James 1

Starting in verse 1, it says, And it's interesting that James introduces himself as a servant, or some translations say a bond slave. Which a bond slave is someone who has just put themselves in permanent... It was a relation of permanent servitude towards someone else. And then he calls Jesus Lord. Which in the original language simply meant the master of a bond slave.

So, in this context, he's recognizing Jesus as God. And this wouldn't be an unusual greeting for most of the apostles. But it is kind of interesting because this was James, the brother of Jesus. You know, he could have written, which he didn't, James, the brother of Jesus, to the twelve tribes scattered around. But he has set aside that claim to fame that he could have.

He had. And instead, he's putting his identity as a lifelong servant whose sole ambition is to serve Jesus as Lord and Master. Another reason this is kind of interesting is because James didn't actually believe in Jesus until after Jesus' death and resurrection. Believe in him as the Messiah. John tells us that actually none of Jesus' brothers believed that he was who he said he was.

So, depending on how old James was, he spent 20 or 30 years growing up around Jesus, knowing who he was, but yet not believing that he was who he said he was.

But we do know that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection, which may have been when his conversion took place. And we also know that James was with the disciples at Pentecost. And eventually, he became a leader of the early Jerusalem church. So, it's from that position of leadership now that he's writing, and he says, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.

He's addressing the Jewish Christians that had been scattered abroad. After Stephen was martyred, the persecution in Jerusalem became more and more intense to the point that many Jewish Christians fled Jerusalem and they left. Which, incidentally, that's largely how the gospel was spread and how the church grew. So, James is writing to them to encourage them in their faith during this difficult time.

And so, that's the position of leadership. And so, that's the position of leadership. And so, that's the position of leadership. And so, that's the position of leadership. And so, that's the position of leadership. And so, the first thing he talks about, we'll see, he's talking about the trials and everything that's going on in the lives of these early Christians.

So, James says in verse 2, He says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials. And while this letter was written initially to the Jews, it's very applicable to our lives today. Notice James doesn't say if you face trials. He says when you face trials. Trials and struggles are a part of life. And especially for a Christian, they're kind of guaranteed.

A lot of people, I think, have a subtle belief that, you know, as Christians, our lives are going to go better, are going to be smoother. Things will go easy for us.

But that's not what we see. And that's not what Jesus said in the Bible. We have to remember that we are living in a fallen world, and there is an ever-present spiritual battle going on. And when you're a non-believer, then you're not an enemy of Satan. But once you profess faith in God and commit to following him, now you're in the battle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.

Jesus said, In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. And we read in Acts that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. God doesn't just want to make us happy. He wants to make us holy. And it's the suffering and the trials that make us more and more like him. What are we supposed to do when these hard times come?

James says, consider it joy. You know, we always have a choice in how we respond to circumstances. We can respond in the flesh, or we can choose to walk in the Spirit. We can be bitter. We can feel sorry for ourselves. We can respond in despair, anger at God, or any number of fleshly reactions. But James says to consider it pure joy. We can fake happiness, but we can only genuinely have joy with the Holy Spirit's work in our life.

And why are we to consider it joy? Well, according to James, it's because we know that the testing of our faith, our faith produces perseverance. As a child of God, God will allow us to go through trials because they will test our faith. And if we allow it, if we turn to God, the testing will produce perseverance. Other translations say patience, endurance, or steadfastness.

It's making us stronger. Paul echoes a similar sentiment in his letter to the Romans. He says, So Paul says almost the same thing as James. He's saying that suffering produces endurance, patience. It's his perseverance. And endurance produces character. We're becoming the person God wants us to be. It's molding us. And character produces hope. Without hope, we would just give up.

James says, Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete. Don't rush through it. Let it finish its work. Let it have its full effect. So often we just want to get through the really hard times, and we're just looking for the way out.

Sometimes the reason God allows trials in our life, sometimes the perseverance, is that we will become mature. So we stop acting like little children. If any of you have young children, you know that children respond to disappointment of things not going their way in a variety of ways. Some children stomp the floor. They're instantly angry, and they also want more attention.

