You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
! Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
! Turning our eyes upon Jesus. That's why we're here.
It's not just a Sunday morning thing, but it needs to be at least that to help us with every moment.
That's actually what we saw last week, that faith is.
Faith, really, is seeing Jesus, right?
Building our lives on realities that our eyes can't see, but are nonetheless true and eternal.
Faith, then, can't be a one-time activity.
Sometimes, if you're talking to somebody that you've met about faith,
we may say that we had faith with something that happened in our lives back when we were a young person
and we walked an aisle or we prayed a prayer, and so we have faith.
The Bible says faith is not something that we just know about or that we just do once.
Rather, it is a lifelong race.
Hebrews 12 now turns us to a discussion of running the race of faith.
So we've got our image for this morning, right?
I don't have to make anything up.
We've got a race.
God is here in chapter 11, helped us see what faith is,
what it looks like when people trust unseen realities
more than the things they see with their own eyes.
And so now, God says in chapter 12,
go, run by faith.
Every day, run.
Let's listen to God's word together
and then ask that we might be shaped by it.
We need that.
Hebrews 12 at verse 1.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself
so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.
In your struggle against sin,
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him,
for the Lord disciplines the one he loves
and chastises every son whom he receives.
It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons.
For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
If you're left without discipline in which all have participated,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us
and we respected them.
Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them,
but he disciplines us for our good,
that we may share his holiness.
For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees
and make straight paths for your feet
so that what is lame may not be put out of joint,
but rather be healed.
Strive for peace with everyone
and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God,
that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble,
and by it many become defiled,
that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau,
who sold his birthright for a single meal.
For you know that afterward,
when he desired to inherit the blessing,
he was rejected,
for he found no chance to repent,
though he sought it with tears.
God's word.
Let's ask for his help.
Father, these are wonderful things,
but they're difficult things for us,
not so much to hear or even to grasp,
but to live.
We struggle.
We need your grace.
Would you so by your spirit give us grace
that we might be willing,
even eager,
to have our lives shaped by your word
more than by this world
or even our own desires.
Renew us, spirit, by your word
and change us even,
even where it hurts,
so that we'd be more and more
like our gracious Savior, Jesus,
we ask in his name.
Amen.
In spite of how it's translated
in English here,
there's actually only one main verb
here at the beginning of chapter 12.
With endurance, let us run.
Run the race set before us.
All these heroes in chapter 11
lived by faith, right?
By faith, by faith.
And now we are called
to run our race
by faith
with endurance.
Not, I hope this is encouraging,
speed.
It's not a sprint.
Endurance.
It means perseverance,
patience,
keeping on, keeping on,
bearing up under
whatever's pressing down on us.
The preacher has been calling us
to this all along in Hebrews.
Don't drift.
Cling to Jesus.
Don't turn back.
And now,
keep running
with endurance.
It is absolutely essential
to life with God.
Endurance.
It's essential,
but it's not easy.
So he has to keep calling us
to it over and over,
lest we grow weary
and faint-hearted, right?
And just not have
the strength to carry on.
And just want to notice up front,
don't you love
that God recognizes
that our growing weary
is a distinct possibility?
He gets that.
He doesn't mock us
for growing weary.
In fact,
he has help
and hope
for us this morning.
Switching temporarily.
Why might we
be weary?
Have you never run a race before?
Everybody
gets weary
at some point, right?
It's like saying
we're all so busy
these days.
Okay,
runners get weary.
Here in Hebrews,
though,
the weariness
is a bit more pointed.
Thank you so much,
Jarrett.
This will help everybody.
God knows
that we might grow weary
because
we're clinging
to his promises
and yet we're not
seeing them
fulfilled yet.
Remember last week
the people of faith
in chapter 11?
Finding life
in God's promises
but not finding them
to be coming true
in my life yet.
It may be
because we're being
attacked
for our commitment
to Jesus
and we seem
to have nothing
to show for it.
Like the psalmist
whose enemies
kept prospering
and pushing him down.
we may be weary
because
sometimes
it is just
too hard
hoping
in the unseen
living
for Jesus
and I
just want
to satisfy
myself
with some of the
things of this
world for a while.
I want to scratch
that itch.
And we've
parented
patiently
but it's not
producing results.
God,
we're weary.
I've prayed
repeatedly
but the chronic
pain
it just
never seems
to go away.
