WEBVTT

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 Well, good morning. It's very good to be with you. We've just had a snowstorm in Houston.

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 We got two inches of snow. It happens about every four years, and it was gone within 24 hours.

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 Like George Strait says, here for a good time, not a long time.

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 But no, I've known of your church for a very long time. I was the planting pastor of the

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 Church of the Incarnation in 2010, and so we've been living kind of parallel lives in a lot of ways.

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 And we've been talking about this weekend in this seminar that over the course of centuries,

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 millennia, from the beginning, Christianity has always acknowledged two paths for being

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 sexually faithful, two routes for publicly declaring and displaying the faithfulness of God in our lives.

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 One is celibacy and singleness, and the other is faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman.

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 And this is a very broad subject, and it's very personal. And there's massive implications of this

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 and what it means for us to live as Christians with love in our world today.

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 Now, I want us to draw our attention to this passage that was read just a few minutes ago

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 from 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where Paul writes,

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 I wish that all were as I myself am, but each has his own.

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 And if you write in your Bible, this is the critical word.

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 Each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

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 Now, what are these gifts of different kinds that he's referring to?

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 Verse 8, to the unmarried.

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 He's describing singleness as a gift from God, not an intermediate state,

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 not a thing that we should see as bad.

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 It's a calling.

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 Then down in verse 10, he says, to the married.

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 So here we have both marriage and singleness described as gifts of different kinds from God

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 and callings.

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 And this was just so radical in the first century Greco-Roman world.

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 This moment when Christianity burst onto the scene, in that environment, for example,

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 women were considered valuable as long as they were married and had lots of children.

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 The average lifespan at this time was 24 or 25 years.

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 As soon as a girl went through puberty, her job was to get married.

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 She had one decade to produce citizens and soldiers for the state.

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 So the marriages typically started around 12.

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 If you were from a very powerful class, you could maybe resist until your late teens.

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 Infertile women, especially widows or divorced women, were considered less valuable.

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 And then Christianity comes along and we hear the message that in God's kingdom, that's not the case.

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 And so suddenly, in the Greco-Roman empire, you find these remarkable single women.

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 Women who found the kingdom of God to be the source of their identity, not their citizenship in Rome.

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 And so to remain single and chaste, whether you were male or female, this was a radical act of declaration

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 that God and his kingdom was the source of your identity.

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 That God and his kingdom was everything.

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 So much so that despite the overwhelming statistics, you don't need to get married.

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 You don't need marriage and children to secure your worth and your place in society and your legacy.

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 God, not the empire, was the meaning, the source, the location of all meaning in your life.

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 Service in God's kingdom, God's kingdom of heaven, and not family or country was the measure of a life well lived.

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 Conversion through Jesus Christ, not salvation through birthing babies, was the way to everlasting life.

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 Holy virgins were a powerful testament in their bodies to who God is and to what God can do.

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 This is difficult for us today.

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 Many of us, especially those of us who grew up in the church, many of us have absorbed the idea

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 that marriage, and with it sex, represents the fullest life possible.

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 I frequently hear Christians saying to children, when you grow up and get married, as if that's the goal.

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 Instead of saying, when you grow up, there are two paths.

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 Instead of saying, as frequently as if you get married, saying, when you grow up, if you get to be a single.

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 The deal is sex is good, but sex is not everything.

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 And sex is not the most important expression of love.

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 Now, this brings us to marriage.

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 Let's think for a minute about the radical faithfulness of bearing witness to God through your body, through marriage.

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 This is another gift.

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 Three things about marriage that we definitely need to recognize in our society at this moment.

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 First of all, the Bible teaches that marriage is a gift, a calling, a vocation.

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 The call to marriage is a particular way of serving God and serving our neighbor.

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 When I was young, I got married when I was 20 years old.

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 And when I was 17 years old, or 18 years old, and I began dating the woman who became my wife,

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 I remember going to my dad one day.

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 He was in the garage building something.

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 He had a wood shop in the garage.

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 And I go in there and I say to dad, dad, I'm in love with you now.

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 I want to marry her.

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 How do I know?

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 And dad said, can you serve God better?

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 And can you serve this world better if you marry her?

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 And that was right at it.

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 That was the key question.

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 In that moment, he gave me this incredible gift of thinking about marriage in this profoundly Christian way.

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 We need to remember that the call to marriage is a call to serve God in a particular way.

