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[0:00] please join me in Luke chapter number 20. We will continue studying. We're at the end of the chapter here looking at different questions. As you turn there, you know, I love being a dad, watching Bo have his children here and knowing that I've got to raise my kids. Three of them are teenagers now or in middle school, almost teenagers. But one of the things that you know in here as a parent that you might not have expected, or at least I didn't expect, I didn't know as a parent how many questions that I would have to answer in my life. It's absolutely unbelievable how many questions in any given day we get asked all the time. One minute they just assume you know everything in the world. They ask you like the most complicated question and they think you know, but then on the most simple things of life they're surprised that you have anything to offer them. And so parents ask, kids ask us all kinds of questions. There's some like a curious mind, you know, especially when they're little. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? They're curious. Then you've got other questions where they try to test you. My kids like to ask me, who is your favorite kid? Carson.

[1:07] And the answer is John Asher, all right? I'll make sure they know it's none of them, all right? I don't want to give any of them an advantage, so I make sure I name some kid outside of the family. And so there's, they test me, and then there's other questions that they ask where they're trying to set you up for something, all right? Like, Dad, do you really want me to feel loved and special on my 13th birthday? All right? The answer is yes, which means that I've already answered the next question that is coming. So there's questions that kind of set you up that are being asked. And then there's questions they ask to prove if you know what you're talking about. Sometimes those are just one word questions where they say, really? You know? Which is just so loaded with meaning. Really?

[1:50] You know? They look at you like, how did you survive? Like, how did you get here? All right? How did you convince Mom to marry you? You know? They're saying all of that with that one word and that one look when they just say, really? Today, when we're looking at questions, Jesus is going to ask the question. And the question, it's biblical, meaning that the question is based, pertaining the scripture we'll look at. It's theological because it pertains to your understanding of God. And then lastly, I would say that it's vital. It's personal. Your answering of this question will affect your life and it'll affect your eternity. It will have, it's the decision that those in the story have to answer. So Luke chapter number 20, we call it questions and answers because it's at the very beginning, his authority has been questioned. Under whose authority do you do this? Then we get into maybe as like a press conference where he, questions are coming to him. There's questions about politics.

[2:48] There's about what do we render under Caesar? Do we pay our taxes? And he answers. Last week when I wasn't here, I thought it'd be good for Greg since he was getting married to handle that passage. I used to joke when I was the assistant pastor, it always seemed when it was my turn to preach, it was like the hardest passage. All right. So if you see a hard passage coming, you know that I may find a way to be out of town. All right. And so Greg looked at that question, which wasn't so much a difficult passage, but the question was given to try to see if Jesus could handle what seemed to be an impossible situation. And that had to do with a woman who had seven different husbands and who would she be married to in the resurrection? And Jesus gets to the heart of the matter. And when he is done answering the questions in Luke 20 verse 40, it said, and after that, that they durst, another word for dared not ask him any question at all. This wasn't just a moment. Sometimes when David was a treasurer in our business meeting, we would joke and say, we're going to stand here until it's awkward. All right. And it doesn't take me and David very long to stand anywhere before it gets awkward. Right. We're the awkward brothers there. But we'd say, we're going to make sure that everybody has a chance to ask the question here in this passage where it says they dare not ask a question. It wasn't that they had some, they were about to come, the conversation, they were just finished. Nobody dared ask another question because how he had handled the questions that they had brought. What it wasn't revealing about him, but the answer to the questions was revealing things about them. So they stopped asking the questions. Now, Jesus is going to ask the questions and we would do well to listen to his answers. We should consider these questions. And not only should we be good to listen to them, but we should answer them as well. Luke chapter number 20, verse number 41 through 47.

[4:44] And he said unto them, how say they that Christ is David's son? And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I'll make thine enemies thy footstool.

[5:00] David therefore calleth him Lord. How is he then his son? Then in the audience of all the people, he said unto his disciples, beware the scribes which desire to walk in long robes and love greetings in the markets, the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feast, which devour widows' houses and for a show make long prayers and the same shall receive greater condemnation. Simply, we look at true religion is to know Christ as Lord and false religion is to be religious to impress other people. That's where we'll spend more of our time next week, Lord willing. But let's pray as we look at this passage today. Heavenly Father, as we come today, Lord, I pray that you would give me clarity, Lord, as I think through this passage that you have helped me understand throughout the weeks, Lord, that you will help me have clear communication, that I will not stand between your intended purpose of this text and the intended desire of the hearts of the people in this room,

[6:01] Lord, that they would respond. Father, I pray that there'd be an honesty in the response, that there'd be an acknowledgement, Lord, that there's decisions that we made as children, and now there are decisions that we need to make about you being Lord, now that we are adults.

