Well, good morning, everyone. It's great to be with you in church here this morning and to connect with you online as well.
If you've not met me before, my name's Steve Jeffrey. I'm the senior pastor here at St Paul's,
and it's my joy to be able to connect us into the next stage of the book of Acts, which we're journeying through at the moment.
Very few, I think, would argue about the quality of community has declined in society in recent years.
In fact, not just recent years, over quite a number of years.
In fact, one of the biggest social issues in our community here in Chatswood is, in fact, social isolation,
as it is for many people in large cities around the world.
There is, if you like, a superficiality to our personal relationships.
But it's not new.
In 1955, in his book, The Sane Society, Eric Fromm, who was a social psychologist, wrote this.
There is not much love to be found in the world of our day.
There is rather a superficial friendliness concealing a distance, an indifference, and a subtle distrust.
The radical psychologist R.D. Lang wrote in his 1967 book, The Politics of Experience,
we are born into a world where social isolation awaits us.
Before we can even ask such optimistic questions as what is a personal relationship,
we have to ask if personal relationships are even possible in this present situation.
So how do we react when we hear phrases like that?
When we hear things like superficial friendliness and social isolation and emotional isolation, words like that.
These are real issues in our society, in our community.
And in fact, it may be for you personally right now,
whether maybe even you sitting at home right now, all alone, watching, engaging with this.
I think it's an issue which we've become more aware of.
I'm certainly hearing statements and phrases like feeling disconnected in this COVID-19 season.
We live in a sick society that desperately needs to discover this idea of community and connectedness and relationship.
There is a sign of hope for us.
The opening chapters of Acts points us to such a community.
It's a special community.
It's called many things, but most frequently in the New Testament, it's called the church.
So we're going to journey today to see what it is.
What is this church?
So if you've got the St. Paul's app, you can open up and you'll see an outline.
I've got four things.
It was going to be five, but I've narrowed it down to four because the fifth thing was addressed last week.
So four things in Acts chapter 4 verse 32 through to chapter 6 verse 7.
So if you haven't got the St. Paul's app, at the very least, you can open up a Bible and follow along with me on this one.
There's four things about this new community.
It's a saved community.
It's an organic and gracious community.
It's a disciplined community.
And it's an organized community.
They're the four things.
So first of all, and foundationally and fundamentally, this new community is a saved community.
In Acts chapter 2, we saw it a couple of weeks ago.
It's the day of Pentecost.
The apostle Peter gives his first and his greatest sermon, an experience that most preachers don't ever have.
His first and his greatest sermon.
And he gets to the application of this sermon in verse 36 of Acts 2.
So have a look at that.
Skip back a couple of chapters for me.
It says,
Therefore, this is his application.
Therefore, let all of Israel be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
And there's a multitude that are gathered there listening to this sermon from across the Roman Empire,
all different cultures and languages.
And it says they were convicted.
They came under deep conviction.
Conviction both of their own sin and of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
And so they said, Peter, what are we going to do now?
What happens now?
And Peter called the gathering to repent and to be baptized.
And what Luke concludes, he concludes a description of that day by adding in verse 40 of chapter 2,
with many other words, he, that's Peter, warned them.
And he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation.
And those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.
Notice what Peter does is he warns them.
He pleads with them to be saved.
That's the essential thing that they need to do is to be saved.
And he declares in another sermon he gives, which is also pretty good, in chapter 4, verse 12,
Peter says,
So what Peter's talking about there in Acts 4, and the same experience in Acts 2,
is that what he's talking about is not some kind of optional spiritual experience,
but about a radical moral rescue,
which all of humanity must experience,
lest they perish under the judgment of their creator God.
That's what he's talking about.
Jesus Christ is the resurrected, death-defeating, sin-crushing,
relationship with our creator-restoring, Lord of the universe.
He sits enthroned as king,
never to be challenged.
No greater authority,
and therefore no other alternative,
no other rescue plan.
And what Peter says here is,
in Acts 2 and in Acts 4,
you neglect Jesus at your peril.
He's saying there is a must about Jesus.
Not a maybe,
it's a must.
Jesus Christ is the most important thing
that has happened in the history of the world.
And what you saw in Acts 2,
if you sort of tuned in a little bit to the language of what Peter uses,
is that Peter divides the world into two groups.
Only two.
He says,
save yourself from something.