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 Now, in Matthew chapter 19, Jesus is teaching about this, and his disciples are like, whoa.

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 It was so bizarre to them.

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 It was so out of left field.

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 And Jesus quickly looked at them and said, look, if you can't do this, then don't get married.

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 This is marriage.

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 This is what it's for.

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 Now, part of what this means is that marriage is more than a personal choice.

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 It's more than personal paradise.

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 It's a way of fulfilling a call.

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 It's more than your own personal dream.

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 It is a public vocation.

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 It is a public office.

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 Second, a second thing that comes out of Christianity with regard to marriage that's critical for us today is that the family created by marriage is not the most important relationship a person can have.

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 We saw this in our gospel.

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 Right?

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 Right?

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 Right?

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 Right?

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 Here is Jesus taking a radical step for a first century Jew.

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 He is redefining family in terms of loyalty to himself.

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 Now, in a culture in which tithes of blood had become everything, Jesus said there is a set of relationships that are more important and more basic and more fundamental.

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 They are not based on blood.

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 They are based on the obedience of faith.

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 Now, Paul picks up on this and in his letters, he uses this remarkable language about the church.

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 He calls the church the household of faith.

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 And he calls other Christians his brothers and his sister.

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 Where did he get this way of thinking about the church from?

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 He got it from Jesus.

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 Now, in the Old Testament, the structure of Israel, it was family-centered.

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 The family was the most important, the most basic unit of society.

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 And there were reasons for this.

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 But in the New Testament, Jesus shifts that.

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 He's often shooting arrows at this family-centric, this idolatry of the family that had grown up in his culture.

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 Think about it, when some people come to Jesus and they say, we want to follow you, and he says, hey, you have to love me more than mother, brother, father, sister.

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 Some people follow him and say, hey, let me first go take care of some family obligations.

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 And Jesus said, hey, you got to pick.

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 And what is Jesus doing in all of these moments?

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 He's deconstructing an idolatry of the family.

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 Now, this in no way is to jeopardize the fact that God still considers the family very important.

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 The New Testament is filled with instructions about family life.

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 And they need to be studied and obeyed.

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 The New Testament praises marriage and child-rearing as honorable and critical vocations.

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 But the point that needs to be understood is that the family is no longer the center.

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 The church is.

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 The church is the primary school of love.

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 The place where we learn how best to receive and to give love.

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 Now, unfortunately, we know that the church has fallen very short of this.

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 And too often, followers of Christ are not able to experience the true intimacy that we all need within the church.

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 But this is our charge.

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 And the church's success in reflecting this, this love and intimacy, makes a world of difference when it comes to talking about two vocations, singleness and marriage.

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 Both equal.

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 Now, let's circle back to the vocation of singleness in light of what we've seen about marriage.

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 Thank you so much.

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 About marriage and family.

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 I want to say, if you're single and you're lonely and you're longing for a human relationship, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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 There's nothing wrong with your desire.

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 God isn't capricious.

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 He doesn't want for you to be lonely.

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 He doesn't delight in broken hearts.

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 It's okay to long for human companionship.

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 But we've been led to believe that a romantic relationship is God's answer to loneliness.

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 But in the Bible, loneliness is consistently addressed through friendship.

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 Not marriage.

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 Think of the many places in the New Testament where intimate fellowship is envisioned.

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 Like 1 John, chapter 4, verses 7 to 21.

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 Or 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 6 to 8.

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 Or Paul's famous love poem, 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.

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 Love is patient.

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 Love is kind.

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 Or Jesus' farewell discourse to his friends in John, chapter 13 through 16.

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 In none of these passages does marriage come up.

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 We can find real answers to loneliness apart from marriage within the church.

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 This is hands down one of the most important issues for us to come face to face with as we think about sex and sexuality today,

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 especially as we think about our gay brothers and sisters.

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 Here, there's a remarkable gay celibate Christian man by the name of Greg Johnson.

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 He's a Presbyterian pastor.

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 And he's written this wonderful book called Still Time to Care.

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 And the subtitle is What We Can Learn from the Church's Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality.

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 He writes, Alongside shame, the soul-crushing reality of loneliness is the largest challenge faced by many gay people.

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 And he said the fact is it is a challenge that becomes too often worse when they join the church.

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 And then he writes this heartbreaking paragraph.

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 I'm going to read the whole thing.