[6:16] I pray that you'll give everybody in here, Lord, clarity, that you are the son of David, and you are the Lord of David. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. First, I said that the question is biblical. We should take a field trip together. If you take your Bibles and go back to Psalm 110, this is as a paradox, as it would seem. It's a contradiction between two beliefs or conclusions where both of the conclusions are reasonable, but you just don't see how they fit together. And it's a quotation of Psalm 110. This is the most quoted portion of the Old Testament in the New Testament, Psalm 110. And in this, Jesus' goal is not to deny either premise, but it's to show a relationship between the two concepts. In effect, Jesus is saying, it's more important that you understand that I am David's Lord than that I am just that I am David's son. And so this question here, this final question that Jesus is asking, he wants them to understand the significant. His sonship of David shouldn't be denied, but they need to realize that he is also

[7:24] David's Lord. So if you found with me in Psalm 110, if you were with us on Thursday nights back in April of last year, we looked at Psalm 110. And when we got to Psalm 110, the first verse I'll read for you, it said, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

[7:45] So we had to figure out who is the Lord. There's two uses of the word Lord in this verse. How are we going to determine who is speaking? Some said it was Zadok the priest. Other people ascribe different people to it. And though it's not necessary, it's helpful. In many of your Bibles, you'll see capital letters for the word Lord in one, and then a capital L and then lowercase letters in the rest.

[8:06] But the best commentary on the Bible, as you've heard said many times, is the Bible itself. So back in that April time on a Thursday night when we were in Psalm 110, we turned to Luke chapter number 20. We turned to this. We turned to this press conference where Jesus is answering questions about politics and taxes and the resurrection, but he was also answering questions about his lordship. He was also giving us understanding of what was happening in Psalm 110.

[8:37] We see that we have Jesus as a king and as a priest. And the better we understand those roles in our lives, the better we see the beauty of his holiness, the beauty of how he is distinct and separate.

[8:50] And so the message is very significant, as all of God's word is. David being a prophet here, David is speaking the words of God. When we come to the Bible, we know that the people did not write it as a typewriter, meaning they just fell asleep and woke up and read it. But God used their words as they were writing them and saying them, be an Aaron and inspired. In Matthew 22, speaking of this passage, verse 43, he saith unto them, how then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying, and then it quotes Psalm 110. David, moved by the Spirit, moved by the Holy Spirit, makes this statement. So though it's David speaking, it's the God of heaven that is making this statement. Here David is referring to his descendants, which will be his Lord. And if you're in here, that isn't how it's supposed to work.

[9:41] I'm constantly having to remind my sons. That is not how it's going to work. All right. I am the father. You are the son. All right. But in this scenario, it says that the son would be the descendant of David would become David's Lord. And so someday sitting on the right hand of God, on the right hand of Yahweh means that this king would be exalted to power and dominion and honor and heaven and would be established. And Luke, we've looked at many months ago in Luke 11, when we talked about the queen of the South will rise up and the men of this generation and condemn them. And there would be one that is the wisdom of Solomon, one that was greater than Solomon, that there was one that's coming that would be greater than Solomon to be one that is greater than David. There was one that was greater than Solomon. And so biblically, that's the question.

[10:31] What was David saying when he said that my son will be the Lord, that my Lord? And so that's the question they had to answer. They were familiar with this passage. They had to come to an answer on the matter. So the first way he addresses them as he wants to reveal who he is to them is an area of studying the Bible. Secondly here, it's theological. There is no theological discussion until you've had a biblical discussion. Until you go to the words of God, there's no way to understand our God. He revealed himself to us. We would be without hope if it was us to find him, to come after him. But the words of God is God's communication to us so we can know him. And that's verses 41 through 44. And it said, And he said unto them, How say that ye are Christ? And Christ is David's son. And David himself saith in the book of Psalms. And it ends with the question, David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? So the Bible verse there, Psalm 110, ends with this theological question, How is his son his Lord? The most important question you'll ever be asked to answer is about the person of Jesus Christ.