God,
I'm weary.
God,
you know,
to be honest
I do feel
like I should
make some time
to think about
how my faith
in you
affects all
of my life.
But right now
I'm just trying
to put food
on the table
for my family
and keep money
in the bank
and get the kids
where they need
to go
and plan our
next vacation
and try not
to feel too
discouraged
about my
failures as a
spouse
and get prepared
for the next
meeting
and have some
real friends
I can actually
count on
and enjoy
and I'm just
too weary,
God,
with all of the
things that I
see right in
front of me
every day.
I'm too weary
to look up
to anything
else.
I give up
on trying
to have
life with
God,
a relationship,
with him.
I mean,
he'll be there
when I die.
I've got
faith for
them.
You feel
any of that?
I do.
I have thought
or said
every one
of those
things at
some point
in my
journey
with Jesus.
And God
understands.
He wants
to encourage
us today
that the
life of
faith
is a race
to stay
in,
to run
with endurance
even
when we're
weary.
He knows
that it's not
easy,
but he wants
to tell us
how to do
that.
So it's
intensely
practical
here.
Pause.
The race
of faith
is a
daily race.
So he
starts here
by addressing
how do we
stay ready
to run
well
each
day.
First,
he says,
lay aside
hindrances.
Anything that
would get in
your way.
Verse 1,
let us also
lay aside
every weight
and sin
which clings
so closely.
So just
imagine,
before you
run a race,
you might
need to
train
to shed
some extra
pounds,
weight.
You'll
certainly
want to
empty your
pockets,
right?
You'll
take off
a jacket
if you're
wearing it.
You know,
if you're
really serious,
you might
shave your
legs,
right?
You're
really
going to
make sure
there's
nothing
slowing
you down
in this
race.
You'll
get rid
of anything,
even good
things,
that might
slow you
down.
In other
words,
if your
goal is
running the
race with
endurance,
it's a
very simple
decision what
to keep
with you
for the
race.
Will it
help you
run or
not?
Not,
am I
allowed to
or can I
get away
with a
little bit,
but will
it help
me run?
So,
you got a
few things
in your
pocket in
life,
don't you?
Meddling,
mourning.
How about
your phone?
How about
your hobby?
How about
your habit?
college
football,
book club,
vacation,
kids
activities,
my high
paying job,
my
boyfriend.
Should I
keep it
with me?
Or not?
Are you
willing to
ask?
What's
the question?
I don't
understand,
Pastor,
should I
keep it
with me?
Of course
I want to
keep it
with me.
No,
no,
I'm
asking a
different
question.
Will it
help me
live by
faith,
run with
endurance,
keep my
life focused
on unseen
realities,
or obsessed
with the
world I see
with my
eyes?
Which one?
I just,
I know
from my
own life,
I think
from looking
at ours,
if we
would order
our lives
around honest
answers to
that question,
they probably
look different,
maybe
significantly
different.
Not because
the things
that we
might decide
to lay
aside are
bad things,
but will
we be
willing to
ask if
or how
they help
us run
by faith?
Will we
at least
be willing
to ask
that question
what did
Jesus say
in Luke
14?
Any one
of you
who does
not renounce
all that
he has
cannot be
my disciple.
Deny
yourself,
take up
your cross
and follow
me.
And y'all,
that's just
the neutral
stuff that
we might
need to
lay aside.
we certainly
must lay
aside
the sin
that so
often trips
us up.
Harboring
sin in your
heart is like
running a race
with a big
boulder on
your back,
weighing you
down,
or with your
shoes untied,
you're going
to trip and
fall at some
point.
So what do
we do?
Laying sin
aside is called
repentance,
hating it,
turning from
it,
confessing it
to God.
James says
even confess
your sins
to one
another.
Fight
against
Satan
and sin
rather than
just giving
in to
sloth
or lust
or slander.
I talked
with a brother
this week
who said
generosity
and giving
is something
that he
loves,
but he
needs to
do it
because he
says he's
lifelong
been fighting
a battle
against greed.
It's one
of his
besetting
sins
and one
of the
things he's
learned helps
him in that
battle is to
give generously.
I love
that.
Lay aside
every weight.
Lay aside
every sin
and
look to
Jesus.
You didn't
think he was
going to take
a week off
from that,
did you?
Every page
of Hebrews,
isn't it?