Save yourself from a particular community.
This corrupt generation.
You are part of a group,
a community.
And he says,
save yourself from that community
that lives as if the God of this universe doesn't matter.
As if Jesus isn't King and Lord of the universe.
As if he isn't the Messiah.
Save yourself from that community
and join a new community.
A new society.
A new group.
Saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
And what Peter declares,
and as the New Testament declares,
in fact,
what the whole Bible declares,
what Christianity declares,
is there's only two groups of people.
You're either in one corrupt group that rejects God
or you're in the group that has been saved by Jesus Christ.
On either community.
And so for the early Christians in Acts,
being saved by Jesus
was a matter of leaving a community under judgment
to finding refuge and joy
and hope and life and forgiveness
and new salvation
in the community of those who have been saved by Jesus Christ.
Christians are bound together
as a new people
because of our common salvation.
There is no such thing
as isolated,
go it alone,
choose my journey,
my commitment levels,
Christianity.
I do not get an option.
It is not up to me
to choose what I think level of commitment
I will give and won't give.
Those are the defining things
of the corrupt generation,
not the new community
under the Lordship of Jesus.
And Christians are bound together
as a new people
because of a common salvation.
They have a new common salvation
and that common salvation
trumps everything
because there's not much else
that they necessarily have in common.
But it's enough.
Chapter 4, verse 32,
all the believers
were one in heart and mind.
They were made up of believers.
This new community
is made up of believers
who differed in opinions
on a whole range of different things.
Who to vote for?
Not that they did it back in those days,
but who to vote for?
Food, clothing, language, customs,
all kinds of different personal opinions.
They were, however, united
in one fundamental,
most important thing
that rose above every other difference
and that is that Jesus
is Lord of all
and he's the Messiah who saved us.
We make him the main thing.
We are bound together
because of our common salvation.
1982, British Airways Boeing 747-200
was flying at a very high altitude.
You know, your cruising altitude
over Indonesia
flying to New Zealand,
I think from memory.
And what the crew could not see
as they were flying the plane
was this cloud of volcanic ash
right in their flight path.
Mount Galganan in Indonesia
had erupted just days before
and there's this huge cloud
of volcanic ash
which back in those days
were not picked up on radar
and then when the plane
flew through the volcanic ash,
what it did was,
was in a couple of minutes
clogged up all four of its engines
and shut them down.
So this 747 became a,
what is technically a glider now
and it was gliding in the air.
You can imagine the silence of this
for 16 minutes.
16 minutes,
no, under no power whatsoever
and descending at a kilometre per minute.
Or something like that.
Every certain minutes.
Fast anyway.
Most people sitting on that plane
in that moment
were convinced they were going to die.
They grabbed bits of paper
and pens as they could
and scrawled notes
to family members
in the hope that in the wreckage
those notes would be found.
Amazingly,
because of a fluke thing
that the captain did in that moment
in deciding to descend faster,
which is against all logic,
actually the descent going faster
unclogged the engines
which allowed him to restart the motor.
It is now,
you can look it up,
it is now in the Guinness Book of Records
as the longest unpowered flight
by an aircraft
not designed to fly unpowered.
Now,
if you are sitting on that plane
in that moment
when after 16 minutes of silence
all of a sudden,
boom,
the engines kick in,
the excitement,
you start gaining altitude
and eventually you land safely.
You have a new lease on life.
Everything changes in that moment.
And so what did the passengers
on this plane do?
They formed a club.
It's known as the Galganan Gliding Club.
The Galganan Gliding Club.
They get together annually
on the date of the flight
and they celebrate life together.
That's what they do.
That's their whole existence,
to celebrate a new lease on life.
To be saved by Jesus
is to be a member
of his saved community.
Church is not what you attend.
Church is what you belong to.
Church is who you are.
You now have been redefined.
Saved into the new community
of the saved.
Secondly,
we see that this new community
that has been graciously saved
by the Lord Jesus Christ
becomes an organically
gracious community
under the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 32 again.
No one,
this is this new community,
no one claimed
that any of their possessions
was their own.
But they shared everything
that they had.
Then down in verse 34,
there was no needy persons
among them
for from time to time
those who owned land
or houses sold them,
bought the money
from the sales
and put it at the apostles' feet.
And it was distributed
to anyone
who had need.
