That They May Be One

Introduction

Good evening, everyone. We’ve had a good start to the week so far. Really enjoyed having Jonathan Manning here with us. And we’re going to close it out tonight in John seventeen talking about being one. It’s going to be good to be together to sing songs and praise God together. Caleb Schmidt’s going to be leading our singing. And at the time, he designates Rick Millby’s going to lead a prayer and then Jay Everett will close us out in prayer. Thanks for being here tonight. We will begin praising God in song.

Number three fourteen. I need the every hour. I need the every hour and need some I need thee.

I need every hour in total name of the love.

Oh Lord our God. It is so good to be here tonight. We be with each other. To share in the relationship that we have through you through the sacrifice of your son. Father, we know that connects us together. And it connects us because Father we all are benefits of your grace, your patience, your mercy, and your forgiveness. And we thank you for that. We know that we only stand hold in your sight because of you and because the sacrifice of your son. We need you, Father. We depend on you.

We want to do everything that we can to please you. Help us as we open your word tonight to learn from you, to adopt your ways as our ways, and your thoughts as our thoughts.

Guide us in everything. Help us to love you. Help us to love each other and to help each other. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

How sweet, how heavenly three thirty-four in the book. Before that, we will sing blessed be the tide. If you would please stand with me as we sing. Oh we see that love prayers.

When we sound be so good evening, everyone. I’m gonna ask you to take your Bible, turn to John seventeen. John seventeen. We’re gonna begin our lesson there in just one moment. And John seventeen. Thank you all so much for being here tonight. And just as we bring this meeting to a close, I just want to say thank you to all of you who’ve been so warm and friendly in greeting me. It’s been wonderful to get to know you. It’s been wonderful to get to meet your families and your kids and to just be a part of the work here for just a little bit this week. And I just want to thank all of you. I want to thank Brent, my friend, and looking forward to working with you, and want to thank the elders for their kindness as well.

And bringing me here this week.

And I’m looking forward to bringing them back here to meet all of you guys. We’re going to be in John 17. But first of all, I want you to appreciate something about this world. You know, a lot of people say that unity is hard to find. It’s really hard to find true unity in this world. And I think when people say that, they’re absolutely wrong. Unity isn’t hard to find at all. In fact, you see unity all over the place in all different kinds of areas. Unity is oneness. It means that you and other people are tied together in some way. It means a group of people have coalesced around something or they are bound together in a common cause. And you see that all over the place all the time.

You see unity everywhere in this world. You see it when it comes to sports. You have a team that bands together for a common purpose. You see that when it comes to bands or politics or friend groups at school. You see that in families, you see that in churches. Unity is everywhere. You see it all over the place all the time. Unity is not hard to find. But what is rare is not unity itself, but a commitment to unity. What is rare is to find a group of people that has dedicated themselves to sticking together through thick and through thin. It’s hard to find groups of people who have decided they are going to fight and strive and work and sacrifice endlessly because they are devoted to one another and they want to keep their group together.

Unity is common. But a commitment to unity, that’s a little bit of a unicorn, isn’t it? Find a band that isn’t broken up by someone named Yoko Ono. It’s hard to find. Find a quarterback who’s willing to take less money instead of getting paid $35 million a year to go play for a bad team in the NFL. That’s hard to find, right? Unity is easy. But finding individuals who are committed to unity, that’s a bit of a unicorn.

I can complain about how the transfer portal is ruining the unity of my favorite college basketball team or football team. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really affect my life at all, and I can complain and gripe about that. But honestly, it may be better for that individual and for their family to do that. So who am I to judge if they leave the team for some other team? When it comes to worldly things, true unity doesn’t really matter. But when it comes to spiritual things, unity is vital. When it comes to the church, the unity of believers is one of the deepest desires of Jesus’ heart. And we learn that here in John 17. This week we’ve been talking about these chapters, John 12 through 17, and we’ve called our series of lessons famous last words.

