Ephesians 4:25-32 - Witness Protection Christianity, Part 2

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Amen. What a beautiful song and a great reminder of how God meets us and shows Himself to us.

One of the ways God does that day by day, moment by moment, week after week,

is through His Word that He's given to us, where He's revealed Himself to us, spoken into our lives.

So let's look to it with eagerness this morning for Him to speak to us.

We're in the last verses of Ephesians chapter 4 this morning.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Before we jump into this passage, I want us to remember just a little bit of where we were last week.

The passage we looked at last Sunday is the theological background for what we're talking about in the passage this week.

It tells us the basis for what we're talking about.

It talks about the reality in the Christian life that victory over sin has been secured for us by Jesus, right?

And a new life begun that He's given to us.

And at the same time, there's an ongoing war being waged against that new life

by the remnants of sin that are in us that are battling against us.

And God's calling us to live in a way that's fitting with our new life.

By warring against sin, putting sin to death, not making a truce with an enemy Jesus died to defeat.

Is the way we talked about it last week.

And at the same time, seeing God produce in us true righteousness and holiness.

We said God has not only made us new, given us a new identity,

but He's also remaking us into His image to be what He created us to be in the first place.

The analogy we have been using for that is witness protection.

Where a witness may come to turn people in and to testify against very dangerous people

and may need protection in that sense.

They may need to be sent away to a new location with a new identity

and set up there for their good with a completely new life.

It wouldn't be safe, would it?

For them to stay where they were.

It's the only safe way forward is to say,

you've got to embrace this new life that's been given to you.

There's danger in the old life.

There's freedom in the new life.

And so we come to our passage this morning where Paul will begin,

moving from that to start with therefore.

Therefore, in light of the fact that God has given you new life

and that He's working in us by His Spirit,

what's that new life going to look like?

What are some specific things that must characterize us in light of this?

Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

We'll start reading at verse 25.

Therefore, having put away falsehood,

let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor,

for we are members one of another.

Be angry and do not sin.

Do not let the sun go down on your anger

and give no opportunity to the devil.

Let the thief no longer steal,

but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands

so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,

but only such as is good for building up,

as fits the occasion,

that it may give grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God

by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander

be put away from you along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,

forgiving one another,

as God in Christ forgave you.

Let's pray.

God, we do believe that your word is living and active.

That it's sharper than a double-edged sword.

That it will cut and divide our joints from our marrow.

That it will expose the inner portions of our heart,

cut to places we're not even aware of or conscious,

are in our hearts.

And so, we ask this morning that as painful as that can be,

that you would make us eager to hear your word.

That you would make us desire it to operate on us like that.

That you, by your Spirit,

would perform that surgery for our good.

We so much rather would do things our own way.

We so much rather would have our opinions

that we can bring to the table and judge your word.

Father, would you subdue that in our hearts?

Would we sit under your word?

Would it undo us and would you change us by your Spirit?

Do that as we look to your word now,

we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

One of the realities that we certainly can appreciate

about witness protection

is that for the witness to flourish in his new identity,

two things are going to have to happen.

There's going to be both a disconnecting from the old life

and a full embrace of the new life.

Both of those are required.

Just to leave behind the old life

and go sit in the safe house sullenly and quietly

for the rest of your days

is not the new life and new identity you've been given, is it?

At the same time,

to embrace with gusto the new life

and say, yes, I'm going to go live here,

but I'm also going to dabble around

with my old friends every once in a while.

I don't want to lose them.

That's not going to be safe either, is it?

That's not the new life that you've been given.

Pastor Sinclair Ferguson talks about this reality

in terms of a garden.

He talks about flowers and weeds.

He says, if you're going to have a beautiful garden come,

there's going to be weeds that need to be pulled up

and flowers that need to be planted

to see new life thrive.

One or the other on its own is not going to work, is it?

And this is Paul's pattern in this passage

as he paints a beautiful picture of the new life.

He tells us five specific areas

we're going to walk through this morning.

And in each one of those,

he tells us three things.

He tells us what belongs to the old way of life,

how we're not to live anymore,

what belongs to the new life,

how we should live.

And then thirdly, he tells us why.

Why should it be different?

But we're going to talk about those things,

and then we're going to talk about

how that happens,

and what the full picture it is

that Paul paints,

not just these five individual things.