[11:48] We follow more than a set of principles, although we have a system of thought and morals. We are more than members of a church, although every Christian should belong to a church, should join in a covenant membership as we saw today. And we're more than people that have a spiritual experience, even though we have an experience. It is experiential. We are people who follow Jesus as Lord. We have a personal relationship with the living God through his son, Jesus Christ. So in Jesus in John chapter number 17, and he speaks about life eternal, he says that you may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Who truly is Jesus? For Christians, this is the most fundamental question of our faith and in our life. In our life group today, Tony came in and shared a testimony with us today. He's visiting from LaGrange, Georgia, and told the testimony. Maybe I'll have an opportunity to have him share it in the days to come. But how divisive it was when a person heard who Jesus Christ was. How upset people get when you talk about anybody being their Lord, even the creator of the universe. So this involves two essentials. To answer this question, this theological question, it involves two things. First of all, you have to have a correct understanding, and then you must have a proper response. A correct understanding of the Lord. Jesus wasn't playing some theological game with him. He wasn't bringing up an interesting verse to stimulate a good debate. He didn't say, well, you told me kind of a riddle.

[13:24] Now let me tell you another riddle. Jesus is doing what we would call in this day evangelism. Jesus was helping people find and follow Jesus, which should have been quite easy because he was standing there, right? He was helping people find and follow him. He was coming to them so that they would not miss. Yes, I'm the son of David. Yes, I'm the promised Messiah. Yes, I am the one that blind Bartimaeus said not long ago, the son of David. And they all knew the significance of it.

[13:55] It wasn't that he was just a descendant of David, which the genealogy of Matthew 1 makes clear. That wasn't being contested. They knew this was a descendant of David. They were acknowledging this is the promised Messiah. But he said, do you remember that David said, somebody that you trust, revere, and honor, he said that his son would be his Lord. And that's what they have to understand.

[14:19] How can the Messiah be both David's son and Lord at the same time? The paradox cannot be resolved unless Messiah is both human, David's son, and divine, David's Lord, and the same person.

[14:32] On occasion, you'll find yourself in a conversation with somebody who does not believe that Jesus claimed to be God. And that's simply not the case. It's very plain. It's right here in front of us.

[14:46] What blind Bartimaeus said, thou art the son, he is also saying, I'm not only the son, but remember, David said the son would be the Lord. And this was not being argued. And so even if the great King David calls Messiah his Lord, don't you think that you must do the same also?

[15:03] And so the psalm gets referenced again later on. In chapter number 22, when we get to it, the psalm will pick up another portion of that Psalm 110, and it will say, Hereafter shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

[15:19] That's what will happen after the 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus will send, and he will take his place on the right hand, the place of power beside the Father.

[15:30] In Ephesians, we've learned that everything is placed under his feet as prophesied in Psalm 110. This is how it says in Ephesians 1, 20 through 22, which we wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

[16:03] And so to know Jesus Christ in a proper sense, you must have the right understanding of him as a person, and this should lead you to a proper response. And his last question, he's pleading with people to see who he truly is, and that's what makes it vital.

[16:20] This response is so vital for them. Every person should respond to the truth by trusting Christ as their Savior and yielding to him as Lord, as David did.

[16:31] And to understand him is to follow him. The proper response is not just intellectual, that Jesus is the Messiah, or that he is the Savior, but the proper response means believing in Jesus in the sense that you follow him as Lord, so that in thought and word and deed, you are grown to be more and more like him.

[16:51] How many in school, you're given a quiz? Sometimes when I give a quiz, up there in Dawsonville, the students will say, is this going to be multiple choice? I don't believe I've ever given a multiple choice quiz, but they don't stop from asking, all right?

[17:05] What is it we like so much about a multiple choice quiz? It's that you're going to get, what, a 25% chance of being right, all right? I've never told this story before, but when I was in fifth grade, I think because I had manners, they thought that I might be intelligent, and so they let me take the ACT, me and some of my friends, all right?

