Good morning. Good morning, church. Happy Father's
Day. I don't think I even got to say that before
David called me out on my shirt here about coolest
dad, but let's just pretend the S isn't there.
I'm just the cool dad, right? Everyone else can
be a cool dad, too. But happy Father's Day. Welcome
to church this morning. My name is Alex Campbell.
I have the great joy, really, of just leading
the student ministry. And I've been doing that
for almost six years now. The 6th through 12th
graders affectionately self -named that group,
The Shed, many years ago. And that has been really
fun for me. I really do love it. And I hope you
guys can see that. But yeah, something really
cool that happened this last year is that the
Norths were added to the team. And so they've
been able to just really start doing activities
and events outside of Sunday morning. From the
start of the year were some bonfires, and then
the end of the year was attending some sports
events and theater performances of other students.
So that has been really cool to see that really
grow. But we are on summer break right now, but
we are looking forward to starting when the school
year starts up again. So if I haven't met you,
student or parent of a student, come find me.
Love to meet you. We can talk about that. I'd
love to talk about what we're doing for the students
here. I'm usually hanging around after church,
wrangling my kids. So I was excited this year,
earlier this year, when I heard that we were
going through the book of James this summer.
And it's largely because I consider this my favorite
New Testament book. I do love the content. The
content's great. But I largely connected with
this book because it was the first book I read
when I decided to follow Jesus. I was in high
school, I think a sophomore. But I do distinctly
remember thinking that if this was real, if Jesus
was real, and I was going to follow him, I needed
to read this book. So I'm not really sure how
or why I chose James. I think it was probably
because it was short enough I knew I could finish
it. But because of that, it just sticks differently
with me. So I am excited to be up here today
to share just a portion of the book of James
and just the series in general. So, as Greg said,
we're in our third week going through James,
and today we will be in chapter two. The first
week, it was said that tradition tells us the
writer of this book was the half -brother of
Jesus. And if we take that as true, it's not
too surprising that we don't find him writing
anything particularly new in this book. A lot
of it is really a callback to Jesus' ministry
and teachings, which... This was the brother
of James. He would be fairly acquainted with
who Jesus is and as someone in his household.
And James introduces this book to the scattered
tribes of Jerusalem. He's writing to his fellow
believers in the risen Christ who have been dispersed
across the land, away from the home they have
called for hundreds of years. For them, this
was a time of uncertainty. a loss of community.
And so when I read this, it's kind of like a
pep talk. It's encouraging, it's uplifting, but
it's also very direct and straightforward, often
without a lot of detailed explanation. But it
was, and that's because it was the callback,
right? Enforcing something they already know.
And so it was needed then, and I believe it's
needed now, because as believers of God, as followers,
in Jesus, we are still affected by the world
in which surrounds us and that we participate
in. And this can kind of lead to what I'll call
a carryover of how we live. You know, as I already
discussed, Paul uses the language, we are a new
creation. The old is gone. And yet the ways we
engage with the world, with people, our thought
patterns, our decisions, our actions, our desires,
They are rarely like a light switch that gets
flipped when we start following Jesus, right?
It's a process. And in that process, we can forget
who we are, even if momentarily. So it's because
of this, James writes this book and other biblical
authors, you know, write encouragements and warnings
and explanations. That's why the church is still
happening today. That's why I believe you're
here today, right? To get help, to help guide
us. to living the way of Jesus, to imitate the
way that he lived. And so before we read the
passage, I just want a quick recap on how we
got here in chapter 2. So if you haven't listened
to the messages prior today, weeks 1 and 2, I
encourage you to do that today or this week.
They were great, but quick recap. In chapter
1, James starts with the difficulty of life,
right? Scattered people, right? Things are just
hard to experience. But they also talk about
some temptations. And in these things, James
says to be joyful. And this is not a, yay, my
life is hard and miserable. But thank God, thank
God that through the worst of it, that there
is a way for me to be like Jesus, that he is
capable and willing and patiently transforming
me to be like Jesus. This is the joy. And James
follows this up with ensuring that our faith
doesn't become just a mental exercise, something
we love in theory that we can talk about and
discuss and find all the nuances for other people
but never actually do in practice. And so, like,
why must this even be addressed? Why is James
telling us this? Well, he kind of just got done
telling us life is hard and temptations abound.
