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Good morning. My name is Carrie Moulton and I am a member of the Oakland Women's Little Faith Group.
And our reading today is a reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans, chapter 6, verses 1 through 14.
What shall we say then?
Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase?
By no means.
We are those who have died to sin.
How can we live in it any longer?
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin may be done away with.
That we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again.
Death no longer has mastery over him.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all.
But the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God and Christ Jesus.
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,
but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought to him from death to life.
And offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Thank you, Carrie, for that scripture reading.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Andrew.
I'm one of the pastors here.
Just to let you know if you're new here, this is not a typical Sunday.
You don't normally have to listen to me up here.
And also our lead pastor is gone.
So this is not a typical Sunday, but we're so glad that you're here.
And we will be here every Sunday worshiping and honoring the Lord's day.
I want to give a shout out to everyone who held it together last week when me, Jonathan, and Eric were all gone last week.
But it seemed like, you know, Christ was still worshiped.
And in the words of one of our elders, Bill Barnes, no irreversible harm was done, right?
So praise God for that.
Will you join me in prayer as we open up God's word, continuing our series in Paul's letter to the church in Rome.
Father, we have come to listen to your voice.
Not just to hear it, but to listen to it.
To take heed to what you have to say to us.
Because as the apostles proclaim, you alone, your son alone has the words of life.
And we so want to experience that life.
So would your spirit speak to us that truth of life this morning in the preaching of your word.
And would Christ be exalted here?
In his name we pray.
Amen.
All right, so we're in chapter 6 now of the book of Romans.
And if you've been following Paul's argument in the last five chapters, you know that he's been laboring to explain the good news that we can be justified before God, righteous in God's eyes,
not by dutifully fulfilling the works of God's law, but by dependently trusting and placing our faith in the work of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
So that no matter how obediently and diligently someone has tried to not sin by observing God's law, they cannot be justified by their own self-righteousness.
And yet no matter how wicked and sinful someone else has been, they can be justified by faith in the righteousness of Christ, accepted in the eyes of God if they would just embrace his Son in faith.
That's what justification by faith is.
Forgiveness, honor, acceptance, belonging, and status, all by faith and not by works.
Amen.
If you've done some terrible things in your life like I have, or if you've failed to do the good and important things in your life that you're supposed to do,
also like I have, man, this is super good news.
This is really, really good news that there's still hope for us, that we can still be right with God, not by merit, not by self-effort, but by grace through faith.
But you know, without the fuller picture of who God is and how he works in this world and what he wants for us,
if all we have is this simple principle that we can be justified by faith no matter what evil we do,
well, that can be a dangerous thing like in a vacuum.
And you know, when I was a kid, with a simplistic, immature, and hardly formed faith, I took advantage of this dangerous thing.
I remember, technically, I don't know, my parents believe I became a Christian on December 15, 1991.
I was four years old.
I was by my bed.
My dad asked me if I wanted to invite Jesus into my life.
He said, Jesus would forgive me no matter how bad I'd been, and I was bad, all right, if I just believed in him.
Or, to use my dad's language, if I just accepted him into my heart as my personal savior.
And so I prayed to Jesus.
I asked him into my heart to forgive me, and I trusted him to save me.
And you know, for many years after that, I was in absolute terror, all right, to my parents, to my teachers,
to my brother and sister, a bad influence on my friends, a bully at school.
And you know why?
Because of this wrong theological idea that I had, that because of my faith in Jesus,
I had a get-out-of-hell free card, a free pass, to sin and do whatever I wanted.
Disrespect my parents.
Disrespect my teachers.
Beat up my little brother.
Be a bully.
Steal.
Lie.
When I got older.
Consumed pornography.
All because I thought I had a license to sin.
I was racist.
I was sexist.
And overall, I just lived to put myself first.
Assert my own will.
My own desires.
Because in my understanding of the Christian faith, I could be unrighteous by faith.
Now, to Paul's biggest objectors, this was precisely the problem of the gospel that he preached.
The problem with justification by faith and not by works.
And so, you know, while the church has, from the very beginning, always preached against legalism
and against righteousness by works, it has also had to preach against something else.
And here's a new word for you.
I hope it's helpful.
