Christ is risen. It's good to be together on Resurrection Sunday. There are so many things happening, my head's kind of spinning before we even begin. Next week we have a membership class. Please, if you haven't maybe begun the process of membership, but you want to come and find out more about the church, know, you are welcome at that. There's a stage here where I think we have an education need in the church just to make sure everybody knows what Trinity is and what we think about membership. So, if you haven't had an opportunity to come to one of the membership classes before and you know and love Jesus Christ, please know you'd be very welcome to come and to attend that next week. Also, we have the announcement Luke mentioned earlier about the seminary training. Really, the purpose of that meeting is that the elders would get a feel, an understanding of what the need and the interest is in the church.
And because so often we have like stereotypes or ideas in our head, what that means is if you're interested in formal education, you know, earning a degree. I would love to encourage you to come, and we can, well, we'll give you a survey and ask about what you're interested in. Is this full-time? Is this part-time? Are we talking about Saturday classes? If you're interested in auditing classes, in other words, not necessarily having to turn in a lot of assignments and papers, those days are long gone.
And you would like to come, though, and do Bible survey classes, or classes on how to preach, or classes on prayer, or whatever it happens to be. Again, we want to gauge that interest, so I want to encourage you. If you're a lady—now, this is where we get controversial—if you're a lady and you simply want to be effective in maybe counseling and women's work and women's ministry, we believe there's effective roles for ladies to have as well in ministry, not as elders or pastors of churches, but in the ministry among other women and the ministry to the children, and sometimes that training and that depth of insight into God's Word, that can be really, really helpful in that pursuit. And again, you'd be very welcome at that lunch. If you are going to come, let me encourage you to sign up that'll just help us to plan some light food so that you don't get angry with me.
So that'll help us to plan accordingly. And again, really the goal is that it's not that we'll roll something out immediately. It's to try and listen to the congregation and to see, is this something that we need to be thinking about now? Is this something we need to be thinking about 10 years down the line? The elders, we're trying to be wise, we're trying to steward the gifts and the interests and the aspirations of the people of our congregation, and that's very hard to do unless we hear from you.
And so that's really the design of that meeting next week. Also, Christian Explored, maybe you're here this morning, and please, I want you to know you're very welcome. You're here with a friend who maybe regularly comes to the church, or some family member that comes regularly, maybe somebody who's even getting baptized later on. And I want you to know you're very welcome. But also, we don't want this to be the only time you come to us.
We as a church, we want to make Jesus known. And what we try and do as a church is to make Him known primarily by coming to the Bible. And instead of there's so many thoughts and expressions of what people think Jesus is, we want to simply come to the Bible and let the Bible speak. And so, we have a Christianity Explored course starting at the end of the month. Really, the design of that is to do what we do in church normally. To go to a part of the Bible, we'll be going primarily to Mark's gospel and trying to look at what Mark says, what the Bible says for itself about who Jesus is and why He came.
So that way, instead of you falling out with me and disagreeing with me, you have to engage with this and work out do you agree or disagree with this, and I think that's far more valuable. And so that course will be starting at the end of the month, and I want to extend that invitation to all, but especially those who are maybe visiting with us this Sunday.
The last thing, and I know that's a lot, we haven't even got to a sermon yet. The last thing is to say we will have baptisms taking place after this service. We're gonna start at 9:30, 9:30 to 10:30. We'll have some songs. We'll have opportunity to hear the testimonies of those who are getting baptized and to see them make that public declaration that they belong to Jesus Christ.
And I'm excited, I know you're excited about that. There's nothing more Easter to do than baptisms, to proclaim new life in Christ through the waters of baptism. And so that's going to be very special. But here's the problem. We have two services at Trinity Bible Church and people get excited on Easter. So, they're more likely to turn up on Easter than any other time. And so, it could be really busy.
