be playing this game to win.

Now, let's start there with verse 8.

He says,

Finally, all of you,

finally, all of you,

have unity of mind, sympathy,

brotherly love, a tender heart,

and a humble mind.

Now, notice he doesn't start by looking outside the huddle.

Right?

Imagine him standing there, Coach Peter.

He says, he's talking to the team,

and he says,

Finally, all of you, right?

Which means that he doesn't mean some of you.

Okay?

What does all of you mean?

Anybody?

What does all of you mean?

Everybody.

Okay?

Every single one of us.

And the idea here is that

what he says after that

is how Christ calls

every single one of us

who proclaim faith in Christ

to live

within the church,

within the team,

and also

everywhere

all the time.

How many of you

love the smell of coffee in the morning?

Right?

Some of you,

I know there's some big coffee heads.

If it's not coffee,

maybe it's bacon.

Okay?

If it's not bacon,

maybe it's barbecue.

If it's not barbecue,

fill in the blank.

Maybe it's candy.

I don't know.

Sugar being made.

And cookies.

Something like that.

Right?

And when you smell that smell,

you ever woken up in the morning

and you had that smell

and you just feel like

one of those cartoon characters

that wants to float down

to where the smell is coming from,

it changes the environment.

And when we live the way

that Peter describes,

we're not going to echo the culture.

We're going to offer it

the very thing that it needs.

The aroma of God's grace.

But that happens

through Christ-centered community

and relationships

built on the foundation

of the Word of God

and Christ is the chief cornerstone.

But grace is that aroma.

I was talking with somebody

about that this morning.

Grace is the aroma.

And what does Coach Peter say?

He says,

unity of mind,

sympathy,

brotherly love,

tender heart,

humble minds can't lose.

Okay?

Think about this for a second.

Unity of mind.

Let's look at those phrases

for a second.

Unity of mind means

literally live in harmony.

Literally though,

be of the same mind.

Okay?

That can only happen

when we share the mind of Christ.

Where do you find the mind of Christ?

The Scriptures.

This is offered to us

every day

through the Scriptures.

Right?

And through the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit.

God in you.

Christ living in us

in this inseparable union

that happens through faith.

So the unity of mind

comes from the unity

of the mind of Christ

within us

that we apply towards one another.

And what does the sympathy mean?

So when we live in harmony

and we're of the same mind,

then we can enter

into the feelings of others.

Right?

Sympathetic comes from a Greek word

which means feeling with.

And it's probably better signified

by our English word empathy.

Okay?

And when we can enter

into the feelings of others,

then we're more properly positioned

to share God's love with them.

And that becomes that aroma of grace.

So it breaks down

the doors of hostility first.

And my guess is that

if you've ever been in a situation

where you felt like heard

and really understood

that whatever anger

you brought to that situation

probably went down a little bit.

Went down a couple levels.

Well, Peter's playing off

his discussion

that Will got to preach

last week and not me

about husbands and wives

in those previous verses.

And so here's the idea.

Having the unity of mind,

having the sympathy,

having this aroma of grace,

it takes time

and it takes hard work.

And it's very hard

to understand one another

even on the good days, right?

How much harder on the bad?

But all things are possible

through Jesus Christ

who gives us strength.

And it starts

by listening to each other.

Listening to hear

as we've been challenging

one another here recently.

The church, God's people,

the living stones,

which we talked about

a few weeks ago.

We're to be lights

and to be sanctuaries

out in the world.

Places of peace,

but first to each other

within here

so that this is a place of peace.

And then we take that peace

into the relationships around us.

And then we're properly

postured and positioned

to share that love of God.

And you can start

just simply by asking questions

and then listening.

Okay?

Listening to love.

Listening to hear

where the world is hurting.

And that, guess what?

That world is here.

We're hurting too.

Think about listening

to each other here

so that you can go listen

out there.

And then he goes on

to say humble mind,

brotherly love.

We'll start with

brotherly love, tender heart.

What does that mean?

Being tender hearted

comes more naturally

to some more than others, right?

