You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
Let's pray together.
Father, even now as we come to your word and to your table that you've set before us,
I pray that we would hear that voice that Logan just sang about.
We would hear the voice of sovereign grace crying to us that we would hear you speak as we open your word.
We come as those coming in the midst of a battle that we're constantly engaged in.
Fighting the spiritual forces of evil.
Struggling with our own sin.
Dealing with our own weaknesses in our flesh.
And we come because we need to hear from you.
We need direction.
We need help.
And we've come to your word.
And so, Father, would you speak?
Would you speak so clearly to our hearts that we would know we have heard from you?
We give you glory and we ask for your help.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.
When we moved to St. Louis many years ago to begin seminary training,
we had some expectations for what was going to happen.
We were pretty sure that we were following God's call into some sort of pastoral ministry.
That we'd be in school for a few years and then take a call to a church somewhere and see what God had next.
Three years later, I walked across the stage at graduation with no job plans.
A wife and a nine-month-old baby to provide for.
Really no realistic opportunities out there on the horizon.
No idea what to expect would happen next.
I had friends and classmates who were making plans to start with this church or move towns to build that ministry.
And they had lots of plans.
The only plans I had for the near future were to move in with my in-laws.
It was not part of the original plan that I had when I headed to St. Louis.
I was sure I was following Jesus.
But this is not what I'd expected it to look like.
I remember feeling anxious, confused, wondering if I really understood Jesus.
Have you felt like that before?
I was talking with an old friend last week who'd been following Jesus for many, many years.
He's had some relational and professional challenges along the way.
But in the midst of those struggles, some possibilities were really starting to come together
that had the chance to smooth things out in a number of different areas of his life.
And then all of a sudden, the rug got pulled out from under him again.
This time by his church.
He didn't expect that.
Of all the places he thought that would happen, he didn't expect it.
It was the last thing he thought would happen at church.
And so frustrated and confused right now.
Life seems to be just spiraling downward and God seems distant.
The church has pushed him away.
Have you felt like that before?
Maybe you feel like that right now.
John the Baptist knows that feeling.
The last time we've heard from John in our study of Luke's gospel was back in chapter 3.
Right after John baptizes Jesus, we're told that Herod throws him in prison.
Well, he's still there.
Still in prison and beginning to get confused.
Luke 7 at verse 18.
We're going to follow along with the story as we go this morning.
This is Luke 7 at verse 18.
The disciples of John reported all these things to him.
Being John.
All these things.
What's been happening?
It's been Jesus healing, right?
He's healing people.
He's just raised a young man from the dead.
Jesus is doing wonderful things and they tell John about them.
And John hears and he has a question for Jesus.
John calling two of his disciples to him sent them to the Lord saying,
Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?
Now, for you to understand how strange that question is,
remember that John is not just one among many of Jesus' followers, right?
John is the one who was sent ahead to prepare the way for Jesus.
The prophet who declared that here was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
He baptized Jesus.
John has professed Jesus to be the promised Messiah, the one who was to come.
John's whole life has been centered around that reality.
But now he's confused.
Jesus, are you really the one?
This is not seeming right.
And we might wonder why.
What is it that's causing John's confusion?
And we don't know for certain.
But perhaps, some say, John is hearing a little less judgment on the godless nations
than he anticipated from Jesus.
Jesus has been healing Romans and other Gentiles.
And he was supposed to pronounce that there was judgment coming on those who rejected the God of Israel.
Joel, John hasn't heard much of that judgment so far.
Another possibility, perhaps John is hearing all of these amazing miracles.
Things he knows are marks, are signs of the promised messianic deliverance to come.
And yet, he's not experiencing them himself, is he?
What about that whole thing about setting the prisoners free?
That one's in there, if I remember correctly.
Doesn't feel very good from the prison cell.
This is not how it was supposed to go.
I seem to remember prisoners free was part of the plan that you announced.
When do I get that?
Have you ever sat in church and felt that way before?
People are excited and they're praising God.
He seems to be doing great things in their lives, great things in the Huntsville community.
And yet, I don't feel him doing anything in my life.
What about me?
What about the mess I'm in?
Jesus is really not living up to my expectations here.
This is not what I thought it would be like.
The psalmist Asaph felt that way.