So, you know the way, if you were on the Titanic, it's women and children to the lifeboats first. Here's the way I want you to think later, because it will be a little bit squashed in here, and that's going to be good, okay? But let's let women and children sit down first. Women and children sit down first.
Make sure people are well looked after. We'll take care of them. If there's visitors that are amongst us too, let's make sure they're also taken care of. Let's take a moment and pray. Let's pray.
(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this special time of year where we can gather and remember the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank You that not only do we remember His suffering and death, but we thank You, Lord, that You, satisfied with the sacrifice that was made, rose Him from the dead victorious. You proclaimed that the curse was ended. You gave life eternal, that through Jesus we have hope, that we who are a people marked by sin can know the fullness of forgiveness and the fullness of life in Jesus Christ.
We do pray and ask, Lord, that You would help us as we come to study Your Word. We ask, Lord, that You would teach us through it. We ask, Lord, that You would help and meet every need of the congregation. We thank You for those who are visiting with us. We thank You for the opportunity to see and to hear testimony from those who will get baptized later.
Lord, in all aspects of this service, we pray for the grace to worship You in spirit and in truth because Jesus is worthy, and we give thanks to You that He has risen from the dead. So, meet with us now, we pray, for it's in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. (End)
Can I ask you please to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 19? To Luke chapter 19. The Bible begins by making clear that we were placed in a world that God made absolutely perfect. This is a world where you could go and you could live in a creation, in a society, and on an earth where everything was as it should be. If you so desired, you could eat your packed lunch beside a lion, knowing it would not rip off your head. You were able in that perfect world to live and to mix with other people in that world who were themselves, good and perfect, and able to care and love for one another as they should. And even more amazing about that perfect world, not only did we get on perfectly with creation. Not only did we get on perfectly with one another, but in that perfect world, mankind knew and engaged with God. That world was wonderful, but our world today is not. Our world is marked by pain in creation, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, dangerous animals, all the rest.
It's not safe anymore. We don't love and care for one another all the time the way we should. In fact, I'm pretty sure if you came into church this morning, the last thing you did before you walked in the door was lock the car. Because you know that you need to lock the car. This is a world where we rightly are suspicious of one another because we know there is threat in one another.
And there are many running around our world today, even on Easter Sunday, that would proclaim that there is, in their estimations, no God at all. So, our world is not perfect the way it was created to be perfect. And we've got to ask the question, why?
What was it that made that first created order so good, very good, perfect? Well, what made that first world, Genesis 1 and 2, perfect was the King was in His place. The king was God. The one in charge was the Lord God Almighty. And as long as God was on His throne and the people did what the King said, the world would continue in perfection.
But we know the story, don't we? In Genesis chapter three, Adam and Eve are in that garden and they take a piece of fruit, and they eat the piece of fruit. And doctors have the audacity to tell you to eat at least five pieces every single day. It wasn't the eating the fruit that was the problem, what was the problem?
The King had said, don't, not that one. And the great act of sin was that despite the order of the King, man and woman had the audacity to reach out and to take what they were told not to take. and to eat it themselves. They in effect took the crown off God's head and placed it on their own.
I'll do what I want to do rather than what the King says is best. I'll be keen of my own life. I'll make my own decisions. I'll live as I see fit. Forget the King. And that really is what sin is. Sin isn't just doing something naughty. It's not making a mistake. It's not a failure in some aspect of moral character. Sin is defiance against the King.
We know what the King says, yet I want to be my own king. There is a crown that sits on this heart, and that guides what I do and how I live. But the problem is that that type of self-rule is absolutely destructive. It ruins, it pollutes, it breaks, it hurts, and ultimately it leads to death. And so, while the reality is clear in Scripture that every man and woman falls short of the glory of God, for they insist on placing the crown on their own person rather than acknowledge and obey the Almighty.