We'll do that at the end,

but first let's walk through

these five specific commands

for Christian living

and make sure we understand

what we're talking about.

We're going to note that pattern

that we just mentioned

for all five of them.

So first, verse 25.

Therefore, having put away falsehood,

let each one of you speak the truth

with his neighbor,

for we are members one of another.

The old man telling lies and have truths,

things that would lead people away

from the truth,

that would be misleading statements.

That's what we're not to do anymore.

Instead, we're to speak truth.

And this seems pretty easy, right?

All right, he's starting us off

with one that we can handle.

Just don't lie and tell the truth, right?

I mean, that's pretty straightforward.

I can do that.

I always do it that way.

Do you never color or spin the truth

just to promote yourself

or protect your reputation?

Have you never told a story

or shared a prayer request

at small group

or a post on social media

that was embellished for effect

so you'd sound interesting

or spiritual?

Have you never compromised

the truth with your spouse

so she'd be more happy with you?

So you could avoid being blamed?

Me either.

Good.

We hate getting blamed, don't we?

We'll do anything to avoid that.

Just don't let it come back on me.

Maybe I'll just steer it over here.

Twist things just a little bit.

Truth is vital and valuable.

Let your yes be yes

and your no be no.

Do people hear you and trust you?

The people who know you,

do they assume when they hear you say something

they're hearing the truth?

Are you a man or woman

of your word,

of integrity?

This is so important,

Paul says,

because we're a part of the same body

on the same team.

Imagine the pain

for a physical body

if one part of the body

didn't tell truth to the other.

If, for instance,

you were walking

and your eye

did not tell your foot,

that's a nail

that you're about to step on.

If it didn't speak that truth

to your foot

and you walked on anyway,

the pain that would cause.

Or the pain that would come

if your nose smelled smoke

and didn't tell your legs

to run out of the building.

Right?

Now those may seem like silly examples,

but in the body of Christ,

think of the pain that's caused

when truth is not told

by one part to the other.

Think of what that looks like,

because truth-telling

produces a culture of trust.

Vital for the body

to work well together,

for the team to be headed

in the same direction.

But lying produces a culture

of distrust

that brings division in the church

and thus hinders

the work of the gospel.

Paul says,

we're on the same team.

Share honest, truthful information

so we can work together,

not against each other.

So that we're not constantly

working our way

around the circle of friends

to find the real story.

Suspecting that

those that we ought

to be able to trust

are constantly misleading us.

Next, verse 26 and 27.

Be angry and do not sin.

Do not let the sun

go down on your anger

and give no opportunity

to the devil.

You'll notice that

when Paul's talking

about the old man,

he talks about sinful

and uncontrolled anger.

He chooses his words carefully

to say that there's actually

a thing such as

righteous anger, right?

It is possible

to be angry and not sin.

But that's not usually

what we do.

That's not the way

anger often affects us.

We need now in the new man

to have controlled thoughts

and emotions

where we recognize our anger

and no matter what it is

that's caused the anger,

we don't just let it simmer,

but we bring it in submission

to Christ and His priorities.

That's the only way

it's going to be righteous anger.

Don't just stew on it

and let it eat away at you

where your anger

begins to control you.

That happens very quickly.

And some of us in this room

are what I would call

rationally driven fixers.

I am.

All of the engineers

in the room are.

And then half of the rest of you

are wired the same way too, okay?

What that means is

when we see a problem,

we just want to fix it

and be done with it.

And we love this verse, don't we?

Why do we love these verses?

Ah, because it's saying in the Bible

the way we've always wanted to function.

Get things done.

Resolve that problem and move on.

Don't let the sun go down on your anger.

Except that Paul doesn't actually say

that every situation should be resolved

completely and very quickly.

He's talking here about our anger

not being out of control.

I used to operate this way in my marriage

that if something was wrong,

we had to fix it, right?

And the Bible said so

and everything was going to be done

before we went to bed.

And what you end up learning

is that these words

don't exactly say that.

There may actually be more things

that need to be processed later.

Sometimes sleep even helps a little bit.

But, but, what we are cautioned against,

what we shouldn't go to bed with

is unbridled anger and rage

that's out of control,

that's beginning to control us,

letting our hate and our hurt

control our hearts for prolonged seasons.

That's what's being warned against.

Even if a conversation is still to be had

on the subject,

even if there's more that needs to be processed,

the rage should be replaced by love,

for example.

