You know, we're now in the middle of this revisioning series,
this sermon series on aiming our church at making disciples of all people.
And I've got to be honest with you all, this is no program.
This is no fad.
What we're talking about is culture, church culture, shaping our culture.
So what we're actually talking about is becoming a church in making disciples.
It's the air that we breathe.
It's the fabric of who we are.
We're a church that is following Jesus ourselves,
and we are looking to bring people with us as we run after Jesus.
Now, for the communion meditation, I reminded you of the big picture.
And I've got to be honest with you, I was going to bring my computer.
I always forget my power cord, so I put the power cord in my backpack,
brought it here to the building, opened up my backpack,
and there was my power cord, but not my computer.
So I'm going to have to verbally remind you of things.
So the big picture, triune God, big plan, Christ at the middle of everything,
flipping people, making people into disciples,
running in domain of darkness away from God,
by God's grace, aiming them at and running them to Jesus,
and it's all for His glory.
And then last week, I sought to aim you from Mark chapter 8
of what a disciple is,
and I threw at you a bunch of L's.
A disciple is anyone who is,
who is by God's grace,
laying down their life
to learn from Jesus,
to live for Jesus,
to become like Jesus,
all out of a love for Jesus.
I was with some friends last night,
and
I was asked if I cook.
And to be honest,
my greatest joy in the cooking process
is the eating part of the process.
But I've got some cooking skills.
I have some proficiency on the grill.
I can flip a burger,
make some steaks,
I'm hit and miss with chicken.
But if there is one thing I'm known for in my family,
it's my ability to create massive,
substantial chocolate chip pancakes.
Because they're really just four ingredients.
Bisquick,
milk, eggs, chocolate chip.
Very straightforward,
very predictable result.
With just those four ingredients,
give me a hot griddle,
a little time,
a little attention I can give,
and I will work you pancake wonders.
But what does making pancakes
have to do with making disciples?
Well,
if there was a recipe
God has for making disciples,
there are four essential ingredients.
And if we are actively
deploying,
using,
making the most of these means of grace,
God will be working through us
to make disciples,
not just of ourselves,
but of those living in darkness right now.
So this morning,
I'm going to stick pretty close
to the chapter,
conviction number three,
how are disciples made
from this book.
And I want to walk you through
the four Ps.
Proclamation of God's Word,
prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit,
people are God's fellow workers,
and persevering step by step.
These four ingredients
are essential to making disciples.
It's God's means of grace.
We get to join Him
in what He's doing.
So,
I'm going to take
each of these ingredients
one at a time.
I'm going to point you
at a verse in the Bible
that talks about it.
So let's get cooking.
Ingredient number one,
proclamation of the Word of God.
Would you open up your Bibles
to 2 Timothy chapter 3,
verses 16 and 17?
Just to give you a little background,
the Apostle Paul is writing.
2 Timothy was actually a letter
to his protege, Timothy,
and he is helping Timothy
establish a church
in the city of Ephesus.
And what a church is,
it's a people
who've been flipped
by God's grace
who are following
Jesus Christ together.
Well, in chapter 3,
Paul's reminding Timothy
of the vital importance
of the Scripture,
the Word of God.
Hear God's Word
on God's Word.
2 Timothy 3, 16.
All Scripture
is breathed out by God
and profitable.
All Scripture,
every word,
is breathed out by God
and profitable.
Here's the claim
of this book in your hands.
Every word of this book
did not originate
in the mind
of a human being.
Every word of this book
originated in the mind
of God Himself.
When we read those words,
all Scriptures
breathe out by God,
it's getting at the very source,
origin,
of the words of this book,
where they come from.
God Himself,
from Genesis
to Revelation,
through the words
in this book,
is speaking to us.
That is a phenomenal claim.
So what this book contains
is God's definitive
and authoritative instruction
on a variety
of different subjects,
one of which is God Himself.
Maybe you remember
coming through
our membership class.
When we talk about the Bible
in our membership class,
I try to make the case
is the Bible is like
God's selfie,
making Himself known to you.
This is who I am
in all my glory.
This book is also
authoritative and definitive.
This is God speaking
on the nature
of human beings
that were image bearers
corrupted by sin
in need of salvation.
This book describes for us
over and over again
God's big plan
for the fullness of time
in which He is rescuing
and restoring sinners
into a relationship
with Himself.
