Reflections on "Look Who's Talking" Luke 13: 10-17; Jeremiah 1: 4-10

When I began working on this sermon, I thought of the old movie "Look Who's Talking," about a baby whose thoughts are spoken.  In fact, it became the title of the sermon.  As the work progressed, however, the movie never made an appearance in the sermon or even had much influence.  If I did the sermon over, I might use that title again and organize the sermon around who is talking: God, Jeremiah, Jesus, religious authorities. I think that might have worked better for the sermon.

“Look Who’s Talking” August 25, 2019; SAPC, Denton; Luke 13: 10-17; Jeremiah 1: 4-10  Richard B. Culp

Jeremiah 1: 4-10  Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7 But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;

for you shall go to all to whom I send you,

and you shall speak whatever I command you.

8 

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

says the Lord.”

9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.

10 

See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

Introduction: I want to speak about speaking today!

Reflect for a few moments about our call to speak, to testify, to share the gospel, if you will.  

Move 1:  First, let’s take a look at Jeremiah.

a.  “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”

1.  Jeremiah trying to escape his calling to prophesy.

2.  Jeremiah, the son of priest, probably well educated, in fact, probably trained to become someone who speaks in the Temple, is using the excuse that he is only a boy.

3. the Hebrew word used there is sort of interesting.  it generally means young boy, but also is used at times to describe a young girl, specifically, a young girl on the margins. 

4. It also can describe someone who is a retainer, that is, someone who only has to retain what is before him or her, just hang on to the status quo, no expectations of anything more.

5.  In other words, Jeremiah tells God, I cannot do what you want because I am a young person, I have no power, and I am just someone who is holding on, with no new insights to share (L. Michaels, MONDAY, AUGUST 19 2019 / PUBLISHED IN 1ST READING, JEREMIAH, ORDINARY TIME; http://www.aplainaccount.org/jeremiah-14-10-2/; see also notation from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5288.htm)

b. God’s response?

1.An emphatic “NO.”

2.  No because God has known Jeremiah in the womb.

3. No because God has a plan for Jeremiah.

4. No because God will give Jeremiah the words to speak that will be words of promise and future, words that will not simply hang on, but push people to see and hear what God has in store for them.

b.   As we kick off our Sunday school year with Rally Day this morning, as we commission those who are participating in the leadership of our Christian education, we are reminded of the great task we have before us - to prepare ourselves for speaking God’s Word to the world.

1.  We teach the biblical stories, we nurture community, we create space to explore God’s Word not for those particular moments we share together in the classroom, or at youth group, or in our small groups, but for the moments we live out our calling in the world.

2.  In Jeremiah’s case, God touched his mouth and gave him the words to speak.

3.  While I am not ruling out God literally touching our mouths, I also see our Christian education opportunities and other small groups gatherings as places where we can discover the words God has for us to speak to the world. 

4. the God who knew Jeremiah in the womb, who had a purpose for his life, who called him to prophesy in the world is the same God who knew you in the womb, 

the same God who has a purpose for you life, 

the same God who sends you into the world to speak of God,

to speak about God,

to speak for God. 

5,.  No excuses, just the call to go and speak.

Move 2:  Take a few moments and see what jesus is talking about this morning.

a.  Jesus speaks, heals, and speaks again.

a. Jesus speaks a word of healing: “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 

1.  With those words, Jesus heals and gives her new life and new hope.

2.  In his words, we see the power of God’s Word in world.  

3. Words that offer hope, healing, and new life.

b.  For the woman being healed, of course, that is of primary importance.

1.  Jesus speaks, and she is made well.

2. But Jesus also uses this occasion to speak more than words of healing, he speaks words that take the religious authorities to task.

3.  In fact, in the Gospel of Luke this is the last time Jesus will be in a synagogue (http://www.aplainaccount.org/luke-1310-17/, CJ Childs; MONDAY, AUGUST 19 2019 / PUBLISHED IN GOSPEL READING, LUKE, ORDINARY TIME)

4. This is his final moment to set the record straight in the synagogue.

5. So he speaks a word of truth to power - he announces that healing and transformation matter more than any rules about the Sabbath.

6. In fact, not one of the 613 rules and regulations that were on the books about what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath matter as much to Jesus as healing the woman and transforming her life.

b.  Luke tells us that Jesus’ opponents were being humiliated as he spoke.

