please have a seat and just before the boys and girls head out let's pray at the start of this
new term for for creche and for junior church lord god we thank you for every boy and girl
in our church for those who are able to be here today for those who are at home
lord we pray that you would give to each one of them a love for the bible so that they might love
you that they might love jesus as lord and savior and lord we pray that as they go to their classes
that you would help them to to read and to understand and to be able to put into practice
what your word teaches lord thank you for their teachers pray that you would guide them
as they look to to love our children to show them by example and by words and what it looks like to
be a follower of jesus and we pray for them as we pray for ourselves in jesus name amen
so boys and girls can head to their classes
and while they are doing that perhaps
in your bibles you can turn with me to the gospel of matthew
as we spend january thinking about what jesus says about the church and about
prayer and today about the bible we're going to use the gospel of matthew to help us in that so
we've got three short readings the first from matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 11
and then chapter 5 and then chapter 12 and the words will also be up on the screen so let's hear
god's word
then jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after fasting for 40 days
and 40 nights he was hungry the tempter came to him and said if you are the son of god tell these stones
to become bread jesus answered it is written man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that
comes from the mouth of god then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point
of the temple if you are the son of god he said throw yourself down for it is written he will
command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not
strike your foot against the stone jesus answered him it is also written do not put the lord your god to
the test again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor all this i will give you he said if you will bow down and worship me jesus said to him
away from me satan for it is written worship the lord your god and serve him only then the devil left him
and angels came and attended him and then a really short reading from the sermon on the mount chapter 5
at verse 17 so matthew 5 at verse 17 do not think that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets
i have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them for truly i tell you until heaven and earth disappear
not the smallest letter not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law
until everything is accomplished therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands
and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven and then lastly in matthew chapter 12
matthew chapter 12 and at verse 38
where we read then some of the pharisees and teachers of the law said to jesus teacher we want to see a sign
from you he answered a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign but none will be given it except the
sign of the prophet jonah for as jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish
so the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth the men of nineveh will
stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for they repented at the preaching of jonah
and now something greater than jonah is here the queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to solomon's wisdom
and now something greater than solomon is here amen now before we turn back to think about those passages
and also to help us in our confession as we look to confess sin together we're going to sing two sections
of psalm 38 and we're going to sing from the beginning where we see david confess sin and the misery
that it brings and then we'll read from the sing from the end verses 17 to the end where we find
david praying that he wouldn't be abandoned that he'd be rescued that he'd be saved and we can pray these
words as ours and at the same time we need to recognize that our hope lies again in jesus our savior
the sinless son of god who took on for us the weight and misery of sin the one who died for our sin
entrusting himself to god the one who rose again in victory the one who assures us of forgiveness
when our faith is in him so let's stand and sing these two sections from psalm 38 together
if you have your bibles perhaps you can keep them open um at matthew's gospel we'll be beginning
in chapter four as we think about what jesus says um about the bible so as i said we're going to go
back to some of those fundamentals of our faith in january and to think about bible and prayer and
mission and church uh just a couple of days ago we began to watch a little bit of naomi osaka the
tennis player's documentary and there was there was one or two scenes where you would see nothing but
but her constantly hitting the same shot with her coach time and time again as a way to check up on
those fundamentals of her swing and to make any corrections that needed to be made and it's
important for us as christians as the church to think about our fundamentals in our faith and i