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 He says, Imagine what it's like for a teenager in the church who realizes she's gay.

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 The thought of being alone for an entire lifetime crashes upon her.

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 Think about older women in your church as it dawns slowly on them over the years that they will probably never marry.

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 Think of all the pain and the sorrow and despair that might fill the heart of a woman who feels the clock ticking and marriage has not happened.

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 Think about it.

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 Think about it.

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 And then he said, Take the couple in our church who are trying to conceive a child only to realize that every promise ends in failure and every new hope becomes a dead end.

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 Think of how hard it is for that couple to watch the baptism of a child or a Christmas program or to pass by the nursery at church.

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 Think of how hard it is for them to come to church on Mother's Day.

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 Think of the heartache they experience when they attempt genuinely to be happy every time a friend announces they're expecting a baby.

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 Enter into the pain of realizing God is denying you something for which your body was made.

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 Now take all of the pain, the woman or man growing older, not getting married.

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 Take all of that sorrow and heartache and loss which is slowly spread out for them over decades.

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 take it all

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 combine it all

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 and front load it

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 onto a 16 year old girl

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 this is earth shattering

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 this is her reality

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 in the church

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 and weep with her

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 and make sure we have churches

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 where she can be in friendships

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 where that becomes known

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 before it destroys her

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 now how can we do that

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 how can we address the beast of loneliness

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 that so many

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 LGBTQ people in our church

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 in our communities

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 in our families

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 in leadership

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 how can we address this beast of loneliness

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 and here we turn to Jesus

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 like this song that we sang

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 we turn to Jesus

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 and imagine Jesus on the cross

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 there's his mother

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 his brothers

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 Jesus in this moment

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 takes his best friend

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 and says here's your mom

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 and he says to this

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 to Mary

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 here's your son

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 think about this moment

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 when Jesus is teaching

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 and his mother and brothers

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 are wanting a word with him

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 and somebody comes into the room

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 and says hey Jesus

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 your family's outside

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 and Jesus points at his disciples

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 and says

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 here are my mothers

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 and brothers

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 for whoever does the will

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 of the father in heaven

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 is my brother

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 and sister

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 and mother

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 Jesus redefined family

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 for his followers

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 the church

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 is family

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 with all of those

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 obligations

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 and duties

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 church as worship service

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 is not enough

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 church as worship service

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 cannot sustain

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 the vocation

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 of singleness

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 we do not need

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 to get married

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 in order

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 to overcome loneliness

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 I've sat with too many couples

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 who went into marriage

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 thinking that was going to happen

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 our true family

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 is the church

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 the good news of the gospel

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 is that in Christ

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 Democrats and Republicans

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 can become family

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 and the rich and the poor

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 and strangers

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 and people

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 from different

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 ethnic groups

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 marriage might even

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 hinder

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 our life together

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 in the church

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 because it can distract

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 from the primary goal

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 of becoming a faithful

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 disciple of Jesus Christ

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 we need to be

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 the kind of churches

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 where singles

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 experience this reality

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 we need to be

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 the kind of churches

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 where if you're single

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 we are a safe

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 and healthy place

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 for you

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 regardless of your orientation

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 we need to be

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 the kind of place

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 where you don't feel

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 like a second class citizen

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 where your vocation

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 your calling

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 is just as valuable

00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:44.000
 just as equal

00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:45.619
 where you are given

00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:46.919
 honor and dignity

00:19:46.919 --> 00:19:47.959
 and being a person

00:19:47.959 --> 00:19:49.059
 who is single

00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:50.559
 is just as important

00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:51.639
 as being married

00:19:51.639 --> 00:19:52.699
 it's just as serious

00:19:52.699 --> 00:19:54.220
 and just as challenging

00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:55.819
 and just as rewarding

00:19:55.819 --> 00:19:57.059
 and beneficial

00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:58.500
 to this world

00:19:58.500 --> 00:19:59.720
 and to God's kingdom

00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:00.759
 and all of us

00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:02.000
 married people

00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.339
 and single people

00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:04.720
 we need to raise

00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:05.960
 the children of our churches

00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:07.779
 with a deep sense

00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:08.819
 that God

00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:10.420
 has a calling for them

00:20:10.420 --> 00:20:12.240
 and it may be marriage

00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.000
 or they might get

00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:14.920
 to be single

00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:16.640
 and we may

00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:17.819
 may we be the kind

