to open to Matthew chapter 5.
We've been in Matthew for several months now.
We finished the Beatitudes last week. We see Matthew presenting Christ
as the true Messiah, calling out his people, beginning with the disciples, and
then what are the characteristics of those who live in the kingdom of God.
And today we're going to move on from their character to the behavior.
In verse 13, Jesus speaking, and he's speaking to a group of people that
gathered primarily to his disciples,
then by extension to those who are around listening to him.
He says, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how
shall it be seasoned?
It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden,
nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives
light to all who are in the house.
And here's the command,
let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works
and then glorify your Father in heaven.
Father, would you help us this morning, Lord?
Would we pray for, Lord, your presence?
Or would we pray for your spirit, Lord, God, your spirit to help,
to anoint,
for unction, Lord?
God, we pray, Lord, that you would give us listening ears and receptive hearts to the
truth of your word.
Cut open blinded eyes and remove, Lord, the deafness from ears, and Lord, let them
hear and let them see.
Father, this is what your church is to be, to be salt and light in the culture.
God, help us this morning, we pray.
May we hear from heaven
and when we bow before you now and we thank you, Lord, that you will speak to us and you
will meet with us,
for this is the promise given to us in the sacred scriptures.
And we pray this through Jesus in his name, amen.
Charles Spurgeon is that great British theologian. He said, the sermons most needed
today are actually the sermons in shoes.
So what did he mean by that? Sermon in shoes.
He meant that we need to go from
abstract theological principles
to understanding the practical outworking of theology in our lives.
It's not just enough to have a head full of knowledge, but how does that knowledge
impact our lives?
Or in other words, we need to put into practice what we've been taught.
And that's what we're seeking to do today.
Now for a few months now, we have been studying in the Sermon on the Mountain.
For a few months actually, we're in just the first ten verses with the Beatitudes.
And we said those Beatitudes are actually character qualities
that describe those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
These are the qualities of someone who lives in the kingdom of God.
Now the danger would be to say those
qualities get you into the kingdom.
That it is by having those qualities that you earn a place in God's kingdom.
That's not at all what he's saying.
They are characteristic of those who are now in the kingdom.
Now this morning, we're going to seek to move from the character
of those living in the kingdom to their behavior.
So we have a passage before us,
and this passage speaks of influence.
And he's writing primarily to, he's speaking primarily to the church,
to the disciples.
So the church, or Christians collectively,
are called to be men and women for influence for righteousness.
Or in other words, the church is called to be both salt and light in our culture.
Now we'll say this at the very beginning.
As salt, the church fights corruption.
We hold back decay.
But as light, the church reveals truth.
We are to promote righteousness.
We are to preach the gospel.
So we could say it this way.
Negatively, the church seeks to stop the spread of sin.
We want to be a preserving force.
Positively, the church is seeking to spread righteousness.
So needless to say, all this means the church and the Christians are to be an
influential force in this world.
She has influenced the culture rather than the culture influencing her.
So what I would say is the presence of God's people should, ought to make
society more just, more righteous, and I would go so far as to say even more stable.
When you have Christians or believers living as citizens of heaven in this
fallen world, we will have an influence on other people.
Some of the influence will be good and some will be bad.
You and I aren't sufficient for these things.
In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul said this, for we are to God the fragrance of Christ
among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
Meaning Christians have a scent, if you will, is the analogy.
And this scent follows us everywhere.
To the one, those who are being saved, it is the Roma, no, excuse me,
to those who are perishing, it is the Roma of death leading to death.
But to the ones who are being saved, it is the Roma of life leading to life.
And who is sufficient for these things?
What is Paul saying?
To some, he's saying by your presence in their lives, you're going to have an
attractive and alluring scent, metaphorically.
And yet to others, that very same scent will smell like a rotting corpse.
It'll be all pudding.
They'll want nothing to do with it.
Some will accept this message that we bring and some are going to actually
reject it.
Some are going to embrace it and others are going to seek to persecute us for
even delivering it.
So if we're called to be an influential force as the church,
how do we influence culture?
Well, very first thing that goes without saying, if you and
I are going to have an influence on anyone, we need to be around them.
We need to be present with them.
We should not seek to isolate ourselves from this lost world.
And yet at the very same time, church, we must never live like the lost world.
And I think one real problem, and this is a great problem,
is that the world has a greater influence on the church
than the church is having on the world.