Because these are the last words that Jesus speaks before he goes to the cross. This is Jesus knowing he has one night left, one final chance to tell his followers the most important things he can possibly think of, and this is what he chooses to say. And what’s special about John 17 is not that they’re just part of Jesus’ last words, but they are the last of the last words. When we get to the end of John 17, we’re going to be in John 18. Jesus is going to be arrested, and he’s going to be led away, and he’s going to be crucified. These are actually the last words that Jesus says.

1. That They May Be One Even as We Are

John 17 and verse 11, he says, I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that they may be one as we are. Do you hear what Jesus is saying in that passage? He’s saying that he desperately wants unity among his people. And understand this too, that he doesn’t just want any kind of unity. He doesn’t just want the kind of unity you might find on a football team or in some random place around the world. What he wants is a special kind of unity, a deeper kind of unity. He wants unity on a different level. He wants his church, his disciples to be bound together in unity, to be tied together even as he is bound together with the Father and with the Spirit.

He wants his church to experience the same kind of unity that we find within the Trinity. May they be one even as we are one. And that’s that’s an incredible statement, isn’t it? You know, Jesus is drawing on similar language that we saw earlier in this week when we looked at John 13. And Jesus told his disciples about that new commandment he was giving to them, right? I want you to love one another even as I have loved you. And by doing that, he raises the standard, right? Don’t just love people in some kind of bland, worldly kind of way. I want you to love other people as deeply and radically and passionately as I have loved you. And he’s using the same language here.

I don’t want you to just be one. I want you to be so tied together, so bonded to one another, that the unity you share with one another is like the unity that exists between the Father and Son and the Spirit.

And that begs the question what exactly does that look like? What does the unity of the Trinity look like? Well, we get a glimpse of that earlier in this chapter, but first of all, I want to show you this. The unity that God, Jesus, and the Spirit share. What we see in that unity is that there is an inseparable bond. When we look at the Father, Son, and Spirit, and the way they are united, they are inseparable. They are fully committed and fully devoted to one another. And if you back up a little bit in John 17, you see that come out. John 17 and verse 1, Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, even as you gave him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given him he may give eternal life.

This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I don’t know about you, but whenever I read through John 17, I always get a little bit confused because there’s so many pronouns flying around. Like it’s you and him, and me and us, and we and they, and they be you, and me and you, and you gave this to me, and I give it back to you. And the reason I honestly think he’s doing that on purpose, because the connection between the Father and the Son and the Spirit, they’re so intricately bound to one another that you almost, you almost lose sight of which one is which in this passage.

And I think that reflects what we’re talking about. There is this inseparable bond that you see between the Father and the Son and the Spirit. Jesus says in verse 1, glorify your Son so that I can glorify you. They’re bound together, they’re tied together. He says that again in verse 5. Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself. With the glory which I had with you before the world was, there is an inseparable bond. That’s what true unity looks like. You cannot separate the Father, Son, and Spirit. But notice this secondly, not only do we see an inseparable bond, but when we look at the Father, Son, and Spirit, we also see mutual dedication to their purpose. The Father, Son, and Spirit are absolutely dedicated to their purpose.

They have determined together that they want to save mankind. And what they do is they work tirelessly together for that purpose. John 17, verse 6, Jesus says, I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you. For the words which you gave me, I have given to them, and they receive them, and truly understood that I came forth from you, and they believed that you sent me. And so Jesus says in those verses, Father, you sent me to the earth so that I could manifest your name, so I could tell other people about you, so I could explain who you are and what you want from men and how they might be saved.

And Jesus says, That’s what I did. You sent me for this purpose, and I accomplished that purpose. And if you look back at John 16 and John 14, he’s also going to say, the Spirit is going to come after me, and he’s going to help us accomplish that purpose too. That’s what they’re all working on together. They work tirelessly so that they together can save mankind. That’s what true unity looks like.

And I want you to appreciate this thirdly. That when you look at the Father, Son, and the Spirit, one of the most amazing things that you see is you see the extinction of selfishness. There is not a trace of selfishness in God.