think especially in our own times where the world has been out of rhythm for such a long time
so have our lives for a variety of reasons and the church again we find ourselves out of our usual
kind of rhythms and patterns and it can be really easy to lose disciplines the stuff that that has always
been really basic and essential to faith it's really easy to to lose those disciplines and even
to lose sight of perhaps why they matter so today you know why does it matter so much that we we're
hearing from god in his word so and today i want to ask one really simple but crucial question
and it's this what does jesus believe about the bible because when we think about that that simple
question what does jesus believe about the bible if we are christians then our instinct should be to
believe what he teaches to follow his example and to hold to his view of the word of god
and and similarly if we're here today or we're watching online we're not christians again this is a
great starting point and when we have questions about the bible and about christianity what does
jesus say about the bible so so three points that we're going to consider today from those different
passages one we're going to think about the authority of the bible we're going to consider the
fact that the bible in jesus view is unbreakable and thirdly to think about the fact that in jesus view
the bible is reliable so matthew chapter 4 thinking about the bible has authority so here we find
ourselves right at the beginning of jesus public ministry and he's just been baptized the spirit has
come down and the father has said at the end of chapter 3 this is my son whom i love with him i am well
pleased so he's been blessed and now he's going to be tested this is a pattern that we see
in the bible adam first man created and blessed he was tested in the garden and he failed
uh israel was blessed they were chosen and saved to become god's people they were tested in the
wilderness and they failed but jesus son of god he is blessed he is tested and we see that he succeeds
now jesus of course when he is tempted has a unique calling the devil
recognizes that saying if you are or since you are the son of god so jesus is the son of god and he must
live as the son of god so there's something unique about the temptation that jesus faces
but when we think about how jesus succeeds and that he trusts the authority of the bible he looks to submit
to it and to obey it we recognize that his resource in resisting temptation is our resource too god's written
and unchanging word of truth is our authority and is our defense when we find ourselves being tempted so if
we are to resist temptation and to honor god we must both love and live by god's word and we see that in
the life of jesus so let's look really briefly at these three temptations the first one if you are
the son of god tell these stones to become bread attempted on the matter of provision we can imagine
as it were the devil saying jesus as the son of god why not use your power and your rights to provide
for your needs why not ensure that you have comfort and how does jesus respond and responding from the book
deuteronomy man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of god
bread is not of first importance the physical life is not of first importance god's word is
our spiritual lives are of first importance notice jesus says every word that comes from the mouth of
god so the whole bible not just parts of it the whole bible is food for our soul and notice too that it
comes from the mouth of god so what the bible says god says and it's so important for us to recognize
as we come to the word of god what the bible says god says to us the second temptation sees the devil
take jesus up to the highest point of the the temple and here the issue at stake seems to be protection
if you're the son of god throw yourself down and then he quotes sam 91 he'll commend command his angels
they'll lift you up in their hands so you'll not strike your foot against the stone jesus the bible
says the angel's job is to care for you so why not jump off the temple to prove it and how does jesus
respond jesus answered it's also written do not put the lord your god to the test what do we see in jesus
jesus trusts his father jesus will not manipulate his father jesus doesn't need a dramatic demonstration of
the care of god he instinctively trusts it he's not going to test his god
and it also shows that for jesus the bible is consistent one part is not going to disagree with
another part
and then the final temptation
from verse 8 is on this the subject of power
the devil takes jesus to a very high mountain and in his mind's eye sees all the kingdoms of the world
and all their glory and the devil says jesus don't you want a world empire imagine what it'd be like
if you ruled imagine the peace and the justice all you need the price you need to pay is simply
to bow down and worship me
and again jesus said to him away from me satan for it is written third time he quotes from deuteronomy
worship a lord your god and serve him
only
because the word of god calls for the exclusive worship and honor of god
he will not pursue his kingdom in a way that dishonors his god
