SPEAKER_00: Welcome to DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our Sunday morning services are weekly at 9 and 10 30 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: You're listening to an audio recast of this past week's service.
SPEAKER_00: We hope you enjoy.
SPEAKER_00: God bless.
SPEAKER_01: If you have your Bibles this morning, we're going to be in two different passages.
SPEAKER_01: So you can mark one with your finger and then go to it.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be in Matthew chapter 3, and we're going to look at verses 13 through 17 in Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: And we're also going to be in Luke chapter 22, verses 14 through 23.
SPEAKER_01: So Matthew 3, 13 through 17, and Luke 22, 14 through 23.
SPEAKER_01: As you turn there, let me ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know why we put wedding rings on our left finger?
SPEAKER_01: On our left ring finger, left-hand ring finger.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know why we do that?
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you come up and tell me I'm wrong after this, I'll take it.
SPEAKER_01: I'll believe you.
SPEAKER_01: But the research I did says that we wear rings, our rings, our wedding bands, on our left hand ring finger.
SPEAKER_01: It goes back to ancient time, really kind of to Roman days, to what they called the Venus amoris.
SPEAKER_01: The Venus amoris, and they said there was a vein that ran from your left finger directly to your heart.
SPEAKER_01: And so they started wearing wedding bands on the left, the left-hand ring finger.
SPEAKER_01: Now, science has since told us that that is not actually true.
SPEAKER_01: But we still do it.
SPEAKER_01: And you don't even know why.
SPEAKER_01: If you're married and have that ring on your finger, you just put it on your left, I just put it on my left-hand ring finger because that's what you're supposed to do, right?
SPEAKER_01: Just what you're supposed to do.
SPEAKER_01: Well, I my concern is sometimes in our churches, we have things that we do and things that we practice, and we don't know why.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know why we do them.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know, we don't understand.
SPEAKER_01: We just know, hey, we did it growing up.
SPEAKER_01: You're supposed to do it, so I'm just gonna do it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna just gonna take part.
SPEAKER_01: And so today, what I want us to do is I want us to look at two of these practices that Jesus ordained for the church to help the church observe and identify with the death and the resurrection of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And so as while while these practices were started over 2,000 years ago, there were things that began, but that were begun over 2,000 years ago, there are things that we still celebrate and practice today that I want us this morning to take apart and look at so that we may faithfully observe these ordinances and ourselves identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the church today.
SPEAKER_01: So our challenge today is hey, let's identify with Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Let's identify with his death, burial, and resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: So the question that we seek to answer in doing this is this What are these two ordinances?
SPEAKER_01: If we want to recognize the two that we celebrate here at DeSota Hills and as Southern Baptists, if we want to recognize us, what are those two ordinances?
SPEAKER_01: So this morning, if you will read with me, I invite you to stand as we give honor to the reading of God's word.
SPEAKER_01: We'll start in Matthew chapter 3, begin reading in verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
SPEAKER_01: John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: Then he consented.
SPEAKER_01: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
SPEAKER_01: And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.
SPEAKER_01: Now turn over to Luke chapter twenty-two.
SPEAKER_01: I'm again reading there in verse fourteen.
SPEAKER_01: And when the hour came he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him, and he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.
SPEAKER_01: And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you.
SPEAKER_01: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_01: And likewise the cup, after they had eaten, said, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
SPEAKER_01: But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
SPEAKER_01: For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.
SPEAKER_01: And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you for today, and we thank you for your word, and then we thank you for the opportunity to open your word and study it to unpack it and see how you have revealed yourself to us through it.
SPEAKER_01: Help us now as we engage.
SPEAKER_01: Reveal yourself to us today.
SPEAKER_01: Draw us closer to you.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, it's in your name with it.
SPEAKER_01: We pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So you can tell today a little bit different message.
SPEAKER_01: We're not in Acts.
SPEAKER_01: And the focus of this message is a little more theological than it is how what we normally do.
SPEAKER_01: But today we are celebrating in the second service.
SPEAKER_01: We've talked about, we are celebrating baptism in the second service, and at the end of both services, we are going to be celebrating the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_01: Since we are doing both, I thought what a great opportunity it will be for us to unpack what both of those are and understand a little bit more why we celebrate baptism, why we celebrate the Lord's Supper, and why we do the things that we do.