Some children quietly sulk. They cross their arms, and they just won't make eye contact with you. And other children run away to their room to be by themselves. Sometimes this is the way we respond in difficulties. Sometimes we throw our own little tantrums, and we want attention so other people know how hard we'd have it. We want to throw our own little pity party.

And sometimes we silently keep it to ourselves. We let the bitterness sink in, and we refuse to look to God. And other times we run away in isolation and just try to escape.

God wants us to stop acting like children and become mature and complete, not lacking anything. When we are focused on the trial, we will only see the hardship and not see the purpose. But if we have a long-range view, if we can have an eternal perspective, an eternal view, we can consider what the trials are cultivating within us. And with God, then maybe we can consider these trials a joy.

It's not that we're joyful for the trial or that we desire trials, but when they come, and they will come, then we can consider it joy because we know, if we turn to God and allow Him to work, that this maturing is cultivating within us patience and endurance. Then we'll learn to be content in Him. God wants to make us more Christ-like. These trials that we are going through are not a waste.

There is something God wants to use in our life to grow us. There's a purpose in the trial. There's a purpose in the struggle. And oftentimes that purpose can only come to pass through the things that we're going through. I think we all need to be reminded that there's a purpose in our trials and that they're not a waste. And this perspective shift truly does have the ability to turn our bitterness into joy.

James is really challenging me here because I often have the tendency to want to have my own little, little pity party when I face trials. And sometimes I just want to endure it on my own strength. And there's no attitude of joy. It's more of just a begrudging endurance. I just got to get through it because this is just what life has dealt. But I'm not looking at this situation as an opportunity for growth.

But there have been times also that I have felt strongly that there is definitely something that God wants to show me, that He wants me to learn through the struggle. Through the trial. And I've prayed and asked God to show me what it was because I've had this feeling that I was missing the point of it all.

And now most of my trials, though they may have seemed big to me at the time, I'm sure are small compared to what many of you have endured. I like to hear people's stories and I've talked to people that have gone through some really hard times. I recently talked to a woman who lost her husband of 35 years because he left her to go be with another man. And he walked away from their marriage commitment.

I met another woman whose son moved away and wouldn't tell his mother where he was living now and wouldn't talk to her because she refused to change his name in her phone to reflect his newfound gender identity.

I know a couple that just lost their seven year old son suddenly to a health condition. There are people in our community, people in your community, that have lost their father, their husband, their sister, their child to sickness, accidents, disease, and it's tempting to ask why God would allow this to happen. Or why, if God loves us so much, would he allow this to happen? And James tells us that we should face trials with an attitude of joy, but so many people become angry and bitter and turn their backs on God.

And I'm not imploring you. I'm just implying that it's not okay to grieve and that we should fake some superficial happiness. Not at all. We see in the Bible Jesus grieved when his dear friend Lazarus died. But if we're not careful, if we're not diligently seeking the Lord, if we're not rooted in the Word, it's easy to listen to the lies of Satan. And he's always ready to strike when he sees a moment of weakness.

And he'll plant ideas in our mind that God is not good, that this is not fair that we're going through this, and that we're all alone. But what does God say? I have a slide on this. In Isaiah chapter 43, he says, I will be with you in the fire, in the storm, in the deep waters, and they will not overwhelm you, they will not burn you, they will not consume you.

If you trust me, I will be with you. And in Joshua chapter 1 verse 5, he says, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. Continuing on in James verse 5, he says, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Do any of us need wisdom? If we ask, we are told God will give it to us.

And when we're in the middle of trials and testing, this is often the very moment when we need God's wisdom. More than knowledge, we need wisdom. Oftentimes my first response, my natural response, is to gain as much knowledge that I can get. But James didn't say, research your trial, talk to a friend, or ask Google. He says you should ask God. God should be our first resource.