It's this word, antinomianism.
Can you say that with me?
Antinomianism, all right?
And we take that apart.
Antinomianism.
Antinamas.
Namas is the law.
So antinomians are anti-law.
And the history behind this is basically that when Paul preached against the Pharisees
and against the legalists in the first century, that righteousness and justification were by faith,
some people took that to mean that they could live as unrighteously as they wanted,
since Jesus would save them if they just believed.
So like, if legalism is righteousness by works, antinomianism was unrighteousness by faith.
And if you study church history, you'll know that ever since this gospel of justification was first proclaimed,
the church has always struggled to walk the third way, Jesus' way, apart from legalism and apart from antinomianism.
A third way outside of righteousness by works and unrighteousness by faith.
So in the New Testament, you can find Apostle Paul refuting legalism here in Romans chapter 1 through 5.
In his letter to the church in Galatia, Galatians chapter 3, he says,
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.
No one who relies on the law is justified before God because the righteous will live by faith.
But then you also see in the New Testament, the Apostles John and Jude refuting antinomianism in their letters.
John writes in 1 John chapter 3,
In Jude's letter, he describes some fake Christians who secretly slipped into the church,
and he describes them as ungodly people who pervert the grace of God into a license for immorality
and deny Jesus Christ our sovereign and Lord.
So you see, the gospel is not just contrary to legalism.
It's also contrary to antinomianism.
And if we don't understand how the good news of Jesus is a third way opposing both,
then we probably have a deficient understanding of the good news of Jesus,
just like my four-year-old self.
If the supposedly good news we believe is that because Jesus' righteousness was credited to us by faith,
we can therefore sin as much as we want so that grace might abound,
we can murder, we can steal, we can lie, we can hate, we can hoard,
we can whore ourselves and each other like it's no big deal to God,
like it doesn't offend him, stir up his righteous wrath, or break his heart.
If this is our gospel, then can we really call it good news?
And has Jesus actually saved us from anything?
And see, this is how Paul's opposition understood his teaching of justification by faith.
And of course, they would have some counter-arguments, right,
if this is how they understood justification by faith.
So here in chapter 6, Paul addresses probably the top counter-argument
that people had against his teaching on justification by faith.
After closing chapter 5 by writing,
where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Paul anticipates his objector's counter-argument here in verse 1,
And that's the question.
This is a legitimate question, right?
It's the same question the older brother probably had for his father
when his father welcomed his younger prodigal son home, right?
If you're unfamiliar with that story that Jesus once told,
basically a father had two sons.
The younger says,
Father, I wish you were dead.
Just give me my inheritance.
He goes and he lives this reckless prodigal life,
spends it all, and then he returns home in shame.
But what does the father do?
The father welcomes him back in,
throws a party to celebrate,
and now it's the father in the story who seems reckless and prodigal,
especially to his older indignant son, right?
To this older brother who'd spent his whole life obeying his dad,
never receiving anything, though, like this party.
His dad now seems like a fool for celebrating his younger brother,
the prodigal son.
And you may remember I shared this story maybe a month or so ago
about how we went over this with our high schoolers,
this past winter retreat,
and the high schoolers, too, were skeptical
about the father's decision to throw a party for his son,
and rightly so.
And one of the main objections was what?
How was the younger son going to learn his lesson?
How was he going to stop doing such harmful things?
If the father insisted on giving his runaway son his robe,
his ring, throwing him a party after everything that he'd done,
what was going to keep him from shaming his father,
dishonoring his family, making more bad choices,
and harming himself and others all over again?
And see, that's the question we're dealing with here today in chapter 6.
If justification and righteousness before God is by faith
and not by good works,
then what's to keep us from our unrighteous bad works?
If abundant sin can lead to abundant grace,
then doesn't that actually give us more reason,
more incentive, more permission to sin?
Why not sin as much as we want
so that grace might abound all the more?
That's the question here in verse 1.
Now, no surprise to us,
Paul immediately answers this question in verse 2,
emphatically,
by no means.
But the question still stands,
well, why not?
Why not?
And that's the question for our consideration today.
Why, for what reason,
should we not go on sinning?
Like, what is it that will keep us from sinning
if our justification and forgiveness
are so freely received by faith?
