WEBVTT

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 Begin our worship now. We're singing firstly today from Psalm 96A, Psalm 96A on page 126

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 of the Blue Psalm books. The tune is St. Columba, and that's number 126. St. Columba is the tune,

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 page number is 12696A. We'll sing verses 1 to 10.

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 O sing a new song to the Lord. Sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day. Let all the

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 earth proclaim. His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare. How great and awesome is the

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 Lord. With him no gods compare. These verses 1 to 10 will stand to sing, if you're able to stand.

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 O sing a new song to the Lord. Sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day.

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 Let all the earth proclaim. His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare. How great and all

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 awesome is the Lord. With him no gods compare. For at the cross and root and stone, the Lord made heaven's

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 light. All power. All power and majesty, all majesty are his. He dwells in glorious light.mans.

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 He dwells in glorious light. All nations to the Lord have strife.

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 The glory that is due.

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 Glory and strength, a strike to God.

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 And praise His name and you.

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 Adore His heart with joy and bring an offering with you.

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 Worship the Lord in holy fear.

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 All earth before Him are.

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 Till every lamb the Lord is king.

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 His calf leases the air.

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 And cannot move.

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 The Lord will judge the people's name.

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 It's true.

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 Let's join together now in prayer.

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 Let's call upon the Lord.

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 O gracious God, as we appear once again before you, as we gather together in worship,

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 we pray that we may know that sense of your presence, that presence of God that is so precious to His people.

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 We come before you today, O Lord, to seek your blessing, as we seek to give you the worship that is due to your name.

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 Lord, we pray that you would give to us the grace that we require,

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 the grace that you know we need and how we need it and for what reason,

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 the grace that you describe in your word as ever adapted to our need.

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 We thank you today for the privilege, Lord, of being here.

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 We pray as we gather here.

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 We pray especially now for the children.

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 We pray that you would bless them, Lord, today as they receive further experience of what it means to belong to your church,

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 what it means to worship you and to gather with others to worship you,

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 and the teaching that comes from your word, from the gospel.

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 Bless them, we pray today.

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 Grant your blessing to our young folk at this time as they have a time of holiday from school.

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 Remember them, Lord, and keep them safe, we pray.

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 Grant your blessing, we pray, to all our families, all our loved ones today as we commit them to you.

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 We pray that you'd continue to guide them in the way of life.

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 We ask, O Lord, that you would reveal yourself to them savingly,

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 that they may become the children of God if they are not so already.

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 And again, we commend them, Lord, to you today and ask that you'd be pleased to draw near to them.

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 Hear us, we pray now, and pardon our sin and cleanse us freely.

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 For Jesus' sake, amen.

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 Amen.

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 Well, a word to the children, this time before you go out to look to your tweenies.

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 There are some others in as well that don't belong to tweenies.

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 But I have a plant at home, or I should say we have a plant at home.

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 It's called a friendship plant.

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 I understand there are quite a number of different kinds of friendship plants.

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 This one has nice blue flowers on it.

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 And it's a rather strange plant because what happens is in this month, when the clocks change,

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 later this month, this plant goes into a dark cupboard.

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 And you just leave it there until the clocks change again next spring.

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 Then you take it out, and it looks absolutely dead.

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 It looks as if it'll never grow again.

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 You take it out into the light.

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 You give it some water.

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 And slowly it begins to come back to life.

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 And eventually it grows and produces these flowers again.

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 And you do that every single year, as long as you have it.

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 Put it in the dark when the clocks change in October.

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 Bring it out again when the clocks change in the spring.

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 And that's really a picture for me and for you, I'm sure, as well, of resurrection, of coming back from the dead, which Jesus did.

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 Remember, Jesus died on the cross.

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 He was buried in the garden.

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 And on the third day after he died, he rose from the dead.

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 He came back from the dead.

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 And many people saw him after he had risen from the dead.

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 And these plants remind us, just like you find in the springtime when the bulbs start coming through the earth again.

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 Little snowdrops, first of all, and other bulbs.

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 Looks like they've been dead.

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 They come back to life.

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 Now, Jesus was dead, but he did come back to life.

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 And the thing with a friendship plant is, not only does it show these features, and you can see it growing again after a time that it seems to have been dead.

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 But it's called a friendship plant because you're supposed to take cuttings from it, plant them, and then they grow into a friendship plant all on their own.

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 And the reason you're called a friendship plant is, you then give that new plant to somebody else, a friend or a neighbor, and they actually look after it.

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 And we hope that they will actually take the cutting, pass that on to somebody else as a new plant.

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 So the friendship plant keeps spreading.

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 It comes to new homes, and it keeps producing new plants as the time goes on.

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 And Jesus has told us about himself, and Jesus gives us the life that he alone can give us, eternal life, not so that we can keep it to ourselves.

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 The gospel, if you like, is a friendship plant.

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 Once it's planted in our hearts and life there by Jesus' power begins to grow, we then pass it on to others.

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 We tell others about Jesus.

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 And so the news about Jesus is something that we want to see going to different homes, different people, our friends, we pass it on to others.

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 So that they too will come to know Jesus, that they will come to love Jesus, and they'll pass on the news about Jesus to someone else.

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 See if you can find a friendship plant.

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 Get your mums or dads or grannies or whoever to look for a friendship plant and see if you can grow it like this.

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 See how amazing it is that it dies out for all of these months, and then six months later, it starts growing again, and you pass it on to friends.

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 That reminds you of the wonder of Jesus who came back from the dead, who gives us life so that we can then tell others about this wonderful news and pass it on to them, that they too will come to know Jesus for themselves.

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 Now we're going to say the Lord's Prayer again together.

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 Let's say the Lord's Prayer.

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 Amen.

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 I'm going to sing again now to God's praise.

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 Our second psalm is Psalm 71, and that's on page 90.

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 A tune is Bunele.

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 Psalm 71, verses 1 to 8.

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 And you, O Lord, I have taken refuge.

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 Protect me ever from disgrace.

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 Rescue and save me in your justice.

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 Turn to me as I seek your face.

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 Be my strong rock and my sure refuge, to which I always may resort.

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 Give the command to help and save me, because you are my rock and fort.

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 These verses 1 to 8 in Psalm 71.

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 Go on.

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 And I have taken refuge.

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 I've taken refuge.

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 Pray, oh, take me ever from disgrace.

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 Rescue and save me in your justice.

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 Turn to me as I seek your face.

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 Be my strong rock and my sure refuge,

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 to which I always may resort.

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 Give the command to help and save me,

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 because you are my rock and fort.

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 From wicked hands, my God, go save me.

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 From cruel hands of violence.

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 For sovereign Lord, you've been my refuge,

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 and since my youth my confidence.

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 From birth I have relied upon you.

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 You are the guide of all my ways.

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 Out of my mother's womb you brought me,

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 to you I ever will give praise.

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 To many I've had cause of wonder,

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 but you are still my refuge strong.

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 My mouth is filled with adoration,

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 praising your splendor all day long.

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 Now we'll turn to read God's Word.

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 We have two readings this morning.

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 First of all, from Paul's letter to the Ephesians,

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 and chapter 2, verses 11 to 21.

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 And then we're going to read some verses

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 from 1 Peter, chapter 2, and the first nine verses.

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 So firstly from Ephesians, chapter 2,

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 beginning at verse 11.

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 Therefore remember that at one time

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 you Gentiles in the flesh,

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 called the uncircumcision by what is called

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 the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands,

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 remember that you were at that time

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 separated from Christ,

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 alienated from the commonwealth of Israel

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 and strangers to the covenants of promise,

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 having no hope and without God in the world.

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 But now in Christ Jesus,

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 you who were far off have been brought near

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 by the blood of Christ.

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 For he himself is our peace,

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 who has made us both one

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 and has broken down in his flesh

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 the dividing wall of hostility

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 by abolishing the law of commandments

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 and ordinances,

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 that he might create in himself

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 one new man

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 in place of the two,

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 so making peace,

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 might reconcile us both to God

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 in one body through the cross,

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 thereby killing the hostility.