Joseph,
a Levi from Cyprus,
whom the apostles
called Barnabas,
which means son of encouragement,
sold a field
that he owned
and bought the money
and put it
at the apostles' feet.
This is not
an early form of communism.
That's not what's going on here.
Did you notice
the high degree
of voluntary commitment
that these believers
displayed towards each other?
Voluntary commitment.
Private ownership
was recognised,
but no one pressed
their rights
to private ownership.
This is spontaneous.
It is extraordinary generosity.
It's organic.
It's not structured,
not planned.
There's no
sell your property campaign
going on here.
There's no campaign
by the apostles.
Their sharing
was selfless,
it was sacrificial
and it was voluntary.
There's no law
imposing these standards.
This is simply
a desire
that has grown
in them
because of the work
of the Holy Spirit
in their life
and God's radical generosity
to them
in the Lord Jesus.
This is a church
that has
a social conscience.
It didn't appear
to be a strategy
for growth.
It was simply
an organic,
spontaneous expression
of the love
of the Holy Spirit
had poured
into their hearts.
And what's more,
crucially,
there is no evidence
that the early church
confused this ministry,
this ministry
of meeting people's needs
with the evangelistic task
in which Jesus
had given them
to proclaim
the good news
to all peoples
to the ends of the earth.
No confusion.
Verse 33,
right in the middle
of all this,
with great power,
the apostles
continued to testify
to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus.
Resurrection truth
is the key
to this new community.
The historical bodily
resurrection of Jesus
means that everything
that Jesus declared
about his identity
as God
and all of his saving plans
are for humanity
and his lordship
over all the universe
are right.
They're right.
He's vindicated.
And this early church
didn't substitute
social action
with proclaiming
that truth.
Nor did they
merge social action
with proclaiming
that truth.
they preached
the love
of God
in Jesus Christ
in the context
of a community
that had demonstrated
the love practically.
They'd been captivated
by the gospel
and it overflowed
in their life together.
Thirdly,
this new community
is a disciplined community.
Up until now,
the picture
that we have
of the church
is love
and spontaneity
and organic life.
This is
really attractive
for those
who prefer church
to be free
from regulations
and budgets
and structures
and organisation
and strategic plans
and just to be
free
to come and go
as we please
and just spontaneous
to where
the spirit
might lead us.
Some love
the language
of organism
as a church
and particularly
push back
against
it's not
an organisation
it's an organism
as if those
two things
are the polar
opposites.
It's true
the church
is an organism
it is a living
thing.
It's certainly
not a machine
and it's not
a company
it's not a business
but while
Christ's body
like our
human body
is not
a machine
that does
not mean
that there's
no order
or control.
We all
have what
they call
a central
nervous system.
Central
nervous system.
Our bodies
are not
random
collections
of limbs
each doing
their own
thing
randomly.
The church
is not
modelled
on the
precise
movements
of a
computerised
robot
nor
on the
haphazard
antics
of a
mentally
deranged
monkey.
Organisation
and discipline
are no
substitute
for life
but they
are
indispensable
an
indispensable
condition
for effective
living.
A healthy
church
is an
organised
disciplined
organism
and
ironically
it was
the
organic
spontaneous
welfare
of the
early
church
that
highlighted
the
importance
of its
discipline
and its
organisation.
Have a look
chapter 5
verse 1
Now a
man named
Ananias
together
with his
wife
Sapphira
also
sold
a piece
of
property.
With
his
wife's
full
knowledge
he
kept
back
part
of
the
money
for
himself
but
bought
the
rest
at
the
apostles
feet.
So
this
incident
brought
the
issue
of
discipline
to a
head
for the
early
church.
How the
church
dealt
with
this
moment
of
corruption
and
sin
was
vital
for
its
long-term
effectiveness
as a
new
community.
There is
a need
for
discipline
and
for
standards
in
God's
new
community
unless
it
would
degenerate
into
something
which is
no
different
from
the
corrupt
community
from
which
it
has
been
saved.
