#2435: Stretch Out

I'll see you next time.

God bless you.

San Francisco Church, we are so grateful for Pastor Terry, for the entire staff.

They are filled with such kindness, such hospitality, such warmth, such the love of God.

And I just consider it a tremendous honor to be able to share with you all on today.

I'm going to be coming out of the book of St. Luke chapter 6, verses 6 through 11.

But here's what I'd like to do.

I'd like to open us up with a very brief word of prayer as we would trust the Lord

to be with us in this time.

Let us pray.

Great King and Father, we acknowledge you as our Savior, our Master, our Teacher, our

Healer, and our Provider.

We call upon your great name because your word says, whosoever calls on the name of

the Lord shall be saved.

So we believe that there is healing, there's salvation, there's redemption in the mighty

name of Christ.

Now, Lord, you said in your word as well that faith cometh by hearing and hearing but by

the word of God.

So open our ears that we may hear words that would inspire, edify.

Enlarge and increase the faith of your people.

Grant us this favor according to your infinite wisdom and we'll be careful to give you all

the praise, honor, and glory in Jesus' name.

Thank God and amen.

Luke chapter 6, Luke 6, verses 6 through 11.

I like to read from the New Revised Standard Version.

And as you're turning there, would you mind putting some fire or some clapping of those

hands for Pastor Terry?

Just in the chat.

God bless you, Pastor Terry.

He's such a wonderful gentleman.

Wonderful family, great follower of Christ, and I just love him dearly.

But St. Luke chapter 6, verses 6 through 11, New Revised Standard Version.

I'll pause periodically noting the verse so you'll know exactly where we are as you're

following along.

Verse 6 says this, on another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught.

And there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

The scribes and the Pharisees.

The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see if he would cure on the Sabbath so

that they might find an accusation against him.

Verse 8, even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered

hand, come and stand here.

He got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath

to save life?

Or is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath to save life?

Or to destroy life?

Or to destroy it?

Verse 10, after looking around at all of them, he said to them, stretch out your hand.

He did so and his hand was restored.

But they were filled, verse 11, but they were filled with fury and discussed with one another

what they might do to Jesus.

Listen, this is what I'd like to do.

I would like to focus our thoughts and attention upon a sermon that is simply titled, Stretch

Out.

Yeah, why don't you go ahead and type in the chat a couple of times, just type stretch

out, stretch out, stretch out.

Yes, stretch out.

We're going to stretch out in the name of Jesus.

Well, recently I was reminded not only of my mortality, but also the joyful privilege

of getting older, not just any type of older or getting or aging, but the kind where aches

and pains, discomforts begin.

They begin to show up in unexpected areas.

And it led to a couple of appointments with a physical therapist, also known as PT.

Now, during one of the sessions, the specialist shared some insightful advice with me, and

it was simply this.

They said, movement is medicine.

Movement is an important part of recovery.

It's better to remain active instead of resting.

And I think that's a very important part of recovery.

And, you know, that statement, it got me to thinking about one of the things that can

happen to us, even as believers who have fallen short of the glory of God.

One of the damaging effects of sin is that it immobilizes each of us.

Sin, the Bible says wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

Sin restricts us from fully seeing the beauty.

The beauty of our savior sin constrains us in a way that it muffles the tender and invitations

of the redeemer sin confines us to a small diminished version of God's vision for our

lives.

Sin immobilizes our faith and prevents us from moving forward and moving towards God's

amazing mercy.

Sin even makes us inflexible and rigid where we are unwilling.

And sometimes we're not willing to do anything.

And sometimes even unable to extend forgiveness to those who have offended us.

And just as physical movement is essential for our recovery and physical health, spiritual

movement towards Jesus Christ is essential for our spiritual well-being.

Come on, if you believe that, go ahead and just type real quick, stretch out.

And as you type in there, I just want to share with you an important truth that I have realized

that I'd like to share with you, especially if you're a believer.

And for those of you all who are like me, that like to take notes when listening to

a sermon to those note-taking believers, here's the truth I just want to share with you.

Are you ready?

It's simply this.

The way of Christ inspires us to reach beyond finite limits in response to God's infinite

grace and mercy.