And thankfully he says he gives generously to all without finding fault. He won't rebuke us for asking again and again and again. And so we should ask often. The Bible says Solomon was wiser than anyone else. And Solomon calls wisdom more precious than rubies. Nothing can compare. It's more profitable than silver and gold, and yields better returns than gold.

Wisdom is extremely valuable. And so many times we just don't know the best path or the approach to our trial. And we just need wisdom. We can lose perspective on the trial. We need wisdom. Verse 6, James says, But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. We need to ask in faith, not doubting God's ability or His desire to give us wisdom.

He is our Father, and He desires to give us good gifts. Sometimes our prayers can become routine, and we have to question whether or not we are asking in genuine faith. Spurgeon said, You know, dear brothers, that there is a way of praying in which you ask for nothing and get it. And sometimes I wonder if that's not what happens when we have just these routine prayers, that we're not even really asking God for anything.

But that's one of the opportunities that trials and suffering can bring. Oftentimes when we're really grieving, when we're really, really struggling or in the thick of a trial, that's when our prayers are not so routine. That's when we cry out from within our spirit, and we can ask God in faith. We have to rely on God and not doubt Him, because the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind.

We lack stability when we doubt, and we're tossed around like a storm. Verse 7, James says, That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unwise. He is double-minded and unstable in all they do. So does that mean that if we doubt or if we lack faith, that God will not answer us or God will not give generously to us?

Well, if we read in Mark 9, when the father of the demon-possessed child came to Jesus, he was in utter desperation and in tears he cried out, I believe, but Lord help my unbelief. And Jesus healed his son. So I think what James is referring to here is, it's more of the heart condition. This man clearly had faith in Jesus. He brought his son first to the disciples,

and when they were unable to cast out the demon, he didn't lose faith, but instead he went directly to Jesus. This father didn't doubt Jesus' ability. He took action based on his faith. But he honestly asked Jesus to help his unbelief. And if we ask God in a doubting way, if we don't really think that he has the ability to change our circumstances, then I think that's where this double-mindedness comes in

that James is talking about. I read a commentary by Chuck Smith, and I thought he said it pretty well. He said, I'm not really to ask for wisdom and then do my own thing. It isn't asking for wisdom and then making up my mind whether or not I want to follow it. Asking God to reveal his will so I can determine whether or not I want to yield to it. I must make a decision.

I must make a commitment. I must determine that I'm going to just commit my life to the Lord's keeping and just believe the Lord to keep it. And when things aren't going quite right or I can't quite understand what's happening, I don't say, Oh, I better take over here. I don't know what the Lord is doing. And this is so common among us, this wavering bit. Not really for sure.

Offering and then taking back. You become unstable in everything. See, we don't ask God for wisdom but all along we really know what we want. Because that's double-minded. It's when we want God to validate the wisdom that we have of what we think is the right answer. Then we're like the waves that are being tossed around. We must have faith. We must say, God, I believe that your ways are higher than my ways

and whatever wisdom you give, that is what I will follow because it is wisdom that came from God. Because it is wisdom that came from you. Whatever you say, I'm going to do. And I have already committed before I hear from the Lord to follow. The father of the boy with seizures was not double-minded. He wanted to believe. He declared his belief in God. His faith may have been weak

but it wasn't a double-minded doubt. In verse 9, James says, Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position, but the rich should take pride in their humiliation. Since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant. Its blossoms fall and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away

even while they go about their business. He's talking spiritually and also with an eternal perspective looking at the present. You know, we may have lost everything financially, materially, or maybe we didn't have it to begin with, but we can be rich in God. And also, if you're of humble circumstances, meaning you don't have much materially, or if you're rich, either way, in light of eternity, your situation is still temporary.

James says, You with less, you can take pride that you have everything you need with God. And he says, You with a lot, you're going to die. And just to make it clear, he used the example of a flower on a really hot day, which we've been experiencing some of those really hot days. And I think for those of us that have, um, flowers in pots, what happened this last Wednesday or Thursday if you forgot to water them?