I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me, for they are yours, and all things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. So Jesus looks at everything that he has and he says, Father, nothing I have is mine. Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine, everything is ours together. What you see in the Father, Son, and Spirit is that there’s no selfishness, no self-seeking, no ambition. And that shows us incredibly something about unity, and that is that in true unity, what you witness is the death of the self. If we are truly bound and tied together the way that we ought to, we never seek our own, but always the good of the other.

And so after Jesus shows us a little bit of what the unity looks like in the Godhead. A little bit of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit. He says in verse 11, I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that they may be one even as we are.

You could make the argument that what Jesus says in John 17, verse 11 is his last dying wish. His last request before he goes to the cross. I want my people to be united with one another. May they be one even as we are one. Of course, that’s not an easy thing to do, is it? Striving together and having the kind of unity that the Father, Son, and the Spirit have. Unity, actually, it’s a wonderful thing, but it’s an exceedingly fragile thing. It is easy to achieve, but so difficult to keep. And Jesus experienced this himself with his apostles multiple times during his ministry. Jesus is trying everything he can to keep this group of twelve followers together, to keep them from fighting with one another and breaking apart and going their own way over and over and over again, whether they’re jockeying for higher positions in the kingdom, or whether they’re criticizing one another for their choices, or whether they’re feeling jealousy and resentment toward one another, they seem to constantly face threats, even within that small group of 12 of breaking apart and dwindling away.

And what Jesus has to do while he’s on this earth is he has to constantly fight to be the glue that holds them together and not let them break apart. I wonder if that’s exactly what he means when he says, after this in John 17, verse 12, while I was with them, I was keeping them in your name. And I guarded them. And I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the scripture would be fulfilled. Jesus says, Well, I was here, I was keeping them, I was guarding them, I was trying to keep them all together and keep Satan away from them.

2. Eliminate All Traces of Worldliness

And so the question we have to ask ourselves is if unity is so difficult to achieve, or so easy to achieve, but yet so difficult to maintain, how do we in this place maintain that kind of unity? How can we make it so that here at the Decrepery Church of Christ, we might say that we are one, even as the Father, Son, and Spirit are one. I think if we look a little bit further into John 17, we get some clues about how to maintain that kind of unity. The first thing is this that if we’re going to keep that kind of unity, we need to make sure that we eliminate all traces of worldliness. We eliminate all traces of worldliness. Read on with me in John 17, verse 13.

Listen to what Jesus says here. But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. And so what Jesus does here in this text is he makes that clear distinction between his disciples and the regular people of this world. He says, They are not like the world. I made sure that they’re not like the world.

They’re different. They don’t live like the other regular normal people in this world. And I want you to understand that is that is such a fundamental component of our unity. That if you want to be united in Christ, you cannot live like the world. You cannot think like the world. You cannot act like the world. In fact, every bit of worldliness that you bring with you into this church is inherently divisive. And there are a couple reasons for that. Do you know why it is that worldliness is always divisive? The first reason for that is because worldliness, it undermines the very basis for why we’re together in the first place. Doesn’t it? That’s what Jesus says. He says that when it comes to his disciples, he rescued them out of the world.

He made sure that they were not like everybody else. This is the entire reason we are together. This is the whole purpose why Jesus brought us together. He wanted to save us from the world. He wanted to keep us away from Satan, keep us away from the world, and for us together to do everything we can to save other people out of the world. The reason we are together is so that we will not be in the world. And so when we tolerate worldliness in our lives, we are undermining the very basis of our unity. We are together so we won’t be in the world. And when we decide to break a few rules here and there, or when we decide that we’re going to think like the rest of the world, except we’ll just go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays too, what we’re doing is we’re undermining the very basis of our unity.