The difficulties can be unrelenting, but... They
cannot overcome or overwhelm our God, so therefore,
James says, obey the scriptures. Chapter 1, overall,
then, is dedicated to an internal shifting of
our perspective. A little generalization, because
there's a lot in chapter 1, but overall, we see
James leading the church into the personal and
internal work of this perspective shift, whose
primary focus is how you relate. How you handle
yourself, how you handle yourself in the light
of the reality of God. It's how you think, it's
how you feel, it's how you view yourself and
your situations that surround you. And then here
in chapter two, it is the natural progression
from the internal to external. Now, it's not
just the lens in which you see the world, but
how you physically engage in it. Now, if the
internal work has been done, or at least started,
right, let's experience it with those around
us. James leads believers into how to handle
relationships with others in light of the reality
of God. It's how you make decisions. It's how
you engage with other people, particularly those
that are different from you. And this setup,
like, is no accident, right? He's writing something
persuasive, a persuasive letter here. And so
today we get to see... see that shift in this
chapter too. We get to take notice of the first
example of right relationship. And so if you
would, please open your Bibles to James 2. There
are Bibles on your tables and out in the lobby.
They are for you or anyone you know. You can
take them home or you can download it on any
smart device. Here at the house, we love to give
the scriptures full attention, however you're
able. So if you would please do that with me,
I will be standing as, continue standing as I
read. James 2, 1 -13 My brothers and sisters,
believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must
not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into
your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes,
and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes
in. If you show special attention to the man
wearing fine clothes and say, here's a good seat
for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there
or sit on the floor by my feet. Have you not
discriminated among yourselves and become judges
with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers
and sisters, has not God chosen those who are
poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith
and inherit the kingdom he promised to those
who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.
Is it not the rich who are exploring you? Are
they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the
noble name of him to whom you belong? If you
really keep the royal law found in scripture,
love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing
right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and
are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For
whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles
at just one point is guilty of breaking all of
it. For he who said you shall not commit adultery
also said you shall not murder. But if you commit
adultery but do not commit a murder, you have
become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who
are going to be judged by the law that gives
freedom, because judgment without mercy will
be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.
Mercy triumphs over judgment. Let us pray. Father,
we just thank you for this day, and we pray that
you would be here in this room, Lord, that we
would feel your presence, that you would help
us open our minds and our hearts to what you
have for us today in receiving this word as we
continue in worship of you, Lord. We love you,
and we praise you, and we just pray that the
words and the message we hear today will become
foundational to who we are. In Jesus' name we
pray. Amen. As you take your seats, what are
some of the favorite things that you heard or
said? Tacos. Tacos and pizza are always up there,
right? Dogs, yep. Pets, that's always up there.
Hiking, camping. It's a joy. Farmer's market.
Go almost every week. Games, board games. Great.
Thanks. These are great things. It was interesting,
and James, as I read through this, it's interesting
to find for myself that there are some very specific
things I have favorites for. If you ask me what
my favorite animal is, I'm going to tell you
right away, it's a hedgehog. I mean, it's been
that way since almost as long as I can remember.
Before that, it was the armadillo, but the hedgehog
is way better. That's my favorite. But instead,
if you ask me just what animals I like, I'm not
going to just give you one. I'm going to give
you a top six. I have a top six. Hedgehog, turtles,
frogs, not toads, okay, seahorses, jellyfish,
and chameleons. Those are my top six favorite
animals in that order. I have a thought out list.
Yeah, yeah. I have the same list for fruits.
Yeah, it goes on. I have lists. And through this
simple change of questioning, I began to realize
that the language of favoritism can sometimes
limit the way we think or respond. But I also
found it's also really embedded in our daily
lives and how we use it. And this passage actually
convinced me to try to remove some of that favorite
language from my speech. You rarely hear me asking
a question about favorites. I'm not going to
say never, but rarely. But especially with my
kids, I tuck my son into bed almost every night.
