Sermon
Abraham
August 8, 2004
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'll invite you to take your Bibles and open to the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis chapter 12. You know many Christians mistakenly equate the word old, as in Old Testament, with antiquated or outdated. The Old Testament is neither antiquated nor outdated. For out of the books of the Old Testament are those that were written before the life of the Christ and foretell the plan of God's salvation. Books from the New Testament were written after the life of Christ confirming the fulfillment of what had been promised and explaining events as they relate to the redemption of mankind. The New Testament explains and describes how God fulfilled his promises in and through the person of Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior.

Abraham is a very significant person in the history of Christianity, in fact, the very first verse of the New Testament contains three names; a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Galatians 3:16 says the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed' meaning one person who is Christ. God spoke to Abraham informing him that through his lineage Christ the Redeemer would be born.

Now Abraham's name was Abram before God changed it in chapter 17, and I'm going to call him Abraham. Abraham's name is referenced 70 times in the New Testament and over 200 times in the Old Testament. He is a central figure in Hebrew's chapter 11, a chapter that many theologians have named the Believers Hall of Fame. The fascinating story of Abraham's life is told between chapters 12 and 25 in the book of Genesis.

The life of Abraham is an example for all Christians who want to walk by faith. Abraham obeyed God even though he did not know the where, the how, the when, or the why. God did not give Abraham explanations; he did give him promises. Abraham was saved by faith, lived by faith, and his obedience was evidence of his faith. We are not saved by making promises to God; rather, we are saved by believing God's promises to us.

Genesis 15:6 says, Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. The writer of Romans says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. The original word for righteousness is defined as a condition acceptable to God. The original word for credited is defined as to pass to one's account or to impute. Abraham did not receive righteousness as the result of obeying the Ten Commandments or the laws of Moses, those were yet to be written 400 years in the future. Nor did Abraham receive righteousness by circumcision, which was more than 14 years in future. Righteousness was credited to his account because Abraham believed God.

Whether it be in the Old Testament or the New Testament, righteousness is always the result of believing God. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. Who will enjoy everlasting life? Those who believe in God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God or be acceptable or righteous, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Now because of our time limitations today we're only going to be able to get a flavor of Abraham's life, but from his successes and his failures we can gain some insights that will help us in our journey of faith.

Reading from Genesis chapter 12: The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Now if you like to mark your Bible, you might want underline the word 'will'. This was the first communication by God to Abraham that's recorded in Genesis, and when God called Abraham he was around 75 years old.

Now, usually, people by the time they are seventy-five are pretty settled. And God told Abraham to leave all that was familiar and secure and journey to a destination that was not defined. The writer of Hebrews says in 11:8, Abraham by faith, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. God said move. He moved. Walking by faith often requires stepping into the unknown.

God made this promise to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Now you might want to underline that last phrase 'all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.' Many people forget that the reason God blesses us is so that we can bless others.

I've been around religious people who arrogantly consider themselves superior to others because they are blessed; perhaps you have as well. They forget that they were not intended to be a container of blessing, but rather a pipeline of blessing. They were blessed so that they can bless others. God so loved the world. Not just the believers, not just good people, not just Christians, God loved the world.

So Abraham left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abraham left as the Lord had told him, except for one thing, he allowed Lot to travel along. Now God had specifically told Abraham that he was to leave his father's household, which Lot was a part, Lot was his nephew, and Lot created some challenges for Abraham along the way.

Now when we begin a journey of faith, a new birth, a new beginning, a new life, some connections to the old life can cause distraction. Sometimes God calls people out of their circle of influence when that circle of influence is detrimental to their spiritual welfare. The influences could be from family or friends or work or anything or anyone that distracts us from giving foremost attention to God. God wanted to give Abraham a new beginning and that meant leaving behind people, places, and things that might cause distraction, but Abraham allowed Lot to come along.

Abraham was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, who was later in chapter 17 renamed Sarah, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abraham traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abraham and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

The altar and the tent marked the life of Abraham. The tent marked him as a stranger and Pilgrim who did not belong to this world. Even though as we shall see, the land was given to Abraham as a possession; the land did not possess him. Even though he lived there many decades and was very wealthy and could have built homes, in fact mansions, or even a city, Abraham chose to live in tents.

The writer of Hebrews again tells us why: By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. Why? For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Canaan was not the promised land that Abraham was looking to inherit. Rather Abraham was looking forward to settling down in a celestial city, a heavenly city whose maker and builder was God.

Now many believers are tempted to put down roots in this world -- Lot did. Ultimately, all that this world has to offer will be taken away. Investing in this world is a poor investment indeed. Believers are pilgrims in this world. This world is not our home, we're just passing through.