The enmity that's thereby

a desire for reconciliation

or peace or mercy,

even if that can't fully be accomplished

in the five minutes

that I'd like to have it tied up in.

Those desires that eat away at our hearts,

the anger that stews

and that begins to control us

is so dangerous because why?

Satan loves to get in there.

It's a foothold for Satan, isn't it?

Satan loves to use our unbridled anger

to sow discord in the body.

He loves to take your simmering anger

and work his way into the relationship

from that foothold, doesn't he?

As anger eats away and controls you,

you become easy prey

for believing the lies of Satan

about the one who's hurt you,

don't you?

It's really easy to believe

bad things about them

while you're angry with them,

while your rage is flaring up.

And so you begin easily

to work against them

rather than with them

and Satan would love that.

Notice one more thing

before we move on.

When do we usually quote this verse?

It's usually in a marriage class, right?

Some of you were in a marriage

Sunday school class this morning.

This is a great verse for marriages.

Are we in the marriage section

of Ephesians yet?

We're not there yet.

One more chapter.

We're going to get there.

Paul's going to talk about marriage.

What is Paul talking about right now?

All your relationships.

Every single relationship

in the body of Christ

that we're to follow this.

I know, right?

That is hard.

And you thought if you loved your husband,

you could harbor unbridled anger

against her all night

and be doing pretty well.

And Paul says,

all of your relationships.

Don't let the sun go down

on your anger.

Example 3, verse 28.

Let the thief no longer steal,

but rather let him labor,

doing honest work with his own hands

so that he may have something

to share with anyone in need.

Perhaps we don't often think

of ourselves as thieves,

but how easy can it be

in an attempt to protect

or provide for ourselves?

To steal taxes from the government?

Time from our employers?

To rob tithes from God,

as he tells his people in Malachi?

And what Paul's getting at

is the self-serving heart

that drives these sorts of actions.

It's highlighted by what Paul commends

as characteristic of the new life.

What does he say?

It's not just quit stealing,

stop being thieves,

but rather work.

And I expected that part,

but it's not just work.

That made sense to me.

Stop stealing,

instead work,

work so you can buy the thing

you were going to steal, right?

That makes sense.

He goes further.

What does he say?

Not just stop stealing

and work so that you can get what you want.

Work so that you can do what?

Have something to share

with anyone in need.

He's going to our hearts.

He's saying,

don't just be good

and work hard

and provide for your family.

He's saying,

I want you to be looking at others

as more significant than yourselves.

I want you to be more anxious

even to provide for them

and get what they need

than what you want.

How quick most of us are

to find ways to get money

and resources for ourselves.

How slow most of us are

to find ways to give to others.

But Paul says,

not just you shouldn't be lazy

or you shouldn't be greedy

no matter how much you work,

but rather be generous.

Why?

Why is it important in this passage?

Because God has designed His people

to care for each other.

The follower of Christ

is to look for opportunities

to be a giver

rather than a taker.

To be one who is rich to others.

Not merely rich Himself.

What do you dream about?

You dream about getting more for yourself?

About how you can bless others

who need it?

What is it that energizes your heart?

That makes you excited?

That animates your checkbook?

That gets you going?

Is it something you've been wanting?

Or somebody else needs?

This passage doesn't say

it's wrong to be needy.

It says it's wrong to overlook the needy.

I'll be honest with you.

At about this point

in studying for the sermon this week,

I was ready to tap out

and be done.

Enough!

Ouch!

Enough!

Enough of cutting to my heart

and showing me my need.

It's hard, isn't it?

To go point by point

and one thing after another

to the heart.

A couple more.

Paul's going to turn back

to the tongue.

Verse 29.

Let no corrupting talk

come out of your mouths

but only such as is good

for building up

as fits the occasion

that it may give grace

to those who hear.

The great preacher

Charles Spurgeon

once said,

if all of man's sins

were divided into two bundles,

half of them

would be sins of the tongue.

One whole bundle

out of the two

would be things we do

with our tongues.

There's so much damage

we do, isn't there?

I suspect you were told

growing up as I was,

if you don't have

something nice to say,

yeah, yeah,

everybody learned that, right?

Good.

If you didn't, I'm sorry.

Now you'll know.

Don't say anything at all.

It's actually pretty good advice,

isn't it?