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 And he came and preached peace to you

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 who were far off

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 and peace to those who were near,

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 for through him we both have access

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 in one spirit to the Father.

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 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

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 but you are fellow citizens with the saints

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 and members of the household of God,

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 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

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 Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

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 in whom the whole structure,

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 being joined together,

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 grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

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 In him you also are being built together

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 into a dwelling place for God

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 by the Spirit.

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 We turn to 1 Peter 2.

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 We'll read the first 10 verses of the chapter.

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 So put away all malice

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 and all deceit

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 and hypocrisy

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 and envy

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 and all slander.

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 Like newborn infants,

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 long for the pure spiritual milk

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 that by it you may grow up to salvation.

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 If indeed you have tasted

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 that the Lord is good,

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 as you come to him,

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 a living stone rejected by men,

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 but in the sight of God,

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 chosen and precious,

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 you yourselves,

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 like living stones,

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 are being built up as a spiritual house

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 to be a holy priesthood,

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 to offer spiritual sacrifices

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 acceptable to God

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 through Jesus Christ.

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 For it stands in Scripture,

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 Behold,

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 I am laying in Zion a stone,

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 a cornerstone,

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 chosen and precious,

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 and whoever believes in him

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 will not be put to shame.

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 So the honor is for you who believe,

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 but for those who do not believe,

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 the stone that the builders rejected

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 has become the cornerstone

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 and a stone of stumbling

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 and a rock of offense.

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 They stumble because they disobey the word

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 as they were destined to do.

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 But you are a chosen race,

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 a royal priesthood,

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 a holy nation,

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 a people for his own possession,

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 that you may proclaim the excellencies

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 of him who called you out of darkness

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 into his marvelous light.

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 Once you were not a people,

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 but now you are God's people.

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 Once you had not received mercy,

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 but now you have received mercy.

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 May God once again bless to us

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 these readings of his word.

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 Let's again engage in prayer.

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 Amen.

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 O gracious God,

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 we thank you for your word.

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 We pray that you would bless

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 your word to us today.

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 We are familiar with much

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 of its teaching, O Lord.

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 Most of us have been familiar with it

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 since the time of our youth.

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 But we pray again, Lord,

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 as we need your spirit today

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 to help us to understand

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 and apply your word.

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 We pray for that ministry

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 of your spirit amongst us today

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 as we gather.

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 We thank you for the way

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 that your spirit opens up our minds

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 to understand those things

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 of your word.

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 We pray that you would grant us today,

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 O Lord,

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 that we may know

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 that our knowledge is increasing,

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 that we grow in the grace

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 and in the knowledge

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 of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 We ask, Lord,

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 today for your blessing

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 as we gather,

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 as we gather in this place of worship.

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 We pray that you would enable us,

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 Lord,

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 to know the privilege

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 and to give thanks

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 for the privilege

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 of being your people

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 in this world.

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 And as we have been reading

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 in your word, O Lord,

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 and as we will give a mind to later,

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 and as we think, O Lord,

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 of the teaching of your word,

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 that your people form

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 a spiritual temple,

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 a spiritual dwelling place for God.

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 Help us, Lord,

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 to have that sense of wonder

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 and of praise

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 and of delight

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 that you have done this for us,

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 that you do this

00:19:37.620 --> 00:19:39.019
 with regard to your people,

00:19:39.580 --> 00:19:40.559
 that you form them

00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.180
 into that living temple

00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:44.279
 in which you are pleased to dwell.

00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:45.480
 Lord,

00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:46.819
 we ask your blessing today

00:19:46.819 --> 00:19:48.319
 to be with us here

00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.200
 as a congregation,

00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:51.860
 as a part of that spiritual edifice

00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:53.979
 that exists throughout the world,

00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:55.959
 that you are building for yourself

00:19:55.959 --> 00:19:58.199
 in all the different circumstances

00:19:58.199 --> 00:20:00.079
 in which we find people's lives.

00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:01.299
 Yet, Lord,

00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.219
 we know that you are taking your people

00:20:03.219 --> 00:20:05.379
 out of darkness into light,

00:20:05.979 --> 00:20:06.879
 that one by one

00:20:06.879 --> 00:20:08.299
 you are saving your people

00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:09.899
 and giving them to be

00:20:09.899 --> 00:20:11.299
 as living stones placed

00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:13.799
 in the walls of your spiritual temple.

00:20:14.639 --> 00:20:15.539
 And we pray, O Lord,

00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:17.219
 today that your spirit

00:20:17.219 --> 00:20:18.119
 will be at work

00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:19.519
 in all the places

00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:21.099
 where your word is declared,

00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:23.000
 wherever your word is read

00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:23.679
 and proclaimed.

00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.719
 Lord, we pray that you are blessed

00:20:25.719 --> 00:20:27.379
 to the saving of their souls.

00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:29.599
 We pray that many will come

00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:31.599
 to regard even this day

00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:33.859
 as the day of their spiritual birth

00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:35.259
 when they have been brought

00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:36.059
 out of darkness

00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:38.099
 into your marvelous light.

00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:40.159
 Bless us here, we pray,

00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:41.719
 as a congregation.

00:20:41.959 --> 00:20:43.199
 You have set us, O Lord,

00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:44.859
 in these circumstances

00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:46.419
 in which we find ourselves,

00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:47.740
 in the location

00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:49.179
 in which we find ourselves.

00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:51.160
 We know that you have done this

00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:51.960
 for a purpose,

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.440
 so that we might show forth

00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.060
 the light of the gospel

00:20:56.060 --> 00:20:57.000
 and of your truth,

00:20:57.660 --> 00:20:58.980
 that our lives might, Lord,

00:20:59.100 --> 00:21:01.200
 reflect your goodness to us,

00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:03.600
 your grace shining through your people.

00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.120
 We ask today that you bless us here,

00:21:06.220 --> 00:21:07.039
 each one of us.

00:21:07.600 --> 00:21:10.920
 We all represent such different needs

00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:12.640
 and such a variety of needs.

00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:14.560
 We represent, O Lord,

00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:16.660
 such different gifts

00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:18.020
 and different talents,

00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:20.380
 different requirements, O Lord,

00:21:21.020 --> 00:21:22.160
 different characters.

00:21:23.020 --> 00:21:24.240
 We pray today, O Lord,

00:21:24.320 --> 00:21:27.000
 that your word will bless us richly.

00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:29.540
 We pray that we may know, Lord,

00:21:29.580 --> 00:21:30.800
 as we leave this place

00:21:30.800 --> 00:21:32.100
 that you have met with us.

00:21:32.820 --> 00:21:34.320
 We have come under the influence

00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:35.220
 of your truth.

00:21:36.020 --> 00:21:36.800
 We have come, Lord,

00:21:36.840 --> 00:21:38.100
 to know the guidance

00:21:38.100 --> 00:21:39.700
 of your spirit once again.

00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:42.240
 And we pray that we may be thankful

00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.860
 that we can anticipate

00:21:43.860 --> 00:21:45.400
 such as we pray to you

00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:46.720
 and ask, Lord,

00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:47.900
 that you would even exceed

00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:49.640
 what we ask and think.

00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.759
 Bless today those, Lord,

00:21:51.860 --> 00:21:53.660
 who have specific needs

00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:54.700
 that are brought to us

00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:56.000
 from time to time.

00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:56.940
 Remember, we pray,

00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:58.299
 especially today,

00:21:58.360 --> 00:21:59.340
 those who mourn

00:21:59.340 --> 00:22:00.960
 some in tragic,

00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:02.620
 unexpected circumstances.

00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:04.319
 We pray for them

00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.240
 and for their families.

00:22:06.100 --> 00:22:06.960
 And we ask that you

00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.360
 draw near to them, Lord,

00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.119
 with your healing touch,

00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:11.519
 with your own grace

00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:12.519
 to comfort them.

00:22:13.179 --> 00:22:15.259
 We ask that they may be drawn to you,

00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:17.299
 to draw their strength from you.

