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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You.
[00:00:01] Speaker B: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's words you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 830 or 10:30 a.m. If you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison church, find [email protected] be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: Good morning. Good to see all of you here this morning and looking forward to begin or continuing this series as we have begun this one called we bring our gifts. And if you were here the last couple of weeks, you know that we have been in Matthew chapter two, and we are discussing that period of time, maybe a couple years after the birth of Christ, where those wise men were off in the Far east and they came and brought their gifts to Jesus. And in fact, in Matthew chapter two, just to go there. What's happening is these wise men, they are super smart. They are very educated. They study the stars, but they also study different religions. And they studied the jewish prophecies. And there obviously was some kind of jewish connection in there that though they may be secular, there was something significant about what they saw in the sky. They saw that star and they decided that they were going to go follow it because they believed it to be that star of the king of the Jews. And so it says that they saw the star and they came to Jerusalem looking for the king. And they came so they could worship him. It says as they came to him, they walked in and they saw in the house Mary the mother of Jesus and Jesus the toddler. And they came and brought these gifts. And the first thing they did, it says that they fell down. They worshiped at his feet. And then as they pulled out their treasures, one of the things that they did is they presented these special gifts to the king of the Jews, and that was gold, frankincense and myrrh. And if you were with us last week, you know that Andrew shared with us a little bit about gold and the significance of it, the practicality of it, in the sense that it would help them make their travels later as they had to flee that area and go to Egypt because Herod was going to kill all the male boys that were two years and younger. But also it was significant in that it was a prize that was meant to be given to a king. It was valuable. It was something that showed that allegiance or that desire to fall at the feet of the king. And then we talked about the significance of it, just the idea how gold is a representation of kingship. And so there they are, bringing this goal, and today we're going to talk about frankincense. Now, if you're like me growing up, and I grew up as a kid and wondered about this word forever, and I know you're probably thinking the same thing, I thought that it was some kind of ancestor of Frankenstein or something like that. And then as you got older and you got a little bit more knowledge, you may have thought, well, why is Frank so incensed? I mean, what's he angry about? And then if you thought a little bit longer, you might have thought, well, maybe frank just. He stunk. I don't know. Maybe that was it. But either way, as you look into this word, you're going to find that there's maybe just a disconnect in our culture for what frankincense is, until maybe recently, as we've become into essential oils and those kinds of things. But frankincense was something that would have been very unique to them, would have been something that signified a specific thing, and it would have been an aroma that would have reminded them of something very specific. So it got me thinking about aromas. It got me thinking about different smells. And the reason sometimes we have things that jump up in our mind, or maybe our life experience, where we have certain things that remind us of nostalgic things. For example, whenever I go to the Thanksgiving meal, you smell the sweet potatoes and you smell the mashed potatoes and the turkey and the ham, and you smell all of those things kind of combining together. And when you walk into a house that is prepared for Thanksgiving, what, it's warmer in there, it seems like, and all these smells are just coming together, and you just can't wait. It just reminds you of family. And that's a beautiful thing to think about, right? And it's because we had this olfactory system that our memories are connected in some ways to the things that we sense in our life, and especially those smells that bring us back to earlier times. Well, this week, many of you know, I turned 50 years old. And by the way, some of you were really harsh on me, but that's okay. I forgive you and I love you anyway.
But I am a child who grew up in the 80s so that takes us back a few years. And so there were certain things that I could remember in my childhood that bring me back these smells. If I smell them today, it takes me right back. And one of those things is this. And if you're my age, you understand what this is, so don't judge me. But if you were a part of this generation, you remember these scratch and sniff stickers, okay? And this was like a prize, okay? If you got this from your teacher on one of your papers, that was a good thing. It meant you had done something really well. But the one you did not want, and I'll try to do this right, is you did not want to know that you were sensational. And that's a skunk. So you didn't want that one. But if you scratch it, you could smell the smell of skunk. It was gross. It was awful. But you would take those stickers and you peel them off that paper, and you put them somewhere else to keep them for later so you could scratch them again and smell those things. Another one that some of you are going to be remembering is this. Mr. Sketch scented markers. Now, this is probably going way back to, like, middle school or something, but girls used to write notes. And in fact, I remember getting some from Cindy just in those days.