I want you to appreciate, secondly, that worldliness undermines unity because it ruins the unity we have with God. You know, if the Tower of Babel teaches us anything, it teaches us that you can have unity without God. You can find people who can band together and they can create a cause and they can join together, they can even join together against God and fight against God, and they can stay together for the most part, at least for a period of time. But what good is that? And part of the beauty of the church is not just that we’re bound together for the sake of being bound together with other people. Part of the beauty of the church is that we are bound together with one another, and we are also connected to our God who’s going to save us.

And if we’re bringing worldliness into our lives and into this church, we’re ruining the unity that we have with God. But appreciate this thirdly, that worldly attitudes are divisive because worldliness in and of itself is divisive. That the attitude of this world, the attitude of sin, the attitude that comes from Satan, the heartbeat of worldliness is selfishness, indulgence, and selfish ambition. Look at what look at what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2. I don’t know if you can read that. That might be really small. But Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, Paul says this, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Understand that when we are the kind of people who live like the rest of the world, we will never be able to stay united. Because in true unity, you witness the death of the self, but in worldliness, what you witness is the exaltation of the self. And that inherently is divisive. And so understand, brothers and sisters, that unity requires that each and every member of this church, every member of this family dedicates themselves to getting rid of all the worldliness in their lives. To not keeping any hidden away or secret, to not letting yourself keep 95% of the rules and breaking the other 5%, to not keeping those hidden sins hidden back in our back closet of our lives, but making sure that we are committed to fully devoting ourselves to following our Lord, because that’s the way we’re going to be united in Him.

Colossians 3, beginning in verse 12. So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

3. Champion the Truth

That if we’re going to have that kind of unity that the Father, Son, and the Spirit have, we need to make sure that we champion the truth. This is what Jesus talks about later or right after this in John 17, beginning in verse 17, he says, sanctify them. Sanctify them. Sanctify is to set apart, to make special, to put off to the side in a special position. He says, Sanctify them, set them apart in your truth. Your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify themselves. I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Jesus makes the point that truth is what sanctifies us. Truth is what sets us apart and makes us different from the rest of the world.

And that means that truth, God’s truth, is the only thing that really holds us together. God’s truth is the only thing that really holds us together. Our mutual affection for one another in and of itself is not going to hold us together. Our commitment to holding on to some man-made traditions or man-made creeds is not going to hold us together. The only thing that’s going to hold us together is for all of us to decide that we are going to be sanctified and set apart by God’s truth. And that means we’re going to need to do a couple of things. First of all, that means we’re going to need to dedicate ourselves to growing in that truth, doesn’t it? One of my favorite passages, that’s even smaller.

I’m sorry. Colossians chapter 1. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you will maybe filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. I love that passage because it talks about all the wonderful things that are supposed to happen to us as Christians, and it makes the point that the way those things come to us, the way we are steadfast, the way we are strengthened, the way we are patient and joyous, the way we please him in all respects, is by being filled with the knowledge of his will.

And so if we are going to be united, it means we need to dig deep and check carefully and patiently seek to discern God’s will. It means we need to seek to try to understand his will with patience and humility. It also means that we need to learn how to use the truth properly. That when we open up the book and we consider what it says, that we read it truly looking to discern the heart of God. That when I open up this book, the one thing, the only thing that I’m really seeking to find is what God wants from me. If we are going to be united and sanctified by his truth, it means I need to understand that his truth doesn’t belong to me, and my opinion doesn’t make it fact.

And that God’s truth is meant to be accepted, not used to achieve my preferences and my opinions, that God’s truth is not a tool to win an argument or advance a personal agenda. Those kind of attitudes destroy unity.

And seek to know the heart of God. And it also means we need to accept what the Bible says about disagreements when it comes to truth. It is inevitable, that in God’s family we are going to disagree about some things. And let me explain what I mean by that because that sounds, that sounds a little squirrely. I believe, I believe very strongly, that it is possible for you and I to agree on everything. I believe that if Brent and I have hearts that are humble enough and open enough and we are knowledgeable enough and we spend enough time in conversation, he and I should be, if we have the right kind of hearts, we should be able to agree about everything the Bible says. God is not the author of confusion.