1.  Why? Because he was the voice of disruption.

2.  he was the one pointing out the fallacies of those in power.

3.  He was the demonstrating God’s desire to give new life that cannot be bound by the religious authorities.

b.  We have a message to share with the world.

1. The Good news of Jesus Christ that frees people, that gives new life, that brings hope to the world.

2. this message can be disruptive.

3. This message speaks truth to power.

4. This message calls us away from those patterns that oppress and control people.

  

c.  It is not just a word for those others.

1.  It speaks and challenges us. 

2.  it asks us to examine our own practices to see if we are living in ways that reveal the good news of Jesus Christ.

3. Then God sends us out to proclaim the good news to the world. 

Conclusion:  Resident – immersed in the life and ministry of the community;  Alien  – able to proclaim the distinctive gospel in a time of crisis. (Resident Aliens, Hauerwas and Willimon)

 Baptist pastor in Southern town during 1960s.  It had been declared that the school would integrate.  White community leaders gathered to discuss how to fight the decree or work around it.  Angry, loud words spoken. Baptist minister who had served in the community 20+ years sat and listened.  Then, he stood and asked to speak.  He said, “I'm embarrassed and ashamed.  If you have heard me preach and teach the gospel for 20+ years and this is what you are now saying about integration, I am ashamed and embarrassed to be your minister.”  He walks out.  Soon, others follow. The schools integrated the next week as they were supposed to do.

God sends you into the world to speak the Gospel.

Reflections on "Slavery, Prayer, and Community" Colossians 4: 1-6; 7-18

This sermon finished the summer preaching series on Paul's letter to the Galatians and Colossians.  It could have been three separate sermons, I think, but I tied them together in one final sermon.

“Slavery, Prayer, Community” August 18, 2019; SAPC, Denton; Colossians 4; Richard B. Culp

Colossians 4:7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant[b] in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are[c] and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 he is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him. 11 And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. 13 For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Introduction:   To finish our sermon series on Galatians and Colossians, we read the finish to Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

Move 1: Paul and slavery.

a. This last chapter begins with a verse one, which is probably more connected to the household code section.

1.  This is when Paul writes about how people are to be connected to one another and treat one another in light of the freedom we have in Christ and the realization that we are all one in Christ.

2.  Paul trying to sort through relationships in light of their being new creations.

3.  It impacts every relationship;  husband and wife; parent and child; slave and master.

4.  Paul does not call for an end to slavery (although he seems to do that in his letter to Onesimus about Philemon), but he reimagines the relationship between slave and master as modeled after the relationship between God and Christian.

b.  Here’s the rub - historically, over the centuries when Christians argued that slavery was biblical and mandated from God, Paul’s letters would be a place they would turn to support their argument.

1.  The biblical text being used to support slavery.

2. Not the first or last time Scripture is used to support ideas that do not seem to be of God.

3.  This, of course, presents a challenge to us as we approach  Scripture.

b.  How do we take pre-enlightenment writing from a very different context and understand it as the Word of God that speaks to us today?

1.  We can study the text, fo course.

2. If we look at the original Greek to study the phrase, “treat your slaves justly and fairly,” we would discover that Paul is using language that ties treatment of slaves to the newly defined relationships we have as brothers and sisters in Christ.

3. While Paul does not go so far as to call for an end to slavery, he is actually advocating for a new relationship between slave and master, one that models itself on how Christ relates to us.

4.  But, more than biblical study, we must interpret biblical texts in light of the God whom we have met in the person of Jesus Christ.

5.  When we believe we have discovered the biblical truth, does it reveal the God we now in Jesus Christ.

6. Nothing easy about interpreting Scripture.

5. There is nothing easy about being a new creation, either, but the same type of criteria can be used.

7. Does how we understand we are to act as a new creation reflect the God we know in Jesus Christ.  If yes, full steam ahead.  If not, reimagine how you might act.

Move 2:  Paul reminds us of the importance of prayer to interpreting Scripture and being new creations.

a.  You may remember that as we began our study of Galatians earlier in the summer, we read how Paul prays for those to whom he is writing.

1.  Prayer is essential to how we learn to be followers of Christ.

2. Most important prayer in the worship service?

3. Okay, not really fair to suggest one prayer is more important than another, but I would at least say there is no more important prayer than the Prayer for Illumination which we pray before we hear the Scripture read, sung, and proclaimed.