Still, there is evidence in this world that we need a King. And actually, the story of the Old Testament largely is a hunger for the right King. 1 Samuel chapter 8, the people come to Samuel and ask for a king. And what he does is, after speaking with God, he allows them to pick a king according to their own desires. And they go for somebody tall. That's dangerous. You go for somebody short, not tall. Go for somebody handsome, that's dangerous too. Go for somebody more like this. They go after one according to their own appetite, Saul. And though he is strong, though he is handsome, he is, like all of us, broken.
And then afterwards, God identifies a man after His own heart, King David. He really was the best of Israel's kings. And yet, Psalm 51, “against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Again, he is a broken king. And Solomon comes next. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived to that point. The man who compiles the Proverbs to educate the world on what wisdom looks like. Yet the book of Ecclesiastes chronicles the folly that that king, that wise king pursued.
And then there was such a longing that the nation actually split in two, northern Israel and Judah, and each of them had their own dynasties, their own royal lines. And both lines, not one, both lines, well, the summary of them is they were a disaster. They were wicked. They were broken.
And yet, even by the time of Jesus, though there were Romans who occupied the line and though there was a puppet king, Herod, that ruled in a kind of way, the brokenness of every human rule and the longing that fostered even more so for a king was palpable. If you were to talk to the Jews of Jesus' day, they would speak quickly of the longing they had for the Messiah, for the Anointed One, for the King that was promised to come. The Old Testament longed for that righteous rule, and time and time and time again that lack of a good king emphasized that the problem was the human heart, but still the people longed.
And then John the Baptist, the herald, Cain. And he proclaimed that there was one who had now arrived. Luke chapter 3 verse 22 tells us that one who had arrived, that new anointed one, that new Christ, he came with divine approval. Heaven spoke, “You are my beloved Son, with You I am well pleased.”
We taught on Friday night about how the Gospels proclaim so clearly His ultimate, keenly authority. Authority when He teaches. Nobody else spoke like Him. Authority to heal. Disease ran away at a word from Him. Authority to cast out the demons. Even the evilest aspects of this world were crumpled by His authoritative speech. Authority over nature, wind, waves, they all had to adhere to His command. Authority over even death itself.
Jairus' daughter with a simple warm invitation, get up lamb, sat up and got a snack. And that great authority that's important for us to know this morning, the Scriptures proclaim He had authority to forgive sin. And now that one that Luke so carefully has unfolded and described and presented to us over the pages of this particular good news story, this particular gospel. Now, He begins to approach the capital of the nation, the place where kings were meant to reside. The place and the route that Zechariah chapter 14 proclaimed He would move towards the capital in. And He comes with an altogether clear authority. There's nothing lacking. There's no prophecy that He has not satisfied. There's no way of living with clear ability and rule that He has not presented. And yet as the king comes to the capital, what we find is evidence that the people still have the crown on their own hearts and refused to bow the knee to the Lord God Almighty. Can I ask you to stand while we read the passage this morning? Luke chapter 19 and verse 28. Luke chapter 19 and verse 28.
(Scripture Reading) “And when He had said these things, He went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, mountain that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples saying, “go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a coat tied on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘why are you untying it?’ You shall say this; ‘the Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and find it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “the Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus. And throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the roads. And as He was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.
Saying, “blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.””(End)
Have a seat. The text begins there in verse 28, “and when He had said these things.”
What things? What things? This story is tied to what came before. And what came before was a parable. A parable, do you remember, about a ruler? An official, a master who went away for a long season, leaving his servants behind, and yet one day he would come back. In fact, look at verse 11. Verse 11 says, “as they heard these things, He proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.”
Jesus knows what's coming. He knows this is not going to end well. He knows this approach to Jerusalem is going to be not well received. And so, He tells a parable about a master who will have to go away, leaving his servants behind, and then will come back. And now we read a story about Jesus coming to the city with His disciples, with His servants, and then very shortly He will leave them behind, but He will return. And He will return to judge the living and the dead.