Let me say it one more time.

The way of Christ inspires us to reach beyond our finite limits.

In response to God's infinite grace and mercy.

I believe that the presence of our resurrected King, it's intended to inspire us to transcend

the paralyzing fear that has held many of us back from trying again after failure.

Many of us have experienced the stinging pain of feeling helplessly overpowered by challenges

that are beyond our grasp and our capability.

And some of us have even experienced the frustration from a lack of support that has made us want

to simply give up.

And this is why I love the story of the man with the withered hand.

He serves as a powerful example for anyone, any person that is wrestling with the fear

of failure, facing overwhelming odds, or struggling without support.

The Greek word for failure.

That's translated withered.

It's there.

Now, okay, I'm now I'm offering a little Greek.

My wife, she likes to joke with me and say, I'm glad you can read biblical languages,

but you can't order a cheeseburger in those languages.

So I offer this enunciation of this word in all humility.

But the Greek word translated as withered, it's Zara.

And that word Zara, it describes something that is shriveled or atrophied.

And those of you all who are familiar with the word atrophy, atrophy is a deadening of

the limb or the deadening of an extremity or the deadening of some particular body part

as a result of a lack of motion, a lack of movement.

And so that word, that word Zara, it also means to dry, to be dried up like a plant

or like a fruit.

And this suggests that this hand was one time useful.

It suggests that this once useful hand had now become a lifeless and useless.

It had lost the moisture of life.

The drive that once gave it strength, leaving it withered and wilted and immobile as an

appendage that was incapable of providing the previous functions that it was used to.

And yet, let the church say, and yet, and yet it was to this.

It was to this very man that Jesus said, stretch forth thine hand.

Wow.

Think about that.

Jesus still said to the man with the withered right hand, stretch forth thy hand.

And I believe that immediately creates an opportunity for us to invest and examine and

explore the text in a fresh way, considering a couple of questions.

As we're sitting there and we're thinking about the implications for us, how then does

the way of Christ?

The approach of Christ, the ways of God, the methods of God, how does it guide us in overcoming

our limitations and remaining faithful, even in challenging times?

Come on, all of us have fallen short.

All of us have sinned.

All of us have struggled.

All of us have experienced failure.

But the question then becomes, what inspiration can we find in the text to try to, so that

we can try again?

So that when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when,

when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when,

when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when, when,

especially in those times when it feels like we're destined for a confined, restrained,

restricted existence.

And what can we learn about Jesus Christ, our Savior, that may ask us to stretch out

our inoperable, inelastic, and immobile aspects of our lives in the same way that he asked

this man with the withered hand to do?

I think those are some pertinent questions that we can pose to ourselves as we are examining

this gospel.

And as we're looking at this text, I believe not only is there a response to those questions,

but so much more.

You and I as believers, as called out ones, those that are part of the ecclesia, we must

be on guard against the dilution, the diluting of the radical nature of our faith.

We must beware of a gospel that promises comfort without confrontation, that offers us prosperity

without challenges, and miracles without challenges.

And this is what I love about Luke's gospel.

It's a historiographical narrative written to the most excellent Theophilus, and it legitimizes

Jesus' followers by connecting the church to Jesus, Jesus to Israel, and Israel to God's

rescue operation of the entire world from sin.

This narrative then, as established by Luke, is to confirm for us, to affirm for us, that

our gospel and the faith that we have is not some simply, some new fad, but it aligns

with past, present, and future divine activities.

And so you and I as guardians of this sacred fire, you and I, we've got to resist any temptation

to tame the gospel.

We have to remind ourselves that we are of a spiritual ilk of men and women that were

willing to be martyred for their faith.

And so in those instances when the world offers us an easier path towards compliance

to God, we must remind ourselves that we have to embrace a radical call to stretch out in

faith.

Come on, if you believe that, just type in the chat one more time, stretch out.

Now, as we're stretching out here, let me just offer you a couple of thoughts just to

kind of percolate it and to offer us for consideration as we're growing in our faith,

as worshipers and followers of Jesus Christ.

And as we consider the question that I posed before, here's one thought in response to

that.