00:22:17.979 --> 00:22:19.179
 We pray that you would give them

00:22:19.179 --> 00:22:20.979
 the grace to wait upon yourself,

00:22:21.859 --> 00:22:23.240
 Lord, to realize that

00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:24.859
 your interest in us

00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:25.839
 as human beings

00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:28.799
 extends to every aspect of life

00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:30.939
 and that you have provided for us

00:22:30.939 --> 00:22:32.479
 in the Lord Jesus Christ,

00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:34.839
 one who understands all our need,

00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:37.059
 who has indeed been touched

00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:39.339
 with the filling of our infirmities,

00:22:39.859 --> 00:22:40.599
 who has been tempted

00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:42.899
 in all points like as we are,

00:22:43.379 --> 00:22:44.720
 who knows in himself

00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.899
 the reality of family life,

00:22:47.399 --> 00:22:48.240
 of bereavement,

00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:48.819
 of sorrow,

00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:50.079
 of death.

00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:51.740
 And we thank you today,

00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:52.159
 O Lord,

00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:52.960
 that he lives

00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:54.440
 so as to be

00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:55.940
 one who is able

00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:56.940
 to bring that

00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:58.399
 powerful help

00:22:58.399 --> 00:22:59.119
 to his people.

00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:00.460
 Remember,

00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:01.360
 we pray those

00:23:01.360 --> 00:23:03.440
 today who have

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:05.620
 had difficulties

00:23:05.620 --> 00:23:07.200
 in the recent times

00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.120
 to contend with.

00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:09.360
 Lord,

00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:10.460
 we pray for those

00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:11.299
 who have been

00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:12.259
 in various accidents.

00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:13.960
 We ask that you'd

00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:15.039
 bless William,

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.420
 Don Durbin's

00:23:16.420 --> 00:23:17.279
 brother,

00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:18.180
 as he recovers

00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:19.600
 from his accident

00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:20.140
 at work.

00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:20.680
 We pray

00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:21.860
 and give thanks,

00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:22.160
 Lord,

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:22.819
 that he is

00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:24.759
 showing an increase

00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:26.160
 and coming back

00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:27.100
 to health and strength.

00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:27.600
 We pray

00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:28.699
 for him.

00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:29.519
 We pray for Don.

00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:30.519
 We pray for the family.

00:23:31.219 --> 00:23:32.039
 We ask that you'd

00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:32.579
 remember them

00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:33.240
 at this time.

00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:34.740
 We pray,

00:23:34.939 --> 00:23:35.139
 Lord,

00:23:35.219 --> 00:23:35.539
 too,

00:23:35.679 --> 00:23:36.899
 for all others

00:23:36.899 --> 00:23:37.859
 who have serious

00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:38.939
 illness at this time

00:23:38.939 --> 00:23:40.279
 who belong to us

00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:41.119
 and are known to us

00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:41.839
 in our community.

00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:43.779
 We pray that you'd

00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:44.899
 lay your healing hand

00:23:44.899 --> 00:23:45.459
 upon them

00:23:45.459 --> 00:23:46.259
 if it please you.

00:23:46.939 --> 00:23:47.819
 We pray for those

00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:48.339
 who are anxious

00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:49.579
 over them at this time.

00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:51.519
 We pray that you'd

00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:52.299
 be pleased,

00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:52.599
 Lord,

00:23:52.699 --> 00:23:53.719
 to draw near to them

00:23:53.719 --> 00:23:54.939
 and give them

00:23:54.939 --> 00:23:55.659
 of your comfort

00:23:55.659 --> 00:23:56.299
 and guidance.

00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.980
 We pray for our

00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:58.480
 hospital,

00:23:58.680 --> 00:23:59.539
 for our hospice,

00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:01.200
 for our care homes,

00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.519
 for all the various

00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.099
 provisions made for us

00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:06.519
 in them,

00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:06.799
 Lord,

00:24:06.940 --> 00:24:07.680
 in your goodness.

00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:09.240
 We ask that you would

00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:10.419
 bless them to us

00:24:10.419 --> 00:24:11.480
 and bless those

00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:12.419
 who reside in them.

00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:14.919
 We pray your blessing,

00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:15.159
 too,

00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:15.440
 Lord,

00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:16.879
 for our society,

00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:17.500
 our nation

00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:18.319
 at this time,

00:24:18.899 --> 00:24:20.220
 this time of uncertainty,

00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.119
 time of continuing turmoil

00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:23.079
 politically

00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:24.639
 and socially.

00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:25.580
 We ask,

00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:26.040
 O Lord,

00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:27.560
 that you would give us

00:24:27.560 --> 00:24:28.360
 the stability

00:24:28.360 --> 00:24:29.720
 of your truth

00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:31.520
 beneath all that we do.

00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:33.420
 We lament the fact,

00:24:33.520 --> 00:24:33.900
 O Lord,

00:24:34.020 --> 00:24:35.360
 that your truth

00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:37.000
 has so much

00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:38.240
 been cast aside

00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:40.040
 and that it has been

00:24:40.040 --> 00:24:41.340
 taken so largely

00:24:41.340 --> 00:24:43.020
 out of the public square

00:24:43.020 --> 00:24:44.400
 and that attempts

00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.600
 are still being made

00:24:45.600 --> 00:24:46.259
 to take it out

00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:47.620
 of the education

00:24:47.620 --> 00:24:48.520
 of our children,

00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:50.320
 the administration

00:24:50.320 --> 00:24:51.259
 of justice

00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:51.900
 and law

00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:52.420
 and order.

00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:53.600
 Lord,

00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:54.640
 be merciful to us,

00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:55.120
 we pray,

00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:56.600
 for our sins

00:24:56.600 --> 00:24:57.420
 are so evident

00:24:57.420 --> 00:24:58.840
 and we know

00:24:58.840 --> 00:25:00.039
 that they are against you

00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:01.800
 and against those things

00:25:01.800 --> 00:25:02.700
 that you have revealed

00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:03.180
 to us

00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:04.700
 should be foundational

00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:05.400
 for us

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.279
 as a people.

00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:07.600
 Our sin,

00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:07.860
 Lord,

00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:08.740
 is a reproach,

00:25:09.340 --> 00:25:09.980
 but we pray

00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:10.600
 in your mercy

00:25:10.600 --> 00:25:11.740
 that you would turn to us.

00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.039
 Elevate us

00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:13.940
 in your righteousness,

00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:14.660
 we pray.

00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.539
 Raise up over us

00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:18.120
 leaders in government,

00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:19.080
 locally,

00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:20.019
 nationally,

00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:21.980
 who would fear the Lord,

00:25:22.639 --> 00:25:23.279
 who would value

00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.660
 and respect your laws,

00:25:25.379 --> 00:25:25.920
 who would commend

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:26.680
 your gospel,

00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:27.839
 who would,

00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:28.119
 Lord,

00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:28.940
 love your people

00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:29.740
 and your cause.

00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:31.420
 We pray that we may

00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:32.480
 see this in our day,

00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:33.920
 that we may know

00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:35.519
 the turning of the tide

00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:37.700
 of rebellion against God

00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:39.200
 and come to see,

00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:39.599
 O Lord,

00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.799
 many turned into your ways.

00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:43.579
 So remember us,

00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:43.960
 we pray,

00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:45.079
 in our family lives.

00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:46.299
 Remember us

00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:46.940
 in the bonds

00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:48.299
 that unite us together,

00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:49.659
 whether in family

00:25:49.659 --> 00:25:50.779
 or in the congregation

00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:51.700
 or in the church.

00:25:52.379 --> 00:25:53.059
 Grant your blessing

00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:53.480
 to us,

00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:53.960
 we pray.

00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:55.339
 Continue to do

00:25:55.339 --> 00:25:55.960
 blessing too

00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:57.799
 for our young adults,

00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:58.759
 we pray for them.

00:25:59.379 --> 00:26:00.019
 For those of them

00:26:00.019 --> 00:26:00.819
 who have left home

00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.779
 and begun study

00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:03.359
 or work on the mainland,

00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:05.539
 we pray for them too

00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:05.899
 today

00:26:05.899 --> 00:26:06.579
 and ask that you

00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:07.419
 would be near to them.

