our sins. He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Now let's turn together in God's words to 1 Peter chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4, if you have that on
a device or in a Bible, you can open that and keep it open, but if not, the words will be up on our
screen. I will read the first 11 verses of this chapter. Therefore, since Christ suffered in his
body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body has finished
with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires,
but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose
to do, living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless wild living, and they heap abuse on
you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be
judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to
the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind, so that you may pray.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to
one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,
as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one
who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,
so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power
forever and ever. Amen. And we'll turn to read and reflect on that in just a moment. But let's once
again bow our heads briefly in prayer. Lord, you invite us to seek the Lord while you may be found,
and to call on you while you are near. Lord, we pray that we would be conscious of you being near to us
as we spend time around your words, that we would seek you with expectation, that we might hear
words of truth and life from you today. Speak, Lord, and may we, your servants, be listening. Amen.
So let's turn again to 1 Peter chapter 4, and we'll look at these first 11 verses,
and we'll think about living in the light of Christ's victory. Let me begin with a question.
Now, the question is this, do Christians have a peacetime or a wartime mentality?
I've just finished reading a novel set in the Second World War, and two things
struck me as being helpful when we come to 1 Peter. First, the recognition
that in war, loyalty and allegiances matter. So the story centered on the threat of a spy ring
getting access to military secrets. So loyalty matters. But then the other thing that really
came through from the novel was the sense of solidarity and togetherness that wartime brings.
So there was a reminder of rationing, and everybody was in that same system. Everyone was signing up to go
to the front line. There were the blackouts and people having to take shelter together. There was a
reminder of those government slogans. You may have seen some of those posters while studying history,
perhaps, dig for victory, or we can do it. Everybody was together. It's a really appropriate way to think
about 1 Peter chapter 4 and to think about the reality of the Christian life, which reminds us that we are
engaged every day in spiritual warfare. So we have some of that language in verse 1. We are to arm ourselves
with the same attitude of Jesus who suffered for us. In verse 7, we are to be alert and of sober
minded. We are to be alert and of sober minded. We are to be alert and of sober minded. We are to be on guard each
and every day. Peter also helpfully reminds us why we are engaged in this warfare, why we will find
ourselves suffering as Christians, and it's because of loyalty to King Jesus. It's as we stand with his people,
it's as we stand as the church, that we will at times face opposition, similar to what
Peter's first readers were experiencing. But of course, there is good news for us, because in this
battle that Peter is describing, there is no question of where the victory lies. So last week, if you
remember, in chapter 3, verses 18 to 22, he was reminding these same Christians of the death, the
resurrection, the return to glory, the victory of the Lord Jesus. He's now sitting in the place of
glory, power, honor, with all things in submission to him. The victory of Jesus is never in doubt for a
moment. So the suffering that we endure, the spiritual battle that we engage in, is in that context. That as we
trust in him, we trust in him, so to our victory in the end is sure. And of course, this wartime imagery also
creates in us a sense of urgency. We want to make sure that we are on the right side, that we are on Jesus' side.
So today, we'll look at the two different sections of our text, and see that in light of the victory of
Jesus Christ. Now, there's instructions for how we should live, first of all, in the world. That's the
first six verses. And then how we should live in the church, and that's in verses 7 to 11. So let's
think about how, first of all, to live out Christ's victory in the world. So I came across this week a
quote from a Roman historian by the name of Tacitus. It lived at the same time as Peter did, and his
reflections on this early new religion, Christianity, he said, Christians are haters of the human race.
That's a very striking assessment, isn't it? Perhaps a shocking assessment. Why in the world would he say
that of a group of people who were to be marked by love? Well, he said it because the Christian way of
life was so different, and they were saying no to so many things that Roman society accepted as normal.
So they said no to blood sports and to the gladiators. They said no to a low view of sex and marriage to
pursue a biblical view of sex and marriage. They said no to the worship of the Roman gods.
They said no to worshiping Caesar as Lord. They said Jesus had priority over all. And the result was that
people were sometimes confused and sometimes hostile towards Christianity, and so the church was
finding life as a Christian could sometimes be hard. Living in isolation, living as a minority,
they could feel like exiles. It could feel like battle. Perhaps we can identify with that.