4. I personally like it because then I can 

5.  sermon prep by miltybc • August 17, 2019 

here’s a poem that grew out of my preparation.

sermon prep

what can I say
what should I say
can I say that
I don’t know
what to say
say that again
don’t say that
what did you say
that’s been said
far too often
nothing to say
say something
what can I say (http://donteatalone.com/sermon-prep/)

5.  Only by the power of the Holy Spirit and prayerful discernment can we discover what God desires of us.

b.  not easy being a new creation.

1.  We need people praying for us.

2. We need to be praying for God’s guidance.

3.  To live into our calling as new creations can only be done by the power of prayer.

Move 3:  Finally, it’s a people thing.

a.  Paul almost sounds like he is doing some name dropping.

1.  Maybe he is in a way.

2. Writing to people he does not know and has never met.

3.  Trying to make some connections with them.

4.  “you may not know me, but you know so-and-so, whom you know, like and respect.  So because of them, give me a shot.”

b.  paul needs people in his life.

1.  to survive his own imprisonment and persevere, he needs people like Aristarchus.  A companion in prison with him.  Someone with whom he can share his struggles.  Likewise, we need people in the trenches with us, sharing in our struggles.

2.  To carry his message to others, Paul needs someone like Mark.  How often in life do we need someone to be our messenger.  

3.  To continue to teach what Paul has shared with them.

4.  Paul needs a community in his life.

5. We need a community in our lives.

c.  It’s a people thing.

1.  Not new to Paul.

2. God creates the world and then quickly calls Adam and Eve into being.

3. God is a god of relationships. 

4. God calls us to be in relationships.

5. To interpret Scripture and figure it out, we need to be in conversations with others.  

6.  To be new creations, we need the community to help shape us, form us, correct us.

Conclusion: Paul finishes the letter with “Grace be with you.” 

The grace of God we discover in the biblical texts be with you.

the grace of God we discover most fully in the person of Jesus Christ be with you.

the grace of God that calls us to be new creations be with you.

The life-giving, life-saving grace of God be with you.  Amen.

Reflections on "Even My FB Post?" Colossians 3: 1-11; 12-17

The last point, which served as the conclusion, came courtesy of Lisa, our Associate Pastor, as she discussed with me her observation that the "proper" context in the lectionary for these two passages from the third chapter of Colossians is Easter and the first week of Christmas.  I had noticed that fact when I laid out the sermon series a few months ago, but I had not thought about it during my sermon preparation. When she mentioned it, the final part of the sermon fell into place.

“Even My FB Post?” August 11, 2019; SAPC, Denton; Colossians 3; Richard B. Culp

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Introduction:  Quite a passage.

Like a part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians we read earlier this summer, Paul has a list of dos and don’ts for the Colossians.

Such a good list of things to do, we have been using part of that section for our Call to Faithfulness in worship each week this summer.

We confess our sins before God, hear how God has forgiven us, and then with a  clean slate listen for how to be faithful.

The portion of the Letter to Colossians that I read is also one fo the recommended texts for weddings (note - the passage stops just before Paul’s discussion of submissiveness!).

In fact, in a month or so this passage will be read right here at my daughter’s wedding.  She and her fiancé are here this morning to get a sneak preview of the wedding sermon (or to suggest how it ought to be preached!).

For a few minutes, let’s take a look at this passage.

Move 1: We begin with the lists.

a.  Remember, the foundation for these lists, the reason Paul can demand we try to live according to these lists is because of what Christ has done.

1.  When we die with Christ in our baptism, we are dead to sin.

2. When we are raised with Christ to new life, it means we are new creations.

3. being a new creation is powerful image Paul gives us.  

4.  I am sure there is a high tech way to describe new creations, but I am more of a low tech guy, so think for a minute about play dough.

5.  I’ve always loved play dough.

6. Even though my lack of artistic ability limits what  I can do with play dough, being able to take play dough, smash it back into its original lump of dough and then craft something new makes sense.

7. The old creation, then, is what the play dough was fashioned into before Christ; then in Christ our old life is smushed back into a lump, and we are remolded into a new creation.

8.  Because of Christ, we have to opportunity, we are called, we are challenged to become new creations - to give up the old list and live into the new list.

b.  notice that there are two lists - the don’ts followed by the dos.