Because he's
greater than
anything else.
Look to
Jesus.
Robert
Murray
McShane
must have
been reading
Hebrews,
I think,
when he
famously
said,
for every
one look
at yourself
and your
sin,
take ten
looks at
Jesus.
I hope
this brief
look he
gives us
will breathe
life into
your weary
soul this
morning.
Just look
at Jesus
for a
minute.
Jesus,
the
founder
and
perfecter
of our
faith.
The one
who at
the very
beginning
went before
us as
the champion,
the trailblazer
of our
salvation.
Remember
that?
Chapter
two?
He went
before us
and even
in the
beginning
made our
faith
possible
that the
way up
is down.
He lives
that and
he perfects
it in
the end
because our
faith needs
a perfect
object.
And Jesus
always comes
through like
ultimately when
he for the
joy that was
set before
him endured
the cross
despising
the shame
sat down
at the right
hand of
the throne
of God.
the deep
shame of
the cross.
It marked
the cross.
Jesus
considered that
as insignificant
compared to
the joy
that he saw
in doing
the will
of his
father,
in achieving
redemption
for us,
in bringing
you and
me with
him into
eternal
glory with
his father
to have
us there
with him.
That joy
sustained
him all
the way
to and
through
the cross.
That's the
Jesus that
we look to
now and
every day.
We slow
down and
consider
him
when we're
weary,
when we're
overwhelmed,
when we're
losing heart.
Because if
we're hearing
this sermon,
we haven't
given our
lives yet.
yet.
But he
did.
And so
there's
hope that
we then
can suffer
and yet
endure.
The first
Christian
martyr,
Stephen,
when he's
being stoned,
what does he
look up and
see?
He sees
Jesus
standing at
the right
hand of
God.
And he's
sustained
all the way
through his
death.
Since
Stephen,
many in the
cloud of
witnesses,
martyrs,
have looked
to Jesus.
And so
we too
look to
the crucified
Savior so
that we
can keep
running,
even and
especially
when it
hurts.
That's what
takes us into
this next
section.
Running
with endurance
is often
painful.
Non-runners
tell me
something I
don't know.
Right?
Different
times,
different
pains for
different
runners.
But the
side stitch
is going
to develop.
Yeah?
Right?
About 50
yards or
so.
Is that
when you
get it at
50 yards?
Please,
somebody.
Maybe it's
aching feet
or leg
muscles.
In some
moments you
get to this
just painful
exhaustion of
I can't even
catch a breath.
Or take
another step
that just
hurts.
Maybe it
happens for
you when you're
cruising along
and all of a
sudden the
slope starts
to go up.
You start to
feel the pain.
You been there?
You felt that?
One of my
friends that I
used to run
with, some
would ask me a
theology question
right at the
bottom of a
really big hill.
and then he
would just
enjoy waiting
for me to
try to talk
and breathe
running up a
hill at the
same time.
Didn't pick up
on it for
months.
Bill Nash
reminded us a
few months
ago that life
itself is
uphill.
It's hard.
That's part of
what verses
5 through
11 are
addressing when
they talk about
God's discipline.
It is for
discipline that
you have to
endure, verse
7.
The idea here,
it's a little bit
hard I think to
understand in the
ESV, the NIV
states it well,
endure hardship
as discipline.
How do we run
well when we're
hurting, when it's
hard?
How do we not
just give up and
drop out of the
race and just
stop to make the
pain go away?
I know how to
make it better.
I could quit.
He says we have
to recognize that
even the genuinely
painful things in
our lives are
being worked for
our good.
So we don't
deny the pain,
don't call bad
things good,
no.
Verse 11,
at the time,
for the moment,
all discipline
seems painful,
not pleasant.
We've got to
see the hard
things, the
hurtful things,
and name that
struggle so that
we can take
that struggle
and that hurt
to God.
18th century
British theologian
William Law
wrote,
receive every
inward and
outward trouble,
every disappointment,
pain, uneasiness,
temptation,
darkness,
and desolation
with both
your hands
as a true
opportunity and
blessed occasion
of dying to
self and
entering into a
fuller fellowship
with your
self-denying
suffering
savior.
You see what
he's saying?
Let the pain
point you to
the one who
bore your
pain, draw you
closer to him,
he's been there.
See, we don't
deny our pain,
but we also
don't deny our
father.