He records in Psalm 73 how he looked around and saw the prosperity of the wicked.
And he envied them.
God didn't seem to be judging their sin at all.
They had it easy.
They got all the breaks.
And he began to think that all his time and effort following after God were just a waste.
He was confused by the circumstances around him.
You could certainly add Job to that list.
Suffering and tragic circumstances and time and again unable to explain why this is happening.
Why these terrible things to someone who trusts in God.
God?
Where has it happened in your life?
Where has Jesus not lived up to your expectations?
And left you confused?
Frustrated?
Doubting?
Struggling with unbelief even?
Has it been when your spouse lets you down after all these years that you've been faithful?
When a close friend or a beloved church disappoints you after years of love and investment?
When a child grows up and wanders away and pushes you off after all you've done to point them to Jesus
and they don't want anything to do with him or you.
When he took a step of faith to serve God.
This is what he's calling me to.
And then you just got hurt.
And wished you'd never tried.
You can understand John's confusion.
Can't you?
After all, again, this is not one of the people in the crowds following Jesus.
Here's the one who of all people has understood what it is Jesus is coming to do.
I know what the kingdom's going to be like.
I'm telling you ahead of time.
And here comes the king.
John's confused now.
As confused as John is about who Jesus is,
Jesus is equally clear on his messianic identity.
He doesn't merely say yes to answer John's question,
but his answer will provide even more clarity perhaps than we would expect.
Verse 20,
When the men had come to him, they said,
John the Baptist has sent us to you saying,
Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?
In that hour, Jesus healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits.
And on many who were blind, he bestowed sight.
And Jesus then speaks.
He answers them.
Go and tell John what you have seen, what you have heard.
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.
The dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them,
and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
It's as though they come to Jesus and Jesus says,
Hang on, just watch for a minute before I answer the simple question.
It may be unfolding a little bit differently than he expected,
but I want John to know that this is the same kingdom he preached about that was coming.
And the kingdom of Jesus, as we've seen time and again,
is coming in word and in deed, right?
Verse 22, Jesus says,
First, let me show you.
Here's what you need to tell John about.
Blind receiving sight, lame walking,
lepers cleansed, deaf hearing,
dead being raised up,
poor having good news preached to them.
Watch it happen, Jesus said.
This is what the kingdom was going to be like, right?
They watch and see,
and then they listen,
and they hear Jesus quoting,
you may not recognize these,
but John would have every one of these in the list I just read.
Quotations from the prophet Isaiah.
Quotations when Isaiah is talking about
what's going to happen when the Messiah shows up.
And Jesus says,
Here they are.
Let me tell you,
because I know John knows these verses.
It's happening.
In word and in deed,
the kingdom is coming.
The chosen deliverer is here.
He ushers in a new kingdom,
and here's what it's going to look like,
and feel like,
and sound like.
Jesus is very clearly claiming to be the Messiah.
And he's also,
at the same time,
he's anchoring John's faith
in the promises of God,
and the way he's displaying the reality of them day after day.
Remember how Isaiah said it would happen?
Here's what God said.
Now watch me.
The same thing.
Watch it happen.
See,
John.
Hear,
and see,
and believe.
I'm the one.
Jesus wants to build up John's faith.
In fact,
he finishes with a blessing that is true in general,
but being sent specifically to John.
Blessed is the one who is not offended by,
who doesn't fall away on account of me,
Jesus says.
The opposite of falling away,
or being offended by Jesus,
is of course to believe in him,
to stand firm in trusting him.
That's what Jesus wants for John.
Jesus says,
you've got the right guy.
Being for God's kingdom is first and foremost about your alignment with me,
and you knew it,
John.
You knew you needed to know who the king was.
I'm the one.
You weren't confused.
You can rest easy,
John.
This is the kingdom and the king you were born to promote.
I am he.
I want to say it to you,
and I want to show it to you,
so that your faith can be built.
How many times have I said,
you can't have the kingdom without the king?
That's what's at the heart of this here.
Jesus is saying that believing in him is the path to blessing,
even when it doesn't look or feel like it.
That because he is the king,
and because he's bringing the kingdom in ways you didn't expect it to come,
you can rest.
You can trust him.
That's his message for John and for us.