[17:23] And I looked at that, and I had no idea, so I drew Donald Duck in the bubbles, all right? And I got a 16, all right? And so multiple choices, purely guessing at it.

[17:34] So some people in here, though, and this is how I'll ask this group in here, all right? How many of you say, I would prefer an essay? Because in an essay, you don't have to know the answer. You just got to convince the people you know the answer.

[17:46] How many of you, all right, good. Some of you don't have your hands raised, but I know the answer to that. But then there's a third type of quiz that you get on the rare occasion. David, I don't know if you or Zach do this or Jennifer, but it's where you sit down.

[18:00] They do this early in the year, all right? You sit down and say, we're going to give you a quiz. And you're like, I just started school. How are you going to give me a quiz? And you sit down and you start filling out the answers as quick as you can, all right?

[18:12] Because you want to beat everybody else in the classroom, and you're answering all these questions. But you notice people getting up and taking their quiz and turning it in before you're done. And you're thinking, what's going on?

[18:23] Like, how are they done and I'm not? You teachers know what I'm talking about? It's that quiz in the first paragraph where it says, please read all the instructions before starting your quiz.

[18:34] Wait two minutes and bring your quiz and set it on my desk, and you'll get a completion. And it's a quiz that they give about following instructions. How many of you have had this quiz before, all right?

[18:45] All right, and so it's a common one. And I fail for it every year, all right? Teachers would do it every year, and I would just take off wanting to answer those questions. And so here we have a type of quiz, not multiple choice.

[18:58] It's not essay. But the question is, will you follow me? It will require action. Your understanding of who Jesus is has to be more than intellectual. It has to change your life.

[19:10] 2 Peter 3.18 speaks about you and I as believers growing in grace. And it says it like this, But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord, the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[19:23] To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. I love hearing people share testimonies. Enjoyed hearing Bo and Lawrence this morning. And we get to a point where a person recognizes something about Jesus Christ and as Lord.

[19:38] But as we grow older, we grow in our knowledge of what it means that He is our Savior. As I grow older, I realize my understanding of eternity is vastly better than it was when I was a small kid.

[19:51] My understanding of needing a Savior is vastly greater than it was when I was a small kid. My understanding that He is Lord is greater than it was when I was a kid.

[20:02] And so we share a testimony. It would say that at the age of 8, 9, 10, 15, 25, we came to know Christ. But there's been times in my life. For me, there's times in my life at a Christian camp where I went forward and I said, I know that I'm saved, but I want my whole life to be given to Him.

[20:20] There's meaning that the life that I recognized when I was at 9, I began to take it back from Him. And I just want to tell Jesus today, my hands are off. This belongs to Him.

[20:31] And depending on your tradition or what your upbringing, there's different vocabularies about it. But you grow in your understanding of who He is.

[20:42] When I get saved at the age of 9, did I recognize that He was Lord and Savior? I did. But at the age of 15, the understanding of what it meant for Him to be Lord was being challenged.

[20:54] And I had to make continual decisions. And now I'm making decisions as a dad where I have to make that same decision. So I believe as a child that God was my Lord, but then I became an adult.

[21:06] And now I have adult-sized decisions to make. And I need to grow in grace and the knowledge of His Lordship in my life. You need to recognize that.

[21:17] You think about your testimony. Did you, at your testimony, did you recognize that Jesus Christ had died for your sins and you had an understanding, but you should be growing in that understanding? Because you're being challenged in different areas.

[21:30] The Lordship of Jesus is being challenged on every corner in the life we live. At every season of life, there are challenges. And this is the Jesus of the Bible. In Mark 12, a parallel passage, it said, David therefore himself calleth Him Lord.

[21:44] And whence is He then His son? And the common people heard Him gladly. It's a contrast between the Jewish leaders who have been trying to trap Jesus with these subtle questions.

[21:55] And this large Passover crowd was listening all along to His teaching with delight, though not necessarily with comprehension. They were listening to Him, but were they comprehending that not only is He the Son of David, the Messiah, but He's also the Lord of David, and He should be our Lord.

[22:15] I do not know if the new modern rendering of Jesus would need to be crucified today. Every generation tries to alter Jesus. We try to tailor Him to our lives.

[22:27] I believe that there's a version of Jesus that could be adopted for any cause that you would have. That Jesus would be so much like one of us that we would not be intimidated to go to His house, but we would not revere Him as judge or worship Him as the one who died for our sins.