Not only did the tent mark the life of Abraham, but also the altar marked him as a worshiper of the true and living God, and whenever Abraham abandoned his altar and tent he got into trouble. And it didn't take very long because we continue to read in the next verse: Now there was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down to Egypt to live there for a while because God called him there. That's not what it says, is it? It says, because the famine was severe.

One of the characteristics of the Holy Scriptures is they do not hide the failures of the saints. With all of his successes, King David had his failures recorded for all to see. So did Jonah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and other biblical saints. God did not tell Abraham to go to Egypt. There is no mention of an altar or a tent in Egypt. Instead of remaining in the land that God had called him to and depending upon God for provision, Abraham's faith wavered and he fled the land, the famine, and retreated to Egypt. And because Abraham did not believe that God could protect him there, Abraham resorted to scheming. Pete Quist says, faith is living without scheming.

When someone stops trusting in God they begin to depend upon their own resourcefulness and the resources of this world, and that's what Abraham did.

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

Now I've got to say, Sarah must been dropped dead gorgeous. Let's see if we can get a picture here. Egypt was a place where physical beauty was very highly valued. They had refined facial makeups. You can remember from the History Channel seeing some exposés on Egypt. They had designer ware. They wanted to look good so bad they even created embalming so that you would look good a hundred years after he died. Egyptians knew how to look good. Now into this land of beauties rides a woman at least 65 years old.

We know from Genesis 17:17 that she is about ten years younger than Abraham and Abraham left Haran when he was seventy-five, so she would have been at least 65, and she would have been more than that by now. And even surrounded by beautiful young maidens who served in the court, she was described as being VERY beautiful. In fact she was so beautiful that she got the attention of another king, King Abimelech, at the age of almost 90! She must been dropped dead gorgeous.

Now there is another interesting fact about Sarah, she was Abraham's half-sister. When King Abimelech confronted Abraham about his deception, Abraham said, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife."

Now you may ask, is there a law against marrying your half-sister, and the answer is, yes. The passage is found in Leviticus. It's chapter 18. God gives instructions concerning sexual relations. In verse 9 we find these words: Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. Because Sarah was the daughter of Abraham's father, this verse would describe their situation perfectly; however, the verse was written over 400 years after the life of Abraham, and therefore didn't apply to Abraham.

Coming back to the story then -- But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abraham's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abraham. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abraham to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abraham had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. Now some might think, hey, this didn't turn out so bad. After all, Abraham ended up wealthy and Sarah had a new handmaid, but the fact of the matter is that everything that Abraham brought back from Egypt caused grief. Because of the great wealth there was the family separation, and the handmaid that was now in the service of Sarah provided a grievous shortcut to God's plan.

From Negev he went or wandered from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abraham called on the name of the LORD. Now although Abraham had abandoned his walk of faith by going to Egypt, God did not abandon him. Abraham returned to the place where he had last met God and called upon God for forgiveness and restoration. And even though Abraham had failed, he was not a failure because he returned to worshiping God. God is the God of new beginnings. God is the God of second chances, and second second chances, and second second second chances.

We as believers can abandon our faith, but Abraham's model gives us a clue on how to restore our walk with God. Return to the place where you left him and worship him there.

Now in the interest of time let me summarize the following chapters. Quarreling broke out between the households of Abraham and Lot, and it resulted in the households separating. Abraham being the older had the right to first choice, but we have an insight into his character, he was a very generous man. He instead gave Lot the opportunity to make first choice of land, and we have an insight into the character of Lot, because Lot was selfish and he chose the best land for himself. He moved into the plains that were outside of Sodom, eventually moved just outside of the city, and then he moved into the city of Sodom.

Now Sodom and four other cities had been giving four kings tribute, and we have here a situation where Sodom decides it's no longer going to give tribute, and we have the first war in Scriptures. Now when Abraham found out that Lot had been captured and was taken into captivity, he could have said, well, good riddance. Now I can have the best land to myself. But that's not what Abraham decided. In fact, Abraham rode over 150 miles in the night to overtake the enemy and then chased him 100 miles.

And as the victor Abraham had the right to the spoils of war, but he declined to accept them, and he explains why to the king of Sodom. He says, I have raised up my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abraham rich.' Abraham declined to spoils of war because he did not want to distract from God getting the glory for the victory.

And then he continues, he says, "I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share." Although he would not accept the spoils of war, he did not demand that others would do the same. Christians may live to glorify God, but we should not expect or demand others to do likewise.

Now Abraham was met by another king that day, King Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abraham, saying, "Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

This is the first reference in the Scriptures to the tithe. Tithe means ten or tenth, and some believers mistakenly think that the tithe was part of the laws of Moses and that Christ somehow rescinded the laws of Moses and therefore the tithe. But Abraham gave his tithe to the Lord through Melchizedek more than 400 years before Moses wrote the law.