SPEAKER_01: Now, before we dig into that, there's some definitions that I think we need to unpack a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: The first of all is this question what is the difference between an ordinance and a sacrament?
SPEAKER_01: What is the difference?
SPEAKER_01: Because you you hear those two used.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you we usually hear the word sacrament used among the Catholic Church, but there are some Protestant churches that use that here at the Soda Hills.
SPEAKER_01: What we tend to use, and most Southern Baptist churches use the word ordinance.
SPEAKER_01: Well, what's the difference?
SPEAKER_01: Why do we do that?
SPEAKER_01: Well, Millard Erickson, who wrote a great theological book about this thick, he identifies and defines a sacrament as this.
SPEAKER_01: It is a religious rite regarded as a means of or a sign of grace.
SPEAKER_01: So it's a religious rite.
SPEAKER_01: It's something that we do as a means of grace or a sign of grace.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if we take that definition, and as as Baptists, as if we use, if they if we use the word sign of grace, not a big problem with that.
SPEAKER_01: It is a sign or a symbol, but when we say a means of grace, there are some issues with that.
SPEAKER_01: Because when we say it is a means of grace, what we mean is this it is a way, it is necessary for us to take this to receive grace.
SPEAKER_01: God is not going to give grace unless we take this sacrament.
SPEAKER_01: It is how he gives grace.
SPEAKER_01: I have issues.
SPEAKER_01: I have problems because God gives his grace as he does.
SPEAKER_01: And listen, this is not Lord's Supper nor baptism is not necessary for salvation.
SPEAKER_01: If it is a means of grace, what they're saying, it is necessary for salvation.
SPEAKER_01: We do not hold that it is necessary for salvation.
SPEAKER_01: So if you say a sacrament is a sign of grace, okay, but what we do is let's try to remove confusion.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so instead of saying sacrament that could mean either way, why don't we just say ordinance?
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, what is an ordinance, grant?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what it is an ordinance is a practice that we believe is what was ordained, ordinance ordained, ordained by Jesus Himself, and it is a practice that we should continue and carry out as so that we can live in obedience to him, and it is a symbol of what he has done, so we can identify with his death, burial, and resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: So we get sacrament and ordinance, and so now that you're thoroughly confused, let's break these two ordinances down.
SPEAKER_01: What are these two ordinances?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the first is baptism.
SPEAKER_01: One of the ordinances that we recognize here at DeSota Hills as Southern Baptists is the ordinance of baptism.
SPEAKER_01: Now we have read that where Jesus was baptized in in Matthew chapter 3.
SPEAKER_01: And we have to ask the question then, how did he ordain this practice?
SPEAKER_01: Well, we see it when he comes to John and he says, John, I want you to baptize me.
SPEAKER_01: And John says, You should be baptizing me, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: What are you doing?
SPEAKER_01: And in verse 15, Jesus said this, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, We need to, he is being baptized as a example, sorry, as an example to us to fulfill all righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: Well, what does he mean when he says to fulfill all righteousness?
SPEAKER_01: Well, another really smart guy named Craig Bloomberg, he says that Blomberg says this, to fulfill all righteousness means to complete everything that forms part of a relationship of obedience to God.
SPEAKER_01: To fulfill everything that forms part of a relationship of obedience to God.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus is fulfilling righteousness by being baptized, giving us an example for us to live in obedience to God, we should be baptized.
SPEAKER_01: That is to fulfill all righteousness so we can show we are in a relationship of obedience with God.
SPEAKER_01: We see it also in Scripture in Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20, in the Great Commission.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus, the last thing that Jesus tells his disciples before he ascends to the right hand of the Father, he says, Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
SPEAKER_01: Baptizing them is something that they are supposed to be do, like doing like they are teaching.
SPEAKER_01: It is something that we do to show people how to live in obedience.
SPEAKER_01: It is an act of obedience of us in our relationship with Christ, and it identifies us with Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Now there are different views of baptism.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we get confused by that, or sometimes we get the question of why does this church do this and this church do this and which is right, and all of those kind of things.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm not necessarily going to tell you that everybody's wrong except Southern Baptists, but I'm just going to tell you what we as Southern Baptists believe.