00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:08.700
 We pray that you

00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:09.500
 would assure them,

00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:09.960
 Lord,

00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:10.720
 of our prayers

00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:12.159
 and of our remembrance

00:26:12.159 --> 00:26:12.839
 of them.

00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:14.319
 Grant to them

00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:15.279
 that you would establish

00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:15.919
 them further

00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:17.400
 in your own ways

00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:18.400
 and in following you

00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:19.440
 as their Lord

00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:20.000
 and Savior.

00:26:20.800 --> 00:26:21.800
 Continue with us now,

00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:22.300
 Lord,

00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:22.759
 we pray,

00:26:22.860 --> 00:26:24.200
 and be to us

00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:25.060
 throughout this day

00:26:25.060 --> 00:26:26.019
 one who guides us

00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:26.820
 into your truth

00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:28.180
 and help us

00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:29.080
 to know

00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:29.900
 and to value

00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:30.480
 this day

00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.060
 as the day

00:26:31.060 --> 00:26:31.640
 of the Lord,

00:26:32.380 --> 00:26:32.980
 a day that you

00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:33.840
 have set apart

00:26:33.840 --> 00:26:34.500
 to be holy

00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:35.160
 to yourself.

00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:36.220
 May we,

00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:36.900
 O Lord,

00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:37.779
 keep it holy.

00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:39.480
 May we be

00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:41.080
 increasing in holiness

00:26:41.080 --> 00:26:42.640
 through its provisions.

00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:43.920
 Hear us,

00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:44.400
 we pray,

00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:45.700
 in Jesus' name.

00:26:46.320 --> 00:26:46.640
 Amen.

00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:50.240
 Before we turn

00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.100
 to look at God's Word,

00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:52.120
 let's sing once again.

00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:53.140
 This time we're singing

00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:54.380
 in Psalm 66,

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:56.960
 Psalm number 66,

00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:59.480
 and that's on page 300.

00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.340
 The tune is

00:27:00.340 --> 00:27:01.060
 Crimmond.

00:27:02.840 --> 00:27:04.300
 Singing verses 13

00:27:04.300 --> 00:27:06.060
 to 20.

00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.140
 We're thinking of today,

00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:12.720
 as we'll see

00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:13.600
 in Ephesians,

00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:15.259
 of God's people,

00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:15.900
 God building

00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:16.880
 a spiritual house

00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:17.480
 for Himself

00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:19.200
 through the living stones,

00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:20.259
 the people that He brings

00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:21.079
 to know Himself

00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:22.240
 and saves.

00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:24.000
 And we do sing

00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.279
 these psalms

00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:25.960
 with references

00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:26.660
 such as

00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:28.180
 bringing burnt offerings

00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:29.339
 to the Lord's house.

00:27:29.860 --> 00:27:31.200
 No longer do we bring,

00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:31.680
 of course,

00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:32.920
 animals for sacrifice.

00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:34.720
 The spiritual meaning

00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.480
 of these verses

00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:37.160
 remains clear to us,

00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:37.559
 I hope,

00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:38.220
 that we're bringing

00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:39.740
 our spiritual offerings

00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:40.420
 to God.

00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:41.800
 We're offering to Him

00:27:41.800 --> 00:27:42.660
 the sacrifices

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:43.680
 of our praise,

00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:44.800
 and we're coming

00:27:44.800 --> 00:27:46.279
 to lay our trust

00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:46.840
 once again

00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:48.740
 on Lord Jesus Christ

00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:49.340
 who Himself

00:27:49.340 --> 00:27:50.519
 has fulfilled

00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:51.759
 the Old Testament

00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.080
 sacrifices.

00:27:54.100 --> 00:27:54.320
 So,

00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:55.640
 verses 13 to 20,

00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:56.220
 I'll bring

00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:57.340
 burnt offerings

00:27:57.340 --> 00:27:58.140
 to thy house.

00:27:58.779 --> 00:27:59.660
 To thee my vows

00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:00.200
 I'll pay,

00:28:00.320 --> 00:28:01.500
 which my lips uttered,

00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:03.080
 my mouth spake

00:28:03.080 --> 00:28:03.700
 when trouble

00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:05.360
 on me lay.

00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:06.340
 To the end of the psalm,

00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:07.200
 to God's praise.

00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:11.580
 I'll bring

00:28:11.580 --> 00:28:12.720
 I'll bring

00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.580
 burnt offerings

00:28:15.580 --> 00:28:19.519
 to thy house,

00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:24.759
 to thee my vows

00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:27.319
 I'll pay,

00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:33.660
 which my lips uttered,

00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:37.279
 my mouth spake,

00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:40.320
 when trouble

00:28:40.320 --> 00:28:45.320
 upon me lay.

00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:51.040
 Burn sacrifices

00:28:51.040 --> 00:28:55.160
 of that rams

00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:57.160
 with incense

00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:58.160
 with incense

00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:03.440
 I will bring

00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.160
 of goods

00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:10.160
 and of goods

00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:15.160
 I will present

00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:19.960
 an offering.

00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:24.960
 all that fear,

00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:25.460
 all that fear,

00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:26.819
 Lord,

00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:28.960
 come here,

00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:31.759
 I'll tell

00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.960
 what He did

00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:38.960
 for my soul.

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:44.960
 I with my mouth

00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:48.960
 unto Him

00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:49.960
 cried,

00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:51.960
 my son

00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:53.960
 death

00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:55.960
 may

00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:57.960
 extol.

00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:00.960
 If in

00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:03.960
 my heart

00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:05.960
 I stand

00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:07.960
 we guard,

00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:12.340
 the Lord

00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:12.960
 be well

00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:16.960
 not here,

00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:20.920
 but surely

00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:21.960
 God

00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:22.960
 me

00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:24.960
 heard

00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:26.960
 unto

00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.960
 my

00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:29.960
 play

00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:30.960
 and

00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:31.960
 toys

00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:32.960
 gave

00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:33.960
 give

00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:34.960
 hear.

00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:37.960
 O let

00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:38.960
 the

00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:39.960
 Lord

00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:40.960
 our

00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:42.960
 gracious

00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:44.960
 God

00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:45.960
 forever

00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:46.960
 blessed

00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:47.960
 be

00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:49.960
 who

00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:50.960
 jarned

00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:51.960
 not

00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:53.960
 my

00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:55.960
 prayer

00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:57.960
 from

00:30:57.960 --> 00:30:59.960
 the

00:30:59.960 --> 00:31:02.960
 her

00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:03.960
 nor

00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:04.960
 get

00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:06.960
 his

00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:07.960
 grace

00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:08.960
 from

00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:09.960
 me.

00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:26.960
 Now if you would turn with me please to Ephesians chapter 2, the passage we read earlier, and looking at verses towards the end of that chapter, particularly verses 21 and 22.

00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:51.960
 We can read from verse 19 there, you are no longer strangers and aliens but are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:58.960
 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:08.960
 Now we began looking at scripture portraits of the church.

00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:10.960
 The church

00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:15.960
 And you may recall that we have had four studies already as scripture portraits of the church.

00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:35.960
 Three of these were from 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15, chapter 3 verse 15 where you find the church described as the household of God, secondly as the church of the living God, and the pillar and buttress of truth.

00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:45.960
 And we looked at the various ways in which these descriptions of the church are applicable as we understand from that what a church is and what the church is about.

00:32:45.960 --> 00:33:03.960
 We looked also at Psalm 87 where the church is regarded as a mothering church, a church which takes care of its children if you like, and the nurture that we receive from the way in which God has endowed the church with his word, with the gospel, with sacraments and so on.

00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:10.960
 Today we are looking at this picture of the church as a spiritual temple that God is building.

00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:18.960
 Remember we saw in our previous studies that we don't regard the church as the building in which we meet.

00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:23.960
 The church is primarily the people who worship God, the people of God.

00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:31.960
 And when we come to look at the church as a temple, it's obvious from what Paul describes and what Peter describes that it's a living temple.

00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:41.960
 It's made up of living stones, as Peter puts it, so that it's made up of people who have come to know the Lord, who follow the Lord, who love the Lord, who worship the Lord.