And so we need to understand, this is a very serious thing.
I mean, why does this world, why do they even need us to be salt and light?
Well, the world needs salt because it is rancid, it's corrupt.
The Bible says the world lies in wickedness.
Now they don't know they lie in wickedness, they don't see that they lie
in wickedness, but this is what the world says.
And they need us to be light because the world lies in spiritual darkness.
They don't know the truth, and listen,
they are incapable of understanding the truth.
Now we could look around and this would go on forever.
There are numerous examples of our culture's darkness.
I mean, there are so many warning signs that you and
I are living in a culture that is in terrible crisis.
And I would say the number one sign, and
that's the one evil that all these flow from, is an expressive individualism.
Everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
We hear this today, you do you, and I will do me.
So here's what we say, and there's so many, and I didn't want to cherry pick, but
you and I live in a time that says, if you feel like you were born in the wrong body,
then surgically mutilate and change your body so
you can have the body that fits you, the one that you want.
They see gender as fluid, not as fixed by God.
Right now in the United States of America, we live in a culture that has legalized and
said it is good, it is righteous if two men or two women want to unite in marriage.
We live in a culture that absolutely thinks that marriage is outdated.
They believe it is wise, it is good for
a couple to live together outside the bonds of marriage.
Our culture will celebrate that, because they do not believe that marriage was
instituted by God and that he is the one who alone determines its use.
We live in our culture that says if you are a lady and
you find yourself with an unwanted pregnancy, it's admirable and
even courageous for you to end the life of the child in your womb.
Because abortion is just a reproductive right.
They don't believe in the sanctity of life, all human life, from womb to tomb.
They don't believe that humans uniquely bear the imago dei,
that the image of God is stamped upon each individual and
therefore they have inherent worth.
So all we can do, and again, we don't want to just simply point out what is dark.
But we can see that in virtually every facet of society, whether that being
government, in education, in the arts, in literature, in entertainment,
you see corruption, all of it is corrupt.
And right now our society, the one that you and
I live here in the United States of America, the western world,
we're in a moral free fall and we're spiraling downward at breakneck speed.
But not enough people are raising their voices to cry against it.
Says for all these reasons and a host more that the world desperately needs
the light of the church to guide them into truth.
Why?
Because Christians rightly can see the decay in the world.
But have we ever thought that we might be part of the problem?
In 2023, a Gallup poll was taken and 68% of Americans called themselves Christians.
That was a year ago.
By the way, in 1990, it was 85%.
So 68%, we're losing ground.
But so that's nearly one third of Americans say no, but
two thirds of Americans say they are.
So there are 330 million people in the USA.
68% will be about 224 million of the 330
million claim to be Christians who are united to Christ in faith.
Christianity has always been the majority religion in this country.
But here's what I would say to you.
If there are even close to 224 million Christians in this country,
how in the world did we ever get ourselves into the mess we're in today?
Could it be that the church has been more influenced by the world than
the world has influenced the church?
Far too many professing Christians have their values fixed, but
they haven't fixed by society rather than by the scriptures.
There are many who profess faith in Christ, many, 224 million Americans.
And yet so many have their lives indistinguishable from their unsaved pagan
neighbors.
I believe there are many tears, many false professors in the church of
the word Jesus Christ today.
And so I also think there's far too many Christians who have failed to live as salt
and light in this dark world.
So that's the problem.
And it's easy to see the problem.
But what is the solution?
Well, the word Jesus said, first of all, it's salt.
Look at the verses again.
You are the salt of the earth.
And that pronoun, you, it is an emphatic pronoun.
It's a plural pronoun.
So the Lord is speaking to his disciples, and
he's speaking by extension to all who are there on that day listening to him and
following him.
So this pronoun that is emphatic means that you, the church collectively, and
only the church is the salt of the earth.
There is no other salt apart from the people of God.
The body of Christ is the salt of the earth.
Now think about the metaphor the Lord is using.
How much taste does one grain of salt add to a meal?
Not much.
But when you combine it with other salt, it adds a lot of taste.
And that's what the Lord is saying here.
One Christian living in the world, yes, it helps.
But the influence is going to be minimal compared to the influence of all
God's church in holding back corruption.
One small ray of light, not that powerful.
But many rays of light coming together can affect a great change.
Now it's interesting that the Lord Jesus said that the church is the salt of
the earth.