However difficult

though that journey may be,

the early Christians

would have agreed

on the fact

that they were called

to become tender hearted

no matter how difficult it was.

That was going to be

a staple characteristic

of the community.

Humble mind,

what does that mean?

So humble mind

actually ties together

the three attitudes before it.

That phrase, humble mind.

And what I mean is that

if you have that humble mind,

you're going to have

those other three things.

And one commentator

describes it this way,

a humble mind

shows that the secret

of the character

described here

lies in a realistic estimate

of oneself

and a high concern

for others.

So it starts

by looking outside yourself

and putting a higher view

of that one outside of you

than yourself.

I love the language

of the,

there's a translation

of the Bible

called the message

and it's meant to be

as a tool,

not a replacement.

But it says it this way,

it helps to get my head

around these.

Be agreeable,

be sympathetic,

be loving,

be compassionate,

be humble.

That goes for all of you,

no exceptions.

And one of the things

that I also love

about Scripture

is how it interprets itself.

The Word of God

will help you understand

the Word of God.

And it reinforces itself.

And it's not just Coach Peter

who says these things.

And it's not just Coach Peter

who talks about this aroma

of grace.

So does Coach Paul.

And listen to what Coach Paul

says in Ephesians.

I therefore,

a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to walk

in a manner worthy

of the calling

to which you've been called.

With all humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one another

in love,

eager to maintain

the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace.

Okay, now some of you

may be thinking,

nope,

not going to do that.

Not possible for me

in my current situation

that I'm in.

You don't understand.

But it is.

Okay?

When we stop thinking

about ourselves,

which is hard,

guilty,

and we start calling

on the power of God,

amazing things can happen

in your relationships.

And remember,

what God is doing

with us as a church.

He said it earlier

in 1 Peter.

He's building us

into a spiritual house

where He dwells.

And how's all that happening?

Not through your power,

but through the power

of the Holy Spirit.

So before you give yourself

the test

and you're destined

to fail

on your own strength,

stop it.

Okay?

Take that to God,

whatever the situation is

that pops in your brain.

And remember,

He's at work in you.

He's the one

forming you

into these things.

But we have to start

by being honest

about where we need

to be that open door.

To open the door

of our hearts

and to be that open door

for the world

to talk to.

And the passage,

this passage,

gives us that opportunity

because it's possible

to have the Holy Spirit

in you.

It's a Holy Spirit resident,

but not president.

Okay?

So,

what does living this way

look like?

We'll go faster

through these.

Don't repay

evil for evil

or reviling for reviling.

But on the contrary,

bless,

for to this you are called

that you may obtain

a blessing.

So,

in another way,

you remember,

we talked a few weeks ago

about living stones.

Living stones

don't just sit.

Well,

Peter's giving us more info.

Living stones

are living blessings.

They go live blessings.

That's what we do.

That's what the stones do.

We live that blessing

to one another

and we go live

that blessing to the world.

And when we do,

the world sees

the power of God

at work in us

because we can't do that

on our own.

I was speaking with someone

this past week.

One of the most powerful things

in evangelism

to the world

is emotional health.

Did you know that?

That your wounds

are actually

the open door

to share the love of God.

But one of the things

that the world notices

the most

is how you're still walking.

And so focusing

on our own emotional health

is one of the greatest steps

towards evangelism

because it's one

of the greatest doorways

to talk about

where you found the healing.

And the world notices

that seems to be

one of the number one things

that makes us approachable

or not approachable

is

are you emotionally healthy?

Because they're watching

in this post-Christian world.

But Peter says

we're to bless

in verse 9.

So just like

humble mind

summed up verse 8.

Peter uses that word

bless to sum up

all of verses 8 and 9.

All of these attitudes

and virtues

of the heart

can be summed up

in that one word.

Bless.

And what does blessing mean?

One commentator says this

I love this definition.

The calling down

of God's gracious power

and love

on all people

even those

who wish to do us harm.

Who does that sound like?

Hmm.