00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:50.960
 It is these people that form the living stones from which God builds this spiritual temple.

00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:54.960
 So that's the image, that's the picture, the portrait that we have today.

00:33:54.960 --> 00:34:00.960
 So we're going to take in some of the description we find in 1 Peter 2 as well.

00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:05.960
 A very similar emphasis there as you have to what you have in Ephesians here.

00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:08.960
 We'll just refer to that as we go through the study.

00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:13.960
 But I want to look first of all at this reference to the cornerstone.

00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:17.960
 Christ, Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:28.960
 The cornerstone of buildings, especially formal buildings, buildings such as Paul and Peter were familiar with,

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:34.960
 the cornerstone is an exceedingly important part of the building and of the building process.

00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:41.960
 Because the cornerstone is far more than just a formal stone on which you might have a plaque written.

00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:42.960
 Sometimes you do.

00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:52.960
 The cornerstone was placed in such a way that the whole building then took its growth, its angles from that cornerstone.

00:34:52.960 --> 00:35:03.960
 So the cornerstone had to be placed and shaped exactly because the rest of the building related to that in such a way that if the cornerstone was wrong,

00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:06.960
 then the angles of the building would be wrong.

00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:11.960
 The building that was joined to the cornerstone would not itself be right.

00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:16.960
 It wouldn't have the right dimensions or the angles to the walls or whatever.

00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:19.960
 The cornerstone, therefore, was really foundational.

00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:28.960
 It's in a sense a foundation stone, but a stone that sets the angles and the characteristics of the building to which it relates.

00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:35.960
 And that's why Jesus is called the cornerstone of God's spiritual temple.

00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:47.960
 Jesus is the one chosen by God, not God coming to choose an existing human being that He chose from the mass of humanity in this world.

00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:58.960
 The Bible clearly tells us that this is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the glorious Trinity that God is, that He came into this world.

00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:04.960
 In the words of John, this word, as he puts it, became flesh.

00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:16.960
 God the Son took our humanity to be joined to His deity, and He remains God and man in His own person and will be so for all eternity.

00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:31.960
 But that is the cornerstone being laid, if you like, the incarnation, the coming of the Son of God, His becoming human, all that He did then through our nature and all that He accomplished through His work in this world,

00:36:31.960 --> 00:36:35.960
 especially culminating in His death and resurrection from the dead.

00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:43.960
 That is God setting His Son as the cornerstone of His own spiritual building, the temple.

00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:53.960
 And every single stone, every single person that comes to know the Lord and to be brought alive by the Lord relates to that cornerstone.

00:36:53.960 --> 00:37:01.960
 That cornerstone sets, if you like, the dimensions and the angles of every individual Christian life.

00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:13.960
 It is as we touch Him, as we are brought into contact with Him by God, that we actually come to have that life that God Himself alone is able to give us.

00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:16.960
 The spiritual life, eternal life.

00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:27.960
 You remember that Jesus was examined, and in fact, in the Peter verses, you find a quotation from the Psalms I'm laying in Zion,

00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:33.960
 a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.

00:37:33.960 --> 00:37:37.960
 But the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:44.960
 In other words, as you read the Gospels, as you find the examination of Jesus by the religious authorities of the day,

00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:53.960
 as they examined Him and then rejected Him, what they were doing effectively was looking at Him as the cornerstone, the promised Messiah,

00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:55.960
 and He didn't fit their specification.

00:37:55.960 --> 00:38:01.960
 He didn't fit what they thought He should look like or the shape He ought to have, so He was rejected.

00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:09.960
 But of course, it was God's choice of Him that really set Him as the cornerstone of the building.

00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:15.960
 Now, that's why in this verse that we're looking at in Ephesians, we find that verse 21,

00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:24.960
 Christ Jesus is the cornerstone in whom the whole structure grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:27.960
 In Him you also are being built.

00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:31.960
 Now, you see the emphasis there twice on in Him and in whom.

00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:35.960
 This is what regulates the whole building project.

00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:39.960
 This is really what determines what the final edifice is going to look like.

00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:42.960
 It is in Christ that we are built together.

00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:49.960
 It's in Christ that we are reformed, refashioned, recreated individually, spiritually,

00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:53.960
 in what Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus was being born again.

00:38:53.960 --> 00:38:59.960
 That's what effectively Paul is saying here in Ephesians.

00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:08.960
 In whom you also are being joined together and you are growing into a holy structure.

00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:11.960
 In Him you also are being built together.

00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:16.960
 You see, the walls of God's spiritual temple are being built in Christ.

00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:22.960
 When we are in Christ, when we are in Christ, we form part of the building project that God is setting about.

00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:29.960
 That's why it's so exceedingly important that you and I know of what it is to be born again.

00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:37.960
 That we have life, spiritual life, because this building project takes what Peter calls living stones.

00:39:37.960 --> 00:39:45.960
 To whom coming, he said, Peter says, as a living stone, you also as living stones are being built up.

00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:46.960
 You see what he's saying?

00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:47.960
 You come into contact.

00:39:47.960 --> 00:39:50.960
 God takes you into contact with Christ.

00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:55.960
 And as you come into contact believingly with Jesus, your life is changed.

00:39:55.960 --> 00:39:56.960
 Your life is transformed.

00:39:56.960 --> 00:39:58.960
 You become a living stone then.

00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:08.960
 And you're placed then in God's living temple to be part, together with all other living stones.

00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:19.960
 To be part of this wonderful building project that God is still carrying out and will be carrying out until the world ends.

00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:21.960
 Well, there's the cornerstone.

00:40:21.960 --> 00:40:24.960
 Let me just put the question to myself, first of all.

00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:31.960
 Who is forming, or what is forming, the angles, if you like, to my life?

00:40:31.960 --> 00:40:35.960
 Who is forming the angles, the direction of your life?

00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:37.960
 Is it Jesus?

00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:42.960
 Are you firmly connected to Him?

00:40:42.960 --> 00:40:44.960
 Is your trust in Him?

00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:49.960
 Is the life that is in Him running through the course of your life?

00:40:49.960 --> 00:40:59.960
 Is what is important and not important determined by the Lordship of Jesus Himself in your life and my life?

00:40:59.960 --> 00:41:06.960
 That's part of what it means to be in living contact with this cornerstone, with this living stone.

00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:11.960
 We take our life, we take the angles of our life, we take the directions of our life,

00:41:11.960 --> 00:41:21.960
 we take everything to do with our own personal growth, if you like, along with those that we're growing with in the church of God.

00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:27.960
 And it's all from Christ Himself and knowing Christ.

00:41:27.960 --> 00:41:31.960
 That's the most important thing for you and for me today, that you know Him.

00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:35.960
 That you know Him as your own personal Redeemer.

00:41:35.960 --> 00:41:40.960
 That you can say, yes, this is the cornerstone of my life.

00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:44.960
 This is where my life is being directed from.

00:41:44.960 --> 00:41:47.960
 Where my growth comes from.

00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:50.960
 The cornerstone who is Jesus Himself.

00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:53.960
 Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.

00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:57.960
 But then it goes on to describe the spiritual building.

00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:01.960
 And it includes the spiritual building work of God.

00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:03.960
 Notice he's saying,

00:42:03.960 --> 00:42:11.960
 In whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

00:42:11.960 --> 00:42:17.960
 Yes, each stone, each living person, each living Christian is a living stone.

00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:21.960
 And they're placed in the walls of God's living temple.

00:42:21.960 --> 00:42:24.960
 But then they're in contact with all the other living stones.

00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:28.960
 This is not an inert, lifeless procedure.

00:42:28.960 --> 00:42:36.960
 This is God taking people, bringing them to life, placing them as spiritual stones in the building up of His church.

00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:43.960
 And it's a marvel, isn't it, when you look at the work of an expert stonemason.

00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.960
 Just look at any of the walls that you find in our own locality.

00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:51.960
 Most recently, these wonderful walls that you find out at the castle.

00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:54.960
 And the way they've been put together so expertly.

00:42:54.960 --> 00:42:57.960
 And you can go there and you can admire the whole thing.