[22:43] The identity of Jesus as Lord is always under question. And that day, Jesus confronts it face to face. Jesus calls upon them to make a decision, and He said it unto them, How say that Christ is David's son?

[22:59] And with the resurrection, all doubt and full knowledge should have came that this is the Son of God. That this is not just the Son of David, but this is the Son of God.

[23:12] The psalm shows the promise that through David's son, eventually all the king's enemies will be defeated. And how can the Son of David be the Lord of David? And this mystery is solved. And how is it solved?

[23:23] What do we know? It solved in the incarnation. That because Jesus was born of Mary in a manger 2,000 years ago, He is also the co-eternal, co-existent, powerful Son of God.

[23:37] And when we take our eyes off of Jesus, we immediately begin to lose our way around Scripture. Charles Simeon would give an example like this. He used a sundial as an example.

[23:48] He didn't have an iPhone to use, so he used a sundial. And in this illustration of a sundial, he's living in the middle of the 19th century. So the sundial would be out in the churchyard or out in the back garden.

[24:00] How many of you use a sundial today? Anybody in here? All right. I had to look it up because I didn't really know exactly what I was talking about. And I'm only about 80% there right now. All right. And when the sundial exists on a cloudy day, all that you have on the sundial are numbers and figures.

[24:15] But if the clouds part and if the sun shines and then the figures convey a message, then the finger points. Because I wasn't raised studying middle 19th century history and I did what crocodile done did.

[24:32] I do know a person can walk out and say what time it is and they can look up at the sun. All right. And they can guess what time it is. All right. That's what we're talking about is that on earth, a sundial brings no value to you if the sun is not shining.

[24:46] But when the clouds part and the sun shines, then you can reveal the time. That's what happened with Peter when he makes the confession, thou art the Christ.

[24:57] And Jesus says that flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but the Father which is in heaven. That the word of God has revealed to you that Jesus is not just the son of David, the Messiah, a historical figure, which cannot be argued.

[25:11] But he's also the Lord of the universe. And so I ask you in here, has the sun broken through the clouds for you? Yes, you know that Jesus is the son of man and you know that he's a historical figure.

[25:24] But you know that Jesus is the Lord of the universe. And as a believer in here, are you growing in your knowledge of who Jesus is in relationship to your adult life?

[25:37] But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The hymn be glory both now and forever. Amen. I would encourage you in here today, if you've never read through the Gospels, and ask, Who is Jesus Christ?

[25:51] What claims does he make about himself? Could such a man as this merely be David's son, or must he also be David's Lord? And if he is David's Lord, should he not also be my Lord?

[26:03] I love taking teenagers to camp. At camp, some years ago, when it comes to time to making a decision at church, here, I will give you in a moment, I'm not going to ask you to bow your head and close your eyes off the new one Sunday.

[26:17] That's an appropriate thing to do when there's personal decisions that are being made. But when we're talking about the Lordship of Jesus Christ, this is a matter that you need to make a decision on. You ought to ask yourself, what is the next step in life?

[26:29] So a couple of years ago at camp with our teenagers, we had a 100% response to the altar call. And this is how we did it. And this won't be happening in the same way today, as I see some of you tightening up, all right?

[26:41] But what I said was, with the teenagers, is that in following Jesus, there's always the next step in following him. That salvation is not something progressive that we're earning, but because we met Jesus, he is now leading us.

[26:55] And so there's always decisions to make. And so we get to take all these kids when they're teenagers to a camp and we ask questions like this. Now at the age of 13, with 13-year-old decisions, how do you live in a way that reflects that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life?

[27:10] Let's make that decision. If you need, if you're not reading your Bible as you should, why don't you go over to that corner over there and pray with that group over there? If you have a lost loved one that you're praying for and that you know you need to share the gospel, and Jesus is telling you and leading you and saying, you need to be obedient to me and sharing your faith, why don't you come over here and pray?

[27:29] If you're dealing with anger and bitterness and unforgiveness, maybe towards your parents or somebody else, following Jesus and recognizing he's Lord means letting go of that. Why doesn't that group go over there?