This narrative and the lack of response and indeed the hostility that we see in verse 39 from the Pharisees was no unexpected event. This was exactly what Jesus knew was coming. Look at the rest of verse 28, “He went on ahead going up to Jerusalem.”
When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mound that is called Olivet. You could say, the Mount of Olives. That particular route was significant. When royalty was to come in royal possession in an official capacity to the city, this was the journey they took. For coronation. For celebration, for anything official. This was the route of the king. This is where royalty trod.
So, there's significance in the geography. But also, verse 30 to 34, you have this episode about two of His disciples being sent ahead. And there's a colt, a young donkey, the text makes clear, an unridden donkey that is tied up. And they're to take it and bring it for, they're to say, “the master, the Lord, has need of it.”
He has need of it. Now, please understand, Jesus has traveled everywhere else by foot. He'll do some more walking after this. That's not an expression of a man being tired. Why does He have need of it? Well, it's symbolic need. Something has to be declared. Something has to be proclaimed. And it's this kingship. That's what needs to be proclaimed.
The kings were to ride on mules or donkeys or horses, depending on what the occasion was, they were to ride on those that had never been ridden by anybody else. And the text makes clear that's exactly the colt that Jesus gets, one that no one else had ever ridden on. It communicated not necessarily victory, but rule. But when David and Absalom and Solomon went to their own coronations, they all rode on a mule. Not a horse, not a stallion, a mule.
It was associated with that royal possession. It was not a, if the king was victorious in war, he rode in on his war horse. But as he came in for coronation, in Jewish tradition, the king himself was under another. The king himself was to be marked by a rule that was gentle and compassionate and caring of the sheep that he had oversight over. And so, the mule or here the colt spoke so clearly about that. In fact, that's exactly what this moment symbolized. Matthew chapter 21 makes explicit that this took place to fulfill what Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9 said, that Old Testament book proclaimed, “rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous, and having salvation is He." And then it says, “humble and mount it on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
In other words, Jesus is doing a lot of things here. He's showing he is the fulfillment; He is the King the Old Testament spoke of, the great King that the Jews and indeed the nations need it. but also, equally is communicating the nature of His kingship. As the Old Testament text says, that he would be humble and mounted on a donkey. That His kingship is one that is marked by humility and gentleness and kindness and compassion. There were many kings. In fact, the majority of kings and empires in the time of Jesus that lorded over their people, that ruled by keeping everybody under their thumb. But here is one who rules with a profound kindness.
Verses 35 and 36 speak of the response of His disciples. Verse 35, “and they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they sat Jesus on it, and he rode along, and they spread their cloaks on the road.” This unridden donkey, now he gets a rider. And not only that, but he gets a lot of garments, a lot of cloaks. To make a saddle, but also to make a carpet. You're all looking so nice today. Well dressed up. Nobody wants to take their jacket off and throw it on the ground for others to walk on, never mind a donkey. But they did in this moment. The disciples did in this moment. Why?
Well, we get some insight in the rest of the Bible. For example, 2 Kings 9, verse 13. It speaks of Jehu. Jehu was a nasty man, but when he became keen, because people were scared of him, it says, then in haste every man of them took off his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed Jehu is keen. It was a way of acknowledging His role. He's above me. He's more important than me. He's more significant than me. And that's exactly what the disciples are doing here. They're acknowledging His great role.
Now, we have a picture of this scene, and I don't think it's quite right. When we think of this particular scene, we imagine lots of children waving palm branches, don't we? Diddy doing cartwheels and then kind of catching themselves and waving the palm branch a little bit more. That's not the picture. Only John's gospel mentions the palm branches. They are there, but they're not the main feature.
And there is a crowd, but the crowd is made up of His followers. Of those who've been listening to His teaching, who've observed His miracles. That's who we're talking about. In fact, Luke, when Luke recounts this, along with the other synoptic gospels, it's only the disciples who are in view. And that's important.