1. The don’ts are broken into two categories -sins are desire and sins of disunity.

2.  the first don’ts are thing we do when our desire has no regard for the other person involved.  When all we care about is what we want and do not care how it hurts or how it hurts others.

3. The second series of don’ts is about things we do that break relationship.   When we act with disregard for how it creates a divide between ourselves and others.

4.  In fact, those two categories provide a pretty good definition of sin — when we act on our desires and ignore others and when we act in ways that break relationship with others.

5.  The dos reveal how we are called to act as new creations in Christ.  

6. the ways we act toward others that build relationships and create new possibilities for people to discover God’s love.

c. Lists not really check lists; more like reflection questions?

1.  Maybe too subtle a difference, but Paul is not creating a new sets of laws for the followers of Chirst.

2. Paul is not giving us a check list where we check off when we have avoided a don’t or done a do.

3.  Paul is giving us a guide to use as we examine how we are living as new creations.

christ frees us from the law.  

4.  Not marking off what you do each day, but looking back over the day and determining if you are living as a new creation.

Move 2:  Paul has high expectation for how we live our lives.

a.  Do not read Paul’s words about Christ “being seated at the right hand of God” or “set your minds on things above” and think that Paul is saying “Wait until heaven to live your life as a new creation.”

1.  Or, if we hear the call to faithfulness at church, and then leave it in the sanctaury, as if the call to faithfulness has no connection to how we live our lives at work, or school, or at home or in our neighborhoods.

2.  Paul’s list reveals his high expectation that what we do in the nitty gritty of our lives reflects our calling to be new creations.

3.  In other words, even my FB post should show the world that in Christ I am a new creation.

4.  OK, mentioning FB reveals that I am not quite put to speed technologically, so even my Instagram post or tweet, or however you express yourself to the world, even that should show forth your status as a new creation in Christ.

b.  New Testament scholar NT Wright notes that “According to the early Christians, the church doesn't exist in order to provide a place where people can pursue their private spiritual agendas or develop their own spiritual potential. Nor does it exist in order to provide a safe haven in which people can hide from the wicked world and ensure that they themselves arrives safely at an otherworldly destination. Private spiritual growth and ultimate salvation come rather as the by-products of the main, central, overarching purpose for which God has called and is calling...that through the church God will announce to the wider world that he is indeed its wise, loving and just creation; that through Jesus he has defeated the powers that corrupt and enslave it; and that by his Spirit he is at work to heal and renew it” (203-204). N.T Wright, Simply Christian 

1.  We do not follow Christ to escape the world, but to bring Christ’s love to the world.

2.  Christ calls us to be new creations, so we can move beyond our sinfulness and go into the world to model a new way of a life - a way of life that places the concerns of others above our own desires, that strive for unity in the face of disconnectedness.

Move 3:  A task, maybe an impossible task, made possible only in Christ.

a.  “Set your hearts on things above…”

1.  the only way we can live as new creations is to set our sights on Christ.

2.  think about the difference - if you are only looking at the other person or the situation before you, your context is limited to that particular moment.

3.  Imagine, instead, if you look to Christ and then to that person or situation -  you put everything in the context of how you can live in Christ in that particular moment.

4.  I suspect it would change your response.

5.  “in Christ” gives us the perspective of a new creation.

b. Likewise, we are only able to dare to live in Christ because Christ lives in us.

1.  The power to see things differently, to act differently, to overcome our old self is only possible because of Christ.

2.  As many of you know, we have what is called the lectionary - a three year cycle of Bible readings for each Sunday.  

3.  wE have been doing the series on Galatians and Colossians this summer because both of those letters are in the lectionary readings for this summer.   

4. But to make it a full summer of Galatians and Colossians (we knew you wanted to spend all summer on these two letters), we included some passages that were not part fo the summer lectionary.

5. Today’s readings are not part of the summer lectionary.  Guess where they can be found?  the first reading is a suggested reading for Easter; the second reading is for the first Sunday of the Christmas season?

6. Why?  Because to live as God’s chosen people is a response to what God has done for us in Christ and can only be done when Christ lives in us.  Amen.

Reflections on "Have You Received Jesus?" Colossians 2: 1-19

I had a shorter sermon since it was communion Sunday.  Today, I discovered an old sermon on this same topic that I preached in 1995.  Apparently, I have been trying to figure this out for a long time!  