the ends do not justify the means jesus will not take a shortcut to
his kingdom
he will not avoid suffering
and the cross
so here at the beginning of jesus ministry what are we seeing from jesus
we're seeing that he submits his will
his mind
his heart
to the word of god
to hearing it
to to learning from it to be able to recall it
and to apply it
when he is tempted
jesus believes god is the author of scripture and that god's word has
authority
and so he submits to it in his life
now let's just think before we move on why does this matter for for you and me
today why does it make bible reading of vital importance for you and i today
well if we go right to a comparison we need to recognize that just as jesus was
tempted we too will be tempted and when we are we need god's word in our lives
just as jesus was tempted to personal comfort
don't we find sometimes that we are tempted to pursue our own comfort rather than costly obedience
to follow the path of least resistance as christians sometimes
aren't we sometimes tempted
to demand
personal security and health and well-being from god
rather than
confident trust in him
regardless of circumstance
aren't we tempted to want personal glory
rather than committing to worship god and giving him the glory
and aren't we tempted each and every day
towards sin
towards disobedience
and so we need to learn
to submit to the authority of the bible
and we need to be hearing the bible so we're reminding ourselves always of the glory of god
of the sinfulness in our own hearts of the wonder of the gospel of the joy of
forgiveness of the spirit who's at work in us to enable us to obey
so we need the bible because we will be tempted and we also
need to recognize the authority of the bible because
we're always choosing
what we're giving attention to
because we know don't we that in our own lives there are so many competing values and so many
competing voices on any number of issues and subjects
and there's always the question of what voice are we going to listen to
whose word carries the most weight in our own hearts and lives
will it be the messages of popular culture
will it be the opinions of my peer group
or will it be the personal living speaking god
and perhaps to make it really practical think about this morning think about a typical morning
which do we reach for first
is it the word of god
or is it our phones
sometimes how we begin the day sets the tone for our day
so it's good to begin the day hearing god and his word
to think about which word we reflect on most
which values are most a part of
how we live day by day
so jesus shows us the bible has authority
and i turn over with me to chapter 5 and at verse 17
to recognize that in jesus understanding the bible is unbreakable
it can be helpful to to ask ourselves the question to reflect on
how strong is my confidence in the bible
and when i approach god's word whatever section we're in old testament or new testament
do i think it is reliable or unreliable
do i think of it as unchanging
or does it always need to change in light of the culture we find ourselves in
when we have questions about god and about faith
is it the authority
to answer those questions
or are we going to be going on to youtube
or looking to some popular expert who might give us an alternative view
in christians and churches sometimes we can be apologetic i think we could be defensive we can we can run away from questions about the authority of the bible or the reliability of the bible
our confidence in the bible but
when we listen to the words of jesus
and you can go through matthew's gospel you see lots of jesus view on scripture
and if we if we trust him and if we listen to those words it's going to give us confidence
because jesus has no doubt that god's word is unbreakable and god's word is unchanging
and that too when we think about how jesus thinks about the bible is going to motivate us
to read so as to obey because we know
that this is our standard and it's not going to change
we don't need to adapt it to fit our culture
point one to think about here
when jesus talks about the bible being unbreakable
let's think about
his understanding that his mission is to fulfill
scripture
the word of god
as it is in the old testament
verse 17
do not think
that i have come to abolish the law or the prophets
i have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them
so when he says the law and the prophets
it's a way of thinking about the whole old testament
and he says he's not come to abolish them to set them aside as some of his
critics thought he was doing
rather he's come to fulfill them
so let's think about how does jesus fulfill
the law and the prophets
well we read the gospels we discover he fulfills
the whole moral law
he fulfills that first of all in his
teaching
so we're at the beginning towards the beginning of the sermon on the mount
and what jesus is about to do in the next section for the rest of chapter 5 and into chapter 6
is he is about to remind the people that the law is a matter of heart
it's a matter of motive
it's not some kind of tip box exercise
it's not just superficial legalism
no it's about our heart attitude
towards god
and towards his word
and so jesus fulfills it in his teaching