Because while His disciples burst into song here, there are no, notice, no religious leaders leading the song. There's no politicians that make their way out of the city to walk him in. There's no formal parades or accolades that are presented that day. In fact, while the disciples sing, the Pharisees go further.
They're not just neutral, they demand rebuke. You see, the disciples are singing part of Psalm 118. That's what's quoted there. Their song is from Psalm 118. And again, that was a royal psalm. That was a coronation psalm. That was sang at the event where the King would be crowned over the nation. And so, it was a loaded Psalm.
And the Pharisees, they know the road Jesus is on. They know the reality of what's being proclaimed by His riding in on a colt. And they know the significance of the song. And so, we read in verse 39, some of the Pharisees in the crowd said, “teacher, rebuke your disciples.” That's a strong word, rebuke your disciples. They're not just not singing, in other words. They're trying to shut the singing down. They hate what's being proclaimed by this song, and they call instead for silence.
Now, if you turn back for just a moment to Luke chapter 13, I want you to see a couple of things here. Sometimes it would be nice if there were musical notes beside the songs because we would link them together a little bit more. But I want you to look at Luke chapter 13 and verse 34. Because this song has been sung before or mentioned at least before.
It says, Jesus, as he thought about the rebellion of the city, “oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” A testimony about the rebellion. about the hostility, about the fact that these people do not want their king. Verse 35, “behold, your house is forsaken.”
“And I tell you, you will not see me until you say,” or better translate it, until you sing, look at the words, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” It's the same song. Same quote from Psalm 118, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Luke is making clear here, the people at large won't sing it. They would never sing it. And what the disciples are singing is unique to the disciples. They get it, but the point is the majority don't.
In fact, if we turn to Psalm 118, Psalm 118, where this particular song is drawn from, Look at verse 26. This is the part that is being quoted. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” But look at the words that come immediately afterwards. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of Yahweh.” Where's that? Where's the house of Yahweh? Do you remember? Oh, I'm disappointed.
The temple, it's the Old Testament temple. Maybe you were confused because you were thinking, well, it's the church today, yes, that's right, that's good theologically, yes, that's right. But the way it's to be understood, what's being proclaimed there is the temple. From the temple, this song will be sung. Do you know what? While the disciples sang the song, do you know who's singing in the temple? That's right, good answer, nobody. Nobody is singing. In fact, look down just a few verses. Let's see what's happening at the temple. Look at verse 45 of Luke 19. And he entered the temple.
Oh, are you ready for the song? And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” And He was teaching daily in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sang, no, they were seeking to destroy Him. You see the point? The disciples are singing a song, and the very next line of that song is, and they will sing it at the temple.
But that can't be true, because when we go into the temple a few verses later, they're actually not singing about Him, they're talking about how to destroy Him. You see what Luke is doing? The King is Kingly. There's nothing lacking in the King. His rule, His suitability, His satisfaction of every Old Testament prophecy is so clear. And people rule gently and kindly and shepherd the people. And yet, rather than sing to the one who deserves the song, and they're plotting how to kill Him.
And so, Jesus responds in verse 40, “He answered, ‘I tell you, if these,’ speaking of those disciples,” were silent, the very stones would cry out. What's Jesus saying? Well, He's saying, if you took the disciples out of this scene, and you just had the Scribes, the Pharisees, the average person in Jerusalem that day, you know what's more worshipful than they are? The stones.
It was hard-hearted, rebellious, refusing to sing to the One who deserves it. Refusing to accept the evidence that was paramount before them. They were dumb as rocks. Dumb not simply in the sense of foolish. It's way worse than that. Dumb in the sense of not speaking.
Their mouth refused. Why? The Bible tells us, doesn't it? “Out of the heart, the mouth doth speak.” And the reason these people were dumb that day, the reason these people couldn't sing that day, was because the people had hard, rocky hearts that day. So much so, there was more music coming from the stones on the ground than the tongues of their mouth.