Hebrews chapter 7 references and gives further explanation to this interaction between the King Melchizedek and Abraham.

Now Genesis chapter 15 contains an account of what was then called cutting a covenant. Parties would tear animals apart and walk between the parts, in effect declaring that if they didn't keep their promise they deserved to be treated like these animals. But this covenant was a little unusual because only God passed between the pieces. It was a one-sided covenant. God made a promise, but required none in return.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abraham and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." And then there's a passage in here, in God's revelation of the future he mentions something rather intriguing. He says, the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. It's as though God is somehow measuring sin and that there is a certain measure of sin that will trigger and result in judgment. And the fact that God would tolerate the accumulation of sin for more than four centuries, reveals just how patient and merciful God is. God gave them 400 years to choose to repent. How great is the mercy of God.

Chapter 16 -- Abraham and Sarah decide that God needs some help, and once again faith is replaced by scheming. In fact, Sarah's words seem to suggest that she's rather inpatient and disappointed with God. She says, the Lord has kept me from having children, so go and sleep with my maidservant perhaps I can build a family through her. And Abraham agreed to what Sarah said. So after Abraham had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarah his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. And that was never recognized; she's always called servant or slave thereafter.

He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarah said to Abraham, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering." Here we have an example of a dysfunctional family. Sarah is impatient, emotional, and manipulative. Abraham is willing to set aside what he knows his right to please his wife, and himself. Sarah seems to forget about this scene is her own idea to begin with and blames Abraham. Then Abraham neglects his responsibility to protect a person in his household from abuse.

"Your servant is in your hands. Do with her what you think best," Abraham said. And then Sarah ill-treated Hagar; so she fled from her. Now Hagar's flight did not escape the attention of the Lord. He found her, the Scriptures says, next to a spring, he listened to her lament, he encouraged her, and he gave her guidance. Genesis 16:13 says that Hagar gave the Lord a name that day. She said, "You are the God who sees me." God saw an Egyptian handmaid, and God declared the future of an unborn child.

Hebrews 4:13 says, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Is God interested in a little Egyptian handmaid? Yes. Is God interested in the future of an unborn child? Yes.

Now Ishmael, the son of Hagar, became the father of the Arab nations, and there have been some who have blamed Abraham for centuries of unrest in the Middle East. And part of this is due to a description that God ascribes to Ishmael. He says in 16:12, He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all of his brothers.

Some have thought that Ishmael was living under a curse, but Genesis 17 clarifies that, God says, And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.

Chapter 18 - Abraham is taking his mid-day nap. The Middle East can be very hot in mid-day. And it's not normal for travelers to be traveling in the heat of the day but he gets a visit from three travelers. Hospitality is a characteristic of Middle Eastern cultures and should be a characteristic of Christians, and it's a requirement for leaders of the church, and Abraham gave his very best for these visitors. The meal's ingredients included the finest flour, the most tender and flavorful meat, and although he was a sheik and had many servants that he could have assigned to serve his guests, Abraham chose to serve his guests personally. He gave God his very best. This contrasts with what the priests gave to God in the days of Malachi.

Now at some point it becomes obvious to Abraham and Sarah they are hosting heavenly travelers. Verse 10 says, the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah was listening. Sarah laughed. Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'" and he says, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"

You know that's a question that every believer should ask yourself...is there anything too hard for the Lord? Because if there is anything too hard for the Lord, we are not talking about the Lord. Jesus said with God all things are possible.

"I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." We now know that Sarah could be emotional, manipulative, and now it's revealed that she lies-even tried to lie to God. And there's another insight that we get into Sarah's character when after having birthed Isaac and around the age of 90 years she says this, she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Now notice that she is around 90 years old, but it's Abraham who suffers from old age. It reminds me of when I found out I was going to be a dad and I went to my dad and I said, dad, I'm going to be a dad. And he thought for a moment and said I wonder what it's going to be like to be married to a grandma.

Now in chapters 18 and 19 God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross wickedness. Lot is now inside the city. He's at the city gates. He sees two visitors and he insists upon them coming into the protection of his household, but the men of the city find out about the guests and verse 4 says, Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

In the city, state, nation of Sodom, if you were not a predator, you were the prey; if you were not a perpetrator, you were the victim. There was no government to run to for protection, and such is the state when godless parties of men run a city, a state, or a nation. Now Lot tries to negotiate - he even offers his two virgin daughters - but their appetites are insatiable. And the angels strike the men of the city with blindness, they command Lot to gather up any loved ones, and flee the city because it's going to come under judgment. It's only he, his wife, and his two daughters that escape. His wife disobeys a direct command, she looks back on the city, and she turns into a pillar of salt and burning sulfur rains down on the cities of the plain including Sodom and Gomorrah and they are destroyed.