but jesus also fulfills the whole moral law in his life
so remember jesus summarizes the whole law
in two ways
one love the lord your god with all your heart soul mind and strength
and two
love your neighbor as yourself
we read the gospels
isn't that what we discover
in jesus
one who was determined always to
to obey
to honor
to glorify his father
even to the point of his dying on the cross
and don't we see him
so readily loving others at great cost to himself
loving the least
loving the outcast
loving the sick
loving those
who were needing
spiritual teaching
they were like sheep without a shepherd
so jesus
in his life
in his words
in his actions
fulfills
the whole moral law
jesus also fulfills the whole moral law
in his death
because one of the things that the law is really clear on
is that the wages of sin
is death
that sin must be punished
offenses against a holy god must be dealt with
and jesus comes as a substitute
and what we see on the cross
is the penalty
that sin deserves
what we see is jesus going under
the curse
that sin
and rebellion
deserves
and jesus isn't doing that because he has done anything wrong
rather he is taking the sins
of his people
so he fulfills the moral law in his death
but not just in taking the penalty
but also in being that great sacrifice
to atone for sin
all those sacrifices in the old testament
that speak of forgiveness
that speak of peace with god
point towards the great sacrifice
of god sending his son jesus
to be that once for all sacrifice for sin
so he fulfills the law in his teaching
in his life and his death
and he also fulfills what the old testament
anticipates
and promises
sacrifices
sometimes people
think about the old testament as promise
and the new testament the coming of jesus
as fulfillment
so we talked about sacrifices
the promise of sacrifice is fulfilled
in jesus forgiveness from god
through the sacrifice of his son
the old testament emphasis on the temple
the place where we can meet with god
and jesus says
i am god with you
i am the way to meet with god
all the kings that we read about
in the bible
speaking to us
of the one great king
who would rule in perfect righteousness
forever
the seed promised to adam
who would crush the head of the serpent
the seed promised to abraham
who would be blessing to the nations
that's jesus
all those rich promises
anticipating a messiah
who would come from god
with the authority of god
but he would die as a suffering servant
before rising and returning to glory
it's jesus
and so jesus
reads the old testament
he says this is all about me
and that too informs how we read
especially how we read the old testament
we're looking to find
jesus on every page
so jesus mission is about fulfillment
but then if you look at verses 18 and 19 of chapter 5
we see that jesus understands the bible to be permanently valid
really strong words from jesus verse 18
for truly i tell you
until heaven and earth disappear
not the smallest letter
not the least stroke of a pen
will by any means disappear from the law
until everything is accomplished
now compare that with an article yesterday
talking about the the stress and the exhaustion that people are facing
as they're dealing with as we are dealing with
never-ending covid laws and regulations and restrictions
i compare that with god's word
jesus saying all of god's word
is more permanent than the universe
all scripture is permanently valid
this is bedrock
this is unchanging for us
jesus is addressing in a sense
the misunderstandings of the pharisees
one of the things the pharisees did
was they divided into heavy and light laws
they decided which ones to prioritize
jesus says
all the law matters
every part matters
and not just the externals but also the heart
how helpful is this when
we sort of think about the time that we live
many modern thinkers
writers
if there's a clash of culture and cultural values
with the bible
then of course for them culture always wins
but when jesus says the bible is all truth
and the bible is always truth
then for us as christians
we need to say that the bible always wins
some principles that follow
when we think about culture and the bible
we need to have humility
recognizing
that god's word is not broken
but that we are
beginning personally
but before we think about the society that we live in
it's my assumptions
my culture
my pride
my prejudice
my ignorance
that needs to be confronted
not god's word
and so when jesus says the bible is unbreakable
that needs our humility
let's think about commitment to the bible as well
because here is one place where jesus would clearly reject any concept of
a pick and mix approach to the bible
a pick and choose approach to the bible
you will read scholars
you will hear people in culture say
well i really like the sermon on the mount
or i like the love commands
i'm not so keen on
on this part
not so keen on what jesus says about sexual ethics
or about marriage
if the bible is unbreakable and unchanging
and jesus said it was
then we must humbly submit to it all
and seek to obey
those parts that we naturally agree with
and those parts that challenge us
and confront us
and make us address our assumptions
and to think too about christ and the bible
there was an old minister in london
i think in the 19th century