These people were made in the image of God. Here's the read between the lines part. I'm pretty sure this was true. They could talk. Like if you were in the room that day, you would have heard a lot of noise. In fact, if you went to the temple that day, you probably would have heard other songs being sung. So, it wasn't an incapacity physically. It's like all of us. The issue was rebellion. They simply didn't want the King. It's amazing because the evidence was so clear. Did you see what provoked that song? Verse 37, “they sang with a loud voice.” Why?
For all the mighty works that they had seen. The disciples had seen it, but they weren't the only ones. How many times have we read about the Pharisees? They were there all the time too. They saw the same mighty things. They saw Lazarus raised from the dead. They saw the demons cast out. They saw the multitudes being fed.
But it didn't matter. Because their issue wasn't a lack of evidence. Their issue wasn't the lack of a persuasive argument. An issue is their rebellious hearts. And that's exactly the same today. If you're not a Christian today, it's not because nobody's talked to you clearly enough. It's not because somebody hasn't preached eloquently enough. You could say it is today, but that's beside the point. It's not because the world isn't full of the fingerprints of God.
Only the fool says in his heart, there is no God. That doesn't mean because the fool genuinely believes it, it's because he's refusing to accept what is obvious in front of his face. You know it! And yet the reality is, just as we see with these stubborn people, you're refusing to sing, you're refusing to worship, you're refusing to acknowledge the King because your heart is full of rebellion. That's the sin, that crown-stealing mentality that insists that you are on a par with God, that you are here to weigh Him up and find Him wanting. And that arrogance leads to death. Today, the stones will cry out in song if his people don't sing, for He so deserves our worship. In the 1500s, there was an Irish lady, Grace O'Malley. She was a pirate, a significant pirate. Women are dangerous, that's the point, okay? Women are dangerous.
And she operated off the West Coast of Ireland and lots of difficulty came her way and eventually she went to meet with Elizabeth I, the Queen in England, to try and barter terms for the release of her son and the release of her lands. And it was amazing because in that world, it was so misogynistic, here were two women, one from England, one from Ireland, that really operated as leaders amongst the leaders. When Grace O'Malley went to meet Queen Elizabeth, everyone talked about that meeting because Grace O'Malley refused to bow to the queen because Elizabeth wasn't her queen. And she considered herself a peer. Two female leaders, we will treat each other as equals. Now, Elizabeth was gracious and there was a respect that happened and things got dealt with there.
But here's the point, you're not an equal with God. You're not. He is the Lord over all. And you're but a speck of dust. That this morning you need to bow before the King, the King, you have been rebelling against until this point. He is obviously King, don't be dumb as a rock.
Because even the rock, when He calls, obeys His voice and sings. Instead, Romans chapter 10 verse 9 tells us what to do with our mouth. It says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Friend, the reality is God is so much higher than you are even thinking right now. He has so much more control than you even appreciate it. There's not one molecule of this existence that He does not have full authority over, and that includes you. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And yet the glory is, “God so loved the world that He sent as one and only Son that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life.” That the glory is, “that the one over all, with all authority, condescends in an expression of His heart. This is who He is. A King that would ride on a donkey. Because He is a King who is marked with a gentleness and a compassion that is willing to embrace the creatures He has made.
And to love them in such a way, not only are they brought into His kingdom, but brought into the very family of God. So great is His love for us. And so, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Let's pray.
(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that despite our obvious rebellion, there is salvation found in no other name but Jesus Christ, our Lord. Lord, humble us. Make us conscious of our rebellion. Pierce our stubborn hearts that we may seek after You while You may be found. We are so thankful that Jesus paid the price, so much so that You have declared the same by raising him from the dead. That all who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart shall be saved.
We are so thankful that we have opportunity in a few moments to witness personal testimony to that glorious reality, but we pray and ask, Lord, that You would continue to work in the hearts of others, to draw them to Yourself, because You are good, You are gentle, and You're compassionate, and You insist on being the God of salvation. And for that, we say thank You. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. (End)