When Paul says corrupting talk,

that word he's using

for corrupting

is the word that's used

of rotting fruit

or putrid fish

that's gone bad

and spoiled.

That your talk

would do that

to someone else.

It would begin

to eat away at them.

To destroy them.

To damage others.

To tear them down.

Perhaps even building

yourself up

as you destroy them.

With our tongues,

we praise God

and with the same tongues,

we curse men

who were made

in His image.

And James says,

this should not be.

Instead,

Paul says,

don't just sit silently

all the time.

I mean,

that might be the way

we could avoid

corrupting talk.

Just don't talk at all.

Then you'll be safe.

But Paul says

it's more than that.

He says the new life

has speech

that builds up

and gives life.

Reminds me

in this verse

of Proverbs 25,

a word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold

in a setting of silver.

A word spoken

in the right way

at the right time.

It's precious.

It's valuable

as gracious critique,

as life-giving affirmation

to someone.

Aren't you thankful

for the encouragers

God has put in your life?

Whom could you encourage today?

Think of anyone

who needs a word

to be built up

rather than torn down?

Don't words have that power

to build us up?

Haven't you felt that?

That's why Paul says

the speech is so important

to build up the body,

to give grace

to those who hear, right?

To bless or benefit the body.

Especially with telephones

and internet,

very little tears

at the fabric of the church

more quickly

than words that tear down.

Talk that corrupts.

Thankfully,

the reverse is true.

Very little

builds community

more quickly

than gracious,

encouraging talk.

What kind of speech

do you use?

What kind of speech

do you condone

and enjoy

or tolerate

in your brothers and sisters?

Our tongues are dangerous.

And they often lead us to

or are a part of

even this last example

Paul gives.

Verses 31 and 32.

Let all bitterness

and wrath

and anger

and clamor

and slander

be put away from you

along with all malice.

Be kind to one another,

tender hearted,

forgiving one another

as God in Christ

forgave you.

We're going to come back

to verse 30

and grieving the Holy Spirit

next week.

There's lots to unpack there

and how it fits into this.

But in many ways,

this final category

combines some of the

previous ones

we've been talking about.

Perhaps what happens

is that someone hurts you.

There's an offense.

You're frustrated.

You're hurt.

And instead of

handling your anger

the way God would

direct you to,

rather than handling it

appropriately,

you let it fester, right?

It starts to eat away

inside you.

You become bitter.

You resent them.

And you begin to

desire that person's harm.

Actually have malicious intent

toward their reputation

or their welfare.

Slanderous words.

Actions intended to

hurt someone.

These are the outcomes

of harboring bitterness

in our hearts.

Paul says that's no longer

to characterize us.

Rather, we should be what?

What's the contrast here?

Instead, we should be kind,

tenderhearted,

and forgiving.

In other words,

we should seek the good

of others

rather than their harm.

Even those who've harmed us,

right?

That's actually what

forgiveness means.

Forgiveness says not that

I merely overlook

the offense that's been

committed against me

and say, you know what?

It really was no big deal.

There was no harm there.

No one really harmed me.

That's not what forgiveness means.

Forgiveness means,

rather, that I really was harmed,

but that I bear the cost

of that for your good.

That's forgiveness.

And isn't that how God

treated us?

Did God turn a blind eye

to our sin and say,

no harm done?

No big deal?

No.

No, He didn't.

But instead,

He bore the cost of it Himself.

And if our offenses against Him

have been forgiven,

if all of us in the body

have had God decide

He's working for our good,

who are we to want harm

of someone for whom God says,

I'm working for His good?

We should seek the good

of each other as well.

Do you love extending forgiveness?

Is it one of your favorite

things to do?

Or do you secretly revel

in keeping a superiority,

having things to hold over others

in relationships?

Is that where your heart really goes?

Would you rather see someone

who hurts you suffer hurt as well?

Or do you love to see them receive

what they don't deserve?

Do you harden your heart

in bitterness?

Or do you soften your heart

in kindness toward them?

Okay, that's the list.

Whew!

Made it through the list.

It can be exhausting.

It can be discouraging, can't it?

As we begin to see

the pain of our sin

as God does surgery on our hearts,

considering all these things at once,

let me just encourage you,

don't ignore where the Holy Spirit

has been pricking your heart

in the last few minutes.

Ask yourself honestly,

where has there been a catch?

Where did you feel Him saying,

here, I want you to consider this.