00:20:17.819 --> 00:20:18.220
 of churches

00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:19.160
 that no matter

00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:19.839
 the calling

00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:20.880
 the children

00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.700
 in our midst

00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:22.279
 know

00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:24.019
 that loneliness

00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:25.640
 will be met

00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:27.220
 with deep friendship

00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.100
 because when we look

00:20:29.100 --> 00:20:29.680
 at scripture

00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.539
 we see

00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:33.039
 that water

00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.319
 is thicker

00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:35.019
 than blood

00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:36.759
 that the waters

00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:37.500
 of baptism

00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:38.900
 are thicker

00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:40.259
 than the blood

00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.140
 of relatives

00:20:41.140 --> 00:20:43.339
 and so for all

00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:43.980
 believers

00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:45.819
 single and married

00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:48.259
 gay and straight

00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:50.339
 the most fundamental

00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:51.220
 issue

00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:53.140
 about our lives

00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:54.380
 is that

00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:55.100
 that we live

00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:56.000
 our lives

00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:56.920
 faithfully

00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:58.260
 to God

00:20:58.260 --> 00:20:59.580
 committing ourselves

00:20:59.580 --> 00:21:00.200
 to him

00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:01.260
 and growing

00:21:01.260 --> 00:21:02.600
 through the Holy Spirit's

00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:04.600
 work in our lives

00:21:04.600 --> 00:21:06.640
 to greater Christ-likeness

00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.200
 we do this

00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:09.580
 in the context

00:21:09.580 --> 00:21:11.820
 of our daily struggles

00:21:11.820 --> 00:21:13.460
 becoming better stewards

00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:14.480
 of our sexuality

00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:15.720
 trusting God

00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:16.920
 and growing in faith

00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:17.600
 recognizing

00:21:17.600 --> 00:21:18.920
 that we can see

00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:19.860
 our lives

00:21:19.860 --> 00:21:21.380
 in the context

00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:22.720
 of God's sovereign

00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:23.800
 and redemptive plan

00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:24.899
 and let's remember

00:21:24.899 --> 00:21:25.980
 that when it comes

00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:26.680
 to sex

00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.359
 the will of God

00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:29.319
 is chastity

00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:30.940
 for all of us

00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:32.099
 by chastity

00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:33.419
 I mean the integrity

00:21:33.419 --> 00:21:34.779
 the harmony

00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:36.359
 between flesh

00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:37.379
 and spirit

00:21:37.379 --> 00:21:38.419
 that we receive

00:21:38.419 --> 00:21:39.680
 when by God's grace

00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:40.559
 we obey

00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:41.359
 Christian

00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:43.119
 sexual discipline

00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.000
 this is God's will

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.599
 for teenagers

00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:48.460
 for men

00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.480
 and women

00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.599
 who are married

00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:51.639
 or unmarried

00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:52.440
 for men

00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:53.740
 and women

00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:54.700
 who are attracted

00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:55.880
 to the opposite sex

00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:56.920
 or the same sex

00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:58.440
 we are all given

00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:59.660
 the hard

00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:00.320
 and high

00:22:00.320 --> 00:22:01.820
 and ultimately

00:22:01.820 --> 00:22:03.140
 infinitely

00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:04.980
 valuable calling

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:06.280
 and challenge

00:22:06.280 --> 00:22:07.300
 of chastity

00:22:07.300 --> 00:22:09.520
 chastity means

00:22:09.520 --> 00:22:10.580
 far more

00:22:10.580 --> 00:22:11.700
 than controlling

00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:12.700
 your appetites

00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:13.720
 if that were the case

00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.660
 then there would be

00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:15.720
 no need for it

00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:16.920
 in the new heavens

00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:17.720
 and the new earth

00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:18.680
 where we no longer

00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:19.839
 fill the pool

00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:22.000
 of these appetites

00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.920
 the call to chastity

00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.620
 means that all of us

00:22:25.620 --> 00:22:27.819
 gay and straight

00:22:27.819 --> 00:22:28.700
 single and married

00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:29.940
 teenager and widow

00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:30.860
 all of us

00:22:30.860 --> 00:22:31.380
 are called

00:22:31.380 --> 00:22:32.220
 to offer

00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:33.440
 our sexual life

00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:34.839
 back to God

00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:36.880
 presenting our bodies

00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.299
 as a living sacrifice