He's never
left us.
The point of
the preacher
here is that
painful realities
in your life
are actually
being used by
your heavenly
father for
your good,
to help you
share in
his holiness.
Whoa.
How would
that happen?
By reminding
you where
your hope is
to be found,
by producing
the peaceful
fruit of
righteousness
as you learn
to trust God
in spite of
the circumstances.
It's why
John Piper
wrote,
don't waste
your cancer.
He's saying
not that it's
a good thing,
but that it
is an opportunity
because you
have a good
father.
And so it
can actually
draw you
deeper into
relationship
with him.
Don't let
the pain
convince you
that God
doesn't care
or that God
has forgotten
you.
Far from it.
The painful
struggles are
evidences that
God cares for
you as a
father.
After all,
didn't Jesus
tell us that
not even a
single sparrow
falls to the
ground apart
from the will
of our father
in heaven
and that
we are
of more
value to
him than
many sparrows,
even then that
he has numbered
the very hairs
on our head.
So if something
more painful
than a hair
for you is
going on,
your father
knows,
your father
sees,
your father
is working
for your good
even through
bad.
That's come
into your life.
There's peace
then in the
pain.
Not peace
from the
circumstances
here.
No,
what did we
sing?
Peace that
flows from
heaven.
A strength
in time
of need.
I know my
pain will
not be
wasted.
Not a
single tear.
It won't be
wasted.
Christ completes
his work in
me.
Hardship is
endured by
seeing it as
discipline from
a loving
father.
Be encouraged.
God knows you
will hurt
deeply as
you run
the race
of faith
but it's
not arbitrary
or meaningless.
He's anchoring
you to an
eternal hope
to a suffering
savior.
And there are
going to be
days when you
struggle to
feel that,
to find that.
You need to
have a brother
or sister
who will enter
in with you,
who will not
deny the pain.
They'll listen
to you,
they'll mourn
with you,
but they won't
leave you there.
They won't let
you deny your
father either.
In fact,
they'll point
you to him.
They'll remind
you that although
you are hurting,
he's helping
you.
And that's the
heart behind the
final section
this morning.
It's going to
remind us that
the race of faith
is not an
individual project,
it's a group
project.
It's like a
team race where
your team doesn't
finish until
everyone makes
it across the
line.
The issue is not
how fast is the
fastest guy,
that doesn't
help,
but how do we
make sure that
we don't leave
anyone struggling
behind?
How do we run
well together?
Can we think
about that for
just a minute?
Look at verse
12.
You can see the
discouraged runner
here, can't you?
Drooping hands,
just done,
ready to give up,
no more
motivation.
Weak knees,
unstable,
right?
Maybe even
fearful of
keeping on
running.
The lame
needing to be
healed on a
straight path.
That may be a
description of you
at times,
but it may be a
brother or a
sister in your
family,
in your
church,
in your
grace group.
Notice how
once again
Hebrews broadens
our focus
beyond ourselves
to our
brothers and
sisters.
Strive for
peace with
everyone,
for the
holiness without
which no one
will see the
Lord.
That's pretty
serious.
We have to be
connected to
Jesus to have
that kind of
holy life,
right?
So, so,
see to it
that no one
fails to
obtain the
grace of God.
Notice what he
says.
He doesn't say
make sure that
you obtain the
grace of God.
That's not what
he's calling you
to.
He's actually
calling you to
something harder
than that.
Be careful
about everyone
else.
You know,
about really
surface level
things in their
life like how's
your day and
how are your
kids?
no.
Be careful
about roots
of bitterness.
Look for
everyone else
about their
sexual morality,
about their
holiness.
Wow.
That doesn't
leave much
out.
Remember back
to chapter 10
we have a
responsibility to
stir one
another up to
love and
good works.
This is more
one anothering.
Running
together, arms
locked, no
one falls down
and gets left
behind in this
family.
Strengthen the
struggling.
Are you drawn
to those who
are hurting?
Maybe even to
those who look
like they're doing
pretty well but
they've got a
distinct limp as
they run,
weighed down by
an obsession
they can't
seem to
shake,
clung to
by a sin
that they
can't seem
to get away
from?
That's your
job,
friends.
It may not
be your
sin,
but she's
your sister.
It may not
be your
addiction,
but he's
your brother.
it's our
issue.
And God's
at work.