Which area right now

would you be seeking to ignore

that He'd be prodding you to address?

Selfishness?

Selfishness?

Dishonesty?

Careless words?

Anger and unforgiveness?

I found this week

as I meditated on these verses

that what happened to me

over and over

was God would show me weeds

that needed to be pulled up

right where I felt like

the garden was looking pretty good.

In the areas where I felt like,

okay, this one,

whew,

take a deep breath,

I don't really have to worry about this.

And at the same time,

God showed me flowers to plant,

opportunities to bless others

that I hadn't considered before.

Ask Him to do that in your heart.

But even as you consider that for yourself,

one thing you can't miss

when you look at this passage

is that God's not just talking to you.

He's talking to all of us.

It's a community project, isn't it?

All five of the reasons

behind why our lives should be different

have to do with some aspect

of the body of Christ.

Some aspect of the health of the body.

That's what God's after.

He's after not just new people,

but a new community, right?

What would it look like

if we all embraced

these new ways of living?

What kind of community

is God seeking to create

among those who know and trust Him?

What would it look like here?

Just a few ideas.

It's certainly a community

that should be encouraging

and uplifting.

Where others are looking out

for your good

and can't wait to serve you.

I think in particular,

it's a community

where it's safe to fail or struggle.

Don't you want to be part

of that kind of community?

A community where it is safe

to fail or struggle?

Why would it be safe

in the communities

that God is creating here?

Because when you fail

or when you struggle,

you encounter what?

forgiveness,

encouragement,

not uncontrolled anger

and slander.

So all of a sudden,

you're safe

when you fail.

It's that picture,

again,

from a few weeks ago

of truthing in love.

Where truth and love

remain connected

in our relationships

with each other.

It would be a community

where the materially poor

were attracted to it

because they were treated

like guests of honor.

They didn't feel like burdens.

It would be a community

where conflict

was handled regularly

and respectfully

because we loved

to forgive.

One more thought.

I think it would be a place

where the longer you're there,

the more you begin

to feel that it's not

just some sappy

southern smiles

on Sunday mornings

but you go home

wondering what people

really think about you.

You won't know that

at first in a community.

There's no way,

is there,

when you come in

to say,

I don't know,

are they just friendly

but really,

really,

what are they thinking

about me?

I think the longer

you stayed

in this kind of community,

the more you would realize

they're not faking

and they're not stabbing me

in the back

when I walk out

of the room.

People are genuinely

for me.

They really want

what's best for me.

They really love me.

Wouldn't you want to be

part of a community

like that?

Wouldn't you love

to be in that community?

You would

because that's what

God's designed you

and created you for.

To long for honest,

encouraging,

merciful,

forgiving community.

That's the way

He's designed us

and it's what's created

by the new life

that He's working

in us and among us.

So just one last question

this morning.

How?

How in the world

do we get there?

How does it happen?

Do we all just go do it?

Everybody go be like that

and it works great.

If you're convicted

of sin this morning,

how do you change?

How do we corporately

start to look like

the new life

and the new community

that God intends for us?

On either side

of the passage

we've looked at

this morning,

the verse that

comes right before it

and the verse that

comes right after it,

Paul tells us,

be like God.

Look at Ephesians 4.24.

Put on the new self

created after the likeness

of God

in true righteousness

and holiness.

Then the passage

we talked about,

Ephesians 5.1,

therefore,

be imitators of God.

Be like God.

That's a great summary

of the passage

we just looked at,

isn't it?

It's the essence

of what these

specific commands are.

Be like God.

What's He like?

He's the God

of all truth

who does not harbor

His anger forever,

who always gives to us,

always speaks grace to us,

always forgives

even though we don't

deserve those things.

What a great example

for us, right?

Be like God.

Be like God.

I thought about that

this week.

You know,

there was an ad campaign

when I was a young boy.

Some of you probably

heard of it.

It was called

Be Like Mike.

And so I,

along with millions

of other young boys,

decided that we were

going to be like

Michael Jordan.

We were going to start

drinking Gatorade,

wearing Nike tennis shoes,

and dunking the ball,

soaring through the air

the way that he did,

and it was so beautiful

to watch.

And so we were going

to be like Mike.

I would practice

all of the shots

that he did.

One of my favorite

was the one where he

floats across the top

of the key,

double pumps,

and fires a jumper

that beats the Jazz

in the NBA Finals

right at the buzzer.