I don't ask him what his favorite part of the
day was. I simply ask him, what did you like
about today? Did you have fun today? Did you
help anybody? And in doing so, I found that I
actually get much longer responses. Where I think,
especially with kids, I can limit their imagination
when they're only looking for one response. Understandably,
that is the intent of favorites, right? To delineate
it, separate it from everything else. But as
an adult, admittedly, I am not good at making
quick decisions. This question is, like, stressful
for me. Not, like, a really tough stressful,
but just, like, a why are you trying to limit
me, right? Why do I only get one thing? Like,
what qualifies it as a favorite? If you ask me
a favorite question, that's fine. It's fine.
But I'm going to ask you to define what you mean
by favorite. What qualifies that? But in that,
I asked, you know, why are we so obsessed with
finding favorites in every aspect of our lives?
It's all around us, right? The restaurant menus,
Amazon Music, our reviews, music playlists. I
think it's an attempt to make sense of this world,
right? It's a way to get to know ourselves by
delineating our favorites and then everything
else. To have something to kind of cling to that's
usually well -defined and mostly unchanging.
After all, this is how we choose things like
career paths and hobbies to things as simple
as the clothes we wear. And all that is to say
that this passage isn't actually about having
favorite things. I don't think that's what it's
saying. I don't think it's wrong to have favorite
things. Many would argue that that's the way
we're designed. Our taste buds enjoy different
foods, our brains are not wired the same, and
then you pile experiences on top of that. We
are just all uniquely... Different people and
favorites can actually help us unite with a few
similarities that we do have. And so where my
favorite things can be the source of creating
a new relationship, because oftentimes we find
friends and bond with people that we have, share
interests and ideals. Not wrong, right? My favorite
things can also be the divider that prevents
me from getting to know someone else. particularly
if they're vastly, vastly different. But at its
worst, at its worst, favoritism establishes a
system for judgment. So what do I mean by that?
The distinction is where our propensity for favorite
things changes or dominates our actions, or even
more so when it affects the way we think and
act towards people. People. Favoritism, here
in James, can also be translated as partiality.
depending on your version, or most appropriately,
prejudice. And prejudice is the unfair preferential
treatment of a person or group at the expense
of another. Prejudice enforces a system of hierarchy
that is dependent upon exploitation of a lower
group. It says, I'm better than you, and you
don't even have to say or think it. It can sometimes
just be in our actions, and it separates people.
And prejudice, therefore, is really a singular
act. It builds on a system of judgment. And the
more it happens, the stronger it becomes, not
just as an external system, but internally in
our hearts. James here is saying that when we
operate in this system of preferential treatment,
it is a sin. As we separate people, we separate
ourselves from God. And though this doesn't explicitly
talk about this, he is showing believers through
the way that he wrote, the examples that he gave,
that favoritism, partiality, and prejudice are
a deviation from a foundational attribute of
God. Namely, his justice. So I know justice,
bringing justice into this passage can feel like
it doesn't really belong, but I think we think
of justice... in the culturally relevant version
of the law and sentencing punishments. And the
way that we think, we think of it as a neatly
balanced scale. We have good and bad. And as
long as the good outweighs the bad, there is
justice in this world. This is the thinking that
says, for the greater good. Look at that. This
is an incomplete view of justice. This is not
godly justice, because godly justice, is treating
people equitably. To give people their rights,
not just punishments, but also protection and
care. Because systems of favoritism and impartiality
and prejudice are actually systems of oppression.
When one group is receiving favorable treatment,
there's another group that gets left out. And
this... Separation, this injustice is antithetical
to the God that we follow. He has revealed himself
inseparable from justice. And so if we're doing
this over here, we're separating, we're operating
in favoritism, partiality, and prejudice. We're
not operating under God. I mean, justice is all
over the Bible. Justice and, I'll say, his little
brother, righteousness, are used over 1 ,000
times in the Bible. According to Google AI overview,
anyway, so I didn't count, but by this understanding,
we can see how intertwined prejudice and justice
really are. Prejudice is the unfair treatment,
preferential treatment, where justice is treating
people equitably. They contradict. And since
prejudice is experienced through relationship,
therefore, justice must also be experienced through
relationship. If prejudice is breaking and tearing
apart relationship, justice is uniting and restoring
relationship. Do you see how that works? So if
favoritism is such a deviation from who God is,
the foundational attribute of who God is, why
does it happen? Why does it happen within his
church? And why is it so convincing that it has
persisted over time? He gives us a clue in this
example. Suppose a man comes to your meeting
wearing gold ring and fine clothes and a poor
man in filthy old clothes also comes in and you
show special attention to the man wearing fine
clothes and say, here's a good seat for you.