Jesus.

Right?

Blessing instead of cursing.

Praying for those

who persecute.

Forgiving our debtors

as we have been

forgiven.

And how can we do this?

First by opening

the doors of darkness

in our own hearts

to the power

of the light

of the living God.

And only you

can open that door.

I can't open that for you.

Your neighbor

can't open that for you

but you can.

You can go and open

that door to God

right now.

You can call

on that resource

and that power

of the Holy Spirit

available nowhere else

than to God himself.

And when you do

he's going to come in there

and he's going to do

some business

in your heart

and he's going to show you

the relationships

in your life

that he's calling

you to

to have an impact

for him.

And typically

it's going to start

with the ones

that probably

aren't that great.

They're a mess.

That's okay.

I don't want that

to scare you.

That's the whole purpose

of needing a savior.

You're a mess.

You don't have it together.

Neither do I.

We're broken messes

but Jesus takes

broken things

and he makes them beautiful.

How?

Because he was broken.

And that's beautiful.

And he offers you

eternal life.

He was broken for you

so you don't have to go

be broken for yourself

and punish yourself

over and over.

In fact he's called you

to be a part

of cleaning up the mess.

And when you do

you're going to find purpose

but it starts

with relationships.

It starts with you

letting them in there.

Letting them in your heart

and look around.

Ask him to dwell there

and while he's in there

you've got to keep your eyes

on the scoreboard

and the scoreboard

says you win.

When you look around

the world

it says oh this is bad.

Scoreboard says we win.

Okay?

We win because Jesus wins.

We're going to talk

about that this week.

Right?

We get to see

the light

and the darkness

of the gospel story

as we lead

into this Easter week.

But only you

can open that door.

The message says it this way

no retaliation

no sharp tongue sarcasm

instead bless

that's your job

bless.

You'll be a blessing

and also get a blessing.

And what's the blessing?

First

it's this

that

you're going to experience

the blessing

of living a life

that doesn't retaliate

with anger.

You're going to have

freedom

from the prison of anger.

The prison of comparison.

It's only realized

through a life

of forgiveness.

forgiveness.

These are some

of the benefits

of asking Christ

to forgive you

is that you actually

get freedom.

And it's only possible

if you've experienced

true forgiveness

that's offered

through Jesus' blood.

And when you live

a life of forgiveness

like Peter described

you're oftentimes

going to be reviled

for it.

Okay?

But you will be free.

And what does

that freedom look like?

Unity of mind

sympathy

brotherly love

tender hearts

humble minds

not repaying evil

for evil

or reviling

for reviling

but blessing.