It's a gracious gift from Jesus
to build up the faith of his confused and imprisoned follower.
Do you see Jesus' heart in that?
But what Jesus says next is even more amazing.
My favorite part of this passage.
Verse 24.
But think with me for a minute first.
Would you say that this has been John's finest hour of his life?
His greatest day as a follower of Jesus?
Is this his strong moment?
It's not really, is it?
He's confused.
He's doubting things that he even preached to others just last year.
And in the midst of his struggles,
Jesus found out.
And if it could be any more embarrassing,
in front of a crowd of people that all heard about him,
they're chuckling, snickering.
John, what kind of question is that?
Are you really, you were so excited last year,
so sure of yourself, not so sure anymore in prison, huh?
John at his lowest, struggling.
So Jesus sends John's disciples back to him to build up his faith.
And then listen to what happens next.
When John's messengers had gone,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John,
talking behind his back.
Jesus is going to get him now, right?
What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken by the wind?
What then did you go out to see?
A man dressed in soft clothing?
Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing
and live in luxury are in king's courts.
What then did you go out to see?
A prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet,
this is he of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before your face
who will prepare your way before you.
I tell you, among those born of women,
none is greater than John.
Yet the one who's least in the kingdom
of God is greater than he.
Let's get this clear, Jesus says.
John was no weak man without convictions,
a reed swaying in the wind.
He was no fancy royalty avoiding the struggles of life
as you know them.
No, not at all.
He was a prophet,
a true man of God.
More than that, Jesus says.
There have been lots of prophets,
but no one who has ever lived,
born of a woman,
is greater than John.
That's how wonderful John is.
You want to know more about John?
Nobody's greater than him.
Greatest guy ever.
What gracious words.
Do you hear Jesus' charity in that?
The way he treats his fearful,
struggling follower?
Doubting John?
Confused John?
There's no one in the crowd snickering
about John's question anymore, is there?
Jesus doesn't crush his wounded follower
when he has the chance.
No, he wants to build him up.
Listen, follower of Jesus.
Do you know how Jesus speaks about you
when you're not listening?
He doesn't roll his eyes,
whisper to his Father in heaven
or to the crowds gathered around in heaven.
There he goes again.
What a flake that will guy is.
Calls himself a pastor.
He forgets the most basic things about me.
He didn't even pray this morning.
Does he even remember how much he needs me?
Man, what a disappointment.
It's not what he says, is it?
It would have been well deserved
for John and Will.
It's not what Jesus says.
No, on the days we have stopped listening,
distanced ourselves from him
and our confusion and our struggle,
when Jesus hears about it,
he's saying of us,
that's my beloved brother.
My beloved sister.
Isn't he great?
Isn't she wonderful?
Jesus is so much more gracious
than we deserve.
I'm not sure what his purposes are
in your life right now,
in the midst of your struggle
even to know who he is,
but I know this,
as you bring your doubts
and your questions
and your hurts to him,
he will be so much more gentle,
so much more gracious with you
than you imagine him being right now.
When he hears how his fearful,
struggling, doubting follower is doing
and you come to him,
you will find him gracious
and loving beyond what you deserve
and well beyond what you feel.
hear him saying proudly to you,
my beloved servant John,
my beloved servant Judy,
my beloved servant James,
maybe God has you here today
just to hear his benediction,
his good word of blessing
pronounced on you again
in your weakness
and your failing.
He wants you to hear
that it's true today.
Even the weakest of his followers today
is greater than John
than we just praised.
We'll come back to that thought
in just a moment,
but this interaction
that Jesus has with the crowds
closes with some more challenging words
from Jesus.
He's going to rebuke the Pharisees
for their childishness.
Verse 29,
when all the people heard this
and the tax collectors too,
they declared God just
having been baptized
with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers
rejected the purpose of God
for themselves,
not having been baptized by him.
Jesus speaks again,
to what then shall I compare
the people of this generation
and what are they like?
They're like children
sitting in the marketplace
and calling to one another,
we played the flute for you
and you did not dance.
We sang a dirge
and you did not weep.
For John the Baptist
has come eating no bread
and drinking no wine
and you say he has a demon.
The Son of Man has come
eating and drinking
and you say,
look at him,
a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors
and sinners.