First thought is this, we have to remain faithful amid resistance, okay?

How does the way of Christ guide us in overcoming our limitations and remaining faithful in

challenging times?

Well, here's what we learn from the text.

We got to remain faithful.

Let the church say faithful.

We got to remain faithful amid resistance.

You might say, well, where is that in the text, pastor?

I'm so glad I can help you.

It's right there in chapter six, verse six, chapter six, verse six.

And it says, on another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught.

And there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

Again, we're talking about Jesus.

Jesus, on another Sabbath, he entered into the synagogue and he taught.

All right.

And the point we're making here is that remain, you got to remain faithful.

Let the church say, we got to remain faithful amid resistance.

Why is this an important thought to consider?

Well, Jesus wields authority over disease, death, and demons.

He has the ability to perform the impossible.

Jesus, y'all know the Messiah, the self-existent one, the word that became flesh and dwelt

among us.

Revelation calls him the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

The first and the last.

He's the firstborn from the dead, right?

Jesus, the one who has performed countless miracles, who does wonders beyond number.

He is the one that enters into the synagogue.

He enters into the synagogue on another Sabbath.

Why is this important?

I'm pressing this point a little bit intentionally because he was the perfect and the sinless

sacrifice who needed no instruction.

Who bore no sin and he still valued communal worship.

Woo!

My goodness.

Hallelujah.

That was a good word.

Let me just let that simmer for a minute.

Let me drink some tea.

Let me say it again.

Jesus, who is sinless.

Y'all know John the Baptist says, Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world.

Jesus, perfect.

God Almighty in the beginning was the word.

The word was with God and the word was God, right?

The same was in the beginning.

With God, all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was

made.

This is the same.

Jesus needs no instruction by him.

All things were made by him.

All things consist.

He bore no sin and yet he still valued communal worship.

Now, this is despite the potential interaction with hostile crowds, the potential hypocrisy

of even the other attendants.

And these were challenges.

Somebody.

Even say, well, those are some of the challenges we face today.

Well, those same challenges that Jesus faced did not prevent him, keep him or hold him

from being faithful, even amid that type of opposition and resistance.

He remained steadfast in his commitment.

Jesus did not abandon the assembly because of resistance, but he remained faithful even

while he encountered hostility.

John 2, 12, 1-5.

The same was true for every single one of us.

In Jesus name, amen.

Amen.

I know that just blesses me when I think about that.

He kept going to church.

The one who should be worshiped still went to worship.

And this is even a sobering truth for every single one of us to consider, especially as

it relates to our heart posture, as you and I have gathered for worship, even in this

fashion.

I wonder even right now, if Christ, who could hear the voice of the Lord, could hear the

symphony of our hearts. If he would either hear us praising God or complaining about how inactive

some other members are in their lack of volunteering or lack of supporting the vision

of the ministry, but he was still faithful. Now, I know what you're saying. Y'all are like my church.

Y'all are like me sometimes. You're like, okay, pastor, you're right. Jesus remained faithful.

He kept going to church, even though it was difficult and he had to deal hardship and

hostility. But you know, come on, brother pastor, he's God. Of course he's faithful, right? I mean,

what else do you expect, pastor? I mean, that's not really a really deep point that Jesus

remained faithful. Well, remember there's two persons in the text tells us on another Sabbath

he entered. And when he entered into the Sabbath, who did he encounter? A man with a withered right

hand. Consider the man with a withered hand who also sought

an unrighteousness. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right

hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man

with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right

hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man

with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right

hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man

with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right

hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a withered right hand. He was a man with a

disability. He came to church with his imperfection. He came to worship even though areas of his life

were inoperable, yet he refused to allow one area or one part of his life to define his entire

existence. Man, that was a good word right there. He offered God what was left over. He offered God

what he still had in his possession. He demonstrated that withered areas cannot hinder

a worshiper who is willing to give God their all. I believe we got some worshipers that are

worshiping right now that are saying, I'm willing to give God my all. Yep, you're right. There's some

areas of my life that are imperfect, inoperable. They're not operating at the level that I would

like them to, but I'm still willing to give God everything I got left. I'm willing to give God

everything that I got left. I'm willing to give God everything that I got left. I'm willing to