Christians do not make themselves salt.
Christians do not make themselves light.
The Lord simply said they are salt and light.
But they are salt and light only because and
if they have been born again by the Spirit of God.
If you know Christ and you belong to him, that means the Spirit of God has taken up
residence within you and by virtue of this new birth, this radical change,
you and I are now salt and light in the Lord.
As salt, you were to hold back decay.
That means your life ought to be a righteous testimony to the precepts of God.
Think back in Genesis chapter 18 when God was talking to Abraham and
he was going to destroy Sodom.
And God said he would spare Sodom if he could find just a few righteous people in
the city.
And then the same way, right now the presence of the followers of the Lord
Jesus within this world preserves it from destruction.
I personally believe that one of the reasons that our nation has not faced
harsher judgment is because of the presence of God's people in this country.
Now we are under judgment.
I believe God's lifting his hands and I think there's many evidences of that.
But I think one of the reasons we've not seen sharper and
harsher judgment is because of God's people.
And yet God's people are the ones that are looked at as the pariah of society.
They look at and they think you're the problem, we're the problem.
Outdated, harsh, bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic.
And yet Jesus said no, you're the salt of the earth.
Not only salt of the earth, you are the salt for the earth.
Now why is he using that metaphor?
Because if you think back to the time when Jesus lived,
the ancient world, they had no source of refrigeration.
So if they were going to preserve meat, which was very expensive,
they wanted to keep it from spoiling so
they would cover it really, really abundantly in salt.
And salt was such an important part.
John MacArthur said this, salt has always been valuable in human society,
often much more than it is today.
The Romans held that except for the sun, nothing was more valuable than salt.
Often Roman soldiers were paid in salt and
it was from that practice that the expression not worth his salt originated.
Salt was frequently used in the ancient near east to bind a covenant,
somewhat in the way an agreement or a contract is notarized in our day.
When the parties took covenant eight salt together before witnesses,
the covenant was given special authentication.
Salt has always stood for that which is of high value and importance.
Now that's the background Jesus said his church, his followers are the salt.
Why?
Just as that salt preserved that meat from decay, so
also we are preserving influence in a decaying culture.
This is what we're called to be.
Well, how do we do that?
Well, first of all, the church has two jobs.
We preach the gospel and we rightly administer the sacraments.
But if you would look around, the church has done,
historically has done a pretty good job.
Who was it that was responsible primarily for
the higher education in the western world?
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was the church who started hospitals in the western world.
It was the Christian church who sought to take care of orphans and
thus began the orphanage movement in the western world.
The church has always stood for and promoted truth and beauty and righteousness.
And that's what we're to do today.
We are to take a stand and stand for those things that promote human flourishing.
And yet we're not doing this.
So not only are we to advance righteousness, that's light, but
there's a corrupting influence of the world and we're gonna hold that back.
Your presence, your voice, your light, ought to be preserving influence.
But what if we lost it?
What if the church fails in her job?
Look at verse 13, the latter part.
If the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
It is in good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Salt that can't season is useless.
And salt that has lost its flavor cannot be re-seasoned.
I know that technically NACL salt can never lose its flavor, but
this salt had other properties.
It wasn't pure salt like we think of.
So I know some of you scientists are like, technically I get it.
So let me just stop there and we're going on, okay?
So what is the benefit of salt if it no longer enhances flavor, the word said?
Well clearly he's not talking about salt, he's talking about his people.
And this is the truth.
The church can only influence the world, get this,
if you and I are distinct from them.
We will never influence the world by becoming like the world.
If we're not distinct from them, then our message is obscured.
The mission is compromised.
I love what G.
Campbell Morgan said.
He said, the church did most for
the world when the church was least like the world, amen.
Today, many churches have the idea that they must imitate the world,
nor did it reach the world.
A nation will not decay and collapse because of the people who peddle
pornography or illicit drugs.
We would all yet will.
No, why will a nation collapse?
Because of Christians who are no longer salt and light.
There's no longer any truth and there's no longer any preserving influence.
Sinners will act like sinners.
Yes, don't be surprised if your unsaved neighbor acts unsaved.
But when saints begin to act like sinners, their compromise hurts not only
themselves, their families and churches, but
also contributes to the decay of the entire nation.
I believe that's what we're seeing today, lived out in our very country.
Our world is in decay.