And they would take these colors and they would trace different letters out, and they would have this potpourri of all these different fruity smells that you would get. So you open it up and just smell all those things. If I got one of her notes today, I'd probably go right back to that moment where I thought about that again. But they had not only a scent, but I'm telling you, for some people, and you know where I'm going with this, they had a little bit of a taste to them. I remember looking over at a guy who had one of those green apple markers, and he was like, smell it. Smell it. And I finally saw, like, out of the corner of my eye and then down, and I was like, what are you doing? He's like, what are you talking about? And I looked over, and he had green teeth because he had been sucking on that stuff. Like he loved the flavor of it so much. I'm like, man, you can't eat that stuff. He said, yes, I can. It says nontoxic, right?
Crazy, man. I think about those. There are certain things that just bring me back to different times. For example, if I went over to my great grandmother's mama's house, I don't know who it was that came up with this. But whoever developed mothballs, okay, that smell was awful. And I would walk into her house, and you could smell it. Apparently, that was a real big threat in her time, that malls would come in and eat all your clothes up. So you had these mothballs to kind of keep people away or keep the malls away from your clothes. And if you know what I'm talking about, that smell is so just definitive. Right? And so whenever I smell that, I think of mammal. Well, it turns out that there are other uses for that. And I'll share this one with you. Several years ago, we found out in our neighborhood that there were some copperheads that were in some flower beds. Seen. And so word got out in our neighborhood that there were copperheads in the flower beds. Well, hey, let me tell you what, Cindy Presley was not going to have a copperhead up in her flower bed. So I came home one day, and she had done research, apparently, that mothballs are repellent for snakes. So I got out of the car and I got into the driveway, and I was like, mammal. Like, I could smell mammal right there. It's because she had littered. I'm talking like the yard was covered. There were no snakes up in this house. You know what I'm saying? She had taken care of that completely. But there are certain smells that trigger responses that bring you to nostalgia or bring you to memories of specific things. And I have to think that that's kind of what frankincense was for these people. When you think about it. What is frankincense? And some of you may know, I've actually got a bottle of pure frankincense oil that my good friend Rita Bill loaned to me this week. So if you had walked in my office this week, you would have smelled frankincense. It just fills the whole room up. And all week long, I have smelled this. But how do they get it? Well, first of all, it comes as, like, a gum, almost like a SAP that comes from a tree, and then it begins to harden, and it's amber to begin with, but then it kind of crystallizes a little bit and gets a little bit harder and a little bit more powdery and coated. And it's used for perfumes and different things, medicines and different incenses, but it's also used. It was one of the ingredients that was used for a very sacred incense that was given to God in worship. And I tell you, I'll be honest with you, I was sitting there just a few moments ago, listening to my budy Sonny Patel. Basically, teach my outline this morning. And so, like, this could be shorter or it could be longer. We could just do it again. I don't know. We'll see. But he shared so much of the things that I think are significant about this particular thing called frankincense. But it was used for the holy place. Here's what it looks like when it first comes out. It secretes from the bark, and it comes out kind of in a liquid form, and it gets really thick real fast, and then over time, it crystallizes and dries. So what is frankincense?
The word for it is labana, which means white. And it's referring to the color, not the initial color, but what it looks like as it dries and crystallizes. The english word comes from a french expression meaning free incense or free burning. So the idea is that this would be something that they recognized as something that is burnt and lifted up in an aroma to God. But it's also very expensive because it was found in really remote places and in areas that were difficult to travel to. But not only that, it was expensive because it had to go from, like, the arabian peninsula and India and North Africa, and it had to be taken all over the world at that time to be taken to places. So you were not only just paying for what it took to get it, but you also had to pay for all the transportation, the cargo, and all that stuff. And so it became very, very expensive.