Now, before we get to Paul's reason,
I want to acknowledge that this discussion
about why we should stop sinning
might seem like a particularly religious discussion
to some of you.
Maybe like an irrelevant insider conversation
only for Christians.
Maybe you're here today
and you don't even prefer to use the language of sin
because to you, sin is just this, you know,
abstract religious concept
and you don't particularly consider yourself religious
and certainly not of the Christian religion.
But if we could just put aside that religious baggage
with the word sin for a second,
can I just ask,
isn't it true that all of us,
whether Christian or not,
we often do and think things
that we wish we hadn't, right?
Things that fill us with guilt and shame
or maybe we don't do and think the things
that we ought and that fills us with guilt
and shame as well.
I mean, it can't just be me, right?
Have you ever looked upon your life,
your actions, your inactions,
and thought to yourself,
man, this is far from the person I want to be,
this is far from the person I ought to be,
but it seems so hard to change.
Maybe, maybe even impossible.
And have you ever wondered,
what's it gonna take
for me to be the person I'm supposed to be?
Or where might I find the resources
to overcome my seemingly insurmountable flaws?
Have you ever longed like I have
for some kind of power,
some kind of influence
that could get you on the right track,
like guaranteed?
Well, if that's you,
what Paul says here today about sin
and why and how we should stop sinning
might be more relevant to all of us
than we think.
Because see, whether or not we call it sin,
I think we're all familiar,
even those of us with the strongest willpower,
I think we're all familiar
with that sense of helplessness
in the face of our flaws.
Whether it's your temper,
your greed,
your jealousy,
your sloth,
an addiction to this or that substance,
to alcohol,
to porn,
to people's approval,
or whether it's the selfishness
that continues to seep
into your relationships,
only wreaking havoc
in your workplaces
and your marriages
and your homes.
Come on, come on,
is it not true
that we're all looking
for some kind of power,
some kind of influence
outside of ourselves
to deliver us
from our helplessness,
to deliver us
from the bondage of sin
or whatever you want to call it,
that thing that seems
to have such a strong hold
and devastating influence
upon our lives,
that thing we all worry
will take us down the path
of a breaking bad, right,
from Walter White
to Heisenberg, all right?
Now see,
that's really what Paul's
getting at here
in his discussion of sin.
The way Paul talks about sin here
is not simply in terms of behavior
as we typically think about sin.
Now for Paul,
and we'll talk more
about this next week,
but for Paul,
sin is not primarily
about behavior,
about action or inaction.
For Paul,
sin is a powerful force.
It's a realm,
a dark, formidable sphere
of influence and dominion.
Think about it
like a huge, dark domain,
a dark, dingy dungeon
where the only way out
is death.
That's what Paul understands sin
to be,
a powerful realm
that rules us
and dominates us.
He says it right here.
Look with me at verse 6.
Paul talks about
the body being ruled by sin,
enslaved to sin.
Then in verse 7,
there's this concept
of either being bound in sin
or set free from it.
Or look at verse 12.
He says,
do not let sin reign
so that you obey its desires.
Verse 13 talks about
not offering ourselves
and our bodies to sin
as if sin were some kind of God
that we present ourselves
as offerings unto.
And then in verse 14,
Paul very explicitly
calls us away
from bowing down
in submission to sin
as our master
and as our Lord.
So you see,
a discussion of sin
according to Paul
and the rest of the scriptures
really is not first
and foremost
about right versus wrong behavior.
Sin, rightly understood,
is about a power,
a dominion,
an influence
that seeks to lord itself
over us,
dominate us,
and lead us toward death
and demise.
And that's why,
for those of you
who are familiar
with the Bible's origin story,
remember what happens
after the very first sin.
After Adam and Eve's
very first sin,
they have a firstborn son,
Cain, right?
And he's angry with God
and he's so jealous
with his brother Abel,
he's tempted to kill him.
And what does God say to him
in Genesis chapter 4?
He says,
sin, Cain,
is crouching at your door
like an enemy,
like a threat,
and its desire is for you
and its seeking
to rule over you.
So this is a word
for all of us.
It's not just a word
about how to stop,
you know,
impiously breaking
religious rules.