But the other problem with not just our society, but
all societies in general, is that they lie in darkness.
So if darkness is a problem, what's the answer?
Light.
Light is a universal religious symbol.
It's not unique to Christianity.
Every major world religion uses it.
In the sacred scriptures, we have light referring to purity, holiness,
the truth of God, knowledge, divine revelation.
And once again, here our Lord is looking to his followers and
saying, you are the light of the world.
Once more, you is an emphatic pronoun.
Emphatic means only the church is the light of the world and
it's the church collectively.
It's plural here.
Look at verse 14.
You are the light of the world, a city that sat on a hill cannot be hid.
Now when we say that the world lies in darkness, again, it's obvious we're
speaking metaphorically, this is a spiritual darkness.
But the problem is that those who live in darkness cannot perceive truth.
They don't get it.
Why, their understanding, Ephesians 2 says their understanding is darkened.
So they do have knowledge, but
whatever knowledge they have doesn't lead them toward truth,
it leads them away from truth.
It doesn't lead them to the one true God,
it'll lead them to fabricate idols in their hearts.
They're unaware of their own depravity.
They're unaware of the wickedness of their own heart.
And so their entire lives has been warped by this inability to see the light of God.
They're estranged from God, they're cut off from God.
That's what happened in Genesis 3.
So now there's no light in their life from God, there's no divine revelation, so
they are impaired morally.
Which is why the church of the Lord Jesus Christ must take the light to dark places.
Salt preserves, but what does light do?
It reveals.
And the church has a prophetic role in the culture to witness to the truth of God.
We must, and it may be unpopular, it may not be fun,
but we must publicly herald the truth.
And it's not just pastors who are called to do this, all of God's people.
Salt, be salt, hold back corruption, but be light and penetrate the darkness.
Well, what is the source of the church's light?
Well, obviously the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the true light of the world.
In John 8-12, he said, I'm the light of the world.
He who follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.
John 9-5, as long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world.
But now our Lord is no longer physically in this world, and he says his people,
his church is the light of the world.
Ephesians 5-8, for you, now listen, this is all of us, for you were once darkness.
But now you are light in the Lord, and since you are, walk as children of light.
But I want you to notice something.
Notice what he didn't say in Ephesians 5-8.
He didn't say that you were once in the darkness.
He said you were once darkness.
That's who you were.
But now you are light.
If we could use this analogy, it's like Christ is the sun, and
you and I are like the moon reflecting his light.
The light doesn't originate within us, the light is reflected through us.
That's why we need salt and light.
Salt works secretly, but light works openly.
Salt's gonna work from within, light will work from without.
And that's what the church is to be.
Salt is really the way in which we live our lives, but
light is communicating the gospel.
It's not enough just to keep back decay, we've gotta spread truth.
So we need to proclaim the gospel, and we need lives that back up the claim of
the gospel.
Spurgeon said, I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen.
Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.
This is James 2.
He says, what good does it say, my friend, if you have faith and
your faith does nothing in your life?
It doesn't do, it's a dead faith.
If your faith is not moving you and causing you to shine as a light and
to be salt in a preserving force, it may be a dead faith.
He said, a city that is set on a hill can't be hid.
It's impossible, a city that's set up there, I love what Lawrence Farley said.
He said, Jesus compares the disciples to a city atop a mountain.
Such a city is not able to be hidden, but light from within shines in the night,
guiding all the weary travelers to safety within its walls.
The church, the city of God is the same, and
its function is to illumine the world.
In the ancient Near East, in the Holy Land,
many villages were actually built on top of hills.
There was no electricity, there was no lamp posts,
there was no freeways with lights on them to illuminate a path.
So there are people who traveled at night, but they would be dependent upon those
lamps in the windows of the houses on top of that hill in the next village to guide them.
At night, those lamps in the windows would shine, and
travelers could then know the way to the location of the next village,
because they simply followed the light that was on top of the hill.
That's what was going on here.
So the light stands out in darkness, and the point that Jesus is making is that
you're alive in my life ought to stand out in the darkness as well.
We're to be conspicuous.
Now the problem again, and all this is balanced,
some have tried to make the Christian's distinction merely external.
Well, just as how you wear your hair, the way you dress, or the music you listen to.
No, that's not what he's talking about here.
What is so distinct about the Christian?
His character.
That's the context.
The Christian is poor in spirit.
He knows he has no righteousness.