“Have You Received Jesus?” August 4, 2019; SAPC, Denton; Colossians 2:1-19; Richard B. Culp

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives[b] in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,[c] and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision,[d] by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God[e] made you[f] alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed[g] the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling[h] on visions,[i] puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,[j] 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

Introduction:  Someone asked me recently if growing up in the Bible belt, and more specifically, the land of the Southern Baptism, had impacted me.

The answer, of course, was absolutely yes.  Even as a life-long Presbyterian, growing up in the Bible belt meant interpreting my Reformed, Presbyterian theology over and against the Southern Baptist tradition.

this really hit home when I served a church in OH, where being Presbyterian means interpreting theology over and against Catholicism, since that was the dominant faith tradition in our area. 

Growing up int eh Bible belt means when I read Paul writing to the Colossians, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord….,” I laugh and say to myself, “Paul doesn’t know how to write that - it should be “have you asked Jesus into your heart.”  

That is the question I remember being asked as I grew up in the Bible belt.  

In fact, right here at St. Andrew in Sunday school one year I had a teacher finish each week’s Sunday school lesson with the question:  “have you asked Jesus into your heart?”

So let’s reflect a few moments this morning on how Paul approaches that topic.

Move 1:  Having Jesus Christ in your life is a big deal to Paul.

a.  As I mentioned last week, this letter to the Colossians is all about Jesus.

1. About the importance of what Jesus has done for us.

2.  Paul is arguing against those who are teaching that Christians must do more, somehow work their way up the ladder of faith.

3.  Paul has an emphatic “no.”

4.  Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done is so incredible, so powerful, so important, everyone ought to lay claim to their faith in Jesus.

b.  For Paul, however, receiving Jesus is less about one emotional moment, and more about being overwhelmed, being convinced by what Paul tells them about Jesus.

1. Paul makes the case for Jesus.

2.  He has told them about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

3. He continues to tell them about how Jesus has freed them from the law.

5.  Paul assumes they have received Jesus Christ because they have been taught about Jesus.

c.  a few verses later he talks about baptism.

1.   biblical scholars think this reveals a pattern of the early church. 

2. First, you learn about Christ through a catechism.

3.   then you are baptized and publicly brought into the faith.

4.  much like our confirmation process.

d. Paul seems less concerned with the Colossians knowing the exact moment they believed in Jesus Christ.

1.  he is very concerned about believing in Christ.

2. he is very concerned about committing your life to following Christ.

Having Jesus Christ in your life is a big deal to Paul.

Move 2:  Paul also points to God as the one who acts to save.

a. That is always the challenging question associated with accepting Jesus into your heart.

1. Does it mean we have to do something?

2.  Can we refuse God’s desire to save us?

b.  Paul is not directly answering that question, but he makes it clear that God is the one who saves.

1.  The God who raised Jesus from the dead, this God, Paul tells us: made you[f] alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.

2.  Our salvation is about the God who saves us.

3.  Perhaps that is why Paul uses the term “have received." 

4.  In receiving, the burden of action is on the one giving - in this case God giving us Jesus Christ, who brings with him the gift of salvation.  

Move 3:  Receiving Jesus is not the end, but the beginning.

a.  Paul follows “as you therefore have received Jesus Christ“ with “continue to live your lives in him.”

1. Emphasis is on the lives they will live in response to what God has done for them in Christ.

2.  Paul is not looking for one singular moment of receiving salvation, but a lifetime of discipleship in response to God’s saving grace.

b.  Paul writes his letters to these communities of faith to help them learn how to live as followers of Christ.  He is preparing them for a lifetime of commitment.

Conclusion: Visiting the hospital - I visited a man dying in the hospital.   They were sort of Presbyterian.  

In the ICU waiting room, his wife and neighbor were very concerned about whether he had ever accepted Jesus into his heart.

The next day, they were in the ICU waiting room again, but they were smiling and joyful.  I thought maybe the man had a miraculous recovery.  No, they were joyful because someone remembered a conversation they had had with him 20+ years ago.  they were relieved that he was saved.

I preached his funeral.  I suspect his family’s comfort was in that conversation his neighbor had remembered. I am glad they had that comfort.

The comfort I shared with them from the pulpit was our hope in the God who sent Jesus Christ to save us.

Amen.