God's word today
prompts us to consider
what power,
what domain,
what influence
we are under.
What is the primary
ruling force and principle
at work in our lives
and where is it going to lead?
To our best
and freest
and most authentic selves
or to bondage,
demise,
and destruction.
Alright?
That's what sin is.
Alright, so that's
what's at stake here.
But now let's look
at the reason Paul supplies
for why we should not
go on sinning.
Even if justification
is by faith
and even if
where our sin increases,
grace increases
all the more.
And his reason
is actually super unique
and in many ways
unexpected, right?
Because you see
the typical reason
given by most people
whether religious
or not
for why we should not sin
or why we should not
do bad things
the typical reason
always has to do
with what?
The after consequences.
Right?
Or in other words
what will happen
to us
as a bad result
you know,
after or as a result
of our sin
and our wrongdoing.
And that's why
our high schoolers
weren't sure
if the father
in Jesus' story
did the right thing.
He didn't make his son
face all the consequences
and possible after effects
of his rebellious behavior.
Right?
Because according
to conventional wisdom
people need to know
that there are consequences
to their wrongful actions.
And the more
they're aware
of those consequences
the less wrong
they will hypothetically
commit.
Right?
If they know
what's coming to them.
Right?
Secular people
think this way
religious people
think this way
conservatives
and liberals
right?
Conservative Christians
emphasize that
if we sin
then what will come next
are eternal
and spiritual consequences.
Hell, judgment,
wrath,
eternal punishment
right?
And they're not wrong.
And liberal Christians
emphasize that
if we sin
then what will come next
are the temporal
and material consequences
a poor quality of life
and they're also
not wrong.
But the point is
both secular and religious
both conservatives
and liberals
though they might
emphasize different
consequences
what they all share
in common
is that they appeal
to after consequences.
Or another way
we could put it
is that they all
appeal again
to self-interest.
It's like if the father
told his sons
don't disobey
my household rules
or else something bad
is going to happen to you
in this life
or the next.
Now again
this is not untrue.
There are consequences
to sin
that should deter us
but the question
I want to ask
is
what if the after
consequences of sin
aren't the only
or
the most compelling
factors
that ought to
dissuade us
from going on
in sin?
What's interesting
and unique
about the reason
Paul gives
for why we should
not go on sinning
the reason
doesn't have to do
with what would
happen to us
if we sinned
rather the reason
has to do with
what has already
happened to Christ
and for us
when we've already
sinned.
And this is the gospel.
Paul doesn't say
in verse 2
by no means
because if you go
on sinning
something terrible
is going to happen
to you.
No.
He says in verse 2
by no means
we are those
who have died to sin
how can we live
in it
any longer?
He doesn't
point us forward
to what terror
might befall us
as a payment
for our sin
he points us
backwards
to the terror
that befell
Jesus Christ
and if we
have been united
with Christ
by faith
he points us
to what has
already been done
for us
and in us
through Christ
and how inconsistent
it is
with our identity
in Christ.
Look at verse 3
what does it mean
that we have died
to sin?
Well he points us
to our baptism
right?
Verse 3
Now he's not saying
that baptism
in and of itself
apart from faith
unites us
with Christ
but
what baptism
signifies
and what it seals
unto us
if we receive it
by faith
is
our union
with Christ.
The church's
sacraments
of baptism
always made
visible
a person's
union with Christ
and that's another term
I want us to
get familiar with
union with Christ
and that's why
Paul uses the language
of being baptized
into Christ
or Jesus says
baptize them
into the name
of the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
and what union
with Christ means
is that everything
that is Christ
is ours.
When we are united
with him
by faith
his death
is not just
in the place
of our death
but in a real way
his death
is our death.
Verse 4
We were therefore
buried with him
through baptism
into death
in order that
just as Christ
was raised
from the dead
through the glory
of the Father
we too
may live
a new life.
See in union
with Christ
Christ's death
is our death
Christ's burial
is our burial
and his resurrection
life is ours too.
Verse 5
For if we have been
united with him
in a death like his
we will certainly
be united with him
in a resurrection
like his.
So to sum this up
the reason
Paul gives
for why Christians
should not go
on sinning
is because
they are dead
in sin.