He is mourned over his sin.
He is meek before God.
He hungers and thirsts for righteousness.
Because he's received mercy from God, he gives mercy to others.
God has made him pure in heart, and he desires to be an ambassador for peace.
He makes peace.
And as we looked at last week, he's even willing to suffer for his Lord, if need be.
Our lives are a witness to having been called out of darkness and
into God's marvelous light.
Peter, the apostle said this, you church are a chosen generation.
You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people.
Why?
So that you can proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness and
into his marvelous light.
Friends, God has left you here as salt and light.
One of the functions is to expel the darkness.
Verse 15, they don't light a lamp and then put it under a basket?
I mean, that would be absurd, wouldn't it?
For those person living in that village at night on top of that hill to trim the wicks,
to light the lamp, and as soon as they did, put a big covering over it.
Put a big basket over it to hide the light.
That's defeating the purpose of even lighting the candle in the first place.
No, he said, you're gonna put a candle on the lamp stand, and
you're gonna lift it to a high place that give as much light in the house as possible.
What's true physically is true spiritually here.
A secret Christian is just as absurd as a hidden light.
If you know Christ and you love him,
you desire to bear witness for the one who died and rose again for you.
So what do we do?
We need to illumine the world, guide others home to salvation in Christ.
Now you preach the gospel and your life backs up the gospel.
Before coming to Christ, you were darkness, we just saw that.
But now you are light.
And since you're light, you are to walk as children of the light.
What does that even mean?
What's walking as children of light?
Goodness, truth, and beauty.
Ephesians 5, 9 says, the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and
true.
If it's good, it's right, it's true, it's light, it's of God.
But what you're doing, friends,
you're bearing witness to this claims of Christ and his saving mission.
That's what you're called to do.
So we have to lift up our voice whether we want to or not, we preach Christ, and
at the same time, we're also promoting what is good and right and true.
Now one of the criticisms that is often heard right now in our culture is that
the church should say out of politics.
And by the way, I don't care for politics.
The church has little to say about politics.
And what do I mean by that?
Now listen carefully before some of you start to throw stones.
What I mean is that I'm not interested as a church to talk about the tax code or
what highways ought to be built or what the speed limit on a freeway ought to be.
Church has nothing to say there.
But we have a whole lot to say on moral issues.
We have a whole lot to say on ethical issues.
The church is the only body qualified to speak on marriage,
to speak on human sexuality, to speak on sanctity of life issues.
They're gonna get it wrong, why?
They live in darkness.
They're unable to proclaim what is good.
They're gonna call good evil and evil good.
So the church, as a prophetic witness, we lift up our voice and
we say no, that is wrong.
Unbelievers will never promote truth and righteousness,
which is why the world needs a church to shine her light brightly as possible.
We must do it.
And by the way, don't dampen our light, because if our gospel's hid,
who is it hid to?
Those who are lost, it's hid to the perishing people.
So there's two problems, there's corruption and darkness.
There's two answers, salt and light.
And lastly, what's the ultimate purpose of all this?
Look at verse 16.
Everything in life is for the glory of God.
Verse 16, let your light so shine before men in such a way that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father who's in heaven.
How do Christians shine the light?
Through your good works.
The Puritan Thomas Brooks wrote this, he said,
a Christian's life should be nothing but a visible representation of Christ.
One author said, the good word without the good walk is of no avail.
It's useless.
Let me just say this, we're not the Pharisees.
We don't do works in order to be seen by men and receive the praise of others.
But we do wanna draw attention to how good our Lord is and
the one who's doing the good work in and through us.
Through our lives, we showcase God's saving work.
So our lives have to reflect two things, the mind of God and the will of God.
And you're saying, but if I do that, this is a very dark world.
When we shine our light like that, that may invite ridicule and even persecution.
Yes, it will. Look back at verse 10.
But others are gonna come and they're gonna see that light and
they're gonna give glory to God.
As I said at the beginning, we are not responsible for how people respond.
We're not.
But you and I are responsible for shining the light as brightly as possible.
We are shining, we are responsible for preaching the message.
D.A. Carson says, the kingdom norms, those are the Beatitudes, first 10 verses,
work out in the lives of the kingdom mayors, that's the followers of Christ,
as to produce the kingdom's witness, that's salt and light.