The story of Lot is very sad. You see he set out on a journey of faith walking beside the man who would one day be called the father of faith, and yet Lot did not inherit Abraham's faith. The New Testament identifies Lot as a righteous man, but he was living near the margins. In fact, the New Testament uses him as a description of how not to live by faith.

Lot was attracted to the passing treasures of this world. And although Abraham could take Lot out of Egypt, he could not take Egypt out of Lot. There was no reference to Lot ever building an altar, and instead of living in a tent he chose to reside in a city where, according to 2 Peter 2:8, he was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.

And though at one time he was a very rich man, so rich that he could not coexist with his uncle, by the end of his life we find Lot hiding fearfully in a cave, destitute, and drunk. His daughters committed incest in order to protect the family line. It's a sad ending for a man who began with such promise. Such is the danger of a believer who does not live with a tent and an altar.

Now one might think that after walking with God between 20 and 25 years, almost at the age of 100, of seeing God destroy the cities of the plain, and the many things that Abraham had seen, that he would have little to fear, but chapter 20 sounds like it's a repeat of chapter 12...except that instead of it being the land of Egypt it's the land of Gerar, and instead of the king's name being pharaoh it's Abimelech. You see not only did Abraham make mistakes, he repeated them.

Have you ever repeated a mistake? I think all of us have repeated them. And I think we should find some comfort in the fact that the father of faith could make repetitive mistakes and recover. You know it's remarkable how unbelievers think they know how believers should act, and when we are less than perfect we're accused of being bigots or hypocrites. It's as though according to their expectations we should have arrived at some form of perfection. That is an unreasonable expectation. Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.

Abraham made many mistakes in his life. He even repeated them. And even the accumulated experience and wisdom of living for almost a century did not protect him from making mistakes, and repeating them. I don't know about you, but for me, that gives me hope. That gives me hope.

Now the Jews trace their lineage to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In fact, the Bible describes two categories of mankind; the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are called Jews, everyone else is called Gentile. Christianity breaks down that wall of distinction and separation.

Romans 10:11 says, As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." So then there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. Christianity breaks down that wall.

Christianity does share roots with Judaism. I mean, Jesus was Jewish, the apostles were Jewish, including the apostle Paul who was the apostles to the Gentiles; he was also Jewish, and the first converts to the church were Jewish as well. A true Christian believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the one true God.

Galatians 3:29 says, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. What the Bible says here is that if a person is a Christian he or she will receive the benefits of God's promise to Abraham. So then if Christianity and Judaism share a common root, then how did Christianity becomes so different from Judaism, and why don't religious Christians dress and observed the rituals of the Jewish faith?

And the history of this question is answered for us in Acts chapter 15. It says, Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The chapter tells about that journey. Peter references God's direction for him to go and present the gospel in the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, and that the evidences were there that they had indeed received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

It says, we believe that it's through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. And then James the apostle stands up and he said we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. And they give us four directives: to abstain from food polluted by idols, abstain from sexual immorality, abstain from the meat of strangled animals, and abstain from ingesting blood - four directives.

Now another question that could be asked is why do there appear to be so few Jewish Christians? After all, Jesus was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies. And the fact of the matter is there are far more Jewish Christians than meets the eye. There is a description however of why there appears to be so few Jewish Christians in Romans chapters 9, 10 and 11. Romans 9:30 says, What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him, Jesus, will never be put to shame."

Now in these three chapters there's a verse that causes me to stop and ponder. The Romans 11:25 says, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Someday the last Gentile will make their profession of faith. The number will be full and there will be no more professions of faith. Such a warning should endue us all with a sense of urgency. We do not know how close we are to that number, and there are friends and family that are yet unsaved. Time is running out.

We must not be complacent about the salvation of others. We should be diligently praying to God to seek an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones. And I'd like to encourage you to make that a focus of this coming week for you. When you get up in the morning pray to the Lord that he will prepare a heart and open an opportunity for you to share your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with someone else. Amen?

Let's pray. Lord we're so thankful for your holy word, and we are thankful Lord that you not only recorded for us the successes of Abraham from which we can learn, but you also recorded the failures of Abraham from which we can learn much. Lord thank you for your faithfulness, thank you for your grace, thank you for your mercy, thank you Lord for being so good. Lord as we go from this place today we want to be the salt and the light that you have called us to be. And Lord we know that unless the ground is prepared the seed it falls in unprepared land. Prepare hearts we pray to receive the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ, and may we be a part of spreading that gospel. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.