00:42:57.960 --> 00:43:00.960
 But as you look at it closely, you can just stop and think,

00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:03.960
 Well, all of these stones are different shapes.

00:43:03.960 --> 00:43:06.960
 All of these stones are different sizes.

00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:10.960
 All of these stones have their own individual characteristics.

00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:17.960
 And yet they're put together in such a way that they form this unified, this wonderful united wall.

00:43:17.960 --> 00:43:19.960
 This wonderful piece of construction.

00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:21.960
 Well, here is what God is doing.

00:43:21.960 --> 00:43:27.960
 He is taking people like you and I, who have very different characteristics, varying characteristics.

00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:36.960
 Different personalities, different backgrounds, different gifts, different abilities.

00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:38.960
 And that's what he's putting together.

00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:40.960
 See what he's saying here?

00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:44.960
 In whom the whole structure being joined together.

00:43:44.960 --> 00:43:51.960
 It's not just a loose conglomeration of stones that don't really fit together properly.

00:43:51.960 --> 00:43:55.960
 God is saying, I know that you're very different to so-and-so and so-and-so.

00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:57.960
 It's very different to somebody else.

00:43:57.960 --> 00:44:02.960
 But if I've changed your life and I've placed you in the walls of my spiritual building, you fit in.

00:44:02.960 --> 00:44:08.960
 And that means you take all that you are able to give by way of acting as a Christian.

00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:14.960
 Your Christian service, your Christian life may be very different in the way that other people serve the Lord.

00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:17.960
 But it all comes together and it all fits together.

00:44:17.960 --> 00:44:18.960
 And it's God's program.

00:44:18.960 --> 00:44:20.960
 It's God's project.

00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:23.960
 And you admire the variety of it.

00:44:23.960 --> 00:44:31.960
 And you admire the skill of God and His grace putting all of these differences together to form one wonderful united whole.

00:44:31.960 --> 00:44:37.960
 Building this marvelous spiritual structure.

00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:46.960
 So the unity you see of the church is not just a matter of living in peace or harmony together.

00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:47.960
 That's part of it.

00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:49.960
 It's a precious part of it.

00:44:49.960 --> 00:45:01.960
 But the unity of the church really is how God is putting together people of varying gifts and distinctions and characteristics so that it's just the one building.

00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:08.960
 The one whole united building spiritually that God is putting together.

00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:14.960
 You know, in other words, a couple of things that follow on from that.

00:45:14.960 --> 00:45:19.960
 One is that you should never say of yourself, well, I just don't have the gifts that other people have.

00:45:19.960 --> 00:45:23.960
 What can I actually do serving the Lord in the church?

00:45:23.960 --> 00:45:30.960
 What can I give in terms of the overall building project to be in the hand of God as He's using me to build it?

00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:33.960
 Never say that of yourself.

00:45:33.960 --> 00:45:35.960
 Never say that of yourself.

00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:37.960
 Never say that you don't have the gifts.

00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:40.960
 You may not have the gifts that somebody else has.

00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:43.960
 But that person doesn't have the gifts you have.

00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:49.960
 Think of it, the way you look at natural building work.

00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:56.960
 If you look at a stone wall, for example, that has an entrance to it and a large lintel made of stone on top of it.

00:45:56.960 --> 00:46:06.960
 If you look very closely, you'll actually find little slivers of stone placed beneath that lintel and rests on which that lintel rests.

00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:36.960


00:46:36.960 --> 00:46:37.960
 You'll see what God has gifted you to do.

00:46:37.960 --> 00:46:44.960
 Every single person in this building today has something or other by which they can serve the Lord.

00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:49.960
 By which they can fit into the overall growth of God's building.

00:46:49.960 --> 00:46:54.960
 And however it compares with others, that's not really ultimately what matters.

00:46:54.960 --> 00:46:58.960
 God is putting all of that together, whatever we think of ourselves.

00:46:58.960 --> 00:47:14.960
 And as we serve Him and as He endows us by His grace, so, as He puts it here, the whole structure being joined together, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:27.960
 And the other thing on that point is that this is completely against the idea that you find sometimes, the idea that you find sometimes presented even in people's way of speaking, where they say,

00:47:27.960 --> 00:47:34.960
 Well, I am a Christian, but I am a Christian at home, and I don't really need to belong to the church.

00:47:34.960 --> 00:47:40.960
 I don't need to belong to the church as it's seen in its gatherings on the Lord's Day or whenever.

00:47:40.960 --> 00:47:42.960
 I can do without that.

00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:45.960
 I can very easily, very well just be a Christian.

00:47:45.960 --> 00:47:46.960
 I worship God at home.

00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:47.960
 I read my Bible.

00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:49.960
 I actually pray to God.

00:47:49.960 --> 00:47:54.960
 Well, that's good and well, and that is something that's commendable.

00:47:54.960 --> 00:48:08.960
 But you cannot, in the teaching of Scripture, find any instance of someone whose life has been changed, someone who's born again, somebody who is a Christian, somebody who is a living stone that says,

00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:11.960
 I don't want to be in contact with the other living stones.

00:48:11.960 --> 00:48:13.960
 I don't need them.

00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:16.960
 That's not biblical.

00:48:16.960 --> 00:48:17.960
 God changes your life.

00:48:17.960 --> 00:48:25.960
 God changes your life in such a way that fits you into the wall of His church.

00:48:25.960 --> 00:48:38.960
 And fitting you into the wall of His church is something that He gives you a mind to be part of if we come to know Him and come to know the wonder of His grace.

00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:47.960
 So, it's growing into a holy temple in the Lord as each living stone fits into the construction.

00:48:47.960 --> 00:48:50.960
 Now, you can see what He's saying at the end here.

00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:57.960
 You're being built together, He says, into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

00:48:57.960 --> 00:49:01.960
 It's by the Spirit that this crucial work actually goes on.

00:49:01.960 --> 00:49:15.960
 God brings us to know Himself individually, personally, by His Spirit coming to working in our hearts, by His Spirit coming to bring us to life, by His Spirit coming to fit us into the walls of His church.

00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:24.960
 It's growing together and it's growing into a dwelling place of God by the Spirit or in the Spirit of God.

00:49:24.960 --> 00:49:27.960
 And that reminds us of something very important.

00:49:27.960 --> 00:49:37.960
 The growth of the church is not to be seen primarily in terms of statistics or lists or numbers.

00:49:37.960 --> 00:49:40.960
 I'm not saying these are not important in their own right.

00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:53.960
 Of course, they're important because we'd love to see all of these pews that are presently empty actually coming to be filled by people like yourselves who come under the gospel to hear the Word of God, to worship God together with others.

00:49:53.960 --> 00:49:58.960
 Of course, that's important in its own right, but it's not of primary importance.

00:49:58.960 --> 00:50:07.960
 The growth of the church, because this is a spiritual edifice, a spiritual building, the growth of the church is not in mere statistics or number on our lists.

00:50:07.960 --> 00:50:18.960
 I mean, we can actually look at our Communicants list, for example, and say that it's well above in terms of numbers, well above any of the other congregations in the presbytery.

00:50:18.960 --> 00:50:24.960
 That doesn't mean we're growing spiritually as a church.

00:50:24.960 --> 00:50:31.960
 That doesn't mean it's the most important aspect of our being the church of God here in Stornoway.

00:50:31.960 --> 00:50:38.960
 Growth, whatever you say about numerical growth, but this growth is spiritual growth.

00:50:38.960 --> 00:50:40.960
 Am I today? Are we together?

00:50:40.960 --> 00:50:42.960
 This is the thing that he's emphasizing.

00:50:42.960 --> 00:50:51.960
 It's not just individual growth, although I have to grow, you have to grow as a Christian individually in your relationship with Jesus, with God.

00:50:51.960 --> 00:50:55.960
 What he's talking about here is growth together.

00:50:55.960 --> 00:50:59.960
 Are we today growing together?

00:50:59.960 --> 00:51:01.960
 Are we growing in our congregational life?

00:51:01.960 --> 00:51:04.960
 Are we growing, for example, in knowledge?