In our own lives, as we find ourselves saying no to cultural norms, values that perhaps society
accepts, and we want to be different because we're living according to the Bible, we will inevitably,
in different ways, stand out. And that will sometimes lead to opposition, and we need to be ready for
that. And we need to let the gospel direct us as to how we should respond and how we should live
in light of that. So what does Peter teach us? What does he teach us about living for God
before an unbelieving world? Or to put it another way, what difference does the victory of Jesus
make for the way that we live in? What does he teach us? What does he teach us? What does he teach us?
What Peter does helpfully for us is he identifies four things that are new for the Christian.
So we'll look at these together. In verse 1, we see that we are to have a new attitude.
Therefore, he says, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude,
because whoever suffers in the body has finished with sin. So he begins with a gospel motivation.
He takes us once again to the suffering of Jesus and the victory of Jesus beyond suffering,
reminding us again that Jesus is the one he's just described who's defeated sin and death,
who's now ruling with power. So the suffering of Jesus motivates us, but also,
so too should the attitude of Jesus to suffering. And the gospels give us insight into that.
When we think about Jesus approaching suffering, what do we discover? We discover that Jesus was
determined. Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, the place where he knew he would die. He was
determined to die to do his father's will, to rescue his church, resolving to suffer so that by faith in
Jesus we might be saved. And so Peter draws on that to say that for us as Christians, we should have that
same resolve, being ready to suffer, recognizing that the reality that was true for Jesus will also be true for us,
that at times we will suffer. And he goes on to say in the second part of that verse that suffering for Jesus
becomes then a sign of our loyalty. It's a recognition that he is our master. In that moment, we're not going to live
for self, we're not going to live for sin because that decisive break has been made in light of what Jesus
has done for us on the cross. So the gospel motivates that new attitude towards suffering.
And then he moves from there to think about new desires that we have as Christians that then shape how we live
in the world. Verse 2, as a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires,
but rather for the will of God. So he's saying because of what Jesus has done, and as people respond in
faith for the rest of our lives, however long that might be, Christians are to live for the will of God,
not any longer for our sinful, selfish desires. Now where does that change come from? And it's really
important to recognize that this isn't a change we work in ourselves. No, this is created by the gospel.
This is a work of God. That faith in Jesus, it gives us this new life in Christ. We receive a new
heart. We receive a new will and a new desire from the Spirit. And we need the work of God if we're to
have that new desire in us. Just before Easter, you might remember we studied Jesus' prayer in
Gethsemane, and that point where he prayed, not my will but yours be done. That becomes, should become,
the Christian's, should be done. Even if it means suffering, not my will, but yours, Father, be done.
Because Jesus is our captain, and we want to follow him. And Jesus always did his Father's will
so that he might save us. And as we think about Jesus, that would become increasingly our desire too.
The third thing that's new about our life that helps us to live for Jesus in the world is that we
have a new lifestyle. And verses 3 and 4 really make that clear. Peter begins, you have spent enough
time in the past doing what pagans choose to do. So this church, and we've seen this a few times,
largely converted to Jesus from a pagan background. So not a Christian background. They didn't have
parents and grandparents that were going to church. And so their change, their way of life was very
dramatically different. And so perhaps these verses are particularly important for anybody in that kind
of situation. I've been reading this week about sort of brothers and sisters in Christ who,
there are certain times and certain seasons that are very hard for them because they are converted from
other faiths. And when the majority of your family and your community is worshiping in a certain way,
doing certain practices, and you are not, then you're going to stand out. And sometimes that's going to
lead to opposition, charges of being unfaithful and disrespectful. But that might also happen if
you've not grown up in a Christian family, and you don't have a lot of Christian friends, and then you
become a follower of Jesus. You might find that the people in your family or your friends might do what
this has been happening to this group, that they're being mocked and rejected and even abused
because of their new life. And so perhaps this is really important for some of us.
What we discover about these Christians is that their past was wild. To use Paul's language,
Peter's language rather, they're surprised that you don't join them in their reckless wild living.