I've got

a student

who is in

one of our

youth groups

a dear student

who is in

a gender transition

right now

and

you know

with what happened

last week

I didn't

I wanted to reach out

because most of the world

and family

has abandoned him

but I still love him

and

he identifies

as a female now

so

it's still hard

for me to say that

to say him

so I just texted him

how you doing

with the recent news

he lives in Nashville

the world is so crazy

right now

I don't even have

much time to absorb it

taking this to heart

I said well you know what

it's a good time

for me to remind you

that I love you

you are bringing

something to the world

and I love you

and I love you

you know

he sent something back

right

we're still

still in that relationship

there's an opportunity

to bless him

and then he returned

a blessing

and so you got

that blessing

of living that life

of forgiveness

not anger

we don't have to retaliate

we don't have to be

so up in arms

about everything

we should be

the least easily

offended people

on earth

if Christ is at work

in us

but the blessing

of freedom

also means

the future blessing

of hope

that you have

that scoreboard

that's been won

the eternal life

that's ahead

where you're going

to live

in the presence

of the one

who's forgiven you

is free

you're going

to worship

and experience

that new creation

forever

and you get

to take that invitation

right now

to the world

that's what you offer

them when you go

and enter into

the relationship

and you take

your hurt

and your emotional

unhealthiness

and talking about

how God

has gotten you

through it

guess what

they need that too

and ultimately

you get to hold

their hand

and take them

to Jesus

okay

then verses

10 through 12

there

whoever desires

to love life

and seek good days

don't you want

to love life

and seek good days

here's the key

let him keep

his tongue

from evil

and his lips

from speaking deceit

oh that's easy

let him turn away

from evil

and do good

okay

let him seek

peace

and pursue it

got it

for the eyes

of the Lord

are on the righteous

and his ears

are open

to their prayer

but the face

of the Lord

is against

those who do evil

may not seem so

but it is

may not seem so

when you look around

but it is ultimately

and one day

those two things

will line up

so Peter goes on

now

and this is what

I love too

about the reliability

of scripture

if you doubt

the trustworthiness

of this book

they quote

from things

that were written

hundreds and hundreds

of years earlier

and all these things

line up

you go look at your Bible

we've taken the oldest documents

and the newest documents

you compare them

it's 99.9999% accurate

yes there are some errors

in your Bible

but you know what

they're like punctuation

and little things

here and there

and it was transmission stuff

but there's no other document

that is as accurate

and attested to

as the scriptures

people aren't going to tell you

that very often

it's true

you can back it up

there's all the data

that's not a lie

so when you read this

know that what you're reading

is accurate

now what we do

with it is the hard part

right

it's telling us

to go do something

so Peter's going on now

to say

I'm backing all this up

with the Old Testament

just like he did

in chapter 2

about living stones

he backed it up

with the Old Testament

and then he talked

about the living stones

he quoted from Psalms

he's doing that again here

because he's a human

and he writes

and he has similarities

so living stones

are living blessings

so a life of blessing

doesn't curse

doesn't retaliate

it doesn't speak deceit

it doesn't pursue evil

it pursues peace

does that describe you

in your current relationships

with other Christians

does that describe you

in your current relationships

with those around you

it's hard

it's messy

but that's

that's what we're supposed to do

okay

are you doing it

blessed are the peacemakers

Jesus said

for they shall be called

sons of God

where is the Lord's

attentive ear

and caring eyes

they're on the righteous

it says

okay

well who are the righteous

how do you get that

for our sake

he made him to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness of God

it's not us

it's foreign

it's an alien righteousness

that's given to us

by Jesus

and he paid the price

for the gift on the cross

so if we confess our sins

he's faithful and just

to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness

aka we become

the righteous

and God's attentive eye

and listening ear

are always on

the righteous

that's you

if you have faith in Christ

he clothes you

in his righteousness

so in these verses

this is really cool

Peter's quoting

from Psalm 34

12 through 16

and this was a psalm

of thanks

for God to deliver David

remember he was

asking to be delivered

from king of Gath

okay

referred to as

Abimelech

in the title

of that area of your Bible

so David was delivered

from the king

after he

changed his behavior

is what it says

now do you remember

how he changed his behavior

to get out of there

he was trapped

so he tried to act

like he was going insane

he just started

you know

he just started

freaking out a little bit

to scare somebody

he did that

and the king

let him go free

so Peter's

playing off that theme

by quoting the psalm

and when

as Christians

when we live

the way he describes

get this

lives of freedom

in Christ

when we change

our behavior

the world's

going to think

we've gone mad

but we are the ones

who are set

free

isn't that beautiful

that's the blessing

that when we come to God