In
verse 4
Peter
points out
that
Ananias
and
Sapphira
were
under
no
obligation
whatsoever
to sell
their
field
nor
were
they
required
to
donate
all
the
proceeds
of
the
field
to
the
church
which
leads
me
to
believe
that
their
motive
in
this
behaviour
is
not
greed
they're
not
driven
by
greed
here
they're
not
forced
to
do
this
it's
most
likely
that
they
were
motivated
by
jealousy
or
the
coveting
of
reputation
the
coveting
of
reputation
being
seen
by
others
and
praised
by
others
so it's
quite
possible
it's
narcissistic
behaviour
at the end
of chapter
four
we see
Barnabas
did the
same
thing
that he
sold
the property
gave it
all to
the
apostles
and he
received
a whole lot
of praise
for it
I can
imagine
he's
been
held
up
people
look
to
him
he's
a
model
disciple
fantastic
work
people
are
encouraged
to give
a new
name
the son
of
encouragement
and I
would
suggest
that
Ananias
and Sapphira
wanted the
reputation
that
Barnabas
had
they
loved
the
applause
that he
received
they
wanted to
be
known
as
philanthropists
too
they
wanted to
be ranked
with
Barnabas
in the
esteem
of the
Christian
community
but they
wanted both
the money
and the
esteem
and so
they hatched
a plot
a deception
in an attempt
to fool
the church
and God
but they
were wrong
verse 4
this is
Peter
what made
you think
of doing
such a
thing
you have
not lied
just to
human beings
but to
God
himself
when
Ananias
heard this
he fell
down
dead
immediately
just like
his wife
now the
savageness
of this
judgment
shocks many
Christians
today
it also
shocked the
early community
it says
great fear
seized them
not just the
Christians in the
community
but the
surrounding
community
who were
not there
Christians
looking at
the Christian
community
great fear
seized them
as well
and yet
it did
not hinder
the progress
of the
gospel
it's
possible
that Luke
had in
mind here
the similar
incident
in the
book of
Joshua
in the
Old Testament
we read
in Joshua
chapter 7
that of
Achan
who stole
some
treasure
from Jericho
which was
supposed to be
dedicated
to God
he steals
it
hides it
under
his
tent
and as
a result
the
Israelite
community
was suffering
defeat
after
defeat
after
defeat
in battle
and Joshua
goes to
God
in the
ark of
the
covenant
and
prays to
God
what are
you doing
the glory
of your
name
is going
to be
hindered
here
the more
that we
suffer
defeat
people are
going to
laugh at
us
and they're
going to
laugh at
you
the advance
of your
kingdom
is going
to be
hindered
here
and God
be true
to your
name
resolve
the
problem
and
there's
Joshua
get up
it's not
my problem
it's yours
there's sin
in the
community
I haven't
broken my
promises
you guys
have broken
yours
there's sin
in your
community
and this
is right
at the
very beginning
as the
people of
God
cross over
the Jordan
river
and start
as the
new
community
people
in
their new
home
very
similar
situation
here in
the book
of Acts
as this
new
community
begins
as the
new
community
of
God's
people
what
happened
in
Joshua
7
is
the
deception
is
discovered
Achan
and his
family
are
executed
for their
crime
against
God
and all
their
possessions
burnt
and their
name
wiped
out
their
name's
wiped
out
and the
point of
Joshua
7
and the
point
of
Acts
5
here
is that
we are
a disciplined
community
to fulfill
the purpose
that God
has for
his
saved
community
they must
maintain
a much
higher
standard
of conduct
than is
tolerated
in the
world
around
us
and so
it is
a dreadful
thing
when the
church
has
as an
institution
the
stain
that
it
has
they
have
wandered
far
away
from
being
the
community
of
God's
people
and
under
the
lordship
of
Jesus
God's
people
must
be
different
their
moral
standards
must
be
maintained
we have
been
saved
from
one
corrupt
generation
being
made
in the
image
of
the
Lord
Jesus
and
so
therefore
personal
and corporate
holiness
absolutely
matters
to
every
local
church
and so
at the
beginning
of this
new
community
as it
was
in
Joshua
7
and now
in
Acts
5
an
example
is
made
of
God's
priorities
God
will not
have
the purity
of his
church
adulterated
by
hypocrisy
now
sometimes
there are
anxiety
prone
Christians
who
accuse
themselves
of
hypocrisy
unnecessarily
that is
I think
it is
natural
for when
the spirit
of God
is working
in your
life
that you
become
aware
of the
sinfulness
that's
in your
life
and
when we
become aware
of our
sinfulness
and become
acutely
aware
of our
sinfulness
is that
we can
question our
place amongst
God's
people
do we
belong
here
am I
a hypocrite
because I've
identified
sin
hypocrisy