It's one of his best shots.

But the problem for me

was in the middle

of that double pump,

I usually hit the ground

somewhere on the first pump,

and then the shot

went off the side

of the rim,

so I would move

to one of the other ones

where he was closer

to the basket,

and I never could dunk

without lowering

the goal down first.

Anybody else?

Yeah, some of y'all

lived in that.

Yeah.

I'm still working

on the dunking thing.

Having a good example

can be a good motivation

for a while,

can't it?

You can be inspired

to work hard

and really be excited

about being the best

that you can be,

and this actually came

in the midst of a culture

that we still largely live in

where you were told what?

You can be whatever you want

if you just put your mind to it

and work hard enough.

It was in many ways

a just-do-it mindset,

ironically enough.

But at some point

for a young boy

who wants to be like Mike,

that actually begins

to become not just inspiring

but discouraging,

doesn't it?

Why?

Because I wasn't

very much like him.

No matter how much

I watched him,

no matter how hard

I tried to do it

just the way he did,

I mean,

maybe a little bit better

if that was the goal,

but be like the best player

in the world?

No way.

I don't think

I've got what it takes.

No matter how hard I try,

I just can't seem to do it.

The good news of the gospel

is this,

that the story of Scripture

is not just be like God.

Isn't that good news?

If it was just be like God,

that's even harder

than be like Mike, right?

That's pretty tough.

In fact, it's not just

be like God

and he'll love you

even when you aren't.

Although, isn't that beautiful?

Can you say amen

to that this morning?

Praise the Lord.

Be like God

and he loves you

when you aren't.

Be imitators of God

as beloved children.

You're already his.

You already have his love.

Don't follow dad

to earn his love,

but because you already have it.

Isn't that such a different

perspective on life?

But it's actually

even more than that.

The grand story

of Scripture says

it's even more beautiful.

It says,

be like God.

That's what I've designed you for.

And it says he'll love you

even when you aren't like him.

And his love for you

is what gives you

the resources

to live like him.

It's his love

that enables it.

As many great shots

as he made,

as many of his shoes

as I wore,

Michael Jordan

never gave me

any resources

for being like him.

Go back to our

witness protection analogy.

Imagine that the witness

comes and gives his testimony

and then imagine

releasing that witness

penniless

back into the same town

where he just gave

the testimony.

Hey,

I hope you can do well.

Hope it goes well for you.

No new identity.

No new occupation.

No money to get

to a new place.

Hope you make it.

That's not witness protection,

is it?

No.

Witness protection says

I've got you a new identity,

a new job,

a new place,

and we're staying with you

to watch out for you.

We will keep providing

these things for you.

Listen,

God says this.

Southwood,

my beloved children,

how will you become

a community

like you've talked about

this morning?

A community like me?

I want to tell you.

He says,

I will never stop

pouring my love

into you.

I will keep

showering you

with forgiveness.

I will continue

to be the generous one

who gives

and gives

and gives

rather than takes.

I will never stop

singing over you

words of grace

rather than judgment.

And that's not just

a model for you.

It's more than that.

It's the only resource

that can make it happen.

You see,

I'm pouring those gifts

into you

so you can pour them out

on each other

even when they don't deserve it

because you didn't deserve it

when I gave them to you

in the first place.

I've given you my spirit.

I've given you

a new identity.

You're my beloved children

and that won't change.

I'm staying with you.

So stay close to me.

Drink deeply of me.

Experience my grace again.

And I'll keep making you,

as I always promised,

a community

where my character

and kindness

overflow

to everyone

who gets near you.

Let's pray.

Oh Father,

would you do that here?

On our best days,

we want that.

We want to be like that.

We want to be a place

where it's a refuge

for the hurting

and a safe home

for those who fail

and struggle.

We want to be that

because we feel

our need for it.

We need a community

like that.

And Father,

we know what it's like

to try to make it happen

on our own.

We know we don't have it in us

by ourselves.

Thank you,

thank you

that you haven't just

saved us and left us.

Thank you that you're with us,

that we're always your children

and you'll never

take your spirit from us.

Would you continue

to change us?

Would you continue

to give us the strength

to be the people

that you've created us to be,

the church you've created us to be?

And would many know

of your love?

Because it just spills

over the edges.

It just splashes out

from us

because you've been

so, so kind to us.

We ask that in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.