who said that just as all roads in england eventually lead to london
so all the old testament themes
ultimately lead to christ
i think one of the most helpful things that we can
we can ask as we come to an old testament section of the bible
is to ask ourselves
how does this
anticipate
the life of jesus
the ministry of jesus
the words of jesus
as jesus himself
taught his disciples
that
that he is what the whole scripture is about
we need to be looking for him on every page
but we also need to be looking to jesus
to understand what heart obedience looks like
so as we said
in the next section of the sermon on the mount
jesus is going to say
that that command about murder
isn't just about murder
it's also about anger
because it's a matter of the heart
that command about adultery
isn't just about adultery
it's also about lust
because it's a matter of
the heart
and so we need to be looking to jesus
to know
what true obedience looks like
so the bible is unbreakable
the last section we're going to look at
is that little section we read in matthew 12
and to think about the fact that the bible
is unbreakable
nope
we thought about that already
the bible is reliable
ever since the 19th century
i guess
with the rejection of miracles
rejection of the supernatural
begun to come increasing criticism
of the bible
and old testament history
and challenges raised
over whether we can trust it
but those challenges aren't just
reserved for old books
or modern books
we have probably
had some of those challenges
perhaps from our friends
or from our family
can you really believe
in the historical Adam
that we all come from
Adam and Eve
perhaps we will have questions
about some of those dramatic events
of the old testament
maybe the story of Noah
or the story of Jonah
as we'll think about
there are questions
about the general
reporting
and the accuracy
can we really trust
what an oral culture
has to say
and again
as Christians
and as churches
it can be easy
for us to feel
like we're on the defensive
it can be easy
to perhaps feel embarrassed
or to lose confidence
and that again
is why we need to hear Jesus
if we're going to be those
who live by the word of God
we need to have confidence
that is reliable
and so it's really helpful
again to listen to Jesus
in Matthew 12
because for him
biblical history
is history
you can go through
all the gospels
and you will never find
Jesus ever question
a historical figure
a historic event
a historic miracle
that's recorded
in the old testament
that's our basis
for confidence
Jesus believed it
so I can believe it too
which takes us to
Matthew 12
and perhaps the
classic objection
that people might have
when it comes to
old testament stories
surely you can't really
believe in Jonah
being swallowed
by a giant fish
well
in reply
we can say
well Jesus did
look at those words
Matthew 12
verse 39
a wicked and adulterous
generation
asks for a sign
but none will be given
it except the sign
of the prophet Jonah
and now listen
as Jesus compares
the situation of Jonah
with what's coming
in his own life
for as Jonah
was three days
and three nights
in the belly
of a huge fish
so the son of man
will be three days
and three nights
in the heart
of the earth
just as Jonah
was in the belly
Jesus would be buried
Jesus is saying
Jonah's history
is as real
as my story
and so when we are
met with lots
of skepticism
about the reliability
of the Bible
that one place
we can go
as Christians
is to the opinion
of Jesus
you know
who am I going
to trust
am I going to trust
Jesus
or am I going to
trust an expert
writing some
two thousand years
after Jesus
and if there was
any doubt
about how
Jesus sees
Jonah
as a historical
figure
he then
moves on
to talk about
the queen of the south
or the queen
of Sheba
the queen of the south
will rise at the judgment
with this generation
and condemn it
for she came
from the ends
of the earth
to listen to
Solomon's wisdom
and now something
greater
than Solomon
is here
Jonah is historical
just as the queen
of Sheba
is historical
Jesus uses
Old Testament
history
to point
towards
himself
and his message
there came
with a challenge
remember
Nineveh
Jesus says
they really
repented
at the real
message of the
real Jonah
Jesus says
to the crowds
and by extension
says to us
have we repented
have we believed
in have we listened
to and trusted
in the one
greater than Jonah
who is
Jesus
says of the
queen of Sheba
she moved
heaven and earth
to listen to
real wisdom
from the real
king Solomon
but what about
us
are we living
by the greater
wisdom
of that greater
king
king Jesus
are we listening
to him
in his
word
so in
conclusion
knowing what
Jesus believes
about the
Bible
should help
us
as we turn
to read it
and to hear it
you know just as
tennis players
often return to
their coaches
to make sure the
fundamentals of
their swing
are right
we should
regularly return
to Jesus
our master
to think
is my view
on the
Bible
right
and not just
is my theory
about it
right
but am I
living
by God's
word
am I
prioritizing
it in
my
life
wouldn't it
be wonderful
to share
Jesus view
of the
Bible
to share
his heart
for it
you know
Jesus said
God's word
has authority
and he
loved it
and he
submitted
to it
and he
obeyed
it
Jesus
said
God's
word
is
unbreakable