is different
hypocrisy
is a
deliberate
pretense
it's
deliberately
pretending
to be
something
that you
are not
you see
what makes
this incident
in Acts
5
so serious
is the
deceit
that made
this crime
so horrendous
open deceit
attempt to
fool God
and to
fool others
in the
church there
is no
expectation
of perfection
the church
is a hospital
for sinners
it's not a
shop window
for ready
made
angels
the one
thing the
church does
have a right
though to
is to
expect that
every member
be honest
about where
they are
in their
relationship
with God
that's what
we should
expect
it is
those who
cloak
their sin
under the
mask of
moral
respectability
that the
church
must
discipline
and keep
a watch
out over
each other
for
the church
must
discipline
now I'm
glad that we
have a core
value that
addresses this
issue
specifically
but as a
value it's
got to be
practiced
it's got to
shape the
culture for
us here at
St Paul's
it's got to
be written
not just on
our walls
but in our
hearts as
well
it's called
humble
authenticity
because we
are a
saved
community
at the
very least
what that
should tell
us is that
we needed
saving from
something
that should
humble us
to know
that this
plan of
God's
salvation
is so
grand
because our
problem is
so deep
we can't
fix it
ourselves
that nothing
less than the
creator God
had to jump
in and solve
it
that should
break your
heart
humble
authenticity
says that
as a
church
we are
committed
to
communicating
in large
and small
group
settings
with
honesty
authenticity
and transparency
and being
vulnerable
with our
imperfections
that encourage
candor
and not
concealment
that's the
community
that we
hold
ourselves
up to
so lastly
so we're a
saved community
an organic
and gracious
community
a disciplined
community
and lastly
we're an
organised
community
hot on the
heels of
the first
discipline
place for
the church
is the
first business
meeting in
Acts chapter
6
now this
section in
Acts 6
begins with
a reference
to growth
in verse
1
it says
now in
these days
when the
disciples were
increasing
and then if
you jump
right to
the end
of it
in verse
7
it says
and the
word of
God
increased
and the
number of
the disciples
multiplied
greatly
in Jerusalem
and a
great many
of the
priests
were obedient
to the
faith
so what
is sandwiched
between
those
two
statements
where the
growth of
the church
is documented
and celebrated
are two
threats
there's two
threats
two threats
to the
effectiveness
of the
church's
mission
and also
how both
those threats
were overcome
so the
first threat
is the
more obvious
one
it's the
conflict
between the
Greek speaking
Jews
and the
Aramaic
speaking
Jews
there's a
major tension
point for
the early
church
the Greek
speaking
Jews
weren't
quite
culturally
at home
with the
the real
Jews
you know
the
the Aramaic
speaking
Jews
the full
blooded
Jews
there was
a great
rivalry
even though
they both
sat in
the Jewish
camp
they were
both
there's a
great
rivalry
between
these
two
cultures
Jewish
cultures
they had
their own
churches
their own
synagogues
that they
met in
they weren't
connected
together
when the
gospel hits
town
when Jesus
and the
good news
of salvation
him hits
town
the church
the new
community
is formed
from both
of those
groups
both
those
groups
become
one
in the
new
church
the new
community
the early
church
is a
multi-ethnic
and economically
diverse
church
and the
tragedy
here in
Acts 6
is the
cultural
rivalry
the cultural
rivalry
was
perpetuated
within the
new
community
that Jesus
had
established
and the
apostles
were on
it
they
could
rightly
see
that the
corporate
witness
of the
church
and the
spread
of the
word of
God
was at
stake
here
if people
weren't
cared for
and the
murmuring
continued
then the
church
would come
into
disrepute
that's the
first threat
to the
spread of
the word
of God
the
second
threat
to the
church's
mission
is even
bigger
than that
threat
and
it's not
as obvious
in the
text
the second
threat
is solving
the first
threat
in the
wrong way
that's the
second threat
and it
seems to me
that Luke
thinks
that the
second threat
is actually
bigger than
the first
threat
and I
say that
because the
way that
he links
verse 2
the word
of God
and the
word of
God in
verse 7
in verse 2
he quotes
the apostles
as saying
that leaving
the ministry
of the word
of God
would be
a mistake
and in
verse 7
he reports
in fact
I would
suggest
he celebrates
the impact
of the
apostles
not leaving
the word
of God
the word
of God
spread
the number