And they are dead
in sin because
they've been united
to Christ
who already died
to sin
upon the cross.
You see
when Christ
became sin
and bore our curse
and died on the cross
he did so
to break
sin's dominion
and rule over us
because see
sin as a dominion
it had rightful claim
over all of us
because of
how complicit
we have been
with sin
we were not just
born in sin
we've all lived
and walked in sin
sin has ruled
each and every one
of us
for a very long time
it owned us
like rightfully
it owned us
we walked
right into its domain
we threw away the key
and the only way out
was death
a formidable
dominion
that's what sin is
with a mighty
mighty hold
on each of us
in its grip
but the good news
of Jesus
is that though
death was the only way
out of this dungeon
in Christ
verse 6
our old self
was crucified
with him
so that the body
ruled by sin
might be done away with
that we should
no longer be slaves
to sin
because anyone
who has died
has been set free
from sin
and you know
what this means
for our relationship
to sin
and its former
bondage
if we've been
united with Christ
by faith
it says so right here
in verses 9 and 10
for we know
that since Christ
was raised from the dead
he cannot die again
death no longer
has mastery over him
the death he died
he died once for all
but the life he lives
he lives
to God
the good news
of Jesus
is that he not only
died to sin
and freed us
from its bondage
paid the debt we owed
but he rose
and he lives
forever unto God
and this is true freedom
not the ability
to do whatever sin
we want
but resurrection life
in the direction
of God
the direction we were
always intended
to run in
in the first place
and so what Paul
preaches in order
that all who read
this letter
including us
might not go on
sinning
is this
verse 11
in the same way
count yourselves
reckon yourselves
he says
think of yourselves
understand your true
identity in Christ
as dead to sin
but alive
to God
in Christ Jesus
verse 12
therefore
do not let sin
reign in your mortal body
so that you obey
its evil desires
he doesn't say
if you sin
you'll go to hell
therefore
do not let sin
reign
he points us
to the cross
and our identity
with him
and says
therefore
do not let sin
reign
or obey
its evil desires
you see
if we are united
with Christ
if we are no longer
slaves to sin
no longer in the dungeon
the way out
was death
but we've been
crucified with Christ
so sin
and death
no longer
have their hold
sin can no longer
reign
with those
who are united
with Christ
by faith
if we're united
with Christ
we have a choice
now
agency
freedom
to not let
sin reign
as those united
to Christ
by faith
and freed from sin
and alive to God
we now belong
to a different dominion
a different kingdom
a different master
and not a slave master
like sin
but a master
who laid down
his life
for us
to save us
and to deliver us
a master
we should gladly
offer ourselves
and our lives
unto
a gracious
loving
sacrificial king
who makes it easy
for us
to heed his command
here in verse 13
do not offer
any part of yourself
to sin
as an instrument
of wickedness
but rather
offer yourselves
to God
as those
who have been brought
from death
to life
and offer
every part
of yourself
to him
as an instrument
of righteousness
this morning church
I want to ask
each of us
each of you
do you hear
God's voice
calling you
to offer
every part
of yourself
to him
because if you're
not offering
every part
of yourself
to God
as instruments
of righteousness
you're offering
yourselves
as instruments
of wickedness
to another God
a lesser God
who does not love you
who cannot save you
has not died for you
will not raise you up
when you die
in its dungeon
what part
of you
might God
be calling you
to offer up
to him today
as an instrument
of righteousness
as one who has been
brought from death
to life
and if you haven't
entered into
this resurrection life
by placing your faith
in Jesus
and offering yourself
to him
what might be
holding you back
I want to ask
what is holding you back
do you really have
a better master
because we all
have a master
it's just a matter
of who
and which one
is better
and I'm here
to say that
if it's a master
other than Christ
I highly doubt
that it's a better
master
I mean look at
what Paul says here
in verse 14
for sin
shall no longer
be your master
because you are
not under the law
but under grace
he says that
to the church
in Rome
see there are
only two ways
there are only two ways
to live
with sin
as your master
or Christ
under the burden
of the law
or under the fountain
of grace
every other master
than Christ
gives us
law after law
after law
to follow
with the false promise
that if we try
hard enough