SPEAKER_01: How about that?
SPEAKER_01: So as Southern Baptists, here's what we believe is the symbolic view of baptism.
SPEAKER_01: That it is a symbol of what we believe.
SPEAKER_01: The Baptist Faith Message of 2000 defines baptism as this.
SPEAKER_01: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior.
SPEAKER_01: The believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in the newness of life.
SPEAKER_01: So we believe that this is a symbolic act that we do is an act of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: We are buried with Him in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life.
SPEAKER_01: Our sins are buried.
SPEAKER_01: We died to our sins, we bury our old self, and we are raised to walk in newness of life with our Savior.
SPEAKER_01: It is a symbolic act identifying us with the cross.
SPEAKER_01: Now, most hold that baptism, symbolic baptism, the way we observe that is baptism through immersion.
SPEAKER_01: Let me explain to you why.
SPEAKER_01: Three reasons that we hold to that.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, that's what happened to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He was immersed.
SPEAKER_01: And you say, Grant, how do you know that?
SPEAKER_01: That was over 2,000 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: Well, read the scripture.
SPEAKER_01: What does he tell us in verse 16?
SPEAKER_01: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water.
SPEAKER_01: If he went up from the water, it means he went down in the water.
SPEAKER_01: He went down, he comes up.
SPEAKER_01: So first we hold baptism by immersion because it's what Jesus did.
SPEAKER_01: If he's leaving us an example, we are following his example.
SPEAKER_01: Second is from the New Testament word for baptize.
SPEAKER_01: Believe it or not, the Greek word for baptize is baptizo.
SPEAKER_01: Pretty easy to get, okay?
SPEAKER_01: The base of that word, the root of that word means this to dip or immerse.
SPEAKER_01: So from the Greek word that we get that is used here, it means immersion.
SPEAKER_01: Thirdly, we hold baptism by immersion because it helps us best identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: If you go to Romans chapter 6, verses 3 through 4, Paul writing to the church at Rome talks about what baptism is.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he says: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
SPEAKER_01: We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
SPEAKER_01: If baptism is going to be a symbol, if it is an act of obedience that we are following after the example of Christ, at least as Southern Baptists, we believe that immersion is the best way to follow that example.
SPEAKER_01: So we hold to a baptism by immersion, a symbolic baptism by immersion that comes after conversion.
SPEAKER_01: Baptism happens, it's not a part of conversion, it happens after conversion.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I know that in Acts, we just read one a couple of weeks ago, the song that Ashley sang, we were just there in the choir sang, we were just there a couple of weeks ago in Acts, when the Philippian jailer came to Paul and Silas and fell at their feet and said, What must I do to be saved?
SPEAKER_01: And they said, Repent and be baptized.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: I know that there are places in Acts where it says that, but overwhelmingly, if you look into Scripture, there are many other places that say nothing about baptism as part of that.
SPEAKER_01: Let's think of a few.
SPEAKER_01: The thief on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: That is one, today you will be with me in paradise.
SPEAKER_01: We were just in Romans chapter 6.
SPEAKER_01: What about Romans chapter 10, verse 9 and 10, when Paul is writing again to the church at Rome, and he he says this, because 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.
SPEAKER_01: For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
SPEAKER_01: Belief, confession, repentance.
SPEAKER_01: There is nothing here about baptism.
SPEAKER_01: We could go on.
SPEAKER_01: What about John 3, 16?
SPEAKER_01: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
SPEAKER_01: What about John 20, verses 30 and 31 that we talked through when we were going through the gospel of John?
SPEAKER_01: Many other signs did Jesus do in the eyes of the disciples, but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may find life in his name.
SPEAKER_01: Now, while I know, again, that the scripture in places it says believe and repent overwhelmingly, what it says is believe and find salvation, and baptism comes after that conversion as a sign or a symbol of what God has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: It comes after conversion.
SPEAKER_01: It is a public profession of our faith.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, it is really the first public profession of our faith.
SPEAKER_01: We believe in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He died on the cross for me.