They probably became crunchy and the flowers or the petals dropped and the beauty was gone. And James is saying it's the same with the wealthy. While they are busy building their wealth and creating their beautiful businesses, in the midst of it all, they will fade away and have nothing. When we look at different economic statuses or trials that result in lesser statuses, we have to remember that this is as temporary as a wild flower on a summer day.

With a proper perspective on eternity, this is all temporary and this will all be gone before we know it. And that applies to our trials as well. With a proper perspective on eternity, we're able to face them with joy knowing that they're developing something within us that will last for all of eternity. In verse 12, James says, Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life the Lord has promised.

to those who love him. This crown of life is the victor's crown. James says, Blessed or very happy is the man who perseveres in trial. Those who pass the test will stand victorious at the end. If we can get through this, we will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. It doesn't say, Blessed is the man who has no trials. It says,

Blessed is the one who endures. James is reminding us that it really is worth it to endure. We will be rewarded for our steadfastness. Verse 13, he says, When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. God doesn't tempt us. He may test us and put us through trials, as we've just seen, but he's not going to entice us to do evil. Temptation comes from within our own broken, sinful selves. Some people believe

that we're all basically good people, that deep down inside that we're all good, and these bad behaviors are the influence of the world or circumstances. But that's not what the Bible says. After the fall, we are all sinful, we are all sinful people, and we have sinful desires within us. We desire to please ourselves and do whatever it is we want. And you can see this

with very young children. It's quite obvious that they don't have to be taught to do what's wrong, that they just do whatever it is that they want, and you actually have to work very diligently to teach them to do what is right. It's interesting to note, it doesn't say each person is tempted by the devil. Sometimes we might be quick to blame, all temptations on Satan.

And he can tempt us, but the only reason that temptation has a hook is because of our own fallen nature. And that fallen nature corrupts our God-given desires. And we should recognize that evil desires are found within all of us. We are tempted when we are lured away by our own evil desire and enticed. The temptation itself isn't sin, but it's when we give in

to the flesh and we allow and we follow the path that it is tempting us to. James highlights this kind of natural progression that leads to death. He says, you know, from this evil desire comes sin, and from sin comes death. And it's inevitable with sin. And Satan tries to hide it from us and convince us that, you know, fulfilling the desire, whatever it is that we have,

will bring happiness. And yet it never does. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. In Christ Jesus our Lord. James says, don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Satan's great strategy and temptation is to convince us that our pursuit of our corrupt desires will somehow produce life and goodness for us. If we can remember

that Satan only comes to steal and to kill and to destroy, then we can more effectively resist the temptations. Continuing on, he says, don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits in all he created.

We have to be careful of deception. Satan is watching for an opportunity to deceive us. John tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. There is no truth in him. He is behind so much deception and we see deception all over in our world today. We have to be careful of deception and we have to be careful of deception and we have to be careful of deception

all over in our world today. He is really good at it. We read in 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9, Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him. Stand firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. We can deceive ourselves

by our own desires as James warned us. We can be deceived and be enticed by the deceptiveness of sin. It lures us like fish bait. It looks good until we bite. Then we are caught and we have been deceived. And don't think that any of us are above being deceived. Take Adam and Eve. They lived in perfect communion with God and yet Satan deceived them and they followed

their desires. James is warning us to run away from temptation. It looks good but the good and perfect gifts come from above. It looks good but the good and perfect gifts come from above. What God gives will fulfill. It's not an illusion of contentment and joy. It's the real deal. We all have temptations in our life and they vary greatly from one individual

to another. It's just anything that's not drawing us to God but instead is pulling us away from him. And we know what it's like to be enticed and to give in to those temptations. James is telling us that we are to be enticed and to give in to those temptations. God is saying, don't be deceived. It will end in death. Turn from the temptations and turn towards God.

He gives good gifts. But the focus isn't on the gifts. Where do the gifts come from? Everything good comes from above. Coming down from the Father of heavenly lights the Creator who does not change like shifting shadows. He is unchanging. And what is the greatest gift he gave us? Salvation. He chose to give us birth through the word that we might be a kind of firstfruits

in all that he created.