But to the poor man, you stand there or sit on
the floor by my feet. Just like in this example,
we can legitimately argue in ourselves that we
are showing the love and care kindness of Jesus
simply by letting the poor man with dirty clothes
stay. We're not turning away because of his outward
appearance. We're not turning away because he
won't financially give to the church. He's still
getting a church experience. He's still participating
in the worship and hearing truth preached in
prayer and communion even if it's at a distance
or alone. It can be so convincing that simply
proclaiming to the poor man that Jesus loves
you, that that's the worker part of us, that
as a church -abiding Christian, it's our job
to tell the world Jesus loves you. Jesus loves
you. See you next week. So convincing. And James
doesn't just warn us against this poor practice.
In verse 8, he shows us how it violates God's
law. to love your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus'
parable of the Good Samaritan started when a
Jewish teacher asked, who is my neighbor? Often
our default is like that of the teacher. Wanting
to justify ourselves, we begin to question God's
instruction rather than consider our own actions.
We tend to think of neighbors as someone of the
same social class, same means, same interests.
Same, keyword being same. Same is where partiality
hides. It doesn't like different. So take this
story. Take this story and replace the poor man
with dirty clothes with any person or group that
is excluded or othered in the church. Replace
it with someone in your community that maybe
you don't particularly like or maybe someone
who has different opinions. or positions than
you. See, we just completed a series titled Imago
Dei that started conversations with people in
this church that have and still often experience
partiality or prejudice. James writes this example
about that kind of person. When we operate in
a system of partiality and prejudice, it strips
a person's intrinsic value as an image bearer.
This prejudice doesn't even have to be something
particularly divisive, like appearance, wealth,
theology. It could be simply neglect. Like, we
let him in. He's attending. Back there somewhere.
But listen, inclusion without community is partiality.
Community requires more than just presence. It
requires relationship. This is the justice that
God has shown his people, a relationship with
him that isn't deserved, that we can't earn.
And James addresses favoritism here as his first
example of right relationship because humanity
tends towards favoritism. It wasn't just a problem
then, it's a problem now, just as it was at the
beginning of sin. To me, it's like having that
one Aldi cart with a squeaky wheel and it just
won't go straight, right? This is humanity. It's
like you're fighting it to go straight. So this
is the hope we have, that God has been breaking
down systems of favoritism and systems of judgment
all along. It's all in here. So I want to go
through just a few examples today. And I want
to start with a Jesus encounter that is just,
it's just packed full of them, okay? So we're
ready to go through some examples. So number
one, society or culture says that men or a patriarchal
system is favored. In the time of Jesus, the
testimony of a woman was not valid in the court
of law. A woman's witness was not even trusted
as true. It had to be validated by a man. But
God, God says, I will make a woman the first
evangelist. But people will hear and believe
truth from the mouth of a woman. In John 4, Jesus
asked a woman for a drink of water from a well.
To start with, men, the norm was not to speak
to women in public. On top of that, this just
wasn't any woman. She was a Samaritan. And Jews,
they didn't associate with Samaritans. They were
considered outcasts because of their ethnic heritage.
They were a product of a Jew marrying... As someone,
a people of the land, and even combining religious
practices, Samaritans weren't just looked down
upon, they were hated. They were seen as idolaters.
And on top of that, okay, third level here, this
woman was a social outcast within her own community.
Having had five husbands and living with a man
who was not her own, she wasn't there with the
other women in her town. Three times an outcast.
Yet Jesus engaged her and even more so did not
exclude her from receiving the truth of who he
was as savior. You see, Jesus is breaking down
systems of favoritism based on gender. He's breaking
down systems of favoritism based on class. He's
breaking down systems of favoritism based on
race and ethnicity. So too, there's... More in
the ministry of Jesus. But to show that this
wasn't just some new work of Jesus, let's look
at the Old Testament, okay? What systems of favor
do we see there? And a big one is society favored
the firstborn son. They favored the firstborn
son because they were the symbol of family preservation.
They received the majority of the inheritance.
They were supposed to keep the family line going.