This book tells us,
God tells us
how we are to live
in light of what He's done
on our behalf.
How to follow Jesus now.
This book,
it lays out a way
for us to live.
This book is absolutely
essential
to becoming a Christian
and to growing
as a Christian.
It shows us
how to become a disciple
and how to continually
to lay down your life
in order to learn from,
live for,
and become like Jesus
again and again.
So this book,
our posture
is not this.
Hmm.
Our posture,
each and every one of us,
is this.
Each one of us
comes under the authority
of God speaking to us.
It's authoritative.
It's definitive.
It makes a claim
on our lives.
It's vital.
We can't live
without God's Word.
Jesus said,
man cannot live
by bread alone,
but by every word
that proceeds
from the mouth of God.
So 2 Timothy 3.16
is talking about
the nature,
all scriptures,
God breathe,
of this book.
But it also
points to
its effectiveness.
All scriptures
breathe out by God
and profitable.
It gets something done.
And if you look
at the rest of 16,
it starts telling me
what it gets done.
For teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training
in righteousness.
Okay,
does everybody have
a directional app
on their smartphone?
Yes.
I see some heads nodding.
Well,
if you have a directional app
on your cell phone,
it shows you how to go
from point A to point B.
It shows you
the path to travel on
to get to your destination.
And if you go off the path,
your phone app
will let you know
you're off the path.
And then your phone app
will reroute you
in order to show you
how to get back
on the path.
And then,
if you are regularly
using that directional app
on your phone,
you are regularly
trained by your app
and how to get
to certain places.
God's Word,
this book,
God speaking to us,
shows us
how to live.
live.
It lays out a path
for us to walk.
It teaches us
the way we should go.
And then when we veer
from God's path for us,
it rebukes us.
You're driving over the curb.
Don't do that.
Stop.
That's not good for you.
And then it corrects us
how to get back
on the path.
How to get back
on the path of life
and following Jesus.
And then it trains us
in righteousness.
It shows us
again and again
how to live
in terms of our speech,
in terms of our sexuality,
in terms of how you
think about yourself,
how you steward
your finances,
what it means
to follow Jesus
again and again.
It lays out a path
for us to walk,
helps us know
when we fall off the path,
step out of the path,
how to get back on,
and then over and over again.
This book
gets something done.
It's life to us.
It's transformational.
And so what this means
for our discipleship
is that it's absolutely
for us
in our following Jesus
and it's absolutely essential
in helping others
follow Jesus too.
So the question now becomes,
how do you respond?
How do you respond
to this reality
that we must be
proclaiming God's word?
Well, it begins
with our own intake
and application
of God's word.
So let me just give you
a quick visual.
This is from the Navigators.
Here are four ways
you can take God's word
into your life.
It's by hearing
God's word proclaimed.
It's by reading God's word,
having time,
where you're regularly
reading His word,
studying God's word.
We have a bunch of ladies
on Tuesday
studying 2 Timothy
by memorizing God's word,
hiding it on your heart.
These are all ways
where we take God's word
into us
so that God can move us.
But there's one thing
to take it in.
There's another thing
to live it out.
That's why you need
your thumb.
Your thumb
is your applier.
It's what gives you
a grip
on God's word
and gets God's word
a grip on you.
And so what it is
is when you hear God's word,
you seek to apply it.
It gives you a grip
on what God is saying.
And when you hear God's word
and you read God's word,
it gives you a better grip.
And then you go on
with studying
and then you go on
with memorizing.
As long as you're applying it,
you're going to be
getting a hold
on God's word
and God will be
getting a hold on you.
You take it in
to live it out.
And that's what we teach
other people,
other disciples.
We help them
take God's word in
by hearing it,
by reading it,
by studying it,
by memorizing it.
Because this book
shows us the way to live,
how to follow Jesus.
Now,
this point
about how to make disciples
means we need to be
proclaiming God's word.
And typically,
when Christians hear that,
they think,
I need to preach God's word.
I need to pull up a pulpit
and proclaim God's word
to someone.
That's one way
you proclaim God's word.
It's not the only way
to proclaim God's word.
Think about it more
in terms of having
conversations about God's word.
About raising it like this.
You're in a life group.
Someone brings something up.