I'm looking at my notes trying to decide what I want to do. I think I'm going to skip through a couple parts of this. Let's just continue on verse 19. James says, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. James says, Pay attention. And then he gives us three really practical things for our lives. He says, Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. We should listen more, not talk so much, and be slow

to take offense and get angry. And that's so applicable to our culture today. Everyone has something to say. Everyone has their own opinions and everyone just wants to be heard. But it seems like we rarely listen to what others have to say. And sometimes we might sit through somebody talking and listen to them. But all the while we're looking for a break where we can interject

with our own opinions. And that's not really listening. That's just trying not to be rude while we're waiting for our opportunity to talk. Proverbs chapter 10 verse 19 says, When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains the lips is wise. And if you're on social media of any kind, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you're not

active on social media, I encourage you not to start now. Everybody has something to say. It's just become this sea of voices and opinions, this incentive and this incessant chattering. We should be slow to open our mouth or in today's culture maybe slow to tap our thumbs. And that brings us to slow to become angry. It seems like everyone today is offended by something

or triggered by something. And we like to talk about it. Everyone is on edge and I get it. The world is so chaotic and so uncertain. We don't know what's happening. There's so much deception and lies. And we're told by this party or the left or the right that we should be offended by what other people are doing. And we're stressed and there's all this fear.

But James says, let's be slow to become angry, to get riled up. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. There is a godly and righteous anger. We read about when Jesus went through the temple on two separate occasions and he knocked over the money tables, spilling their money to the people who had set up business. But as James points out,

human anger does not produce righteousness. It doesn't accomplish what God wants to do. And I think if we just did these three things during this next week, you know, think what could change in our lives. What words would we not have to take back that we spoke in haste? What would we not have to go back and apologize for? What might we learn from listening more?

If we slowed down and choose not to be offended or we just took a deep breath and chose to respond in patience instead of anger, what might change? And I'm talking to myself as much as anyone. For those of you with parents of littles, you know, it's easy to lose our cool sometimes with our kids. And it's easy to blame to blame them for, because of their behaviors, the disrespect, the continued pushing of boundaries, the tantrums and the tears or the incessant talking.

But in reality, we're the adults in the situation. And some children can go from zero to a hundred just like that. And it can be shocking. And you try to diffuse the anger. But then as we engage them, we can feel the anger building up within us. But when we react to anger in anger ourselves, it doesn't accomplish anything. Well, it does accomplish something,

but it's the exact opposite of what we want it to happen. It's counterproductive. Because what do we want? We want a changed heart and repentance. We want righteousness. And human anger does not produce righteousness. We will not change anyone by our frustration and anger. What can change a person? The goodness and grace of God. And if we allow it, we can be an instrument

of God's grace and goodness, love and mercy. We already read that God's will for us is to become mature and to stop acting like children. I think we all need this advice applied within our hearts. I know I need it within me. I need it to change me. And we can't expect the world to act this way. They'll continue to get triggered and continue to get angry. But we,

as the church, we should be slow to anger. Or we will lose our witness, our chance to influence and bring about the greater harvest that God wants to bring. And that last section right after that, therefore get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you. We're told to put aside filth and wickedness of the world.

And it doesn't take much today to identify the evil and just all the filth that's out there. James is absolutely right. It's so prevalent. You don't have to go looking for you. It'll find you. In fact, you actually have to be intentional to stay away from it. My wife and I, we don't have TV in our home. I mean, we have a TV, but it's not connected to my dish

or channels or whatever. So if we wanna watch something, we have to intentionally choose what we're gonna watch, connect our computer to it or whatever. But when I'm around TV and I watch it, I'm shocked by all the commercials that aren't that shocking if you see it every day. But when you're away from it for a while, and you see what's just streaming right into our home, so what's just coming right in that we don't even have to go anywhere, you see the evil and the filth, we're just welcoming it in.