Here's what it looks like when it crystallizes, and they take that and scrape it off the tree, here's what you get as a benefit. And there are probably a lot more. These are just the things that I could kind of settle in on. But frankincense is believed to ease stress. It kind of lightens the load a little bit. It takes away some of the anxieties that we feel sometimes. It helps in breathing. It helps in blood pressure management, keeping it regulated, it boosts immune function. It relieves pain. It cleanses wounds. It uses to treat dry skin. It's to reverse the signs of aging. So, as you can imagine, I have been putting that on all week long.
It shows a demonstration to fight cancer, as well as many other health benefits. So there's lots of things that it can be used for that make it very special. So harvesting it is very difficult, actually, what has to happen is the bark itself has to be cut away.
And as we cut away, as they slice into the bark, what happens is that break in the skin of the tree causes it to seep this oil that creates the resin that they scrape off and they get it done. Well, when they do this, it takes several months for this to do its process, and they will try to have several different harvests, but they can't overdo it. They can't do it all over the tree and pull it at one time. They have to do it in different areas, and they can maybe get four or five crops of it as they go through that season. So it's really interesting. They can overdo it and kill the tree, or they can do it in a methodical manner to capture what they need. And so that would take a series of months, and then it's distilled to extract the aromatic oil, or it's ground up into a powder to be burnt as an incense.
So here is a picture of a man who is harvesting the frankincense off of the boswellian tree, and there he is scraping it off. Had to be careful, because if you scrape too much of it, it leaves it exposed and it keeps secreting, and eventually that will harm the tree. So they have to leave, basically, for lack of better term, a scab. They have to leave that, so the tree will heal up in that particular spot. Very interesting. Right.
So when we're talking about the value of frankincense, you may say, well, how do we know what it was worth? Well, I don't know, but when you consider all of these things, it being a rare tree in a resin, it being in limited location, it being very difficult to harvest, if you think about the healing properties that it provided, the purpose that it served in worship practices, and then the idea that it was considered a gift for kings, this made it very valuable. In fact, I read several articles, and I couldn't quantify this, but it said that in this time and age, that frankincense would have been considered kind of on par with the cost of gold. So as you think about these magi, these wise men, as they're presenting these gifts, that here's gold, and we think of it as that very valuable thing. Well, here's frankincense as well. That requires all this extra effort to produce something that is so beneficial to the people that it had high value as now. And I think for the rest of this message, I want us to really stop and consider kind of the spiritual connections that we can find in this. Well, first of all, that scent was associated with approaching know Sonny mentioned it, that their grain offerings and different ways that they would come, they would have frankincense as a part of that expression to God, and it would be lifted up, an aroma that would be given to him. So it was used in those priestly services, whether it be in the tabernacle or in the temple. But it was also given up to God by the priest or before the ark of the covenant. And it was there that God would meet them and accept their worship, and the priest would be the one to go in and to offer up those sacrifices to God. So here's the example of this in Exodus, chapter 30, where it says, the Lord said to Moses, gather fragrant spices, resin droplets, malus shells and galbanum, and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts, using the usual techniques of incense maker. Blend these spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. Understand, what he's saying here is this is going to be something that is set apart. It's sacred, it's special, and it's meant only for God. In fact, he says, there, I will meet you when this incense is offered up. And he says, never use this formula to make this incense for yourself. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. So it goes on to say that they weren't allowed to use that same kind of combination of spices and things together, because that would have been taking something that was designated for God. So capture with me this idea that these spices together, mixed in with frankincense, would have been lifted up as that offering to God. But then in Leviticus, chapter two, and talking about these grain offerings that sunny mentioned, they would take the bread dough and they would sprinkle it with frankincense, and then that was given to the priests, who would then burn that as an offering. And that Aroma would go up to God as a way of saying, thank you for the provisions that you provide for me. So an awesome thing to consider, how frankincense would have been something that they would have recognized. Goes on to say that it was a pleasing aroma to God, that when he smelt that, that it was pleasing to him, that offering that was given to him. And again, look at it, that last statement. This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord. So a very special thing. Frankincense was presented to Jesus at this time as a gift to the king. It was presented to him in worship. And there was a designation, at least, a connection with worship and priesthood and Jesus divinity. What an awesome thing to think about, as we imagine God in the background of all of these things. Working through these wise men. To come and present to Jesus these gifts. And these offerings that give us a designation and at least a symbolism. Of who, in fact, Jesus would become as he grew up and moved on. And there is some symbolism even in the priest idea. When you think about how the priest was used. He would stand before God on behalf of the people. So in some way, he was a representation of the people who presented themselves to God. But from the standpoint of God, he was looking down and he sees that those people are not worthy. But they would come and offer their gifts to the priest. And the priest would then present that offering before God. So there was kind of this two WAy relationship of God to the priest. And from man to the priest. And how that priest became that go between the two parties. And would be that representative to help bring and present that worship to God.