00:51:04.960 --> 00:51:05.960
 Are we growing in zeal?

00:51:05.960 --> 00:51:06.960
 In our zeal for the Lord?

00:51:06.960 --> 00:51:08.960
 Are we growing in love for the Lord?

00:51:08.960 --> 00:51:11.960
 Are we growing together in all of these things?

00:51:11.960 --> 00:51:18.960
 In many ways, I suppose, the answer to that really is yes, there's evidence of that, thankfully, in the congregation, and that's the case.

00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:25.960
 But this is what has to be our primary emphasis in growth, spiritual growth.

00:51:25.960 --> 00:51:27.960
 Growth in terms of our understanding.

00:51:27.960 --> 00:51:31.960
 Growth in terms of our love for each other and for God.

00:51:31.960 --> 00:51:33.960
 Growth in terms of looking after each other.

00:51:33.960 --> 00:51:36.960
 Growth in terms of how we view the world outside the church.

00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:40.960
 And serving the Lord in our evangelistic activity.

00:51:40.960 --> 00:51:45.960
 Growth in how we actually view our young people and our children and our families.

00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:54.960
 All of these dimensions and more of the growth is the kind of growth that the Bible means by the growth of his church.

00:51:54.960 --> 00:51:59.960
 People who are growing together, are growing into a holy temple.

00:51:59.960 --> 00:52:01.960
 It is never static.

00:52:01.960 --> 00:52:09.960
 We must not think of God's church as being as if it were just a static building such as this natural building.

00:52:09.960 --> 00:52:12.960
 It's there and that's it, it doesn't change.

00:52:12.960 --> 00:52:18.840
 We have to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we grow together.

00:52:19.420 --> 00:52:25.539
 We help each other to grow. We have to give to each other the support that we need

00:52:25.539 --> 00:52:32.639
 in order to grow together in a spiritual way. And that's a great privilege,

00:52:32.980 --> 00:52:37.920
 being in a position to do that. But you see, the other thing is not just joined together,

00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:43.619
 each stone being joined and fitted together, and therefore growing more and more into a

00:52:43.619 --> 00:52:50.260
 spiritual building. He's describing the purpose of this building. In this context, it's to be a

00:52:50.260 --> 00:52:58.800
 dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Of course, the Old Testament had its temple, before that the

00:52:58.800 --> 00:53:05.019
 tabernacle, right in the inner heart of the tabernacle. And then of the temple, you had the

00:53:05.019 --> 00:53:12.539
 place called the Most Holy Place. And in the Most Holy Place was the mercy seat with the cloud

00:53:12.539 --> 00:53:20.820
 symbolizing, evidencing God's presence above the mercy seat, overlooked by the cherubim, the carved

00:53:20.820 --> 00:53:30.300
 cherubim. And there was God's presence indicated to be in the midst of His people, God living there,

00:53:30.300 --> 00:53:38.140
 God having made a dwelling place for Himself there. Now, that was anticipatory. That was in many ways a

00:53:38.140 --> 00:53:45.260
 prophetic thing or a symbolic thing that was going to be fulfilled much more in the days to come. And

00:53:45.260 --> 00:53:50.539
 while that was real, and that cloud was real, and everything about it was real, and it was indeed the

00:53:50.539 --> 00:54:00.460
 real presence of God in the New Testament age in Christ, God's presence is with His people in an

00:54:00.460 --> 00:54:06.539
 even greater way. Because what He's doing is bringing His people together to be joined together, to grow

00:54:06.539 --> 00:54:16.380
 together, to be His dwelling place. His people are His dwelling place. His people are the spiritual temple.

00:54:16.380 --> 00:54:23.099
 And today, if you belong to Christ, you are a stone in this living edifice. You belong to this growing

00:54:23.099 --> 00:54:31.180
 temple. You belong to this in such a way that you form one of these stones that God is building together

00:54:31.180 --> 00:54:34.619
 to be a dwelling place for Himself.

00:54:37.260 --> 00:54:42.460
 Isn't that a marvelous thing? You go back to the Old Testament, to the Garden of Eden.

00:54:42.460 --> 00:54:51.260
 It was God dwelling with the human beings that He had created until they rebelled against Him.

00:54:53.340 --> 00:54:59.579
 And He did what He had threatened to do, brought death into their experience,

00:55:01.179 --> 00:55:07.659
 and He drove them out of the garden. It wasn't a gentle push, a nudge. He drove them out,

00:55:07.659 --> 00:55:15.259
 it's what the Bible says, because God is deeply, deeply offended by sin against Him. We can't

00:55:15.259 --> 00:55:21.579
 appreciate just how deeply sin offends God. But you can see it in two things. You can see it certainly

00:55:21.579 --> 00:55:27.980
 in the way He drove out human beings He had created out of Eden, and you can see it more so in the death of

00:55:27.980 --> 00:55:36.059
 Jesus. You can never say that sin is not deeply offensive to God and a serious thing when you look

00:55:36.059 --> 00:55:45.659
 at the cross. Why did Jesus die? Why did He have to die? Why did He have to die?

00:55:45.659 --> 00:55:55.659
 Not only because sin is serious and an offense to God, but because God was and is determined to save

00:55:55.659 --> 00:56:03.019
 His people from their sins through the death of Christ. And so, the dwelling place of God. You see,

00:56:03.019 --> 00:56:09.500
 this is such a marvelous thing. What a privilege it is to regard yourself as a Christian, as being a living

00:56:09.500 --> 00:56:16.380
 stone placed in the walls of God's temple, that you should be, that I should be chosen by God, taken by

00:56:16.380 --> 00:56:23.820
 God, changed by God, placed by God, that such a person as I, the sinner, should actually be taken and

00:56:23.820 --> 00:56:29.820
 transformed by the grace of God and placed in the walls of God's spiritual temple so that along with others,

00:56:29.820 --> 00:56:34.380
 I form, I'm part of what forms a dwelling place for God.

00:56:34.380 --> 00:56:45.820
 God is here today. God is in this building today. We can say that with all assurance.

00:56:47.340 --> 00:56:54.220
 Not because of the nature of this building itself, but because of the nature of the spiritual building

00:56:54.220 --> 00:57:02.700
 formed by all of those people here today who are His people. He dwells in them. I can't explain to you

00:57:02.699 --> 00:57:10.299
 exactly if you like the spiritual mechanics of that. I know it by His Spirit. God comes to live in His

00:57:10.299 --> 00:57:16.059
 people, but He's forming the spiritual temple out of His people to be His dwelling place,

00:57:17.579 --> 00:57:21.980
 to be His home. It's not a holiday home. It's not something that He choose to live in now and again.

00:57:21.980 --> 00:57:33.980
 It's a permanent residence for God. And it comes to its completion when you find the terms of Revelation

00:57:33.980 --> 00:57:43.260
 21 fulfilled at the end of the world. Remember what that says about how at the end of all things I saw a

00:57:43.260 --> 00:57:49.900
 new heaven and a new earth? And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

00:57:49.900 --> 00:57:56.780
 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

00:57:57.260 --> 00:58:04.780
 Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them, and they will be

00:58:04.780 --> 00:58:14.380
 His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God, and so on. You look back to the Garden of Eden,

00:58:15.580 --> 00:58:21.980
 and all you see is the ruins of a temple, as one of the theologians long ago put it.

00:58:22.540 --> 00:58:28.940
 It has on the entrance point, as it were written, Here God once lived.

00:58:28.940 --> 00:58:40.619
 Here God once lived. Then you see, by God's grace, He has taken these dead stones, and Ephesians itself

00:58:40.619 --> 00:58:47.500
 tells us that you were dead in trespasses and sins, the beginning of this chapter, you who were dead.