Yet wisdom is justified
by all her children.
Notice here the contrast
between John who comes to Jesus
in his weakness
and struggles and doubts
and the Pharisees and lawyers
who fend Jesus off
with their excuses
and their self-sufficiency.
The gracious words of Jesus
are for the struggling one, right?
And the challenging,
strong words of warning
are for the certain,
self-confident ones.
Jesus says in fact,
verse 30,
they've rejected the purpose
of God for themselves.
Yikes!
You don't want that said of you.
The warning is that
if you found certainty
or confidence
anywhere else
than Jesus,
watch out.
Jesus compares them
to children
who refuse to be pleased.
You've never seen a kid
in that kind of mood,
I suspect,
where you can't do anything
to please them.
You know,
grapes or strawberries?
No.
A book or a movie,
which one would you like?
No.
I don't want to do
either of them.
You can't make me happy.
I've got a complaint
about anything you suggest.
Y'all don't have kids
like that, do you?
Neither do I.
These children
that Jesus is describing,
they don't want to play
a happy, energetic game.
They don't want to play
a sad, calm game.
John is too conservative.
Jesus is too liberal.
Why?
Because the only thing
that can satisfy them
is what?
My way.
Doing it just the way
I want it done.
You can't make me happy.
I want my way.
So it's their refusal
to repent.
That's what John's baptism
is about
and Jesus' call, right?
It's their refusal
to repent
and an insistence
on self-sufficiency
that Jesus is warning against.
They're using any excuse
they can come up with
to keep Jesus
at arm's length.
To avoid actually
coming to Him
and trusting Him
rather than self.
In that generation,
the excuses were
that John was demon-possessed
and Jesus a drunk.
That's what they'd said
to keep them away.
What explanations
do people make
in our generation
that keep Jesus
at arm's length?
There's certainly many
we could say.
I'll give you one
on each end.
One on the too sad
or too little side
and one on the too happy
or too much side.
First, we sell Jesus short
when we craft
our own version
of the real Jesus.
If you've not taken
a college religion class
in the last,
well, long time,
or if you've not read
any major magazine
the week of Easter
in the last decade or so,
then you may have missed
that this has become
our MO as a culture.
It's apparently what sells.
This is what we're all doing.
We've decided
we know better
what the historical Jesus
actually said
and what He actually did
than about 2,000 years
of secular history
and Bible study
and things that people
have known and learned.
We've decided
we've got a better picture of it.
In particular,
if you read many
of the new books,
many of the things
being taught
in our college classrooms,
you'll read a denial
of Jesus' self-awareness
as God.
They'll tell you
Jesus really didn't
think of Himself that way.
He didn't really
make claim to deity.
And I can't describe to you,
I don't have the time
this morning
and I'm not even going to try,
the historical
and literary gymnastics
you have to play
to take passages
like this one
where Jesus
abundantly,
clearly
sees Himself
as the promised
Messiah King,
Savior
coming
and to explain
that away
in the face
of Jesus'
clear words,
His explicit references
to the Old Testament,
His tangible miracles
performed before thousands
and to say
that's not what Jesus
is saying
and yet say
but Jesus still existed.
He was still there,
things still happened,
just not any of
those things.
It takes a lot of work
but that's what's happening
everywhere you turn
these days
and we must be careful
because these things
sound interesting.
They'll be out
on the newsstands
in the next couple of weeks
and they'll be appealing
to you
because you're not used
to seeing spiritual things
on the newspapers
and magazines
and you'll think,
oh,
that's interesting.
Time magazine
has something about Jesus.
That's so Christian.
I'd love to see
what they have to say
and it's dangerous.
I don't know what time
is going to write
but I'm just telling you.
It's new spirituality
to us
in a secular age.
It can be appealing.
What it is
is a way to keep
the real Jesus
at arm's length
because I only have
to deal with
the one who does
and says things
that make sense to me.
Historical
is defined
as believable
to me
and that's how
we craft
what really happened.
I make a Jesus
in my own image
and it's dangerous.
On the other end
of the spectrum,
this generation
both in the U.S.
and around the world
is missing Jesus
by equating
his promises
with temporal prosperity
and there may be
a lot of
struggles with that.
one of the biggest
and most devastating
problems in doing that
is that we remove
Jesus from our
real struggles.