Most of us are familiar with the way previews work in movies,
and you see a clip or whatever and it'll be the funniest clip or the cutest or
the most action packed scene of the film that's soon to be released.
What's the purpose of those trailers or clips?
Well, they're to get you to whet your appetite so
you wanna see the entire movie when it comes out.
Well, one pastor said this, he said, there's a big show coming to town.
God is the producer, the Holy Spirit's the director, Jesus Christ is the star,
and in the meantime, God has left you and me to be the preview to this blockbuster
event.
You and I are to be the previews of the coming attraction so
that when people see us or get to know us,
they want to make sure they get to see the entire movie.
Their appetite is whetted, if you will.
So now what?
It's time to examine ourselves.
We have to look at the truth and if our culture is growing darker and
darker, could it be that believers are failing to live their lives of salt and
light as God has called us to?
I mean, are we cowards?
Are we afraid to invite the scorn of others?
Or are we worldly?
We've adopted their values and worldliness kills your Christian witness.
So again, the church corporately best do the work of the church.
We preach the gospel, we also pray, and we rightly admit our sacraments.
That's what we're doing today.
But listen, individuals, you will leave this assembly.
Tomorrow you will reenter the work world.
And Jesus Christ, your King, has called you to be salt and
light bearing fruit to him by your good works.
That's being a good employee, that's being truthful, that's being honest,
that's putting good to his work.
It's not gossiping.
All these things bear truth to Christ.
But the lost, there is no hope for them apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the true light and you and I are bearing witness to his light.
I close with this quote by Keith Matheson.
He said, as long as so much popular Christian thinking behavior is shaped by
the world rather than by scripture, nothing we do or
say is going to stop the spread of decay and darkness.
It will not matter who we elect.
It will not matter what causes or movements we support or oppose.
It will not matter how much and how angrily we tweet.
If the church ceases to be salt and light, everything we do is building,
everything else we do is building sand castles as a wave approaches.
Each of us needs to examine his own heart.
This is the church.
Each of us who claims to be a follower of Christ needs to ask himself
whether he understands what that truly entails.
If we are not by God's grace seeking individual and
corporate holiness as God commands, we will not be salt and light.
It's an impossibility.
The author of Hebrews says pursue holiness without which no man will see the Lord.
Church, it's time for judgment to begin here.
And if it begins here, what is the end of those who do not obey the gospel?
Let's pray.
Let's take a moment to examine our hearts, to bow before the Lord and
confess our sin, and to pray for those who need to see Jesus and
hear of him and what he has done for sinners like them.
Let's pray.
Father, this morning we take just a moment to humble ourselves, Lord.
God, we pray for the precious Holy Spirit to illumine our own hearts, Lord.
We can't discern our own motives, our own hearts, our own thoughts,
they get so jumbled up.
Lord, we need the gift of the Holy Spirit to open us, Lord.
Show us, Lord, where we have allowed worldliness, idolatry.
Lord, where we have failed you in this, Lord.
God, show us, Lord, how we have failed, Lord God, as your people,
to be the preserving influence and the light revealers in this culture.
Forgive us or truly forgive us.
Have mercy upon us.
Lord, some are, Lord, they're bored with Christianity,
they're bored with the church, worship means nothing.
Lord God, forgive us, Lord.
Forgive us, Lord.
Forgive us for anemic, weak worship.
God, turn our eyes toward heaven, let us see the glory of God in Christ.
Lord, let us fall on our faces before you confessing our sin and
begging for a work of your spirit in us, Lord.
Lord, let it begin here.
Lord, forgive us, Lord, for the way that we have failed in this mission.
Forgive us for our loose living.
Forgive us, Lord, that our lives are virtually indistinguishable from
the world around us.
Lord, help us to preach the robust gospel.
Christ is king and he is Lord.
And would we bow before him.
Jesus is the only way of salvation, it's what he has done.
But God, we come to you today.
And we're so very thankful that the throne of judgment is now the throne of
mercy for your people.
Let us receive grace and mercy to help us in this time of need.
Strengthen us, Father, and one of the ways you do so, Lord,
is through the sacraments, through the table of the Lord.
Strengthen our weak faith, nourish us, Lord.
Lord, let us commune with Christ as we feast upon him, Lord.
And God, we're reminded of the covenant promises that all those in Christ
have received remission of sins through his shed blood.
What a great God you are.
What a kind and merciful savior you are.
Would you meet with us now?
We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.