Yet God, God continually chose the second son,
saying, Basically saying, right, I will persist
regardless of the systems you create for yourself.
He chose Abel over Cain and Isaac over Ishmael,
Jacob over Esau, or even take Joseph. He was
the 12th son. King David was the 8th son. God
is breaking down systems of favoritism based
on personal preservation. He's working outside
of what we establish. Okay, three, another system.
We see his favoring wives who are able to bear
children. This is a lot for the same reasons,
right, of family preservation. And yet God continually
used women who could not or should not be pregnant
to tell his story. Take Sarah, who gives birth
to her first child, Isaac, who we just said was
the second son of Abraham. But Sarah's first
child, she had an old age, so much so that she
was the one that laughed at the idea of getting
pregnant, which is why she named her son Isaac,
which means laughter. Rebecca was barren, but
God answered prayers and she gave birth to twins,
Esau and Jacob. Hannah was barren, but God answered
prayers and she gave birth to Samuel. Samuel
was the one that later anointed Saul and David
as king. All of these people were prominent in
the history of the Jews and the story of Jesus.
They weren't just some unconsequential people,
right? They were part of this. massive story
that God was working in his Bible. And even take
the mother of Jesus, Mary, who was not supposed
to be pregnant since she was a virgin and not
yet married. Yet God chooses these people. He
breaks down systems of favoritism based on expectation
and even physical abilities. Okay, four. Another
system of favor is for specific people groups.
This one is very much alive today. But biblically,
we see this today in many different forms. From
a large, big scale, right, we see from Jews to
Gentiles. Like the Samaritans were Gentiles.
There was this divide and this prejudice against
being a Jew or a Gentile. And it was a little
bit smaller competition even amongst the 12 Jewish
tribes. To as small as prejudice between the
city people and the country people. within those
tribes and yet god gives his people a law that
makes room for the foreigner and the immigrant
to be fully included in the jewish community
leviticus 19 33 -34 when a foreigner resides
among you in your land do not mistreat them the
foreigner residing among you must be treated
as your native born love them as yourself for
you are foreigners in egypt i am the lord your
god Furthermore, God says that I will send you
myself. I will send you my son, Jesus, from a
small, poor family in a rustic country town that
is looked down upon. So much so that the disciple
Nathaniel is infamous, I'll say, upon hearing
that the one that they had been waiting for has
come. He says, Nazareth? Can anything good come
from there? That's how they viewed. Yet that's
what God chose. God breaks down systems of favoritism
based on your past and where you come from. So
I hope you see even parts of your story in just
these examples, but they're all over. That God
is working with his people to break down systems
throughout history by lifting up those that don't
fit. And they all have something in common. James
sums it up here at the end of this passage. It
says, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs
over judgment. God has continually shown great
mercy where people have shown judgment. When
people were wrong to participate and build these
systems, God shows us how to mercifully pursue
those that have been burdened by it. And yet,
we continue to see mercy as a kind of injustice.
By offering mercy to someone who deserves punishment,
it feels like a breach of justice, right? That's
not what you deserve. But, again, justice isn't
weighted scales. We're not trying to outweigh
the bad with good. Biblical justice is about
restoration. It's about healthy. about righting
what is wrong, and mercy is the best way to get
there. Zechariah 7 .9 says as much. It says,
This is what the Lord Almighty said. Administer
true justice. Show mercy and compassion to one
another. True justice. Show mercy and compassion.
Compassion, not punishment. So to James' point
he made in chapter one about not just listening
to the word and so deceive yourselves, but do
what it says. All this sounds great in theory,
right? Like we talked about we can find the nuances
and we can figure out how we should think about
this and what we should believe and how other
people should do these things. But what does
it look like practically for us? Well, it may
look like willingly stepping into something that
is uncomfortable. May look like something, willingly
stepping into something that is difficult. And
we get a little bit of a blueprint of this in
Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25. Verses 35 and
36 reads, For I was hungry, and you gave me something
to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something
to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick,
and you took care of me. I was in prison, and
you visited me. James shows us we can't even
have an opportunity to do these things when we
live in partiality. When you have partiality
and favoritism towards the people closest to
us, or like those like the rich man who come
in and we think, I'm going to stick next to this
guy because he's going to boost my status, or
he's going to help me out. When you take a closer
look at what that list entails, it's quite extensive.