SPEAKER_01: He was buried, he arose.
SPEAKER_01: And now when I place my faith in him, he covers my sin.
SPEAKER_01: I die to my sin.
SPEAKER_01: I am buried to my old life, and I rise to walk in a newness of life.
SPEAKER_01: It is a public profession of faith.
SPEAKER_01: That being said, there are some other views of baptism that we don't hold to as baptists, Southern Baptists.
SPEAKER_01: One of those is paedo baptism or infant baptism.
SPEAKER_01: We don't do that here.
SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you why.
SPEAKER_01: We don't do that here because an infant can't profess his faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: When churches do infant baptism, what usually that is is they are looking for a probable regeneration of that child, that probably in the future this child will be regeneration, or the church doesn't fully recognize their baptism until later they go through confirmation.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: We hold to baptism after conversion.
SPEAKER_01: We place our faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: It is not a work of our, it is not a work done for our salvation.
SPEAKER_01: It is an act of obedience that comes after our salvation to show what Christ has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, really kind of summarizes it best.
SPEAKER_01: In Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, Paul writes this for by grace you have been saved through faith.
SPEAKER_01: This is not your own doing.
SPEAKER_01: It is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one could boast.
SPEAKER_01: If baptism were a part necessary for salvation, that is a work that we do trying to earn our salvation.
SPEAKER_01: So we hold to a symbolic baptism by immersion after conversion.
SPEAKER_01: As Southern Baptists, this is what we believe in.
SPEAKER_01: This when we baptize is what we celebrate.
SPEAKER_01: That someone has placed their faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They have died to their sin, their old self has been buried, and they have been raised to walk in newness of life.
SPEAKER_01: That's the first ordinance that we celebrate.
SPEAKER_01: The second one that we have even read about in Luke 22 is the Lord's Supper, which we will participate in today.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord's Supper that we will take.
SPEAKER_01: We read about it in Luke 22, but but go with me back to Luke chapter 22 and look with me in verse 19 of Luke 22 and see why this is an ordinance.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he says in verse 19.
SPEAKER_01: And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you.
SPEAKER_01: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_01: Understand what's taking place.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is with the disciples as they partake in this.
SPEAKER_01: In this first Lord's Supper, they don't have to remember him.
SPEAKER_01: They have to look at him.
SPEAKER_01: So it is something that he is telling them to do, that they must do and continue to do to remember him, to remember what he is doing or about to do.
SPEAKER_01: Paul tells us in Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 23 through 26.
SPEAKER_01: Paul writes to the church at Corinth and says, This, for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread.
SPEAKER_01: And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you.
SPEAKER_01: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_01: So Paul is saying the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: He has given what was given to him, he has given to the church that they celebrate this Lord's Supper in remembrance of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: But he goes on and says, This in the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
SPEAKER_01: Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_01: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
SPEAKER_01: So what Paul is writing to this is not only do we do this in remembrance of me, as often as you do it, what Paul is telling us, what Paul is telling the church at Corinth is this is an activity, this is a practice that is continually done throughout the church.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a one-off, it's not a one-time, and we walk away.
SPEAKER_01: It is over and over we celebrate, we we celebrate what Christ has done for us, his death on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: We celebrate that and remember that through the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_01: It helps us to identify with Christ by remembering his death on the cross for our salvation.
SPEAKER_01: So there are some views here that we need to look at as well.
SPEAKER_01: There's different views of the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_01: Again, I'm not going to tell you that all the other views are wrong and only Southern Baptists is right, so let's let me tell you what we as Southern Baptists believe.
SPEAKER_01: Again, we hold to a symbolic view of the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_01: In this symbolic view, the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, it prescribes this for the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience, whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate his second coming.
SPEAKER_01: It's an act of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_01: And when we remember this, when we participate in this act through taking of the bread and the vine, when believers partake of the bread and the wine, we memorialize the death, the death of Christ, but we also look forward to his second coming.
SPEAKER_01: It is a symbolic act of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: We do not believe in the practice called transubstantiation, which means this.
SPEAKER_01: If people hold to transubstantiation, they believe that the bread and the fruit of the vine that we will partake of, grape juice here, we are Baptist.