Well,
what does God's word
say about it?
That's how you get into
a conversation
about God's word.
But that doesn't end there.
It continues on
by saying,
now that we know
what God's word
says about it,
how do we live our lives
in light of that?
How do we live it out?
Could you imagine
more and more
of those conversations
in our church?
What does God's word say?
How do we live it out?
We're proclaiming God's word
to one another.
It happens conversationally.
It happens over text.
This past week,
the life group I was in,
we are swapping definitions
of what it means
to be a disciple.
It was encouraging.
It's getting God's word
into our lives.
So this book,
God's speaking to us,
this is our shared,
authoritative,
directional app
that we're all
working off of
to follow Jesus together.
That's the first ingredient.
Here's the second.
The second ingredient
is prayerful dependence
on the Holy Spirit.
If you would turn
in your Bibles
to John chapter 16,
we're going to be looking
at verses 12, 13, and 14,
specifically 14.
But as soon as you bring up
the Holy Spirit
in a room of Christians,
you can have a variety
of different responses.
Here are two.
People hear Holy Spirit
and they think,
oh, we long to experience
more of the Holy Spirit's fullness,
and that's a good thing.
But many times,
people have a very specific idea
of what it looks like
to experience
the Holy Spirit's fullness.
On the other side,
people hear you say Holy Spirit,
and they get a little guarded
and a little suspicious
because they've come out
or they've seen abuse
of the Holy Spirit.
Whether that's in teaching
or in experience,
it's left a bad taste
in your mouth.
And so, what do we do?
Here's what we do.
What does God's Word say
about the Holy Spirit?
That's why I have you
in John chapter 16.
In John chapter 16,
Jesus is preparing
His disciples
for His departure.
He's going to be crucified.
He's going to be raised.
He's going to ascend.
He's leaving them,
but He's saying,
there's someone better
that I'm going to leave with you.
The Holy Spirit.
So, let me just read verses.
It'd be good if I'm
in the book of John.
Verses 12 through 14.
Jesus speaking,
I still have many things
to say to you,
but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes,
He will guide you
into all truth,
for He will not speak
on His own authority,
but whatever He hears,
He will speak,
and He will declare to you
the things that are to come.
He will glorify Me,
for He will take what is Mine
and declare it to you.
Just a couple things to note.
The Holy Spirit is sent
to guide us into truth.
This book is our truth.
The Holy Spirit is seeking
to guide us in our living
according to the truth
revealed in this book.
Furthermore,
the Holy Spirit's a proclaimer.
Did you see that in this passage?
He will not speak
on His own authority,
but whatever He hears,
He will speak,
He will declare.
The Holy Spirit is a revealer.
He's an illuminator.
He wants to make you know
what God's truth is.
He wants that.
The third thing I want you
to quickly notice is
the personal pronoun He.
He will guide you
into all truth.
He will not speak
on His own authority.
He hears.
He will speak.
He will declare.
He will glorify Me.
The Holy Spirit
is the third person
of the Trinity.
He is not
some kind of
impersonal force.
He is a person.
Ephesians 4.30 says
you can grieve Him
just like you can grieve Jesus.
So let me aim you now
at what He says
in verse 14
because this is a very
simple, general way
to understand
what the Holy Spirit
is seeking to do
in our lives.
We don't need to be
afraid of this.
It's not the only thing
but it is
the primary aim
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says of Him
He will glorify Me
for He will take
what is Mine
and declare it to you.
Jesus says
of the Holy Spirit
He will glorify
spotlight Me.
the one in whom
salvation is accomplished.
The one in whom
we are called to follow.
He will spotlight
Jesus.
J.I. Packer
a prolific author
and teacher
recently died.
The story goes
he was on his way
to preach
an evening service
in Vancouver,
British Columbia
and he was walking up
a hill to the church
night was falling
and he was preaching
on this passage
He will glorify Me
and he still hadn't
he didn't have
an opening illustration.
So he's trying to think
of the opening illustration.
He's walking up
to the church building
and then he looks up
and bam
he has
his opening illustration
because as night
was falling
on the front
of this building
was a cross
illuminated
illuminated by a spotlight.
That's it.
The Holy Spirit
isn't seeking
to draw attention
to Him
Himself
but to the Son
to Jesus
to His cross
work
to His person
so that we could
glorify Jesus.