we're set free

though his face

is against the evildoer

his eyes

are on the righteous

so to turn your face

is to turn

your back

okay

we are called

to repent

and turn our back

on evil

and run

to him

but how

there's only one place

where God the Father

turned his back

on evil

and it was the evil

of our sin

and this

is why on the cross

Jesus bled

and he cried out

my God

my God

why have you

forsaken me

that's true justice

why have you

turned your back

on me

God

it's a rhetorical

question

it's because

of us

and it's for us

so that we could have

the blessing

that Peter

is speaking of

in these verses

to be adopted

as children of God

and then to invite

others into the family

who has access

at all the times

to the loving ear

of King Jesus

who always has access

to the power

of forgiveness

who has always

the future hope

of heaven

and eternity

who possesses

this knowledge

this power

and carries it around

in their bodies

the church

okay

those who have been

adopted as sons

and daughters

of the living God

through faith

in the sacrifice

of Jesus

and live this life

of freedom

in Christ

unity of mind

sympathy

brotherly love

tender heart

humble minds

can't lose

the aroma

of God's grace

to a grace

and love

hungry world

and here's

why it matters

because the culture

is looking for

an alternative

to itself

not an echo

of itself

and a divided world

needs a united church

you are the church

that's you

remember your purpose

it's greater

than anything

you can conjure up

on your own

if you are a child

of God

you are a uniter

of this world

in the name of Jesus

by taking him to him

these verses

aren't just about

being moral

they're not about

trying harder

they're not about

doing better

they're about

remembering your

true identity

in Jesus

living stones

built on the

chief cornerstone

being built up

to that spiritual

house

literal walking

temples of the

Holy Spirit

living stones

who are living

blessings

living stones

who are the

children of God

and how we live

says something

really important

about dad

he knows

that when his

children get along

and treat one

another this way

other people want

to be in our

family

and it's so important

that we live this

way that he gave us

the Holy Spirit

the power of the

resurrection

to be able to

live this way

so the companionship

of Jesus

in every single

moment is available

to you

the place where

we're supposed to

be safe and

practice all of

this

is right here

and this is

what the world

needs to experience

from us

how

they do it

through you

so

in closing

church

who are you

I love this

quote

the church is a

beloved family

created by God

and redeemed by

the gospel

called to be the

primary means by

which God shows

and tells his story

of redemption in

Jesus

and he tells it

with your life

he tells it with

your wounds

he tells it with

all of the things

that he's made

you to be

and he's put

you uniquely

in one place

to go share

it with somebody

else

so what do

you do with

that

I challenge you

to look inside

first

okay

where do you

need to open

the doors of

darkness in your

heart to God

today and let

him walk around

okay

start there

so look inside

then look around

once you know

it's probably

going to be a

person that you

need to go do

something with

make something

right

call somebody

once you know

okay

go to that

person

if you need

help

take somebody

with you

and when you

go to that

person you

have to seek

peace

and sometimes

you have to

pursue it in

community

okay

you don't have

to go it

alone

we're living

stones right

and living

stones don't

just sit but

they hold one

another up

where two or

more are

gathered there

I am in

their midst

where do you

need to go be

that living

blessing today

in a relationship

in the same

way that

you would run

after your dog

if he bolted

out the door

and ran into

traffic

don't expect

peace to come

to you

when you

whistle

it has to be

pursued

all right

and that may

require us

learning some

new habits

it's all about

that freedom

of forgiveness

though

so look

inside

look around

and then go

live a blessing

seek that

peace

peace

it's all

about that

freedom

and without

your brothers

or sisters

you can't

do it

okay

you just

can't do

it

so by the

power of the

Holy Spirit

though

at work in

us the church

you can go

proclaim Jesus

as alive to

this whole world

don't you want

to do that

let's go

proclaim him

as alive

because this

culture

is looking

for an

alternative

to itself

not an

echo

of itself

a divided

world needs

a united

church

and you

are the

church

let's pray

father

on this

Palm Sunday

I thank you

father that you

hold us

and that it

was your

palms

father

that held

the reins

of the

foal

it was your

palms that

washed the

feet of your

disciples

and father

it was your

palms that

were bound

to the

cross

and lord

you've come

to save

us

you've come

to redeem

us

and you've

come to

make us

yours

and Jesus

only you

only you

father

can make

us

slave

for these

slaves of

sin and

fear and

despair

into prisoners

of hope

lord

jesus

you have

you are

and you

will forever

continue to

do that

thank you

lord for

these words

and that

prayer

those are

not my

words

that

scotty

smith

wrote

and lord

i pray

that you

would do

something

magnificent

with this

church

take us

into this

world

and use

us father

as those

blessings

praise you

god

it's in the

name of

jesus i pray

amen

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