That's what they used to do, and that was normal in the culture. And it was still normal for their
friends and family. But Peter says, you spent enough time doing that. Enough is enough. You've made a
decisive break with that. So now they're living for Jesus. Now they're following the pattern of Jesus,
and they're being mocked for it. And for some of us, that will be part of our spiritual battle.
We're called to a different lifestyle to the surrounding culture, but sometimes that will also mean
we're called to a different lifestyle to our family and to our friendship group. And that's a particular
challenge, perhaps. Maybe for our teenagers, maybe for our students, that's a real challenge, to allow
the Bible to guide our view of what's normal and what's the right way to live, not culture.
It's a reminder that there is a cost to consider. You know, the cost to follow Jesus might be about
the reaction that our family or that our friends will have to our faith. Are we willing to say Jesus
is Lord, even if that means losing friends, losing the support of a family network?
The last thing that's new for this group of Christians, helpful for us as we think about
how to live, is that there is a new view of judgment that they are presented with. So he's
just spoken about a group of people who are heaping abuse on Christians, but then in verse 5 there's the
turn, but they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Encouraging the church. Yes, you are going through struggle and spiritual warfare just now, and
you're finding yourself abused and rejected, but that's not the last word that will be spoken on
your life. He reminds them again of the day of judgment, a reminder that all will stand in the
courtroom of Jesus to give an account of our lives, and especially to give an account of what we've done
with Jesus as Lord. And then in verse 6 he goes on to speak about those Christians who have, it seems,
recently died, reminding Peter's readers that the gospel was their source of hope and victory, so that
yes, they have died physically, but now they are more alive than ever spiritually. They are enjoying
victory from Jesus and with Jesus in glory. And so Christians who are suffering are invited again to
look forward, to look forward to the judgment day and to look forward to being vindicated
by Jesus, to be welcomed into heaven by Jesus. They are to keep that, we are to keep that hope in view.
So Peter's big point in these first six verses is this, that the victory of Christ calls for us
to be loyal to him and to live for him in the world. Three things to think about before we move on. First,
the question of balance and that truth that as Christians we are to be in the world, but not of
the world. And we think about the importance of that balance, in the world but not of. There's two ways
that we can lose balance. One, we can try and sort of keep as far away from possible from the world. We
can, as it were, try and find our monastery existence. But when we do that, when we isolate
ourselves, we don't allow the light of Jesus, the love of Jesus to shine. So there's imbalance that way.
But then on the other side, there could be an imbalance where we so conform and blend in
that we're both in the world and we're just like the world. And so people don't see anything
different, anything distinctive, any light from Jesus in us either. And so in spiritual warfare,
there's that battle ongoing for balance, that we'd be in the world but not of the world,
reflecting Jesus and his light and his love and his good news. And that's going to require wisdom
for us to live in that balance. Wisdom for the boundaries that we need to set personally,
individually. Wisdom in relation to our friendships and how to invest ourselves in them.
And it's going to require us to keep hold of the gospel also, to recognize for ourselves that our
hope is found in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and eternity in heaven. But also to
remind ourselves that's the hope for the world as well. So we want to keep moving out to bring Jesus,
to bring the good news to others. So balance matters. I think it's also important for us as a local church
to think about friendship and fellowship. Because what's happening here in this story is that
obviously believers are becoming isolated because of their new way of life, because of their new faith.
And so they need a Christian community to belong to.
Local churches need to be ready to provide for the lost connections that people may have.
A family that doesn't want to know them because they've become Christian.
Friendships that have been lost because their life has changed by meeting Jesus. We need to be ready
to welcome and to be family for those that don't have family. That also means we need to,
as individuals, take the responsibility as Christians to get plugged in, to be part of a living
gospel community to be part of a local church. Third thing to think about before we move on is the idea
of approval. And Peter takes them to the judgment day. And it's important to recognize as we suffer,
one question to keep in mind is whose opinion matters most to us. And Peter would have us to say
Jesus' opinion matters most because it matters for eternity. Remember in the parables, so often you see
Jesus dividing people into different groups, a reminder that judgment is real, heaven and hell are
real. What we want is to hear Jesus say to us, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your
master's happiness. We don't want to hear him say to us, depart from me, for I never knew you.