So this third person
of the Trinity
is by God's plan
the first person
of the Trinity
seeking to glorify
the second person
of the Trinity
who is at the very center
of God's plan
of salvation.
So what does this mean
for us?
Simply said
the primary aim
of the Holy Spirit
is to spotlight
Jesus to us
to reveal Jesus
to us
to spotlight
Jesus in us
to make us
like Jesus
to sanctify us
and then to empower
our witness
to others.
The Holy Spirit
is looking to
spotlight Jesus
to us
in us
and through us.
And the good news
is this
we don't need
to fear the Holy Spirit.
We don't need
to fear Him.
Jesus Himself
is saying here
He's going
to glorify me.
We don't need
to fear that.
In fact
it should compel you
to seek
the Holy Spirit.
To seek
the Spirit
to do His work
to us
and in us
and through us
for the glory
of Jesus.
So what does it mean
to prayerfully
depend upon
the Holy Spirit?
Well we regularly
ask God our Father
to pour out
the Holy Spirit
on us
in various ways
so that Jesus
would be exalted.
And I tell you that
because that's exactly
what the Apostle Paul
does in Ephesians
chapter 3
verses 14 through 19
when he prays
for the Ephesian church.
He asks God the Father
to pour out
the Holy Spirit
so that Christ's love
would fill them
with the fullness
of God
and that's what
unites them.
So here's how
you could pray.
It's
you're
regularly
asking God
the Father
oh God
fill me afresh
so that
by your Spirit
so that I can
I can live for Jesus
in front of my children
today.
Fill me afresh
so that I can
kind of speak
encouraging words
to my life group.
Fill me afresh
so that I can
exercise my gifts
in the church
for the glory of Jesus.
Fill me afresh
because I got a hard
phone conversation
and I want to exalt Jesus
in me and through me.
It also gives us
a diagnostic
and here's what
I mean by that.
How do we know
that the Holy Spirit
is working in our church?
Is Jesus
being glorified?
Is He being revealed
to us?
Are we being
conformed to Him?
Is Jesus being
made known
through us?
These are ways
in which we respond
and live in light of
prayerful dependence
on the Holy Spirit.
That's the second
ingredient of making
disciples.
It's not by my
not by power
but by my Spirit
says the Lord.
The Lord
let me now
move you to
the third ingredient.
People
are God's
fellow workers.
I don't know
if you knew this.
When you became
a Christian
you were called
into Christian
ministry.
When you put
your faith in Jesus
He put His claim
on you
and called you
into the priesthood
of all believers.
believers.
A disciple
of Jesus
is to be
making disciples
of Jesus.
A couple weeks
ago when I was
preaching on
God's plan
for the fullness
of time
Ephesians chapter 1
I really sought
to impress upon you
that God
right now
is carrying out
His plan
all around the world.
He is moving
people to the cross
flipping them
by His grace
and calling them
to follow Him.
He is doing it
right now
and we get
to join Him
in what He is doing.
In fact
He calls us
to join Him
in what He is doing.
When you are
converted
you are called
into ministry.
I am going to
develop this
next week
in a sermon
unto itself
but I just want
to point you
to Ephesians
chapter 4
real quick.
I want to show
you just a few
things to whet
your appetite.
right.
In Ephesians
chapter 4
11 through 16
Paul is talking
about Christian
ministry
and in 411
he says
and he gave
the apostles
the prophets
and the evangelists
the shepherds
and teachers
to equip the saints
for the work
of ministry
for building up
the body of Christ
until we all
attain to the unity
of faith
and of the knowledge
of the Son of God
to mature manhood
to the measure
of the stature
of the fullness
of Christ.
Look at verse 15.
Rather speaking
the truth and love
we are to grow up
in every way
into him
who is the head
into Christ.
Let me point out
just three quick things.
First,
the nature
of the work
of ministry.
In verse 12
to equip the saints
for the work
of ministry
for building up
the body of Christ.
What is ministry
in this passage?
Building up
the body of Christ.
Don't confuse that.
Don't think
that's something
other than
making disciples
of Jesus.
building up
the body of Christ
and making
disciples of Jesus.
We're talking
about the same thing.
We're just talking
using different language.
Paul's using
his favorite metaphor
for the church.
Building up the body
into our head
Jesus Christ.