SPEAKER_01: It is, it becomes the actual body and blood of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: We don't hold to that view.
SPEAKER_01: That is a very literal reading of the scripture.
SPEAKER_01: This is my body, this is my blood.
SPEAKER_01: We believe, I believe, that when Jesus is saying this, he is talking in metaphor, this is my body, this is, this is, it represents his body.
SPEAKER_01: There's another view called consubstantiation, which believes, which holds to that the presence of Christ is actually surrounded by the bread and the wine.
SPEAKER_01: And the bread and not wine.
SPEAKER_01: We hold that this is a symbolic act of obedience.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus says, This is my body and this is my blood, what it is, is bread and fruit of the vine that helps us to concentrate, remember Jesus' death on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: The brutal, horrible death on the cross that He died in our place.
SPEAKER_01: And the blood that was shed for the remission of sin, we remember those through this act of obedience to help us identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Now, in both of these, there's something else that it does for us.
SPEAKER_01: It helps us to look forward to his second coming.
SPEAKER_01: Because he died and arose, we can believe that he is coming again.
SPEAKER_01: Because of his sacrifice on the cross, we can look forward and know and believe that when he said, I'm coming back, it's going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: So we look forward, so we live in obedience, looking forward to his return.
SPEAKER_01: So here's what this means for us: that is that neither baptism nor the Lord's Supper convey grace upon us.
SPEAKER_01: Nor do they manifest Christ's presence among us.
SPEAKER_01: Christ is already here.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy Spirit is already here.
SPEAKER_01: Whether we're partaking of the Lord's Supper, He is here.
SPEAKER_01: We don't need these to convey grace to us because God did that on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: But what we do is through a symbolic act of obedience, we remember what Christ has done for us.
SPEAKER_01: Now that you are thoroughly bored and asleep.
SPEAKER_01: If you are here today and you have never trusted in Christ, you have never believed in your heart, you have never confessed with your mouth, as Paul wrote in Romans, if you have never believed in him, hear me.
SPEAKER_01: Today is the day of salvation for you.
SPEAKER_01: There is no better day.
SPEAKER_01: When we recognize that someone else has placed their faith in Christ, we see their example.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen the example of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: We see what Christ did for us, that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
SPEAKER_01: Today can be the day of salvation for you.
SPEAKER_01: You need it.
SPEAKER_01: What Scripture tells us is that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: And we need a Savior.
SPEAKER_01: And His name is Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have never trusted in Christ as your Savior, I pray that today will be the day for you.
SPEAKER_01: If you have, I pray that today will be a time of recommitment for us today, or a time where we stop in the crazy chaos of our life.
SPEAKER_01: In just a moment when we partake of the Lord's Supper, it will be a time of meditation for us, a time of repentance for us.
SPEAKER_01: Time of us focusing on what Christ has done for us.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe the challenge for you today is if you have not been baptized, you've trusted in Christ, but you have not been baptized, maybe today you want to commit to living as an act of obedience in baptism with Him.
SPEAKER_01: However, God is moving in your heart today, we invite you in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to pray for us.
SPEAKER_01: They're going to come and we're going to sing a hymn of invitation.
SPEAKER_01: We invite you to come.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe this morning you are looking for a church home, a place where we have like-minded beliefs and where we together can celebrate what Christ has done for us.
SPEAKER_01: We invite you to come.
SPEAKER_01: However, God is moving in your life, in just a moment as I pray, and then as we stand and sing, we invite you to come.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: God, I thank you for today.
SPEAKER_01: I thank you for how you love us and all that you have done for us.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that today, as we have looked at these ordinances, that you left for us to live in obedience, in an obedient relationship with you.
SPEAKER_01: Father God, I pray that we will honor you through this.
SPEAKER_01: God, for those who have never trusted you as their Savior, I pray that today will be the day of salvation for them.
SPEAKER_01: God, for those of us who have, may today be a moment, a time where we stop and we remember what you have done for us.
SPEAKER_01: Spirit, as you are moving and working, lead us to you.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, it's in your name that we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to this week's sermon.
SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions for our pastor, feel free to reach out at DeSotoHills.com.