It's an invitation to trust in, to have faith in the Lord Jesus, and then to live out of his victory
as we live in the world. But it's not just in the world that we are to live for Jesus. In verses 7 to 11,
we are called to live out the victory of Christ in the church. So remember, we have this wartime
mentality. We're engaged in spiritual battle. We're seeking to live out our allegiance, our loyalty to
Jesus, and we are to stand together as the people of God, as Christians in a local church. We are to stand
in solidarity and loyalty together for Jesus. We're in the trenches together as we seek to live for Christ.
He gives a context for this. Again, verse 7, the end of all things is near. The hinge is the return
of Christ, and the judgment day, and a reminder to the church, final victory is secured. So live in light
of that. And then he goes on to say, therefore, be alert and of sober mind. And if we've got that sort
of spiritual warfare mindset, perhaps it might be helpful to think of scenes that we've probably seen
played out on the television. Think of perhaps UN peacekeepers going through a war zone on their
tanks, you know, when they're on patrol, and they're away that round any corner, there could be a hostile
attack, there could be bombs planted any which way. And there's permanent vigilance, being on guard
against attack. We need to be aware of the reality of spiritual attack, of the power of sin and the
devil in our own lives, in our own hearts, and also from the world. So we need to be on guard, but we also
need to be, as it were, on guard duty, on sentry duty, where again, we are watchful for our own sake, but also
for the sake of others. In the church, we are to care for one another and our spiritual health and
well-being. So having set a context, he then gives us four things that we are to do for one another as
we live together for Christ as a local church, for very simple but very crucial things. First, verse 7,
be alert and of sober-minded so that you may pray. We are to pray for one another. We pray in dependence
on God. We pray that God would act in our lives and in the lives of others. We pray recognizing there
are so many times each and every day where we need God's wisdom and help. We need God's guidance and
comfort and what we need for ourselves. We recognize that our brothers and sisters, they need that too.
Perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask of each other is, how can I pray for you?
Perhaps one of the most important things that we can do is, as we pray for ourselves, we pray for our
brothers and sisters. As God speaks the truth of his word to our hearts, we recognize that that truth
that's changing me. Everybody in this room, everybody in our church needs that same truth as well, that we
would pray it for them also. When we think about spiritual warfare, what should we pray for one
another as Christians? We should pray for perseverance. Pray that people would keep going in their faith,
that they would keep following Jesus with hope and with joy. This year has been a hard year.
We know this. And so we pray that we would persevere together. And we'd also pray for one another's
mission, that mission that we have of going into the world to make disciples, to be ambassadors of the
Lord Jesus. To pray for not just our own opportunities and effectiveness in sharing the love of Jesus,
sharing the gospel, but also praying for our brothers and sisters.
We need the prayers of one another. Church members, we need one another's prayers. Your
discipleship groups need your prayers. Your elders need your prayers. Your minister needs your prayers.
So we are to pray for one another as we live in this spiritual battle together.
Secondly, we are to love one another.
Verse 8, above all. So love is the priority. Love is the guiding principle of the church. And above all,
love each other deeply. Because love covers over a multitude of sins. Here's a particular kind of love.
Here's a long-suffering love. Here's a patient love. Here's a love that is ready to overlook the wrongs of
another. And isn't that so important? You know, when we commit individually, if I commit to ignoring an
unkind word, an unkind action, that is so significant. Because in a sense, at the same time, I am committing
to church unity. Because nothing can explode church unity quicker than if somebody jumps to take offense
and to get angry and to be critical and judgmental of another. If I overlook an offense, I am determining
to honor Jesus as I seek to love a brother and a sister who intentionally or unintentionally has done
us some kind of wrong. As we determine to love one another in a long-suffering way,
what else are we doing? We're showing to one another the love that God has shown to us.
God's love for us is very patient and very long-suffering. And as we live out of the love
of God expressed to us in Jesus coming to die for us, then that's what enables us to love
and overlook a multitude of wrongs.
God's love for us. Some questions to ask of ourselves.