give God everything that I got left. I'm willing to give God everything that I got left over. I'm not

going to wait till everything is in perfect condition before I come to worship. No, I'm

going to come even though there's areas of my life that still need to be worked on. We all face areas

in our life that may not be everything that we desire, but this does not have to diminish our

faithfulness. Not, and here's the thing, not every part of our life is broken. There's always a

reason, always a reason to remain faithful. There's always a reason to remain faithful. There's always

a reason to remain faithful to God, which leads to the next thought that I'd like to offer for your

consideration. The next thought is simply this, as we are considering the question, which is this,

we got to focus on obedient actions that are within our influence. Wow. Hallelujah. We got to

focus on obedient actions that are within our influence. Man, I tell you, look at verse eight.

Verse eight says, New Revised Standard Version, again, it says,

He knew what they were thinking. He said to the man who had the withered hand,

come and stand here. And then it says, he got up and stood there. Hallelujah. Boy, that's good news.

Hallelujah. He says, come and stand here. Jesus speaking, come and stand here. The man with the

withered hand, he gets up and he comes and he got up and he stood there. Here's what I love about

verse eight.

Jesus did not allow the thinking of those surrounding in the environment to, uh, to control

or manipulate what he summoned this man with the withered hand to do. Jesus did not allow what

others thought about the withered man to influence his own actions. Boy, that's good news right there.

Hallelujah. The religious leaders of this time, y'all know this.

Hallelujah.

They did not allow their hearts to be tainted by a narrow interpretation of God's will because they

interpreted God's will to be constrained by their own limitations. They assume because they didn't

want to work on the Sabbath that God had to not work on the Sabbath. They watched Jesus not to

learn or to be inspired, but they watched him to find grounds for an accusation. Let me just pause

for a second.

This is a reminder that all intention is not good attention. Some attention is a root is rooted in

appreciation and sometimes it's rooted in affection, but sometimes people are giving us

their attention so that they can, uh, launch some accusation against us. And they want to watch us

for the purpose of undermining us. But even in the face of this type of scrutiny, Jesus asked a man

with a withered hand to stand up. Jesus asked a man with a withered hand to stand up. Jesus asked a man

with a withered hand to stand up. Let me say it again. Jesus in the middle of worship, ask a man

with a withered halt, dried up, wilted hand. And he says, stand up. Yeah. Yeah. This teaches us again

to focus on the strengths and what we can do rather than our limitations. My hand might be

withered, but my legs still work. Boy, that was a good word right there for somebody. Yeah. There

are some areas that I can still be responsive to the commands of God in obedience to God. Jesus

shows that even with our weaknesses, we have the power to act in faith. Faith does not require

perfection. It just requires compliance. It requires a willingness to obey what God has

said. And here's the thing that happens. Jesus performs a miracle on the Sabbath. And you know

what he does by doing that? He does a miracle on the Sabbath. He does a miracle on the Sabbath.

He challenges the restrictive traditions that valued rules over mercy and compassion.

Hallelujah. His actions, the actions of Jesus Christ, they are a profound reminder that our

compassion and our goodness and our willingness to help others should never be bound by human

rules, regulations, or traditions. I love one of the things that Charles Spurgeon once said,

as it relates to this man who stands,

up even though his arm is withered, his legs still works. Charles Spurgeon once noted as it

relates to healing, that it requires human cooperation with divine power. Yeah. Yeah.

Human cooperation with divine power is sometimes some of us have heard, sometimes you got to put

some feet underneath the prayers that we're praying. That means we have to offer to God

what we have. We cannot just simply speak to a theoretical hypothetical, what we would do.

Uh, if we were in different conditions and circumstances, no, God has made us, he has made

it possible for us to contribute to his vision, his will, his plan right now with what we currently

have. Is anybody saying amen? Amen. Somebody. Hallelujah. All right. Now this also leads us

because again, somebody say stretch out. Well, you got to stretch out. And this underscores yet

again, the idea that while divine power is absolutely essential,

you and I must have a willingness to act and cooperate with that power because it is equally

just as equally important. All right. Let me offer one final thought for your consideration. Amen. I

know you're on fire. I'm super excited. Just sitting here sharing with you all on today. All

right. One final thought for your consideration. And it's simply this, we got to stretch out in

faith, even when it seems impossible. Oh my goodness.