and so
he came
on a
mission
to
fulfill
it
and to
show
us
what
true
heart
obedience
looks
like
Jesus
said
God's
word
is
reliable
and he
had
full
confidence
in it
he received
it as
the voice
of God
and he
understood
that it
all
pointed
to him
and his
great
work
of
redemption
and so
as we
look to
establish
fundamentals
as
Christians
and as
a church
surely
this is
something
to be
so basic
for us
to be
reading
God's
words
one or
two
practical
suggestions
maybe
this is
the time
for some
of us
to start
building
or
rebuilding
habits
when it
comes to
Bible
reading
to set
aside
time so
that we're
hearing
we're
reading
every day
that we
would make
that time
that we
would have
that self
discipline
to prioritize
time in
God's word
if that means
going to bed
a little
earlier
or getting
up a little
bit earlier
so that we
have that
bit of
time
regular
time
to be
with
God
to think
about our
own patterns
our own
habits
how we
typically work
best so that
we would
know for
ourselves
when be a
good time
for us
to try
and build
in
time
with
God's
word
and that
connected
with the
word of
God
we'd be
praying
about it
that we
would want
our hearts
to have
that hunger
for the
word of
God
that we
wouldn't
be just
opening it
so that we
can tick
our box
and say
well we've
done our
duty
because we've
read our
Bibles
that we'd
want to
meet with
God
in his
word
we'd
want to
be filled
with joy
we'd
want to
have
strength
for the
day
as we
find
God
in his
word
that we'd
pray that
we'd have
a heart
like
Jesus
that we
would
submit
to the
bits we
find easy
and the
bits we
find hard
that we
would ask
God
to open
our eyes
that we
would see
wonderful
things in
the word
of God
that the
same spirit
who inspired
the Bible
would light
it up for
us so that
we would
see it
we would
understand
it
we'd
apply
it
we'd
obey
it
that we'd
be like
that wise
man
from the
end of
the
sermon
on the
mount
who
built
his
house
on the
rock
the rock
of
Jesus
and his
word
that it
would be
strength
for us
it would
be strength
for our
families
it would
be strength
for our
church
our life
would be
built on
the word
of God
now let's
pray
together
Lord
our God
we want
to give
you thanks
that your
word is
true
that it is
reliable
that it
is
unchanging
that it
is
life
giving
that in
your word
we discover
the gospel
of your
grace
towards us
in sending
Jesus as
our
savior
and so we
pray that you'd
help us to
trust your
word
to make
time to
read your
word
and a
will and a
desire to
live by
your word
we confess
that so
often we
don't do
the things
that we
want to
do
we confess
that we
know in
theory how
vital the
bible is
for our
church and
for our
lives but
so often
we find
ourselves
slow to
make time
for it
we can
find ourselves
so distracted
we can find
other things
far more
easy to get
into than
we find to
come to
church or
to read
our bibles
Lord we
confess our
hard hearts
and we
pray that
you would
give us
that desire
to read
that you
would give
us that
understanding
so that we
would hear
from you
and know
what you
are saying
to us
Lord we
pray for
our country
we remember
that Scotland
was once
known as
the people
of the
book
Lord we
realise how
few people
today read
the bible
how few
really know
who Jesus
is
how little
biblical
literacy
there is
Lord we
pray that
you would
renew
and revive
and we
pray that
you would
give a
hunger for
your word
and we
thank you
for organisations
like the
Bible Society
and for
Scripture
Union and
for Christian
unions and
for those
who look to
encourage
Bible reading
Lord we
pray for
the nation
of Kazakhstan
which we
have seen
in the news
recently we
think of
them in
the chaos
and unrest
we think
too of
your people
there knowing
that there
is real
persecution
for the
significant
Christian
minority
as they
don't have
freedom of
worship
as those
who convert
to Christianity
from Muslim
backgrounds
can find
themselves
isolated
or imprisoned
Lord give
them a
steadfast
confidence
in your
word
in Jesus
the word
who became
flesh and
made his
dwelling among
us
that he
would show
the glory
of salvation
so that people
would believe
and have
life
Lord we
pray for
every nation
that is
enduring
persecution
and trouble
because of
their faith
help them
to know
and to live
by your
word of
truth
Lord we
pray today
for those
in our
church
who find
themselves
in special
need
Lord may
you grant
wisdom
may you
grant
comfort
may you
give
encouragement
as we
need it
Lord for
those who
are seeking
you
for those
who are
not yet
Christians
may they
read your
word and
may you
reveal
yourself
and your
love and
your way of
salvation
through faith
in Jesus
to them
break down
barriers
we pray
Lord we
pray for
those who
find that
their faith
is weak
who perhaps
have lost
those basic
spiritual
disciplines
through
Covid or
other
circumstances
Lord please
gently
restore
and renew
to folks
the joy
of their
salvation
Lord all
this we
pray in
Jesus
name
Amen
Now by
way of
reflecting on
what we've
been thinking
about our
closing hymn is
Speak O
Lord
quick book
review before
we finish
not a book
review
if you want a
good book on
why the Bible is
worth knowing
trusting and
loving
Kevin DeYoung
Taking God
at His Word
nice and
short
really good
read
you can have
a flick
if you want
after
let's stand
and let's
sing together
Speak O
Lord