If we have good hearts, we should be able to agree about this. And so I believe, I believe God’s word is understandable, and we can agree about what the Bible says. But there’s also some realities that are involved with being part of the church. And that means that I’m not going to be able to just talk to Brent, that I got to talk to all of you guys. And that’s going to take a lot of time. And if we’re doing our job as a church, I’m not just going to talk to you guys, but I’m going to talk to all the people that you guys are going to invite. And there’s just not going to be enough time in the world for us to talk and agree and discuss all of those things before the Lord comes back.

Which means inevitably people are going to have different opinions about some matters within the Bible. And we need to appreciate if we’re going to be united, then we need to listen to what Scripture says about that. Do you know what Scripture says about that? In Romans 14 and verse 19. So then we pursue the things which make for peace in the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. Notice what he says later in verse in chapter 15, verse 1.

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good to his edification. And so we have to be the kind of people who, when it comes to our differences, that we respect the consciences of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe this very strongly. That when it comes to unity, the long-term answer is truth. If you and I talk about it enough and our hearts are open enough, and we read the Bible enough, we can find the truth together. But the short-term answer to unity is radical sacrifice. And we have to ask ourselves the question does unity matter that much to us? Am I humble enough and reverent enough to sacrifice radically for the sake of us being united together in Christ.

4. Unity Enhances Our Testimony

Consider this thirdly, that if we’re going to be united, we need to remember that unity enhances our testimony. In John 17, John 17 and verse 20, Jesus says this, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

That the unity of his church, the unity of his disciples is one of the greatest testimonies to the work of God and Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Understand that when the world looks at us and they see a group of Christians who are truly united with one another, it is a testimony. It is something unlike which the world has ever seen. And honestly, if we are united with one another, then the people should look at that and they should recognize that it’s something otherworldly. Where else in this world can you find a group of people who are of different races, different nationalities, different political affiliations, different personalities, different economic backgrounds, who not only sit in the same room with each other, but are united and bound together with deep, intense love?

Where else can you find a group of people like that who sit with one another and love each other that deeply and they love each other that deeply, despite the fact that they disagree about some stuff in this world? Despite the fact that they have entirely different backgrounds, despite the fact that they often don’t get their own way, and they don’t often get their own opinions and preferences met, despite the fact that in the past they’ve hurt one another and offended one another and said mean things to one another and had to forgive one another. Where else in the world can you find a group of people like that? Except here.

And the world is going to see it’s going to be a testimony, a witness to them that God sent Jesus, that Jesus established his church, and the Spirit has indeed given us the truth. I want to ask you, brothers and sisters, does that testimony, the testimony this church sends to the world by being united? Does that testimony matter more than some worldly differences we may have? Does it matter more to you than whatever opinions you may have? Does it matter more to you than the fact that you don’t always get your way? Does it matter more to you than the hurts you may have endured at the hands of somebody here? Let the world see that. And it’s a testimony that what we believe is true.

5. Pray for That Kind of Unity

And let me say this finally. If we’re going to have that kind of unity, we need to pray for that kind of unity. It’s actually funny. We talk about all this stuff, we open up our Bibles, we read through it, and we pick out points and we make applications about things we’re supposed to do, and we forget that what we’re reading is a prayer. And everything that Jesus is talking about here is something that he’s not just telling his apostles. It’s something that he’s actually praying to his Father in heaven. Brothers and sisters, we need to recognize that you and I could never have created something like this by ourselves. Without God’s help, we never would have been able to make a family like this. And so why would we ever think, why would we ever think that we could keep something like this and maintain something like this and preserve something as beautiful and amazing as this without also seeking God’s help in doing so?

It is of utmost importance that we pray together and seek his supernatural power to help us maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace to help us be united with one another, even as the Father, Son, and Spirit are united with one another. When you understand what a high calling that is, that he wants us to be bound together like they are, then we’ll understand how important it is that we bow in prayer and seek his strength and his help in doing so. Let’s do that now. Oh Lord our God. Tonight we’ve read from your word and we’ve considered what you’ve said. The last words of your son before he was arrested went to the cross. Lord, we hear that he wants us to be united with one another even as you are united with your son and with the Spirit.