00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:40.420
 holy

00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:41.779
 and acceptable

00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:42.460
 to God

00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:43.799
 chastity means

00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:44.539
 being not

00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:45.660
 conformed

00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:46.480
 to the world

00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.019
 but being transformed

00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:49.380
 by the renewal

00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:50.300
 of our mind

00:22:50.300 --> 00:22:51.779
 right thinking

00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:52.880
 leads to right living

00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:54.980
 being transformed

00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:55.840
 by the renewal

00:22:55.840 --> 00:22:56.580
 of our mind

00:22:56.580 --> 00:22:58.200
 so that we can prove

00:22:58.200 --> 00:22:58.840
 demonstrate

00:22:58.840 --> 00:23:00.440
 what the will of God

00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:00.640
 is

00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:01.220
 what is good

00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:01.840
 and acceptable

00:23:01.840 --> 00:23:02.640
 and perfect

00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:03.540
 of course

00:23:03.540 --> 00:23:04.820
 this means discipline

00:23:04.820 --> 00:23:05.960
 and control

00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:07.620
 and self-mastery

00:23:07.620 --> 00:23:08.860
 all of us

00:23:08.860 --> 00:23:09.840
 must restrain

00:23:09.840 --> 00:23:11.779
 our sinful

00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:13.640
 sexual impulses

00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.759
 you do not have

00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:16.240
 to enter

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.060
 into a sexual

00:23:17.060 --> 00:23:17.720
 relationship

00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.920
 you can either

00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:19.620
 by choice

00:23:19.620 --> 00:23:20.320
 or necessity

00:23:20.320 --> 00:23:21.780
 bypass that

00:23:21.780 --> 00:23:23.100
 and seek to devote

00:23:23.100 --> 00:23:23.840
 your body

00:23:23.840 --> 00:23:25.120
 directly to God

00:23:25.120 --> 00:23:26.060
 as members

00:23:26.060 --> 00:23:27.000
 of Christ's bride

00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:27.500
 the church

00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:29.860
 and if you do

00:23:29.860 --> 00:23:30.580
 give yourself

00:23:30.580 --> 00:23:31.620
 sexually

00:23:31.620 --> 00:23:33.600
 then it must be done

00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:34.540
 in accord

00:23:34.540 --> 00:23:35.759
 with the order

00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:36.920
 God establishes

00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:37.580
 in creation

00:23:37.580 --> 00:23:39.460
 as a church

00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:41.759
 we've got to celebrate

00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:42.700
 both

00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.299
 marriage

00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.799
 and singleness

00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:47.360
 we have to

00:23:47.360 --> 00:23:48.600
 help one another

00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:49.720
 sustain

00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:50.960
 celibacy

00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:52.539
 and chastity

00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:53.640
 we have to learn

00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:54.319
 to counsel

00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:55.039
 and comfort

00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:55.960
 those who

00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:57.059
 in either state

00:23:57.059 --> 00:23:58.180
 find themselves

00:23:58.180 --> 00:23:59.279
 overwhelmed

00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:00.840
 with conflicting

00:24:00.840 --> 00:24:03.039
 and contrary desires

00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:04.440
 and remember

00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:06.779
 the hero

00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:07.600
 of our faith

00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.299
 our champion

00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:11.039
 our savior

00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.859
 and redeemer

00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:13.980
 was fully human

00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:16.039
 and fully God

00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.139
 and he was single

00:24:18.139 --> 00:24:21.059
 let's pray

00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:23.319
 Lord Jesus Christ

00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:24.519
 thank you so much

00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:26.319
 for your good

00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:26.939
 scriptures

00:24:26.939 --> 00:24:28.379
 that you give to us

00:24:28.379 --> 00:24:30.059
 that are reliable

00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:31.719
 and trustworthy

00:24:31.719 --> 00:24:33.679
 thank you for the

00:24:33.679 --> 00:24:34.159
 comfort

00:24:34.159 --> 00:24:35.699
 and empowering

00:24:35.699 --> 00:24:36.419
 presence

00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:37.740
 of your Holy Spirit

00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:39.680
 thank you Father

00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.360
 for sending

00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:41.240
 your own son

00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.660
 to die for us

00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:44.680
 to make us

00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:45.240
 your own

00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:48.060
 in his name

00:24:48.060 --> 00:24:48.600
 I pray

00:24:48.600 --> 00:24:49.220
 Amen