In Hebrews five, it kind of explains this a little bit. It says, every high priest chosen from among men. Is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God. To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. And the reality is that while these men were presented on some representation level.
From mankind's standpoint. That they would somewhat represent God, they still had imperfections. In fact, what we know is that they had to go. And they had to offer their own sacrifices to God. To even approach that most holy place.
So they could relate to them for sure.
But these were not perfect men. They had to be made perfect through their sacrifice. So priests could relate to imperfection. They were people that we could connect with on some level. And that they were imperfect.
But still there remained this distance that was there between God and man.
Instead of having to go to the priest. It would be great if we could just reach out and express our worship to God and to God alone. And not have someone else be that intermediate person. Right?
So, moving on into Hebrews chapter two. What I love is we start getting a picture of who Jesus was. And how he fulfills this in a better way. So here in Hebrews two, it says that he had to be made like his brothers. In every respect. There was something significant to God. At least it seems that the priest would also have some connection with mankind. That they would be able to relate back and forth. So Jesus was to be that merciful and faithful high priest. But he came in service to God. To make propitiation for the sins of the people. Well, what does that mean? That's a big word that we talk about from time to time. And I think it's easy for us to forget what it means. But ultimately what it means is that God let jesus be the appeasement for the wrath that existed because of sin. In other words, our sinfulness takes us away from God. And it's frustrating to God because he's provided all these things for us. But when we turn our backs, we separate ourselves from God. And so Jesus became that appeasement. He became the sacrifice that would pay the penalty for those sins and satisfy the wrath of God. Sometimes we sing that song, the wrath of God was satisfied. Who in Jesus, because of what he did for us, his offering of himself, it appeased that wrath of God. So Hebrews four tells us this. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. I love this because Jesus is not a high priest that we can't identify with or that we can't connect with. He was a human just like we are. And yet we know that in Hebrews it says that he was the exact imprint of God above. He was the very likeness of God. So when John chapter one, verse 14, says that he put on flesh and he dwelt among us, and we beheld him as the only begotten of the father, what it's saying is we could look and recognize this is a human. And though every expression of his life, everything that we witnessed and saw in him was that perfection, it was showing us what the tenderness of God is, showing us what the justice of God is, showing us the patience of God, showing us the harsh reality of truth at times. And Jesus was the very picture of all of those things. And he came to be that so we could relate to him. And the thing is, we sometimes think that maybe because Jesus was God in the flesh, that he was not tempted. And yet this passage reminds us that he was tempted in every way. When people were harsh, I'm sure he wanted to have a reaction, and maybe sometimes he wanted to even have an unholy reaction. And yet he restrained himself, disciplined himself and carried himself in the way that God himself would. So that's awesome in that we have this high priest that we can relate to because he's gone through the same struggles that we've gone through and maybe even more than some of us, and yet he did so without sin. And that gives us this closeness with him and a desire to be with him.
So in his role as high priest, Jesus ascended into heaven and ministers there on our behalf. It talks about how he passed into the heavens and he went up there so after his death and his resurrection, he goes up to God and he remains there on the throne forever. And it's there that he ministers to us through what we're going through here in life. So because we have that situation, Hebrews 416 talks about us having the ability to approach him with confidence. Now, this goes back to the idea that in their time, they would not necessarily be able to approach God, that they would have to leave those gifts there with the priest, and the priest would offer them on their behalf. And so there was not a sense of confidence that I had this relationship with God. The tabernacle and the temple, it all represented that there was a special place only designated for that priest who could come in and offer.