Food, water, clothing, the essentials, right?
That can be hard enough sometimes. But it keeps
going. It goes to housing, safety, and care.
And this list implies much more than basic necessities.
Much more than basic necessities. It is a full
invitation into life. to friendship and advocacy,
to lifting one another up, to iron sharpening
iron participation in a community. It's a relationship.
And the last one on this list is what today we
might call extra, right? When I was in prison,
you visited me. What happened here, right? Prison?
Sure, the person might have done something accidental,
or maybe they came to Jesus while they were in
prison. We'll go visit those people. But the
implication is clear. The reason isn't given
because it's not needed. It is a call to justice
through mercy, the restoration of healthy relationships.
And we can say this is a hard thing to do. Because
it is. It's a hard thing to do. Justice takes
effort. It doesn't just happen. So consider it
great joy, says James. Because we often see joy
when it is next to something difficult or a trial.
And this is why James addresses our internal
perspective first in his letter. So that we,
here in chapter 2, can start to see how we are
to do justice. How we are to engage with people.
And this is what Jesus offers his church. Jesus
came to earth and lived a life in perfect relationship
with God. And for the joy set before him, he
endured the cross. In his death, in his resurrection,
in his ascension, he restored the relationship
we get to have with God. Man, the ultimate restoration
of relationship could not have happened without
mercy. Because we don't deserve that. We can't
earn that. That's mercy. That is by his mercy.
When we are hungry, he feeds us. When we are
thirsty, he gives us living water. When we are
a stranger to him, he welcomes us home. When
we're naked, he clothes us with righteousness.
And when we are sick, he takes care of us. And
when we are in the prison of our own sin, he
visits us. He does not abandon us. This is what
we too are to offer each other. This is what
it takes to imitate Jesus. He's not calling us
into right relationship just with God the Father,
but with each other. This is the justice he is
calling us into by imitating his mercy to restore
healthy relationships with those around us. We
can join the justice work that God is doing and
has been doing in breaking down the systems of
judgment. So engage others, engage each other
in mercy rather than favoritism, partiality.
and prejudice, because mercy triumphs over judgment.
You know, there's something interesting about
this idea of justice being more than just punishment
for wrongs. Vanessa Grace, can I have you pass
out this side? Caden, can I have you pass out
this side? If punishment fulfilled justice, if
punishment fulfilled justice, what would our
world look like? If that was it, what got me
was, what would our parenting look like if all
I did was punish my kids and never restore that
relationship? Justice is not satisfied with punishment.
Punishment is a means to an end, yes, but not
the end itself. The end is repentance. The end
is renewal. The end is restoration. This is what
we are seeking. One way we get to share in all
of this is through communion. And communion is
the experience of forgiveness for our sins because
of the mercy God has shown us. It is the restoration
of relationship with our God, and we get to experience
it not alone, not in isolation, but as a community.
Take a moment and look around this room. This
is your church, not the building. Don't talk
about the building. Don't look at the walls.
Make that awkward eye contact with someone. This
is your church. And you may have chosen to come
through those doors and into this building, but
you don't get to choose who else walks through
those doors. Let us do justice by engaging in
relationships without preferential treatment.
Show mercy in place of judgment and start here.
Start here in this room. That's the goal of everyone
in this room, I think, right? That's what we're
pursuing, this right relationship. And then continue
on your employment, your hobbies, your vacations,
your grocery runs. Wherever you go, as you go,
engage others in mercy. So as a community that
seeks a right relationship, let's take this together.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took
the bread, saying, this is my body, broken for
you. Eat and do this in remembrance of me. After
the meal, he took the cup, saying, this is my
blood poured out for you. Drink and do this in
remembrance of me. Let's pray. Father, we just
thank you for this day and for this church. Lord,
I pray that you would engage our hearts and our
minds to sometimes step out of our comfort zone
in what we are used to. to make sure that we
are not operating in a system of preferential
treatment, Lord, that we can lift those up that
feel oppressed, that feel left out, or just feel
neglected. Lord, build relationships here in
this church that we may be a shining example
of your justice, that we may reflect and imitate
you. Lord, we just thank you for your forgiveness
of our sins. may continue to as we go out here
today to follow you and to know you