So,
when Paul talks
about ministry here,
he's not talking
about something
other than
making disciples.
It's exactly
what he's talking
about.
Moving people
towards Jesus.
Christians.
The second thing
I want you to note
is who does
the work
of ministry?
In verse 11,
he gives
Christian leaders,
apostles,
prophets,
evangelists,
shepherds,
teachers,
to verse 12,
to equip the saints
for the work
of ministry.
The saints
are all Christians.
It's not an elite
group of Christians.
Saints are all
Christians.
And it's the saints
who are to do
the work
of ministry.
Building up
the body of Christ,
making disciples
of others.
When you were
made alive
by the grace
of God,
you were
deputized
as a minister
of the gospel
to make disciples
to build the church.
The third thing
I want to point out
quickly is
the primary way
we
build up the body,
make disciples.
It's in verse 15.
Rather,
speaking the truth
in love,
we are to grow up
in every way
into Him
who's the head
into Jesus.
We use this book
and speak this book
in love
to one another
to move us
to Jesus.
Imagine with me,
you go to the
Christ the King
Church webpage.
You click on it,
you enter in,
you have this menu
that says
leadership
and then it says
ministry staff.
You click on
the ministry staff
of Christ the King
Church
and to your surprise,
pages
full of members
and regular
attenders
of Christ the King
Church.
Pictures of faces,
names,
you just scroll
through person
after person.
Brothers and
sisters,
the ministry
staff of
Christ the King
Church
is Christ
the King
Church.
We
are the
ministers.
We are the
priesthood
in this church.
So what does
this mean?
We're all in it
together.
we're all
ministering
together,
moving towards
Jesus.
You've been
called by Christ
and gifted by the
Spirit of God
for the work
of ministry.
So the question
isn't,
should I do
something,
serve in the
church?
It's where
and how is the
best way to
steward my gift?
All of us
are on the
Christ the King
Church ministry
staff team,
all of us.
It should
change the way
you think about
yourself.
It should
move you from
thinking of
yourself as a
consumer to a
participant because
you're part of the
ministry staff of
this church.
The third
ingredient to be
making disciples is
people are God's
fellow workers.
God, by His
grace, works
through all of
us to build
us up and
others,
into Jesus.
That's essential
to making
disciples.
The fourth
ingredient is
persevering step
by step.
Persevering is
godly grit.
It's gumption.
It's the ability
to endure
hardship and
heartache and
headache for the
good work Jesus
is doing in you
and in others.
you endure.
You persevere.
Discipleship is a
lifelong process of
daily laying down
your life, of
daily learning from
Jesus, of daily
living for Jesus,
of daily becoming
like Jesus because
we love Him.
But it's a
lifelong process.
A church is a
community of
disciples in this
lifelong process of
following Jesus.
And we're all at
different points in
this race of
following Jesus.
Some people are
just starting out.
It's all new.
Other people have
been running for a
while.
Other people are
moving towards the
end of the race.
discipleship is a
lifelong process.
And if I can
borrow a title of
a book from
Eugene Peterson,
discipleship is a
long obedience in
the same direction
to Jesus.
It's going to
require perseverance,
not just for you in
running the race.
It requires
perseverance for us
who are making
disciples of others.
It gets hard.
That's why I want to
point you to 1
Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 is
that great passage at
the end of the first
book of Corinthians.
This chapter starts
with Paul receiving
of first importance
what he heard and
passing on to us.
It's the first
importance that
Christ died for our
sins according to
the scripture.
He's buried and he
was raised on the
third day according to
the scriptures.
He says that is of
what's first importance.
We call that the
gospel.
And it's that good
news in which
Paul picks up in
verse 56 and he
says,
the sting of death
is sin and the
power of sin is the
law.
But thanks be to
God who gives us
the victory through
our Lord Jesus
Christ.
The gospel is a
proclamation of
victory that Jesus
won over death and
the power of sin.
It's victory.
And then in verse
58, therefore my
beloved brothers, be
steadfast.
That word means to
be, to have a
singularity of focus.
Immovable.
That word means you
keep on keeping on
that focus.
You don't veer to
the left or the
right.
You stay on target.
You press on.
Always abounding in
the work of the
Lord.
Always being a part
of God's work.
Doing, moving people
towards Jesus
together.