That's the one
in this passage
that concerns me
because there's a
follower of Jesus
with a genuine struggle.
John's confused.
He's not certain
who Jesus is
and there would be
many today
who would come
to John
and just imagine
if John had listened
to friends
like we may have
and instead of
sending him to Jesus
they would say
John listen
if Jesus is the Messiah
and if you really
have enough faith
you wouldn't be in prison.
Don't go talk
to that Jesus guy.
Look where he got you.
Life's hard.
And if John
hadn't come with that
to Jesus
if he bought that lie
and stayed away
in his struggle
from Jesus
he never would have
heard Jesus'
gracious words
of reassurance
building his faith
back up.
By setting up
faulty expectations
we set ourselves up
for disappointment
and for walking away
from Jesus
when life
is hard.
I found in particular
that those of us
who grow up
in the church
and then
at some point
struggle with
doubts
and confusion
we have a really
dangerous tendency
in us
and it's to say
that we're searching
we want to know
what we believe
and that's okay
but the way
we do it often
is we go read books
and websites
and blogs
and we say
we're searching
but the one person
we've left out of the search
is Jesus.
We're not interested
in him
we think we've heard enough
we move away
from God's word
and from anyone
who trusts it
and go on our search
and end up
where we set out
to end up.
Several I've watched
walk away
from their faith
in Christ
have hardly given
Jesus a second glance
in their doubts
and their struggles
they want to be searching
but they quit looking
in God's word
and pleading
for Jesus' help
in their weakness.
Southwood
we have to be
a place
where it is safe
to ask questions
where it's safe
to have doubts
where it's safe
to struggle
where your kids
can come
to you
and ask
things they don't
understand.
Why do we have
to be a place
where you can
wrestle together
with hard things
like that?
You know why?
Because Jesus is.
Because he's a place
where it's safe
to come
with those struggles
and doubts.
He welcomes
bringing those
to him.
This passage
is crying out
that's what it's
calling for
for us to come
to Jesus
with our confusion
rather than avoiding
him in our
self-sufficiency.
It's his promises
and his actions
that confirm
we can trust him.
He wants to show
himself faithful
and trustworthy.
There's another
biblical character
who experiences
disappointed
expectations
and also lands
in prison
like John.
Joseph has
good reason
to believe
God's plan
for him
is to be ruling
over his brothers
but where does he
find himself?
Instead,
looking up
at them
from the bottom
of a pit.
Languishing
in an Egyptian
prison.
I suspect
he had many
moments of
confusion
in his life.
What are you
doing, God?
How is this
the way it's
supposed to go?
But at the end
of his life
we find Joseph
explaining to
those brothers
how God was
working all of
this for good.
We find Joseph
telling them
to trust God's
promises.
He's going to
come and deliver
you out of Egypt
and take you
to the promised
land.
You can count
on it.
How?
What sustains
Joseph in his
confusion and
struggle?
It's God's
words and
God's deeds.
Isn't it?
It's what
Joseph has
heard and
what he's
seen and
experienced.
It's the
promises of
God that
Joseph has
seen God
fulfill time
after time
when it
didn't look
like there
was any
way that
God was
going to
even save
my life
and now
I watch
him use
me to
save,
oh my
goodness,
the nation.
The nations
are being
blessed.
My family
is being
spared in
famine.
I have a
glimpse at
what God's
doing.
Genesis
says God
was with
Joseph
just like
he promised
and eventually
Joseph who
was confused
and didn't
know how
God was
working saw
God be
faithful and
so he clung
to the promise
that God
would do it
again.
Jesus is
saying here
again,
I am the
promised
Savior,
King,
come to
me.
Don't keep
me at
arm's length.
Hear
my
words.
See
my
deeds.
Trust
my
love
for
you.
Once
again in
this whole
story,
Jesus
is at
the
center.
The
issue
is whether
we come
to him
in our
confusion
or avoid
him in
our
certainty.
Jesus
concludes
by saying
wisdom
is justified
by all
her
children.
My
translation,
God is
experienced
as faithful
by all
those who
trust him.
You know
who vindicates
God?
Who declares
him to be
right and
just in
this passage?
It's humorous.