But here it's saying, we can have the confidence to go near the throne of grace. Why? That we may receive mercy and find grace in time of need. So because Jesus is our mediator, we can approach God with boldness in our prayers and in our worship. How awesome is it to know that that obstacle that stood between us has been removed because of what jesus did for, you know, I think when we talk about the high priest, sometimes we think about it from the standpoint. What we read in the New Testament, where the high priest maybe had abused some of their authorities, and maybe their robes had inflated their sense of self worth, and maybe they just abused their power some. And so their robes represented the idea that they were better than everyone else, that they knew more, that they were closer to God, and that they were most holy and those kinds of things. And we see that. But Jesus did not exalt himself. And that's foreign to us, because we think about the passages that talk about he has been exalted above every name, and that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess before his name and those kinds of things. And we look at that and go, he was definitely exalted. But you have to remember how that exaltation took place.
It was Jesus who humbled himself, put on the form of a servant, lived among us, died for us, and became a servant to all. And in that process, it says, God raised him up and exalted him to have a name above every name. In other words, Jesus didn't come in to stand before us and to become some high person. That couldn't be. It was unattainable for us to reach out to. Rather, he became that servant and through that service. Let's see what God says about it.
Says that in this service, God qualified him as a perfect high priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. God designated him to be a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. I could not have said it better than what, you know, the priesthood of Levi or the levitical priesthood. It was blood related, so it had to be the next person in line and those kinds of things. And that priesthood died with that priest. It would finish off. But Jesus was considered one who was after the order of Melchizedek. What we know about Melchizedek, if you go to Genesis, chapter 14, is you find out that he not only was a king of Salem, he was also a high priest in Salem. And so he stood outside that realm of the levitical priesthood, and so does Jesus. Jesus is given that authority by God himself, and that makes him both the high priest and the king. So with this, our kingly priest, Jesus, we arrive at two very special things.
And one is the authority that that gives us.
And what I mean by that is Jesus being our ultimate king, the one who speaks and we follow, the one who lays out principles and precepts before us, and we give our heart to those things and trust in those things. So when Jesus began on the sermon on the mountain, he started talking to these people, and he started giving them principles for life. And it didn't sound exactly like those old laws, but it was more of like, the heart of those messages. What jesus did was help explain to us what God really wanted us to do and how to live for him. So he came with authority. Remember, people said, he speaks as one who has authority. It was like listening to the very essence of God. And when he spoke, people recognized that as truthful sayings and things that connected to our spirit and our heart, that challenged us to grow in our love for God and our faithfulness to him because of our heart's desire to be connected with this God. But then also because he's our high priest, it brings us into this closer relationship with God.
It takes away those obstacles that stood in the way before. It took away the need for us to go through someone else to get to God, because Jesus himself purchased that. And because we have this. The Bible talks about this steadfast hope, this anchor that helps us build our trust and our confidence in God. And it says that we have entered into the inner place behind the curtain. Now, this is an allusion back to the tabernacle and the temple. And that one separation, you had the courtyard, and then you had the holy place. And in that holy place, you'd have the table of showbread. You have the candlesticks. You have the altar of incense. The priests were allowed in there, but then there was only one person with a curtain in between. That could lead into or go into that most holy place where the ark of the covenant was, and where God would come and meet them, and they would offer up those sacrifices.
So this is what it's saying, is that there's something that's happened, that now we are allowed into that inner place, that intercourse, okay? And it says, jesus has become a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever.
These other passages, and I think what interests me is the death of every priest in the levitical priesthood meant that was the end of their priesthood. But it wasn't like that for Jesus, because Jesus was made a priest forever. And look at these words. He holds his priesthood permanently. Since he always lives to make intercession for them. He is the perfect one to do these things. It goes on to say that it was indeed fitting. That we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. He has no lead, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily for his own sins. And then for those of the people. Since he did this once for all, when he offered up himself.
Wow.
Jesus, as our high priest, died for us and gave himself up to be that one time sacrifice forevermore. And as a result, outside of the law, God appoints a son who has been made perfect forever.