We've become desensitized to it. This has happened within our own home. For the interest of time, I won't go into the whole story, but where we've let our kids listen to an audio story that seemed like a really good story. But as it progressed and got on to season two, it shifted. And you just got all these evil, I guess is a good word for it, agendas just being pushed

and right in your face. And then we had to sit down with our kids and have conversations about what God's truth looks like and what the world's truth looks like. But it's so blatant in the world today and the agenda is being pushed hard. We're told in Philippians that whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, to think about these things.

And Paul tells us to take every thought captive and to set your mind on things above, not on the things on earth. I'm going to end here, but as you go throughout this next week, I want you to think about who is influencing your mind? Where are you allowing your mind to be influenced from? Is it by the culture and the world and the evil and the filth that is so prevalent around us?

Or are we turning to God, to the scripture, and prayer, to being influenced directly by God? And then let's remember those three things. Be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for this morning. I thank you for this opportunity that we can just gather in your name, in fellowship with one another, worship you, learn from you,

and worship you. And Lord, I just want to lift up this congregation for those who are going through some intense trials right now. And the struggle is real. And it would be so easy to become bitter and angry. Lord, I pray that you would provide your comfort and your peace, and you would allow us the grace to look at our situations with the perspective of eternity

and realize that our struggles, as real and difficult as they are, are temporary. That this world is passing away. And for that, we can be thankful and we can be full of joy because you are molding us and shaping us into the people that you want us to become. And we can use that character that you've put within us to reach the hurting and dying world around us.

So Lord, give us the grace to do this as we live our lives. And I pray that you would just be with these people and give them joy, help them to be able to find the joy that they want to find in the midst of the struggle. In your name we pray. Amen. All right. It's Communion Sunday. I'm going to go ahead and let all the kids in. Parents, be on the lookout for your kiddo.

Go ahead and stand. Stand as you get your communion. And then... We hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray. Find in me thine all things. Jesus paid it all. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. For now indeed I find thy power and thine alone can change the leper's spots. And now this heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all. He left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. In good have I whereby thy grace to play. Watch my garments white in the blood of Calvary's Lamb. Jesus paid it all. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. For the throne I stand in him complete. Jesus died my soul to save. My lips shall still repeat. He left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow. Jesus paid it all. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. He washed it white as snow. He washed it white as snow. He left a crimson stain on mine. He washed it white as snow. I wash it white as snow. I wash it white as snow. drink this cup. You proclaim the Lord's death until we, until he comes. As we, as we take

communion this morning, it's important for us as believers and followers of Jesus to remember why he died for us. And not just that, but to also remember how he died for us. Understand that Jesus just didn't, didn't live his life and do his ministry and then fall over dead. No, it was a very violent and painful death that he suffered for us. So as we take this communion this morning, be, be mindful of that. And there's another thing too,

if you, if you read a little further down in 1 Corinthians 11, it says, but a man must also examine himself. And in doing so, he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. Understand that, that communion, communion is for, is for believers. If you're here or if you're watching online and you're doing communion,

but you're not a believer, this is not for you. Not yet. Not until you come to Jesus. And it also means that if, if there's something that you've been dealing with, if there's a sin issue or whatever the case may be, take it to Jesus and get it dealt with first, then do communion.

Let's pray. Father God, we thank you. Thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for what he's done for us. Thank you for what he's done for us. Thank you for what he's done for us. Thank you for what he's done for us on the cross. Thank you for the body that was broken and the blood that was shed remittance for our sins. But we, uh, we thank you and we praise you and we give you thanks

in Jesus name. Let's partake. Let's pray one more time. Father, again, I just thank you. Thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for what you've done for us on the cross. Thank you that you paid the price that we rightfully deserve. The cross for us, Lord God. We ask as we leave here today, Lord, that, that we will leave in communion with you and we would have that constant connection with you and that you would just

continue to minister to us and change our lives and change our hearts. Father, we love you and we praise you and we thank you. All God's people said, amen. God bless you guys. Have a wonderful week.