God's at work
in the struggling
one, in him
or her.
Perhaps even
he's at work
using you as
an agent of
his discipline,
as an agent of
his producing
holiness, so
that even the
one who is
most feebly
running receives
his grace and
then runs
freely again.
Don't give up
on them because
they're limping
behind.
Don't run
ahead without
them.
Pick them
up.
Run together.
Look to
Jesus.
He's enough
for all of
us.
And as you
do, remember
the relationship.
Yes, one
another, but
run well
together by
remembering the
relationship we
have with God
as our
Father.
It's a little
harder to
track with
here, but
that's the
issue for
Esau.
What did
Esau do?
Esau gave
away the
covenant
blessing that
he couldn't
see in the
moment.
You get
that?
You wake
up every day
and see the
covenant
blessing, the
glory of God
and his
faithfulness
immediately when
you open
your eyes?
No, he
didn't see it.
He gave that
away for
something that
he could see.
He could
taste it right
in that
moment, right?
Just for a
meal.
Esau lost
sight of what
was valuable.
I get that.
It's the
opposite of
living by
faith, of
valuing the
unseen, right?
All he could
value was what
he could have
right in that
moment and
see and touch
and taste.
And it was
later that he
realized that
that blessing,
that relationship
with the
covenant God
was so valuable.
See to it
that no one
is unholy,
neglecting the
blessing of
being set
apart as
God's
treasured
possession and
living as if
all that
matters is my
comfort and my
success right
here, right
now.
So here's the
deal for the
relationships in
your grace
group.
If you need to
turn around and
look at them to
remind yourself,
go ahead.
friends don't
let friends miss
the glory of
God's grace and
settle for less.
Friends don't
let friends
minimize the
value of being
loved by God
and drop out
of the race.
Friends don't
let friends live
for today and
neglect eternity
because we're all
prone to it and
we all need
help.
Turning our
eyes to Jesus.
The writer of
Hebrews has sent
us to stir one
another up.
Now he's calling
us to strengthen
the struggling,
not to let anyone
fall out of the
race of faith.
It's not a race
where you're
competing against
one another to
win, right?
Please don't get
confused.
It's a race you're
completing with one
another to endure,
to finish together.
That's the kind of
race that this is.
If you've ever run a
race of any length,
you know how much
help it is not to
run alone.
you felt the
relief from the
cup of water
pass to you at
the right moment.
The strength from
the apt word of
encouragement spoken
by the runner next
to you.
Even the energy
from the crowd
cheering near the
finish line.
I want us to think
about that together
as we close.
This image is
inspired by
Pastor Joe
Novenson a
couple years ago.
The cloud of
witnesses surrounding
us in this race is
primarily those who've
gone before us in
the race.
For the sake of
Mother's Day, let's
call them our
spiritual mothers and
grandmothers.
But as you picture
them, the picture here
is a bit different from
what we often think when
we read this verse.
It's not so much that
they're looking down and
watching us and
speaking to us.
It's actually that we
look at them and
their testimony of
faith is what we
hear when we see
them.
That Jesus is worth
it.
That God is faithful.
That he never let me
go.
I suspect each of us
has names and faces
that come to mind
immediately when we
think of forefathers
in the faith.
Those who've gone
before us.
Who've showed us the
path of faith and
what it looks like to
walk.
Next week, we're
going to see that
endurance in the race
of faith ends in a
kingdom.
I can't wait to
explore this with you.
But here, before we
get to that, endurance
ends finally in an
eternal embrace.
Abraham, Sarah,
Moses, who endured so
much.
the Old Testament
prophets and martyrs
sawn in two who yet
hoped in the Lord,
waited on the Lord,
renewed their strength,
ran with wings like
eagles, not getting
weary.
They're embracing us as
we cross the finish line.
And so right now, here's
what they're doing.
They're taking the good
news of Jesus, that he's
worth it.
the message of the
gospel that Jesus
saves, that the truth
of the Bible, shape your
life around this.
They're taking this
baton and they are
pressing it into your
hand.
They're running and now
they're handing it off to
you and they're saying,
Southwood, live by faith.
Fix your eyes on Jesus
and run.
Jesus himself is there in
this cloud of witnesses.
The one who went to the
cross in spite of its
shame and Stephen and the
New Testament apostles and
the many other martyrs who've
given their lives for the
cause of Christ.