It's people
declaring
that God
is just.
In fact,
it's not just
the crowds.
Verse 29,
all the
people,
even the
tax collectors
pronounce
God
just.
Not the
religious
leaders,
the crowds
and the
tax collectors,
the rabble
who have
repented.
Isn't that
crazy?
The tax
collectors are
the one who
see God
be faithful
and say
he comes
through,
you can
trust him.
Jesus
says even
the least
of them
is greater
than John
the Baptist
because they're
part of the
new kingdom
kingdom,
with the
new king.
That's how
incredibly
glorious
Jesus is.
All of that
is only
possible
because of
him.
Even the
tax collectors
see God's
faithfulness.
They're called
God's
children.
Verse 35,
because they're
connected to
him,
to his
son,
the king.
He makes
all the
difference.
Y'all,
what's happening
is Luke is
showing us
again why
the gospel
is good
news of
great joy
for all
people.
Because the
weakest of
his followers
hear gracious
words from
their strong,
perfect king
in their
lowest moments.
If you're
confused and
doubting today,
come to
Jesus as
you are.
Hear his
promises again.
Remember how
faithful he
has been.
Ask him to
show himself
strong again.
Let his
words of
grace to
you drown
out your
self-accusations,
the accusations
of the devil
in your
heart.
His words
and his
deeds
confirm
his love
for you.
This is
exactly what
God has
given us in
the Lord's
Supper.
God has
given us
to his
church,
to his
followers,
because he
knows that
we're going
to struggle,
that we're
going to
doubt,
that we're
going to
be confused,
and his
heart is to
strengthen our
faith.
So he gives
this to us.
He wants you
to taste again
his promises.
He wants to
come and to
whisper in your
ear again this
morning,
do you remember
my promises?
I promise to
love you.
I promise to
redeem you.
And then he
wants you to
see what he's
done.
The greatest
deed that he
has done to
show you that
you can trust
him, he went
to the cross
and laid down
his life for
you, and he
wants you to
see it again
this morning.
Remember what
he said to his
disciples.
The night he
was betrayed,
the Lord Jesus
took bread, and
when he'd given
thanks, he
broke it and
said, this is
my body, which
is for you.
Do this in
remembrance of
me.
In the same
way also he
took the cup
after supper
saying, this
cup is the
new covenant
in my blood.
Do this as
often as you
drink it in
remembrance of
me.
For as often
as you eat
this bread and
drink the
cup, you
proclaim the
Lord's death
until he
comes.
Y'all, this
is not the
table of
Southwood or
the Presbyterian
church.
This is the
Lord's table.
And he
invites all
those who
trust in
Jesus to
come.
Listen, if
you don't
know Jesus,
if you hear
me saying
these things
and you
think, I
don't know,
I still
don't know
what to
think about
Jesus, I'd
encourage you
not to come
to this table
this morning,
but rather
come and talk
with us about
Jesus.
Jesus, we'd
love for you
to know
him.
But if you
know Jesus,
you may be
struggling with
that this
morning, you
may be in a
place in life
where you're
confused and
you're not
certain what to
think about what
God's doing or
even if he's safe
to trust right
here because it
doesn't feel like
it.
If you're
doubting,
this is not a
table where you're
pushed away in
your weakness.
Jesus says to
his struggling,
weak followers,
come to me,
let me build
your faith.
Taste and
see and
remember I
love you.
I have great
words to
speak over
you, words
of gospel
truth.
I think of
you in terms
of my son,
God says.
That's how you
come to this
table, through
his body,
and his
blood.
He loves
you because
of Jesus.
Come to
him.
Taste and
see that the
Lord is good
and have your
faith built up
in Jesus.
Let's pray and
then we'll come
together.
Father, how
kind of you
to meet us in
our weakness,
to give us
something we can
hold in our
hands and taste
on our lips
that reminds us
you love us
enough to send
your son for
us.
That reminds us
that today,
no matter how
we feel,
the way you
feel about us
has not
changed.
Because it
was purchased
on the cross
by your
son.
And your
love is
unwavering.
Might we
know it
again this
morning.
Set aside
these elements
from a common
purpose to that
sacred use in
our hearts,
we ask in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
For more
information,
visit us
online at
southwood.org.