Announcing the
victory.
Helping people live in
light of the victory.
Knowing that in the
Lord your labor is not
in vain.
When you're doing
that, you know you're
on target.
You know you're
pleasing the Lord.
And it keeps you
from discouragement.
It helps us
persevere.
Do you know why
the Apostle Paul is
writing this to this
church?
If you're familiar
with the
Corinthian letters,
you know that the
Corinthian church,
it was a complex
and chaotic mess
of divisions
and disputes.
And here Paul is
calling the entire
church,
therefore,
my beloved
brothers,
to focus on
one thing.
To go after
one thing.
To be steadfast,
immovable,
abounding in it,
knowing that your
work regarding it
is not in vain.
Gospel work.
Moving people
towards Jesus.
Well,
like the
Corinthian church,
people have been
messy forever,
since Adam and
Eve fell.
Perseverance is
necessary.
It's a necessary
ingredient to making
disciples because
people are messy.
It gets hard.
It's challenging.
It's discouraging.
It's disappointing.
Sometimes you just
want to bail.
Sometimes you just
want to cut out,
go somewhere else.
Yesterday, I
volunteered with a
handful of folks
from our church at
the Wisconsin
Marathon,
aid station number
one.
You know,
a marathon
requires
perseverance.
Jesus,
following Jesus
is like running
a marathon.
Hebrews 12
says,
let us run
with endurance
the race marked
out for us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and
perfecter of our
faith.
Each of us
is running a
marathon after
Jesus,
and each of us
will be tempted
to discouragement
and to despair
and to give up.
But here's what
disciple-making is.
Disciple-making is
you yourself
are running
the marathon,
enduring and
persevering,
and as you're
running,
you're seeking to
help other
fellow runners
persevere too.
You're seeking to
come alongside of
them and help
them press on.
Help them fix
their eyes on
Jesus.
Keep going.
don't give up.
You've got a
little more to
go.
We are running
after Jesus
together as a
church,
as a pack,
and we are
making disciples
of one another.
It's hard work.
We need to
persevere.
Here's what's
going to help
you persevere
as you run
this race.
this word is
central to all
that you do.
It's your
directional app.
It keeps you on
the way.
And you pray,
God, fill me by
your spirit.
Give me strength
to persevere.
And I pray for
this person that
you would help
them persevere.
Give them
strength.
Prayerful dependence
on the Holy Spirit.
And then people are
God's fellow workers.
And so if you're
discouraged, you
tell somebody else
so that they can
minister to you.
So that they can
say to you, oh
brother, I'm there
to fix your eyes
on Jesus.
Let's do this
together.
Let's press on
together.
Let's not get
thrown by things
that aren't that
important.
Let's focus
together on Jesus
and run the race
marked out for us
all the way to
the end.
People are messy.
It's challenging
and it's hard.
But we run with
perseverance together.
When it boils right
down to it, this
fourth ingredient, the
secret to persevering,
is fixing your eyes
on Jesus.
These are the four
ingredients to make
disciples.
These are God's
means of grace
which we use with
one another and
others to move
them to Jesus
together.
We're moving people
towards Jesus.
Proclaiming the
word of God,
prayerful dependence
on the Holy Spirit.
People are God's
fellow workers and
persevering step by
step.
We're in it for the
long haul.
They're means of
grace.
Wouldn't it be
wonderful if more
and more of us are
saying to one another,
let's fix our eyes on
Jesus and let's call
other people to come
run the race with us,
to come follow Jesus,
to lay our lives down,
to learn from Jesus,
to live for him,
to become like him
because we love him.
We know this is God's
plan for the fullness
of time.
making disciples of
Jesus is way better
than making chocolate
chip pancakes.
Do you know why?
We get to see God
change people and we
get to be changed in the
doing.
Will you pray with me?
God in heaven, we're in
over our heads.
we want to faithfully
live according to your
word.
We want to be
empowered by your
spirit.
We want to be
faithfully stewarding
the gifts you've given
us to the building up of
your body.
We want to persevere
step by step in our
own pursuit of you and
helping others in their
pursuit of you.
Father, would you pour
out your Holy Spirit
upon us, your people?
Would you do a work
that you alone will be
glorified for?
That Christ would be
exalted in our midst?
It's for your glory,
God, we ask.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.