[27:41] And if you're not part of any of these groups, why don't you just come down to the altar and say, hey, say, Lord, I want to follow you. I'm your follower and I need you to show me what it is that you would have for me today as I follow you.

[27:54] Because you're not just a historical figure, but you are the Lord of the universe. But I don't get to take all of you to camp. I don't get to give invitations just like that.

[28:05] Or do I? All right. But this is what I can offer for you. I would like to encourage you here in a moment. I'm going to pray and I want you to pray as well. And then we're going to stand and sing.

[28:17] And if God lays upon your heart what it means to follow him, if the sun has shined upon your heart and you recognize him, not as just a historical person, but he needs to be the Lord of your life, the day needs to be the day that you put your faith and trust in him.

[28:31] And so you can find somebody. Come and find me near at the front. I'll be standing here. I love the opportunity to share with you. I take you to my office. If you're a lady, a lady would come in there and they would share.

[28:42] Maybe that's where you're at today. That the light of scripture has never shined upon your heart because you've never recognized Jesus as anything more than a moral teacher. But today, Jesus stands in front of you and he's asking the questions.

[28:56] And he says, If David says that his descendant will be his Lord, then who are you to say that I'm not your Lord? You made a decision about Jesus. You decided to come here today, but you ever made a decision about who he is as Lord.

[29:10] May his light shine upon your heart. But as followers of Jesus in here, you went off the camp. You used to be in Awanas. And people used to ask you all the time, What does it mean to follow Jesus at your age and where you're at?

[29:23] But now that you're an adult, I want to ask you the same question. What does it look like to have Jesus Christ as your Lord as a parent or as a grandparent or as an employee or as a business owner?

[29:34] Does the Lordship of Christ permeate every aspect of your life? Or are there areas of your life where you need to grow in your knowledge and understanding? He gave us all in our place.

[29:46] And we give our lives to come back to him. For us to live should be as Christ. So let's pray together. And then afterwards, we'll take a moment and we'll stand and sing.

[29:58] And then as we pray here in this moment, would you ask the God of heaven to lead and guide you in what your next step is? As a church, helping you take that next step is our highest priority.

[30:10] It is my God-given responsibility to help you as you identify what that next step is, help you take it. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the clarity of your word today.

[30:21] I thank you that you had your son ask the question to some people that every one of us in this room today, Lord, have to answer. So, Father, I first in here, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

[30:36] We gather here today, Lord, recognizing that you're not just our Savior, but you are also our Lord. So I pray through the work of the Holy Spirit that people in here would recognize what it is in their next step or that they would avail themselves of the opportunity that are provided to them by this church.

[30:56] That these seven or eight verses they studied the day with me, Lord, would not be all the scripture that they receive. That the time that they spent around God's word in here would not just be on a Sunday morning or in a church time, Lord, but they would make decisions.

[31:11] Heavenly Father, as we read through our church covenant today, maybe you laid something upon the hearts of some of our members in here in areas, Lord, where they have not allowed you, where they've not recognized that you have rightful claim to it.

[31:25] So I pray today that the Holy Spirit will do the work that only he can do in identifying the areas of our lives, Lord, that we need to grow in grace and in knowledge of you.

[31:39] I also pray, Father, in here for people that only you would know, those that have never put their faith and trust in you. And I pray that the light of the gospel will shine brightly upon their hearts today, that they would recognize that the Jesus that they learned about growing up was wonderful and kind, but they never recognize that he is also their Lord and that today would be a day of recognizing that.

[32:05] With every head bowed and every eye closed, asking that you would have an honest response to the Lord. If you're in here today and you would say, I've known the historical Jesus, I've known the one that was taught to me and the moral teacher, but the day God's word has shined upon my heart and I recognize that he is the Lord of the universe and he is also my Lord.

[32:27] And I want to acknowledge that in his life. If that's your story in here today, would you raise your hand and just raise it towards heaven so that God could recognize that. God would see that, your honesty, and I could pray for you.

[32:38] Heavenly Father, you know the stories in this room. You know where we stand before you. And Father, I rejoice today to get to raise my family among people that recognize you as Lord and Savior.

[32:50] Lead us, Lord, individually into our next steps. And Lord, as we individually take our next steps, may that lead our church, Lord, into the future that you have for us.

[33:02]  In Jesus' name I pray, amen.