You got to stretch out in faith, even when it seems impossible. Look at verse 10,

chapter six, verse 10. It says, after looking around at all of them, Jesus asked the question.

They, no one offered a response. He said to him, the man with the withered hand, he says,

stretch out your hand. And he did so. And his hand was restored. Jesus asked him to stretch

out in faith, even when it seemed impossible. Okay. Standing was something that the man was

capable, was able to do. He had done it before. He had done it before. He had done it before. He had

already walked into the synagogue. But now Jesus is asking him not just to do what he is capable of

doing, but he's asking him by faith to do something that's impossible. The church then, as we consider

that thought, should be a place where we inspire one another to stretch out in faith. Whether you

are a single mother or a suburban housewife, whether you are a mechanic or a CFO, the church

is a community. And it's a community. And it's a community. And it's a community. And it's a

community where we are all stretching out to receive God's gift of healing and restoration.

And this stretch is a radical stretch. This stretch is uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable

because it goes beyond just standing to surrender our capabilities, to surrender our abilities.

But it challenges us to push past,

our limitations in faith. That's the stretch out part. Yeah. Oh my goodness. I just feel the

Holy Spirit encouraging us on today that to stretch out in faith, reaching out for what

seems impossible. That means God inspires us to go beyond our finite capabilities and limits.

And Jesus literally says to this man, stretch out your hand, stretch it out.

And stretching out for many of us, you might be saying, pastor, I don't have a withered hand. Oh,

but stretching out means we got to turn the other cheek when we've been disrespected.

That's what Jesus means when he says to stretch out for many of us. Stretching out for some of

us means going the extra mile when you are compelled by the law to go one. Stretching

out means blessing those who curse you and praying for those who might despitefully use you.

Stretching out is,

giving not just 7 times, but 7 X 70.

Stretching out means working towards reconciliation when your flesh

wants to divorce.

Stretching out means if I got to deactivate my social media in order to maintain my purity

from lust then I'm gonna stretch out.

stretching out.

Stretching out is doing the impossible by faith.

Hallelujah.

And it requires that we stretch out.

You got to stretch out.

out in prayer. You got to stretch out and move beyond our comfort zones to serve. We got to

stretch out and commit ourselves to giving generously, even if it means cutting back on

our personal luxuries like cable. Come on, y'all. We got to stretch out. Let the church say stretch

out. And this kind of stretching out demands that you and I go beyond our comfort zones.

It means that we have to stretch out in a way and trust in God's holy, powerful, and divine

provision. And as we stretch out, we open ourselves up to the miraculous work of God

in our lives. Let the church say stretch out. Now, remember I told you all I got a physical

therapist, also known as a PT, and that PT is actually helping me, hallelujah, to stretch out

in some areas.

I have developed some aches and pains, but for those stretches into those, even to the gentle

discomfort, I might become too confined and too rigid and too inelastic. And so in the same way

that I got a PT, I want to go ahead and share with Cornerstone, you too got a PT as well.

His name is Pastor Terry. You got your own Pastor Terry that's encouraging you to stretch out

Sunday after Sunday, worship service after worship service with teachings that have been provided

to you.

He is encouraging you all to stretch out in faith, stretch out and serve, stretch out even

when it's uncomfortable, stretch out and trust that God is going to meet every one of your need

according to his riches in glory, which are in Christ Jesus. And do you not know that in your

stretching out, whether you are in the back of the church, whether you are considering yourself

to be the least, the lost or part of the forgotten, every time you stretch out in response to the word

of God, you are going to meet every one of your needs according to his riches in glory, which are

God, you're inspiring others who feel like they can't stretch out that they too can stretch out.

Yeah, there it is. We're inspiring others right where we are that you too can stretch out in

faith. If you would respond to the word of God in obedience, somebody say stretch out.