When somebody does me wrong, word or action, am I quick to believe the best about that person
or am I quick to assume the worst? Am I quick to give the person a benefit of the doubt
or do I rush to pass judgment and give light for light?
In a church family, like any family, we will mess up. We will disappoint one another.
But like any family, we need to show love and we need to show patience.
So we are called, as we live for Jesus together in spiritual warfare, to love one another.
And then in verse 9, we're told to offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
So we show hospitality to one another. Hospitality to open our hearts and to open our homes,
to open our gardens, to be willing to give time and energy and money to make room for others.
Again, remember the context. Peter is writing to a group of Christians who are experiencing the loss
of family and of friends. They need to be welcomed. They need to have families.
Think about our context. There are lots of people in our local church that are not native to Edinburgh,
not native to Scotland. Lots of people who have been alone for a long time due to restrictions.
One of the goals for us as Buclew has to be that we would be a spiritual home from home for many
who come to our city for lots of different reasons. That's going to mean we need to be creative at the moment.
Obviously, there are limitations to how we can show hospitality.
Two of my highlights for this week, we had a community group in our garden on Wednesday evening.
It was wonderful to share God's Word face to face.
And then on Thursday, a group of students we met in the Meadows. And again, to be able to offer that kind of hospitality,
we need to learn to be creative because we need one another.
So we use our walks, we use the Meadows, we use our barbecues for the sake of growing in love for one another
and welcoming others in. And then fourthly, Peter reminds us that as we live for Jesus together,
that we are to serve one another. Peter very helpfully gives us some guiding principles for
how to serve one another. In verse 10, each of you should use whatever gift you have received
to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. So each Christian, Peter says,
has a spiritual gift. And that comes from God's grace. And those gifts look different. But everyone
has a gift, and every gift is to be used to serve others. And that, first of all, works itself out in
the context of a local church. It's an important question to consider. What's my spiritual gift?
How can I use that gift then to serve others in this local church? Peter then goes on to give two
broad categories. Verse 11, if anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very Word of God.
If you be given the gift of speaking for God, that requires a level of humility,
recognizing it's a serious business to speak God's Word, to represent God through speaking His Word.
And then, if anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides.
Some of us, we're natural servants. Some of us, it's not difficult for us to make time for other
people. But even if we're wired for that kind of service, we are to do it in the strength that God
provides. And we have a goal for all of our serving. End of verse 11, so that in all things,
God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
We do it. We serve for the glory of God, so that Jesus would be praised. That we could express our
loyalty, our love for Him as we stand with and for His people. That we might help one another,
recognizing that we are engaged in spiritual battle. There are times when life is hard as Christians.
Do Christians have a peacetime or a wartime mentality? We should always have a wartime mentality.
Thinking back to that novel, it was just as Britain in World War II, constantly on a wartime footing,
with that mentality which shaped public and private life. So, it should be true for us as the people of
God. Now, Peter reminds us, of course, with hope that Jesus came to do battle, to win the victory
for us. And He will return to judge the world and to save His people. But in between that time,
the church is engaged in spiritual battle. We engage knowing that victory is secure when we are in Him,
and so we are looking to Jesus as we look to live for Him. So, as we close, two questions.
And we'll give some time to reflect and to pray. First, am I trusting in King Jesus?
Am I trusting that when He died on the cross, He died for me and for my sins, that when He rose,
He rose for my salvation? If not, the Bible would say, come, as we read at the beginning,
come to Him, find life from Jesus. Secondly, are there changes that I need to make to my life
so that as we live day to day in the world and in the church, we might live in the light of Christ's
victory, that we might live to His honour and glory? We're going to have a time of silence,
a short time of prayer, and then we'll hear Psalm 16.
Psalm 16.
Lord, we thank you that we will shortly take up bread and wine that remind us of the cost of our
salvation. They also speak to us of the victory of Jesus over sin and death, that give us hope,
hope in the middle of life that can be hard and frustrating and tiring, where we can feel
discouraged and downhearted. Lord, we pray that for your people you would keep our eyes fixed on
the Lord Jesus. Help us to have wisdom to know how to live for Him in the world and in our local
church. And Lord, for those who aren't yet Christians, may they see the hope and the love
that Jesus brings. May they see also the necessity, the urgency of trusting in Jesus to be right with
Him, to have His well done as the one to live for. Lord, we pray that you would continue to be with us
and to be present with us as we are in your presence. Amen.