of disciples
in Jerusalem
increased
rapidly
and a
large number
of priests
became obedient
to the
faith
his point
is that
the word
of God
kept spreading
and bearing
fruit
because the
apostles
did not
make the
strategic
mistake
of leaving
their calling
to fix
a pressing
pastoral
problem
he is
saying here
that it is
so right
that the
apostles
focus
stayed on
the ministry
of the word
and prayer
the major
threat to
the church's
mission
is whatever
threatens
the word
of God
spreading
so what
the apostles
do is they
delegate the
ministry of
meeting the
needs to a
group and
they focus
themselves on
their primary
calling
now there is
no hint
in Acts
at all
there is no
hint that
the apostles
the ministry
of the food
distribution was
somehow below
them
not even a
hint of that
there is not
even a hint
that the apostles
didn't love
or care
for the
widows
because they
did not
distribute
the food
personally
not even
the widows
complained about
the apostles
not distributing
the food
personally
in fact it
seems that the
widows and the
whole church
were satisfied
their care
had been
offered under
the leadership
of the apostles
even though it
wasn't the
apostles doing
it personally
so the
quick issue
here for us
is entirely
a question
of calling
this is a
vital
principle
for us
as a
church
God
calls
all of
his
saved
new
community
to be
people
in the
ministry
all of
us
he calls
different
people
to different
ministries
each
calling
and
ministry
is to
work
together
to in
order
for in
order
that the
word of
God
would
increase
and spread
and the
new
community
grow
that's
God's
agenda
and Luke
celebrates the
solution of
the apostles
the two
threats are
overcome
both
were utterly
crucial
either of
these threats
could have
undermined the
church and
ended its
amazing growth
and the
solution here
was the
diversity
of gifting
diversity
of calling
working
together to
see the
influence of
the word of
God spread
that's the
way we
organise the
pursuit of
our vision
here at
St Paul's
pursuit of
our vision
our ministry
is that we
are staff
led
we are parish
council guided
and we are
church member
enacted
everyone
involved
in the
community
in order to
see the
word of
God spread
and increase
that is
you've heard me
say this
before
we are not
the manly
ferry
where there's
a few
people
on the
boat
doing the
key jobs
to get us
from point
A to B
and the
rest of us
are sitting
there reading
our phones
scrolling through
the phones
reading the
taken photos
we are not
the manly
ferry
we are more
akin to a
yacht
in the
Hobart
yacht race
on boxing
day
everyone on
board has a
vital part to
play
there are no
passengers
if you are a
passenger
you manage to
stay away
you get
tossed overboard
we cannot
cope with
extra weight
we're a
racing yacht
with everyone
has a vital
part to
play
all different
but all
crucial in
order to
achieve the
goal of
seeing God's
new
community
grow
the word
of God
increase
and spread
so let me
just say
if you're a
Christian
you have a
crucial part
to play in
God's
eternal plan
of his
new
community
I've got to
keep coming
back to this
again and
again
your life
is so much
bigger than
a good job
an understanding
spouse
non-delinquent
kids
good friends
and active
social life
it is so much
bigger than
beautiful gardens
and nice
holidays
and fashionable
clothes
you are part
of something
immense
something that
began before
you were born
something that
will continue
long after
you die
God is
rescuing
fallen
scattered
sinful
humanity
the corrupt
generation
he's rescuing
people from
one generation
one community
into a new
community
of saved
people that
will be his
community of
people forever
and he's shaping
us into the
image of his
much loved son
the Lord Jesus
Christ
for his
glory
he gathers
you to
himself
to his
new society
his new
community
so that
you might
pursue
his agenda
for time
and eternity
let's pray
father God
we ask that
you would
please pour
out your
holy spirit
now upon
us your
people
to give
us hearts
to hear
and to do
your word
and to meet
each other's
needs
would you
also build
this church
and overcome
the obstacles
to the spread
of the word
of God
the good news
of salvation
in Jesus
Christ
grant that
there would
be such
liberty
and such
freedom
and such
anointing
and obedience
and holiness
that your
word does
not return
void
but instead
spreads
and you
are glorified
forever
in Jesus
name
come now
and do
your work
amongst us
and continue
to do
your work
and shape
us as your
new community
amen