Let's be a kind of church that continually encourages, inspires, and edifies one another

to stretch out, to move beyond our own limitations and trust in God's

healing and restoration. Now it's possible after all of this, you might be saying, I'm not really

sure pastor, if I could really stretch out. What I want to offer one final word in conclusion with

the hopes that it would just encourage you. And it's simply this, the God that we serve, you know

what he did? He stretched out Abraham when he told him to leave his father's home for the promised

land. Yep. That's the same God that we serve. The same God that we serve is the same one that

stretched out Sarah's womb so that she could give birth to a new life. And that's the same God that

we serve, even though she was advanced in age. Somebody say stretch out. The same God even had

Moses stretch out his rod when he guided the children of Israel across the Red Sea. The same

God that we serve, he's the same God that stretched out David by raising him up as a young

shepherd to be the king of a mighty nation. The same God that we serve is the same one that sent

Jesus Christ who stretched out over 40 and two generations and was born,

in a lowly manger between angels, excuse me, between animals. And he hung between thieves

and he was raised above the angels. And those of you all who might've grew up like I did in a really

older Baptist church, when they would get to preaching and we would talk about Jesus, they

would say they hung him high and they what? They stretched him wide. And that is the joy of being

a believer in Jesus Christ. And it's simply this, that if Jesus could be stretched out on Calvary,

his cross, then you and I can be stretched out in faith to experience the impossible that comes in

the person of Jesus Christ. They hung him high, they stretched him wide, they pierced him in the

side. I love that he didn't say one mumbling word, but he hung his head and he died, but he was

buried in a rich man's borrowed tomb. And three days later, hallelujah, he got up with all power

in his hands. Hallelujah. So you stretch out,

you be a believer in Jesus Christ. And that is the joy of being a believer in Jesus Christ.

Be encouraged to stretch out. And if there's nothing you remember, remember this, the way of

Christ inspires each of us to reach out beyond our finite limits in response to God's infinite

grace and mercy. Well, every single one of us needs to be made whole from sin. Christ models

how to stay faithful amid resistance, how to focus on obedient actions that are within our

influence, how to stay faithful amid resistance, how to stay faithful amid resistance, how to

influence, and to stretch out in faith, even when it seems impossible. In Christ, it is possible,

my dear friend. And I just want to say again, thank you so much for this time. May God continue

to favor you, bless you, and keep you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Jesus, my living water, name above all names. Lamb of God, new life giver,

you conquer the grave.

And I don't have to wonder where my hope is coming from. I lift my hands for who you are

and everything you've done. Oh, I know what I'm reaching for. I know what I'm reaching for.

I'm reaching for you. I'm reaching for you.

Oh, I know what I'm living for. I know what I'm living for.

I'm living for you. I'm living for you.

A healer of broken people can never fail.

I draw close, you draw closer, meet me in this place, and I don't have to wonder where

my hope is coming from. I lift my hands for you are in everything you've done. Oh, I know

what I'm reaching for. I know what I'm reaching for. I'm reaching for you. I'm reaching for

you. Oh, I know what I'm living for.

I know what I'm living for. I'm living for you. I'm living for you. Oh. I'm living for

you. There is freedom wherever you are, and I can see it. You're the light in the dark.

You are the light in the dark.

You are, You are, You are, oh

There is power when I say Your name

And I can feel it when You're breaking my chains

You are, You are, You are, oh

Oh, I know what I'm reaching for

I know what I'm reaching for

I'm reaching for You, I'm reaching for You

Oh, I know what I'm living for

I know what I'm living for

I'm living for You, I'm living for You

Oh, I know what I'm reaching for

I know what I'm reaching for

I'm reaching for you, I'm reaching for you

Oh, I know what I'm living for

I know what I'm living for

I'm living for you, I'm living for you

Oh, I know what I'm living for

All right, Lord, increase our faith and enlarge our trust capacity.

Help us to believe that with you, all things are possible.

Even sometimes things that seem to be beating us down in life

or seem like they'll never change.

Help us to trust you.

Help us to lean into your words.

Help us to welcome your presence because you are our great deliverer.

You are a good shepherd and you are our provider.

We turn our eyes towards you, Lord.

And my prayer for all of you, my friends,

is that he would keep you in every way, in your spirit, in your soul,

in your mind, and in your body.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.