Now let's hear a section of Psalm 16 together.
Psalm 16 together.
The path of life divine.
The earlier service I said, the psalm was a good time to open because it takes a wee bit of time to open.
So what I'll do, so while you're sugary and getting your bread and your cup ready, I'm going to read from Romans chapter 3.
Don't be worried about the book, so let's hear the book, so let's hear the book of the book.
But now, apart from the book, so let's read it.
Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement
through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his
righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.
He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just,
and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. As we come shortly to the Lord's Supper,
what are we doing together? We haven't done it for over a year. Well, on the one hand, we are looking
back, aren't we? Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. Jesus went into battle for his church,
winning that decisive victory over sin and death through his death on the cross. The price of our
salvation has been paid. The price of our redemption has been paid, and we take the bread and the wine
to remember. But the Lord's Supper is also for us as the people of God, a looking forward,
a looking forward to the day when the battle, the war, will be over, when those struggles with sin
will be done, when we will feast with our Savior forever in the new heavens and the new earth,
enjoying the peace and the love and the joy that awaits us.
But we also share the Lord's Supper for the present,
because as Christians today, we do suffer.
We recognize what Peter was talking about, don't we? We do face opposition.
We do have those days that feel more like a defeat than a victory. And so we stand in need of the
grace of God. We stand in need of Jesus, the host coming to meet with us at this supper,
to give us fresh strength and grace today for him to commune with us, to draw near to us, just as he
has promised. So let me read familiar words of institution as we come to the Lord's table in
1 Corinthians 11 and at verse 23. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you,
the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and
said, this is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Let's pray. And then after we
pray, we can take the bread together. Lord God, as we come to the Lord's table, we want to do this in
remembrance of Jesus, our Savior. As he gave us these symbols, the bread to speak of his body,
which would be broken for us, the wine as a symbol of his blood that was spilled for us.
We come with a sense of wonder, that you would, through your Son, pay the price of redemption for
us. We come with a sense of gratitude, knowing that in Christ there is no condemnation, that our
sins have been forgiven, that we enjoy peace with God. And so we are invited to come, weak as we are,
sinners as we are, trusting in the Lord Jesus. And so we pray that we would take this simple meal
as a way to remember our Lord and Savior. Amen. So let's take the bread together.
And then to continue our reading at verse 25, in the same way, after supper, he took the cup,
saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
So let's take the cup and let's drink in remembrance of our Savior.
Let's once again pray.
Lord, we thank you for this visible demonstration of the gospel, this reminder that Jesus' physical
body was broken, that he actually died in our place, that we might have eternal life. Lord, we pray that
we would proclaim the hope of the gospel to one another, to encourage each other, that we might walk
in faith together. We also pray for help and strength to proclaim the Lord's death to those who as yet are
not trusting in the Lord's death to those who are not trusting in the Lord Jesus and who need that hope
for themselves. May you take glory and honour to yourself as you work in and through us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now we'll hear the hymn, A Man of Sorrows, as we close.
Amen.
God, O Lord, O Lord.
Amen.
Man of Sorrows, what a name for the Son of God, who came, ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Bearing shame and scoffing rude
In my place condemned he stood
Sealed my pardon with his blood
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Guilty, violent, helpless we
Spotless Lamb of God was he
Full atonement can it be
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Lifted up was he to die
It is finished was his cry
Now in heaven exalted high
Hallelujah, what a Savior
When he comes our glorious King
All his ransomed home to bring
Then anew this song we'll sing
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Now can we stand again
and we can use the words at the end of Romans 8
By way of affirming our faith together
Let's read these words
For I am convinced that neither death nor life
Neither angels nor demons
Neither the present nor the future
Nor any powers
Neither height nor depth
Nor anything else in all creation
Will be able to separate us
From the love of God
That is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Amen