Christians through the
centuries have endured
persecution, suffered
through church schisms,
endured mockery.
missionary, missionaries
who've packed all of their
belongings into a coffin
to go invite people into
the eternal embrace of
Jesus that they knew that
they themselves couldn't
lose even if their life
ended trying to invite
others into it.
As we read this passage
today, they're saying,
live by faith.
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Take the baton and run.
Perhaps more recently, we
should think of Christians
in Nigeria.
Our brothers and sisters,
some of whom even this
week have ended their race
that they endured by faith
in martyrdom.
You may think of Frank
Six, of Laura Wolfson,
of Ron Brady,
who can't wait
to embrace us again
eternally
to live in their embrace.
They want us to bring with us
many more
from this community.
They're by the Spirit of God
pressing the baton
of the Word of God
into our hands this morning
and saying,
Southwood family,
whom we love,
live by faith.
Fix your eyes on Jesus
and run.
Run.
Run to our neighbors
and to the nations
toward lives of rest
in a world of exhaustion,
lives of simplicity
in a world of chaos,
toward lives of peace
in a world of war
and holiness
in a world of compromise,
toward lives of purpose
in a world of distraction,
lives of service
and a world of selfishness,
because by faith
you see Him
who is invisible,
who nobody else sees.
It's our turn,
Southwood.
God's Word is saying to us,
there's a race
marked out for us.
It's our turn
to run it
with endurance.
Let's take the baton,
let's turn our eyes
to Jesus,
and let's run.
That's why this table
is before us this morning.
Because we need
to see Jesus again
and we're not going to run
in the right direction
at all.
You know that.
You know how capable
we are of wandering
off the path of faith
in any moment.
And so Jesus sits
with disciples like that
who were weary,
some of whom were losing
direction in the moment.
And that night
He was betrayed,
He took bread
and He broke it
and He gave it to them
as I am ministering
in His name,
give this bread to you.
He said,
take and eat.
This is my body
given for you.
Do this
in remembrance of me.
In the same way,
after supper
He took the cup
and He said,
this cup is the new covenant
in my blood
shed for many
for the forgiveness
of sins.
Drink from it,
all of you.
For as often
as you eat this bread,
and you drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes.
You say,
forgiveness of sins,
I need that.
Let me drink.
It's His death
and His death alone
that can cover my sins.
If that's how you run,
if you run the race
looking to Jesus,
if you know
that there is no other way
for you to run towards God,
that you can't get there
on your own
but you need Jesus,
if you run today
willing to lay aside
every weight
and every sin
which would cling
so closely to you
and trip you up,
then come running
to this table
because Jesus is here
for that.
You can bring your sin
with you
as long as you're
bringing it to Him
to be crucified
at His cross
and mortified
in your life.
Put it to death.
If that's not your story,
if you're not running
the race
looking to Jesus,
listen,
we're really glad
that you're here
with us this morning.
We wouldn't invite you
to come to a table
and to do something
outwardly
that you don't believe
at all is true
for you inwardly.
Maybe you do believe it.
Maybe you have trusted Jesus
but today you're not willing
to lay aside
the sin that clings
so closely
and you know it.
Wherever you fit in that,
we'd love to pray with you.
You can just come up.
You may be a part
of this family
for 50 years.
You can come up here
and say,
Pastor,
I just need you
to pray for me.
Okay?
But if you want
to run to Jesus,
if your heart trusts Him
to take care of the sins
that you want to lay aside
and to bring you
all the way to glory,
then come and eat
and be strengthened
to run the race by faith.
Let me pray.
Jesus,
we do need
your grace
and your help
to have the holiness
of God
without which
none of us
will even see the Lord.
Oh,
it's too much for us.
And so we run to you
knowing that you're
perfectly holy,
knowing that you know
what to do with sin,
that you've forgiven it
once and for all.
And so we come to you,
Jesus,
and we come together
to you
because we'd not want
to figure this out
on our own.
It's too much for us
and you've given us
one another
that we might run
this race together.
What a great gift.
And so use very common
elements this morning
for a holy purpose.
Make us holy.
Strengthen our faith
that we might really believe
the things we don't see
are more real
and more true
and more valuable
than the things
that we do see.
Meet with us now.
Thank you for setting
the table for us.
In Jesus' name,
amen.
For more information,
visit us online
at southwood.org.
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