I really believe this. Those magi, those wise men, they were forecasting a kingdom like no other. I really believe they were helping us understand, I think, through God's provision and providence. And getting them where they were, getting to them at just the right time and right place to warn Jesus of what's coming and all of those things. I think God was in the background of all this. And as they were presenting this gift of frankincense, I think they were saying to all of us, this is a king and a priest like no other.
These words in Hebrews nine are a good summation of all of this. Christ has now become the high priest over all the good things that have come. He's entered that greater, more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands. And is not part of the created world. With his own blood, not the blood of goats and of calves, he entered the most holy place once for all.
And secured our redemption forever.
He tore down that wall that existed between us. And now we ourselves are being brought into the presence of God. I believe this gift of frankincense has a symbolic connection, and it helps us understand that Jesus would be the one that would change things forever and that he himself would be the one to help bring us into the throne room of God.
So let's circle back to this boswellian tree. And as they're harvesting frankincense, one of the things that we said was that they had to cut these gashes into the flesh of the tree, and they would go through, and they would cut a certain spot, and then what would happen is that stuff would seep out, and it would harden and crystallize, and they would harvest those things. And the benefits that they would get from that would be healing and cleansing elements and those kinds of things.
Well, isn't that, in and of itself, a little bit of a picture of what Jesus did for us? I think about his broken body, the scars, the cuts that he endured. And his blood flowed freely for us. And what does that blood provide for us? Well, it provides healing, and it provides cleansing of our sins.
What an awesome connection that God has given us here in this frankincense gift.
And so I heard this story, and I tried to check it to see if there was, because you know how sometimes you'll hear a story, you'll read it, and you'll go, I don't know if I buy that kind of thing. You're skeptical of it. And I read this story in 1936. There was a mention of a broadcast that was going from UK over to the United States, and it was going to be King Edward VI, and he was going to say a few things to his people, but also address the United States. And so there was going to be this big broadcast, and he did all this work to kind of engineer things. And they're in a control room. It's about ten minutes prior to the message being shared, and someone apparently trips over a wire, and it breaks the wire. So the transmission has failed. And so engineers are running like crazy trying to figure something out. And apparently an intern or an assistant that was in there grabbed the two ends of the wires, and all of a sudden, they could hear the connection again, truly, in some way. Again, if this is right, if this is true, somehow, through this man, that message got from where it was leaving to where it was going.
He spanned the gap in so many words.
He found a way to bridge that gap that existed between that communication.
And I think, in some ways, on a deeper and much more sincere and more definitive way. This is exactly what Jesus did for us. God is sending his message down. We've heard it. We've listened to his words and all those things, but we weren't making the right connections. But it was Jesus who came down. And the very essence of God showed us who God was. His will, his word. He was, in fact, the word of God come to life. And he spanned that distance. And because of our sinfulness, we've got this great distance that stands between us and God. And the only thing that could bring that is the sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God. And he comes in and he bridges that gap for us. And in that bridging of the gap, we have instant access to everything that the Father has for us.
And as a result, we don't need the go between anymore. Jesus himself is that go between. And now we ourselves are able to make our own sacrifices and present those to God. As Sonny put it, with our lives, with our heart, with our offerings, with our gifts, with our financial means. And otherwise, we present ourselves to God as a sacrifice.
Jesus said these words, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. So when you think about this gift of frankincense, that gift that points us to something greater and stronger and better, and that Jesus himself welcomes us, escorts us into the throne room of God. And it's interesting that Jesus is going to be our judge. The words that we do, the things that we say, all those things are going to come to fruition. And two Corinthians chapter five says that we're all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and each of us will give an account of the things we've done, whether good or bad, and Jesus, that will judge us. But it is also the same Jesus who said, I love you enough to die for you.
And he comes to our aid and stands at our side. And the picture is beautiful, that he appeals to God on our behalf and says, yeah, he's made mistakes, but those are washed away in my blood.
What a blessing we have in this Jesus. I hope, as you consider this gift of frankincense sense, that you yourself will be reminded of how important it is for us to lay our lives before him and to trust in him and to recognize that there is no other name given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved this morning. If you have a need at all, please come. While together we stand and sing.