00:58:47.500 --> 00:58:51.820
 And He goes on to say, You has He quickened. You who were dead, He has brought to life,

00:58:51.820 --> 00:59:01.740
 and He's made you living stones. And that temple that God is building, it's a building project that

00:59:01.740 --> 00:59:08.380
 will be completed at the return of Christ, when all the living stones have been fitted together,

00:59:09.740 --> 00:59:15.580
 and when all of God's people will then in perfection come to be God's dwelling place

00:59:16.300 --> 00:59:21.740
 forevermore. But there's one other thing I want to mention, and it's an important emphasis in the

00:59:21.739 --> 00:59:27.259
 passage. We're really passing over it very quickly, but it's an important one. It grows,

00:59:27.819 --> 00:59:39.899
 it says, into a holy temple in the Lord. Why is it holy? What is it about this temple

00:59:40.859 --> 00:59:48.299
 that makes it holy? Well, the fact that its occupant is the holy God means that the temple

00:59:48.300 --> 00:59:57.420
 must be holy. That means you and I as God's people are taken by God, set apart by God,

00:59:57.420 --> 01:00:05.660
 and in our own consciousness as born again, we say, I must be holy because God is holy. I form part of

01:00:05.660 --> 01:00:12.220
 this living temple that God is putting together, and as I am a stone, a living stone in that temple,

01:00:12.220 --> 01:00:17.500
 because He is holy, I have to be holy. I have to correspond to the holiness of the occupant,

01:00:17.500 --> 01:00:26.539
 of the builder, of the architect. You remember how Peter put this again in his first chapter of his

01:00:26.539 --> 01:00:34.059
 first epistle, in verse 13, therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded as

01:00:34.059 --> 01:00:39.739
 obedient children. Don't be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is

01:00:39.739 --> 01:00:48.299
 holy, so also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy.

01:00:48.779 --> 01:00:55.419
 And if you go to Paul's writings as well, you'll find in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 16 and 17,

01:00:56.299 --> 01:01:01.899
 very similar words to what we're studying this morning. Chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians,

01:01:01.900 --> 01:01:08.619
 verses 16 and 17, do you not know that you, you plural, that means you together, do you not know

01:01:08.619 --> 01:01:15.820
 that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will

01:01:15.820 --> 01:01:26.619
 destroy him, for God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. What a sad thing it is to see

01:01:26.619 --> 01:01:35.019
 the church of God in this world, coming to willingly depart from the standard that God himself has set

01:01:36.299 --> 01:01:41.179
 for our relationships with each other, for our individual lives morally and spiritually.

01:01:42.139 --> 01:01:47.819
 Here is a reminder to us today that because the occupant is holy, because the cornerstone is holy,

01:01:48.299 --> 01:01:52.619
 we have to live holy lives. This is to do with moral, spiritual standards.

01:01:52.619 --> 01:02:00.539
 And again, that's a great privilege to live a holy life, to live as part of God's holy temple.

01:02:01.339 --> 01:02:10.299
 For one thing, what we want to have the world say is that we actually look very like the architect.

01:02:11.500 --> 01:02:19.019
 Sometimes, I don't know, I'm not by any means knowledgeable in terms of architecture architects,

01:02:19.019 --> 01:02:25.099
 but I know that there are certain buildings in the world because of how they're built, because of their

01:02:25.099 --> 01:02:31.179
 appearance, because of what they're like themselves. You go to a place like Barcelona, for example, you'll find

01:02:31.739 --> 01:02:36.219
 architecture there that's associated with a particular architect, and people will immediately say,

01:02:36.219 --> 01:02:42.380
 oh, that's the work of so-and-so. Well, that's how we want to be known in this world,

01:02:42.380 --> 01:02:52.140
 as the work of God, as the temple of God, as the people of God, as those designed by God, saved by God,

01:02:52.140 --> 01:03:00.300
 saved by God, saved for God, the dwelling place of God, the holy temple of God.

01:03:00.300 --> 01:03:13.580
 Are you today, then, in Christ? Do you belong to this living temple of God? Are you a living stone

01:03:15.100 --> 01:03:24.539
 in your relationship with Jesus? What does that mean for you today? How do you view your progress in life?

01:03:24.539 --> 01:03:38.380
 How do you view being for all eternity? A living stone in this temple, or just outside it, lost, left,

01:03:39.420 --> 01:03:41.820
 condemned? Let's pray.

01:03:44.539 --> 01:03:50.460
 Lord our God, we thank you for your grace. You transform your people by your grace. You fit them together,

01:03:50.460 --> 01:03:57.019
 as we have been seeing in your word. Blessed to us, we pray, this passage of your word. Help us in our

01:03:57.019 --> 01:04:03.099
 own relationship with you and with one another to be known and to know ourselves as that holy temple

01:04:03.740 --> 01:04:09.820
 that you are in process of building. Grant that we may advance in holiness, that we may love your

01:04:09.820 --> 01:04:17.340
 likeness wherever we find it, and especially in ourselves. Here, as we pray, for your glory's sake. Amen.

01:04:20.460 --> 01:04:28.220
 Now let's sing in conclusion. Again, it's from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 27. Psalm 27, verses 4 to 6.

01:04:28.940 --> 01:04:34.220
 You'll find that on page 236, singing to the tune, Jackson.

01:04:36.699 --> 01:04:42.619
 One thing I of the Lord desired and will seek to obtain, that all days of my life I may within

01:04:42.619 --> 01:04:49.980
 God's house remain, that I in the beauty of the Lord behold, may and admire, and that I in his holy place

01:04:50.460 --> 01:04:57.579
 may reverently inquire. That's verses 4 to 6 of Psalm 27.

01:04:57.579 --> 01:05:27.559
 One thing I of the Lord desired and will seek to obtain, that all days of my life I may within God's heart see.

01:05:27.579 --> 01:05:57.559
 that I in the beauty of the Lord behold, may and admire, and that I in this holy place may reverently inquire.

01:05:57.559 --> 01:05:59.559
 For he in his pavilion shall be hide, and on our Lord be raised,

01:05:59.559 --> 01:06:04.559
 For he in his pavilion shall be hide, and on our Lord be raised.

01:06:04.559 --> 01:06:06.559
 And on our Lord be raised, and on our Lord be raised, and on our Lord be raised.

01:06:06.559 --> 01:06:08.559
 And on our Lord be raised, and on our Lord be raised, and on our Lord be raised.

01:06:08.559 --> 01:06:15.559
 who God will not nesse może me wounds Did see that all his pavilion shall be found, and the Lord must

01:06:15.559 --> 01:06:17.119
 transfer bend by, and on our Lord be raised.

01:06:17.119 --> 01:06:21.199
 That I know if God will pass because of my life He will not l coursing live, and on our God be opened

01:06:21.199 --> 01:06:28.339
 And on an old be raised

01:06:28.339 --> 01:06:35.939
 And now even at this pleasant time

01:06:35.939 --> 01:06:42.639
 My head shall lifted thee

01:06:42.639 --> 01:06:50.619
 Above all those that are my clothes

01:06:50.619 --> 01:06:56.699
 How old and the past be

01:06:56.699 --> 01:07:05.079
 Therefore unto this tabernacle

01:07:05.079 --> 01:07:11.699
 I'll sacrifices bring

01:07:11.699 --> 01:07:17.920
 Of joyfulness I'll sing

01:07:17.920 --> 01:07:23.000
 Yea, I do for the world

01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:26.000
 Praise His name

01:07:26.000 --> 01:07:29.579
 I'll go to the main door after the benediction

01:07:29.579 --> 01:07:33.480
 Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

01:07:33.480 --> 01:07:34.860
 The love of God the Father

01:07:34.860 --> 01:07:36.400
 And the communion of the Holy Spirit

01:07:36.400 --> 01:07:38.720
 Be with you now and evermore

01:07:38.719 --> 01:07:39.619
 Amen

01:07:44.799 --> 01:07:46.799
 Amen

01:07:46.800 --> 01:07:52.880
 Amen

01:07:52.880 --> 01:07:53.160
 Amen

01:07:53.160 --> 01:07:53.820
 Amen

01:07:53.820 --> 01:07:54.880
 Amen

01:07:54.880 --> 01:07:56.380
 Amen

01:07:56.380 --> 01:08:04.420
 Amen

01:08:04.420 --> 01:08:05.080
 Amen

01:08:05.080 --> 01:08:05.260
 Amen