work hard enough
obey hard enough
we can deliver
ourselves
out of bondage
and out of the dungeon
of sin
but for those of us
who are united
with Christ
by faith
with him
as our king
we know the truth
the truth is
the only way
out of the dungeon
of sin
is death
and it's either
going to be
our death
or our death
in union
with Christ
the free gift
of grace
to be received
by faith
and see this
is the ultimate
grounds
for why we should
not go on
sinning
verse 14
not because the law
tells us
not to sin
or else
right
no the ultimate
grounds
for why we should
not go on sinning
it's because we
are under grace
see the true
nature of grace
and don't mistake
this the true
nature of grace
is that it doesn't
like make sin okay
or permissible
or not that bad
no grace never
makes sin okay
grace recognizes
sin for as evil
as it is
but what grace
does do
is it pays
the penalty
for our sin
the highest cost
the life
of the son of God
and to the extent
that we understand
what this grace
cost
that is the extent
to which we will
be transformed
and live
transformed lives
and not go on
sinning any longer
listen to what the
apostle Paul wrote
to Titus
for the grace of God
has appeared
bringing salvation
for all people
training us
to renounce
ungodliness
and worldly passions
and to live
self-controlled
upright
and godly lives
in the present age
waiting for our
blessed hope
the appearing of
the glory
of our great God
and Savior
Jesus Christ
who gave himself
for us
to redeem us
from all lawlessness
and to purify
for himself
a people
for his own
possession
who are zealous
for good works
that is what grace
does
that is what the gospel
does
that is what Jesus
does in us
when he saves us
when he justifies us
by faith
and if I could share
from my own life
to close
you know earlier
in this sermon
I mentioned
the way I'd let
pornography
into my life
as a teenager
and you know
for many years
I felt like a slave
to my lustful desires
and you know
for years
I told myself
you know what's wrong
don't do it
it's impure
the Bible says not to
it's sinful
it's unholy
you're committing adultery
with your eyes
right
you're objectifying women
but I'd still fall
again
and again
and then I remember
one time in college
I was about to lead worship
at my church
and it was like a big deal
at this church
it was a big honor
to lead worship
you had to be respected
you had to be
you know
seen as mature
and godly
but then
the Friday evening before
I fell
once again
I viewed pornography
and I emailed
my college pastor
just
absolutely devastated
confessing to him
guilt ridden
ashamed
disappointed in myself
feeling unfit
and unworthy
letting him know
that I understood
if he wanted to find
someone else
to lead worship
the following Sunday
but do you know
what his response
to me was
he said
Andrew tomorrow
I want you to lead
as someone who is not
under the law
but under grace
as someone who's been
forgiven
who is now
dead to sin
and alive to God
already
crucified
with Christ
and risen now
with him
as well
my pastor
pointed me
to Christ
not to the consequences
of my actions
but to who I was
and to whose
I was
in Christ
and how do you think
that affected the way
I led worship
that Sunday
and waged war
against every sin
in my life
for the years
to follow
Christ
church
this is the power
of grace
shall we go on
sinning
that grace
may abound
by no means
for grace
has already
abounded
to infinity
through the work
of Christ
and there is nothing
there is nothing
more powerful
than the grace
of God
toward us
in Christ
crucified
and risen
for us
will you pray
with me
father
we want to
acknowledge
your holiness
the depths
of our sin
father
make us a people
who mourn
over our sin
of many tears
because of the filth
that is in our lives
we thank you
that you're a God
who can transform
those tears
into tears of joy
and gratitude
because in Christ
you've already
paid it all
if we'll just
trust him by faith
you've made his death
our death
and you've promised us
resurrection life too
what a promise
God I pray
that we would be
a people
who hate sin
and love grace
who hate sin
and love Christ
who believe
that the gospel
truly is
good news
and the only kind
of news
that can change
the world
and give hope
to this world
God show us
how inferior
every other master
is
to Christ
the one who
loved us
and gave himself
for us
thank you
for the cross
thank you
for the resurrection
thank you
for allowing us
to call
you our father
making us your own
because of what
he's done
your son
in our place
help us to remember
him at this table
we pray
in Jesus' name
amen
in Jesus ac transparency
fear
and
God
is
never
terrible
I move
into
I be
king