And Lord, we ask for your help in this. You are an amazing God who does things that men believe are impossible. You are the God who does unthinkable things. And Lord, we ask that you would exert your power, that you would come into this church, you would strengthen us so that we may be united with one another even as you are with the Son and with the Spirit.

Conclusion

We know that we need your help. And Lord, we pray for that help, and we pray that the unity of this church would be a testimony to this world. That you truly did send your Son, and you truly have given us your Spirit, who has given us your word. And those truly are words of life. Lord, we ask for all these things in the name of your son Jesus. Amen. In order for us to be bound together in this church, it requires that we are saved by the blood of Christ. And that invitation is open to anybody here who’s ready to respond to it. The Bible says that if we believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, if we’re willing to repent of our sins and confess our faith before men, we can be baptized in water to have our sins washed away.

We could become part of his family.

I want to make a couple announcements in terms of updates on some of our members first, and then I’ll make some comments about what’s transpired in the last three days of Sunday.

Mary Madden didn’t get to go to the encompass rehabilitation hospital today. We didn’t have a room, so she’s still at Willowbrook Methodist Hospital. Hopefully, tomorrow she’ll get to go over there. Keep her in mind. Lucy Irwin also had some problems with her anesthesia coming out of that and some of the medication, and she also didn’t didn’t get to go home. At least that was the last word I’m aware of. And if you can’t see the glow coming from the Crawford boxes in the far left, Galen has a new grandchild. He’s already walking. His name is Henry. He’s 12 pounds, and everybody’s doing well. Okay.

Big Henry. Big Henry is what I told him earlier that we’re already going to call him going forward. So let me make a couple closing comments on behalf of the shepherds here about the meeting that Jonathan just held for us. and particular tonight’s lesson. I was sitting there thinking, you know, what is the difference between saying we should be one and we are one. I hope you know the answer to that question now.

It was provided in Jonathan’s lesson tonight. It takes commitment on our part to make that happen each day. To strive to make sure that we are one. He gave us four specific points in how to strive to make that happen. And we appreciate those comments very timely. And something that we should all keep in our in our thoughts, our goals and our prayers, as he pointed out. To always be one together as God’s people, always looking to the example of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and how they are one. Amen, Jonathan. Appreciate it. So let me talk a little bit about Jonathan too. I’m gonna give you some insider information in case you don’t know some of these things already.

And Jonathan’s three children, Ellison, Elliot, and Everett, are on that table. Through the years, we have adopted, if you will, their family as part of our family, and including Jonathan and Leah and their three children. So we’re especially happy to see them coming for whatever time they will be here to be a part of this group. And I know them. And I know the people they are, and I know who you are, and I know they will blend in, meld with this group, whatever terminology you want to use, and be a part of this group and benefit Echo Prairie family and be a part of that family. So I encourage you to get to know them when they come. And I’m sure you will you will think likewise after a very short period of time.

That’s probably long enough. I won’t get into all the detail. they live with us, and you want you have people when Harvey was here, they live with us for a period of time, and we’ve often said you if you really want to get to know somebody, live with them for some period of time, and they’re also going to stay with us when they get here, so we know what to expect. I have nothing else unless shepherds have anything else. Let’s go ahead and stand and take Lord. Thank you for the blessing that we’ve been given for this week to study your word. Help us to take Jesus’ words to our hearts. Help us to give ourselves to Christ, to love one another as He has loved us, be fruitful for His cause, and to be unified in one purpose and one truth to serve you.

Pray, Father, that all was done here tonight was done according to your will. Give us your wisdom in all things. And help us to grow the soldiers of Christ’s numbers. Help us to do your word so that your first words to us is well done, thou good and faithful servant. Christ’s name, amen.